Systematic discovery of new nano-scale metastable intermetallic eutectic phases in laser rapid solidified Aluminum-Germanium alloy

TL;DR

This study reveals how laser rapid solidification creates ultrafine, metastable intermetallic phases in Al-Ge alloys, significantly altering microstructure and phase composition compared to equilibrium conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic approach combining advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, and atomistic modeling to discover and analyze new metastable intermetallic phases in laser-treated Al-Ge alloys.

Findings

Ultrafine lamellar eutectic morphology with ~60 nm spacing

Identification of novel AlxGey intermetallic phases with monoclinic structures

Altered phase composition and increased solubility compared to as-cast alloys

Abstract

Laser surface remelting of as-cast Al-Ge eutectic alloy is shown to produce ultrafine lamellar eutectic morphology with interlamellar spacing refined up to ~60 nm and composed of FCC Al solid solution and unusual AlxGey intermetallic phases that do not form during near-equilibrium solidification. The microstructures are characterized and analyzed using a combination of selected area electron diffraction, high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to obtain high-resolution elemental maps, and atomistic modeling using density functional theory followed by atomic-scale image simulation. Depending on the local solidification conditions, the crystallography of the AlxGey intermetallic phases in the eutectic microstructure is either monoclinic (C 2/c) or monoclinic (P 21), with high densities of defects in both cases. This is in sharp contrast to the as-cast alloys that showed nominally pure Al and Ge phases with significant solute partitioning and equilibrium FCC and diamond cubic crystal structures, respectively. Corresponding kinetic phase diagrams are proposed to interpret the evolution of nano-lamellar eutectic morphologies with equilibrium Al and metastable AlxGey phases, and to explain increased solid solubility in the Al phases manifested by precipitation of ultrafine clusters of Ge. The reasons for the formation of these metastable eutectics under laser rapid solidification are discussed from the perspective of the competitive growth criterion.