The microstructure and the morphology of a Ni-P layer irradiated by a high current pulsed electron beam.

The electroless Ni-P plating on LY12 substrate was irradiated by a low-energy high-current pulsed electron beam (LEHCEB) to form an intermetallic compound. The microstructure and the morphology of the Ni-P layer after surface treatment were investigated. The results show that the Ni-P layer was melted into low viscosity liquid and quickly moved to a wide variety of shapes and sizes under irradiation of the LEHCEB. X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope were employed to detect intermetallic compounds formed from aluminium–nickel systems including Al₃Ni, AlNi₃ and Al₃Ni₂. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]