Phosphorus diffusion in FeNi-based amorphous alloys

Abstract

Phosphorus bulk diffusion rates in one sputter-deposited and two liquid-quenched FeNi-based amorphous alloys were determined by measuring the kinetics of phosphorus segregation to a free surface. The diffusion rates for the three materials were found (1) to obey an Arrhenius relationship, (2) to be identical within experimental error and (3) to equal the rate of phosphorus diffusion in bulk iron. The average diffusion activation energy (approximately 1.85 eV atom −1) measured for these materials is different from the activation energies frequently obtained for stress relaxation and several other properties of the material, indicating that phosphorus diffusion is not the primary mechanism that controls these properties in the amorphous alloy.