Surface morphology of magnesium alloy irradiated by high-intensity pulsed ion beam

► Three groups of magnesium alloys with different initial surface roughness were prepared. ► Surface morphology of magnesium alloy irradiated by HIPIB was investigated. ► Crater formation and wavy feature strongly depends on the initial surface roughness. ► Initial surface roughness affects the evolution of Ra with shot number. ► Sm monotonely increases as the shot number increases.