High-resolution electron microscopy observation of a new crystalline approximant W' of Mg-Zn-Y icosahedral quasicrystal

A new ordered structure W' with a lattice parameter (a = 2.05 nm) about three times as large as that of the fundamental face-centered cubic W phase (n = 0.6848 nm) has been found in the Mg-Zn-Y system by means of transmission electron microscopy. The W' and W phases have the cube-to-cube orientation relationship. Moreover, the strong electron diffraction spots of the W' phase showed pseudo-icosahedral symmetry, implying that it is a crystalline approximant of the Mg-Zn-Y icosahedral quasicrystal. In the high-resolution electron microscopic images of the W' phase, Penrose tiles of pentagons and boats with an edge length of a(p) = 0.481 nm can be identified. A binary tile of crown subunit has also been deduced from such a tiling. Translation domains of the W' phase have also been observed and the translation vectors at the domain boundary are: a(p), tau x a(p) and (1 + tau) x a(p), respectively, where (1 + tau) x a(p) equals to the edge length a(l) of the big obtuse rhombus of the W' phase and tau = (1 + root 5)/2, is the golden ratio. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.