Radiation embrittlement studies using anomalous small-angle x-ray scattering

Anomalous small angle x-ray scattering (ASAXS) was performed on an Fe-O.9 wt.% Cu-1.0 wt.% Mn alloy subjected to annealing or electron irradiation. ASAXS takes advantage of natural variations in the atomic scattering factor which exist at energies very near an element's x-ray absorption edge. By performing systematic SAXS experiments at energies near these absorption edges of the constituent alloy elements it is possible to vary the contrast of scattering centers containing the elements and in doing so quantify scatterer composition. The results of such an analysis for the samples in this work indicate the presence of Cu-rich, Cu{sub 85}Mn{sub 15} precipitates in the alloy. By applying the maximum entropy technique to the scattering data, it was possible to extract size distributions of scattering centers fog the different treatments. The results demonstrate the ability to detect and characterize small (11 {angstrom} radius) scatterers at quite low irradiation damage levels (5x10{sup {minus} 4} displacements per atom)