Microstructural Stability of the Kirkendall Plane in Solid-State Diffusion

Abstract

In a diffusion-controlled interaction, the Kirkendall plane, as marked by inert particles placed at the original contact surface of a reaction couple, need not be unique. Multiple planes can develop, and sometimes the Kirkendall plane does not exist at all. A phenomenological approach is introduced to rationalize the Kirkendall-effect-mediated migration of macroscopic inclusions inside a diffusion zone.