Experimental evidence of effective <111> atomic exchanges in a B2 intermetallic alloy

Abstract

We report on an atomic-scale X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy study on Fe-rich FeAl in the B2-ordered regime revealing effective <111>-exchanges of atoms on the Al-sublattice. The diffusion mechanism responsible for these exchanges is the dominating process for chemical diffusion and therefore controls long-range material transport in the system. Comparison with previous atomistic results shows that the dominance of further exchanges can be characteristic at moderate temperatures where the system is highly ordered.