Fe-Al single crystals of three different compositions (20, 28 and 40 at.% Al) in single slip orientation were studied. Evolution of their surfaces during deformation at room temperature was observed in situ in atomic force microscope.
Atomic force microscopy allows us to investigate slip lines on much finer scale than traditional optical observations. Wavy slip bands in Fe-Al-20, cross-slip in Fe-Al-28 and weak slip line texture in Fe-Al-40 are described.
Post mortem observations of surfaces of Fe-Al-28 deformed at elevated temperatures (in the range of yield stress anomaly) are presented as well.