Probing the Miscibility Gap of the Pt–Pd Binary System by Atom Probe Tomography

To solve the uncertainty of the platinum (Pt)–palladium (Pd) phase diagram, especially the existence of a suggested miscibility gap, atom probe tomography (APT) was used to determine the time evolution of the composition after heat treatment. Due to the extraordinarily slow diffusion in the temperature range of the controversial phase separation, the investigated volume was limited to nano-sized multiple layers deposited by ion beam sputtering (IBS). The evaporated volume was reconstructed from the obtained datasets and the respective diffusion coefficients were determined using the Fourier series solution of the diffusion equation. Beginning with pure Pt and Pd layers annealed at 673, 773, 873, and 973 K, the mixing appears to be purely diffusion controlled in the chosen annealing times, but the state of complete mixing was still not observed. Therefore, extended isothermal annealing sequences at 673 and 773 K with pre-alloyed layers have been carried out. They clearly suggest complete mixing even at the lowest investigated temperatures.

Effect of annealing time and pressure on electrical activation and surface morphology of Mg-implanted GaN annealed at 1300 °C in ultra-high-pressure nitrogen ambient

We performed an isothermal annealing study on Mg-implanted GaN at 1300 °C in an ultra-high-pressure (1 GPa) nitrogen ambient. Annealing for more than 30 min resulted in a high acceptor activation ratio and a low compensation ratio that were comparable to those obtained with annealing at 1400 °C for 5 min. We also performed annealing at 1300 °C in a reduced nitrogen pressure of 300 MPa which makes us possible to expand inner diameter of annealing equipment in the future. High electrical activation, similar to one obtained by annealing at 1 GPa, was successfully obtained.

Atom Probe Study of the Miscibility Gap in CuNi Thin Films and Microstructure Development

The unclear miscibility of CuNi alloys was investigated with atom probe tomography (APT). Multilayered thin film samples were prepared by ion beam sputtering (IBS) and focused ion beam (FIB) shaping. Long-term isothermal annealing treatments in a UHV furnace were conducted at temperatures of 573, 623, and 673 K to investigate the mixing process. The effective interdiffusion coefficient of the nanocrystalline microstructure (including defect diffusion) was determined to be Deff = 1.86 × 10−10 m2/s × exp(−164 kJ/mol/RT) by fitting periodic composition profiles through a Fourier series. In nonequilibrium states, microstructural defects like grain boundaries and precipitates were observed. While at the two higher temperatures total mixing is observed, a clear experimental evidence is found for a miscibility gap at 573 K with the boundary concentrations of 26 and 66 at%. These two compositions are used in a subregular solution model to reconstruct the phase miscibility gap. So, the critical temperature TC of the miscibility gap is found to be 608 K at a concentration of 45 at% Ni.

Effect of aluminum alloying on the structure and properties of rapidly quenched TiNiCu alloy

The efficiency of shape memory alloys for the MEMS technology has been recently demonstrated. Quasibinary intermetallic TiNi-TiCu alloys produced by rapid quenching from liquid phase in the form of thin (about 40 um) ribbons are an attractive material for the fabrication of micro-actuators due to their narrow temperature hysteresis of the shape memory effect (SME) and relatively large recoverable strain. In order to broaden the functionality of SME microdevices, in this work we have alloyed TiNiCu containing 25 at.% copper with aluminum. The results have shown that alloying with 0.6 at.% Al increases the cast characteristics of the composition and favors its amorphization. Upon crystallization by isothermal annealing or electropulse treatment the resultant microstructure and SME properties of the Al containing alloy change but slightly in comparison with the original alloy however there is a significant shift (by more than 15°C) of the SME temperature range toward lower temperatures.

Influence of 1.5 wt.% Bi on the Microstructure, Hardness, and Shear Strength of Sn-0.7Cu Solder Joints after Isothermal Annealing

This manuscript reports the isothermal annealing effect on the mechanical and microstructure characteristics of Sn-0.7Cu-1.5Bi solder joints. A detailed microstructure observation was carried out, including measuring the activation energy of the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer of the solder joints. Additionally, the synchrotron µX-ray fluorescence (XRF) method was adopted to precisely explore the elemental distribution in the joints. Results indicated that the Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallic layers thickness at the solder/Cu interface rises with annealing time at a rate of 0.042 µm/h for Sn-0.7Cu and 0.037 µm/h for Sn-0.7Cu-1.5Bi. The IMC growth’s activation energy during annealing is 48.96 kJ mol-1 for Sn-0.7Cu, while adding Bi into Sn-0.7Cu solder increased the activation energy to 55.76 kJ mol−1. The µ-XRF shows a lower Cu concentration level in Sn-0.7Cu-1.5Bi, where the Bi element was well dispersed in the β-Sn area as a result of the solid solution mechanism. The shape of the IMC layer also reconstructs from a scallop shape to a planar shape after the annealing process. The Sn-0.7Cu hardness and shear strength increased significantly with 1.5 wt.% Bi addition in reflowed and after isothermal annealing conditions.