The solid solubility of Fe in α-Zr: A secondary ion mass spectrometry study

Secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques have been used to determine the terminal solid solubility (TSS) of Fe in α-Zr. Single crystals of nominally pure and Fe-doped α-Zr were annealed in the temperature range 770–1100 K to promote equilibration of Fe between surface Zr₃Fe precipitates, or β-Zr(Fe), and α-Zr. The results are fair in overall agreement with a recent investigation, based on thermoelectric power measurements, but they differ in detail. In particular this work indicates two regions of temperature dependence: above 930 K the TSS (ppma) is given by C_Fe = 1.56 × 10¹⁰exp(−1.70 ± 0.05 eV/kT), at lower temperatures a weaker temperature dependence is associated with extrinsic effects. In addition, the eutectoid temperature is shown to lie between 1063 and 1068 K.