The grain boundary plane distributions in MgO, SrTiO3, MgAl2O4, and Al are compared at lattice misorientations with a coincident site density of greater than or equal to 1/9. In most situations, the most frequently adopted grain boundary orientation is a habit plane of low index and low surface energy that depends on the particular material. Cases where the most common boundary orientation is a...

Grain boundaries affect the migration of atoms and electrons in polycrystalline solids, thus influencing many of the mechanical and electrical properties. By introducing nanometer-scale twin defects into copper grains, we show that we can change the grain-boundary structure and atomic-diffusion behavior along the boundary. Using in situ ultrahigh-vacuum and high-resolution transmission electron...

Grain boundaries usually govern the macroscopic properties of polycrystalline materials in practical use. Grain boundary segregation is a fundamental yet critical issue in this field since it affects the local structure and chemistry. Although the advanced aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has provided deep insights into such complex phenomenon even down to t...

We present theoretical calculations of the X-ray scattering properties of porous grain aggregates with olivine monomers. The small and large angle scattering properties of these aggregates are governed by the global structure and substructure of the grain, respectively. We construct two diagnostics, RX and TX, based on the optical and X-ray properties of the aggregates, and apply them to a Chan...

The beneficial effect of boron on the mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steels is well documented [1, 2]. A number of studies have confirmed that boron segregates to grain boundaries, in a variety of steels and nickel-base alloys (for example, [3, 4, 5]). Segregation of boron is known to occur via two mechanisms (for example, [1]): Equilibrium segregation is caused by the high bindi...

We use the combination of high-resolution electron microscopy and density-functional theory to study the atomic structure and electronic effects of grain boundaries in polycrystalline photovoltaic materials such as Si, CdTe, CuInSe2, and CuGaSe2. We find that grain boundaries containing dislocation cores create deep levels in Si, CdTe, and CuGaSe2. Surprisingly, however, they do not create deep...

Grain growth experiments and simulations exhibit self-similar grain size distributions quite different from that derived via a mean field approach by Hillert [ 11. To test whether this discrepancy is due to insufficient anneal times, two different two-dimensional grain structures with realistic topologies and Hillert grain size distributions are generated and subjected to grain growth via the M...

Two important factors affecting hot tearing – semi-solid constitutive behaviour and grain percolation – have been simulated through the use of microstructure models based on granular structures. The semi-solid model geometry is based on a modified Voronoi tessellation, and includes rounded corners to approximate an equiaxed-globular grain structure with liquid surrounding the grains. The percol...

The optical properties of polycrystalline ZnO have been studied to elucidate the occurrence of random laser action. The spatially-resolved refractive index has been mapped out by using the scanning electron energy loss spectroscopy across the grain boundary. It is observed that the refractive index decreases gradually when the probe beam is approaching to the grain boundary. A thin reflective l...