The vacancy formation energy in platinum

Abstract

Abstract The resistivities quenched into Pt wires of diameters 16 mil, 10 mil, and 4 mil have been measured as a function of quench temperature for a variety of quench speeds, and the data have been analysed in terms of the Flynn, Bass, and Lazarus (FBL) theory of vacancy-annealing to fixed sinks during a quench. The data are consistent with all predictions of the theory. For fast quenches from below 950°C, where few if any vacancies should be lost during the quench, the data for the different wire diamgters yield effective formation energies, E f eff, ranging from 1·16 to 1·35 eV. Application of the FBL theory to the whole of the data for the same samples yields values for E f ranging from 1·25 to 1·35 eV. Combining these results, taking into account the fact that E f eff ≤ E f , and allowing for known possible systematic errors, a ‘best estimate’ for Ef in Pt is 1·3 ± 0·05 eV. This value is consistent with 1·35 eV, as recently suggested by Misek, but is nearly 15% lower than the generally accepted value of 1·5eV, as first proposed by Jackson.