Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2011
A transmission electron microscope (TEM) study of dislocation reactions that take place during the first few percents of permanent strain at room temperature is presented. The nature of the dipolar segments, a noticeable feature within the deformation microstructure, is elucidated. It is determined that antiphase boundary (APB) tube formation is unlikely to stem from the annihilation between a mobile superdislocation and an immobilized Kear-Wilsdorf (KW) configuration, at variance from what has been expected so far. A clear relationship between APB tubes and superlattice stacking fault (SSF) dipoles is pointed out.