First Measurement of Short-Range-Order Inversion as a Function of Concentration in a Transition Alloy

Abstract

Diffuse-neutron-scattering and resistivity measurements have been performed on ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}c}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{Cr}}_{c}$ alloys ($c<0.15$). A change of sign of the short-range-order parameters near $c=0.1$ indicates that the alloys exhibit short-range clustering at $c>0.1$ and a tendency to form an ordered compound at $c<0.1$. Concurrently, the slope of the resistivity versus temperature changes its sign. This inversion of short-range ordering has been predicted by a recent calculation. These experiments are considered to be an important confirmation of the theory.