Vacancies and interstitial atoms are primary lattice (point) defects that cause observable microstructural changes, such as the formation of dislocation loops and voids in crystalline solids. These defects' diffusion properties determine the phase stability and environmental resistibility of macroscopic materials under ambient conditions. Although in situ methods have been proposed for measuring the diffusion energy of point defects, direct measurement has been limited. In this study, we propose an alternative in situ method to measure the activation energy for vacancy migration under laser irradiation using a pulsed laser beam from a laser-equipped high-voltage electron microscope (laser-HVEM). We made in situ observations that revealed the formation and growth of vacancy dislocation loops in an austenitic stainless steel during laser irradiation. These loops continued to grow when thermal annealing was performed after laser irradiation at the same temperature. We anticipate that laser-HVEM will provide a new method for investigating lattice defects.
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