Boundary energies of Σ11 [110] asymmetric tilt boundaries in Cu determined from the shape of boundary silica particles Original Research Article

The boundary energies of Σ11 [110] asymmetric tilt boundaries with a misorientation angle of θ=50.5° in Cu have been experimentally determined by a silica particle observation method for various inclination angles between φ=0 and 90°. This method has no drawbacks that are inevitable in boundary grooving and tri-junction methods. In the boundary energy vs inclination angle diagram, three deep cusps exist at φ=10, 64.8 and 90° whereas a shallow cusp appears at φ=35.3°. Such inclination angle dependence of the boundary energy has been utilized to analyze the faceting of the boundary. The observations on the faceting reported for Σ11 [110] tilt boundaries in face-centered cubic (f.c.c.) metals have been quantitatively accounted for by the present analysis.