Positron annihilation spectroscopy to study nanoprecipitations in aluminium alloys

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy has been used to study the microstructure in aluminum alloy AA7075-T6 after RRA (retrogression and re-aging) heat treatment. Nano-precipitates act as traps for thermalised positrons. The measured positron lifetime is sensitive to the local electron density at the annihilation site while the Doppler broadening of the annihilation line is sensitive to the chemical environment of the annihilation site. The combination of both methods was used to study changes of nano-precipitates, during the Retrogression and Re-aging (RRA) process. Results are compared to previous published isochronal annealing experiments of an Al Cu model alloy.