| Abstract Scope |
Melting of various metastable states in Au-18.6at%Si alloy has recently been achieved using fast differential scanning calorimetry (FDSC)[1]. It has been demonstrated that different solids form in this alloy, fully melt at various temperatures with completely different melting enthalpies. Moreover, the characteristic melting temperature and melting enthalpy of each solid-state enable to use of FDSC as a phase identification technique. An energy/temperature (E/T) diagram has been prepared using measured thermodynamic parameters of metastable solids. A strong phase competition between a rich variety of metastable and stable solid states present in Au-Si eutectic alloy has been investigated using the E/T diagram and crystallization pathways have been enlightened. The stochastic nature of nucleation has also been demonstrated as a critical phenomenon on phase competition between metastable phases.
[1] G. Kurtuldu, J.F. Löffler, Multistep crystallization and melting pathways in the free–energy landscape of a Au-Si eutectic alloy, Advanced Science, 2020, 7, 1903544. |