Continuous series of metastable Ag-Cu solid solutions formed by ion-beam mixing

Abstract

Metastable Ag-Cu solid solutions have been formed by ion-beam mixing of thin deposited Ag and Cu layers of various compositions. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that the lattice parameters of the ion-induced Ag-Cu alloys vary almost linearly with composition, with a slight positive deviation from Vegard’s law for ideal solid solutions. The microstructures of the alloyed layers were studied by transmission electron microscopy and their stability was examined by thermal annealing up to 250 °C. The present results are compared with those obtained previously by rapid quenching techniques.