Orientation relationship between α-Fe precipitate and α-Al2O3 matrix in iron-implanted sapphire.

Fe ions were implanted into α-Al2O3 single crystals (sapphire) at room temperature and annealed in a reducing atmosphere. The orientation relationships (ORs) between α-Fe particles and sapphire matrix were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). All the α-Fe particles have the orientation relationship (OR) of (111)α-Fe||(0001)sapphire and [11¯0]α-Fe||[112¯0]sapphire with sapphire. This OR is predicted precisely by the coincidence of reciprocal lattice points (CRLP) method. The other OR of (110)α-Fe||(0001)sapphire and [111]α-Fe||[51¯4¯0]sapphire reported before is confirmed by the same method to be one of the secondary preferred orientation relationships in the α-Fe/sapphire system.