The recrystallization of copper single crystals deformed at 4.2 K Original Research Article

The deformation of copper single crystals at 4.2 K occurs by a sequence of slip, twinning and slip in the twinned structure. Subsequent annealing of the deformed structures obtained at various points at this sequence of deformation permits the detailed nature of the deformed and recrystallized states to be related in a unique fashion. Material recrystallized from structures obtained prior to the occurrence of twinning yields randomly oriented grains. However, the recrystallization textures obtained from the twinned material show two sharp components both of which are obtained from a 40° rotation around the normal to the twinning plane. The two components grow along the original matrix–twin interfaces resulting in a new layered structure, which is coarser than that formed by plastic deformation. The origin of the two recrystallization texture components is interpreted in terms of the enhanced mobility of the 40° 〈1 1 1〉 tilt grain boundaries, which in the present layered twin–matrix structure lies parallel to the twin–matrix lamellae.