Ordering and disordering in Cu₃Au

Abstract

Abstract Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques have been used to measure domain size and degree of order in Cu3Au. The two techniques provide comparable results for domain size. During ordering, the degree of order very rapidly rises to a high value, while the domain size grows according to a δ2 αt relationship. At a temperature just above the critical temperature disordering occurs sufficiently slowly for the kinetics to be studied. Disordering appears to occur homogeneously with no significant change in domain size. Reordering takes place by nucleation and growth in highly disordered samples, but appears to be homogeneous in moderately disordered material.