Point Defect Study in Fe75Al25 and Fe70Al25X5 X=(Cr, Ni) Alloys as a Function of Thermal Treatment by Positron Lifetime Spectroscopy

Positron lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is employed to study retained vacancies in Fe75Al25 and Fe70Al25X5 X= (Cr, Ni) after various thermal treatments. The PALS spectra were analyzed with the two states trapping model. The positron lifetime in defects suggests that they are Fe-monovacancies. The vacancy concentration, determined by the rates of trapping positrons to vacancies, strongly depends on the cooling rate of the sample and the ternary addition. An addition of Cr lowers, whereas an addition of Ni increases the concentration of the retained vacancies in relation to Fe75Al25 samples after the same heat treatment.