Chemical and topological disordering in this intermetallic compound during electron irradiation was studied by using a combination of in situ irradiation within a high-resolution high-voltage electron microscope, and image analyses of molecular dynamics simulated atom configurations. It was found that metastable defect clusters formed during chemical disordering, prior to the topological disordering leading to amorphization. The planar defect clusters contributed to the characteristic diffuse scattering and were also observed in selected-area diffraction patterns.

Metastable Defect Cluster Formation during Radiation-Induced Amorphization in NiTi. S.Watanabe, T.Koike, T.Suda, S.Ohnuki, H.Takahashi, N.Q.Lam: Materials Transactions, 2004, 45[1], 24-8