The relaxation behaviour of Fe-10at%Si coarse-grained polycrystals which had been grown by using the electron-beam float-zone technique was studied. The formation of sub-micron steps at the grain boundaries of an as-grown polycrystal was observed, following annealing, using atomic force microscopy. The misorientation parameters of the grain boundaries were determined by means of the electron back-scattering diffraction technique, and a correlation was found between the step height and the type of grain boundary. The areas which were swept out by migrating grain boundaries exhibited 2 steps, of opposite sign, at the original and final grain boundary positions. The results were explained in terms of near grain-boundary lattice rotations.

Evidence for Near-Grain Boundary Lattice Rotations in an Fe(Si) Alloy. E.Rabkin, V.Semenov, E.Bischoff: Zeitschrift für Metallkunde, 2000, 91[2], 165-70