Surface Properties of a Nanocrystalline Fe–Ni–Nb–B Alloy After Neutron Irradiation

Abstract The effect of neutron radiation on the surface properties of the nanocrystalline (Fe 0.25 Ni 0.75 ) 81 Nb 7 B 12 alloy was studied. Firstly, amorphous (Fe 0.25 Ni 0.75 ) 81 Nb 7 B 12 ribbon was brought by controlled annealing to the nanocrystalline state. After annealing, the samples of the nanocrystalline ribbon were irradiated in a nuclear reactor with neutron fluences of 1×10 16 cm −2 and 1 × 10 17 cm −2 . By utilizing the magnetic force microscopy (MFM), topography and a magnetic domain structure were recorded at the surface of the ribbon-shaped samples before and after irradiation with neutrons. The results indicate that in terms of surface the nanocrystalline (Fe 0.25 Ni 0.75 ) 81 Nb 7 B 12 alloy is radiation-resistant up to a neutron fluence of 1 × 10 17 cm −2 . The changes in topography observed for both irradiated samples are discussed