Phase evolution upon ion mixing and solid-state reaction and thermodynamic interpretation in the Ni-Nb system

Abstract

The amorphization of Ni-Nb multilayered alloy films by xenon ion irradiation at room temperature and by high-temperature solid-state reaction was studied. The composition range favoring amorphization was carefully determined to be 20–85 at. % Ni by energy-dispersive spectroscopy attached to the transmission electron microscope. A new metastable crystalline phase (MX) of hexagonal structure was formed in Ni75Nb25 and Ni70Nb30 multilayered films. Interestingly, in the Ni75Nb25 multilayered films, with increasing mixing dose an amorphous phase was first formed and then the MX-phase was observed, while in the Ni70Nb30 multilayered films the MX phase was formed at relatively low doses and turned amorphous upon further mixing or 400 °C annealing for 2 h. Besides, annealing of the as-deposited Ni70Nb30 multilayered films at 300 °C for half an hour also resulted in the formation of the MX phase. The thermal stability of the ion-mixed amorphous alloys was also studied by subsequent annealing. To give semiquantitative interpretation to all the above observations, the Gibbs free-energy diagram of the system, in which especially the free-energy curve of the MX phase is added, was constructed on the basis of the model of Nissen et al. [CALPHAD 7, 51 (1981)] and the method proposed by Alonso and Simozar [Solid State Commun. 46, 765 (1983)]. The explanation based on this diagram is in good agreement with our experimental results.