Electron channelling effect in an Al-Fe-Cu quasicrystal

Strong electron channelling effect has been observed in a quasicrystal of Al-Cu-Fe alloy which has a near-perfect icosahedral symmetry and low phason density. When the electron beam was setparallel with one of the high symmetry zone axes such as the 5-fold and 2-fold, the intensities of the characteristic X-ray of Fe and Cu relative to that of Al were much stronger than under non-channelling conditions. This result directly indicates that both Fe and Cu atoms occupy their own definite atomic sites different from those of the host element Al.