Structural investigation of precipitates with Cu and Zn atomic columns in Al-Mg-Si alloys by aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM

Abstract

Precipitates in Al-Mg-Si alloys with Cu addition (~0.1 wt%) and Zn addition (~1 wt%) were investigated by aberration corrected high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). Most precipitates had no overall unit cell but contained ordered network of Si atomic columns for both the Cu and the Zn containing precipitates. It was found that both Cu and Zn atomic columns are located at specific sites and producing characteristic local configurations on the Si atomic columns.