Competition between order and phase separation in Au-Ni.
We have measured and theoretically analyzed the diffuse scattering in the binary alloy system Au-Ni, which has been proposed as a testing ground for theories of alloy phase stability. We found strong evidence that in the alloys Au3Ni and Au3Ni2, fluctuations of both ordering- and clustering-type are competing with each other. Our results resolve a long-standing controversy on the balance of relaxation and mixing energies in this alloy system and explain recent findings of ordering in thin Au-Ni films.
Reichert
H
H
Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
Schöps
A
A
Ramsteiner
I B
IB
Bugaev
V N
VN
Shchyglo
O
O
Udyansky
A
A
Dosch
H
H
Asta
M
M
Drautz
R
R
Honkimäki
V
V