Formation of metastable structures and amorphous phases in Pu-based systems using the sputtering technique

Abstract

The triode sputtering technique with a split-target arrangement was used to obtain metastable crystalline and amorphous phases in ten binary systems of Pu with Si, Al, V, Fe, Co, Pd, Ta, Re, Os, and Ir. In addition to metastable extensions of solid solubility occurring from the binary sides of some systems, wide ranges of metallic glass formation have been observed in several systems. Extended bcc solid solution ranges were observed in Pu-Ta and Pu-V systems. Unlike in the case of many liquid-quenched alloys, the ranges of amorphous phase formation obtained with sputtering appear to have little to do with the form of the corresponding phase diagram. However, the extent of the observed ranges on the Pu-rich side was found to obey approximately the atomic size mismatch relationship. The nearest neighbor distances (NNDs) evaluated with X-ray diffraction show many unusual deviations from an assumed Vegard’s Law, which can be interpreted in relation to the changing electronic configuration of the Pu atom when present in different environments. Exposure of several amorphous alloys to severe oxidation environments did not results in observable corrosion.