Technical Notes - Formation of Intermetallic Layers in Diffusion Couples

IN a recently reported investigation, J. B. Clark and F. N. Rhines1 used a diffusion couple technique to determine the number of intermetallic phases which should be present in the Al-Mg equilibrium phase diagram. Their method was an application of the following generally accepted principle. If a diffusion couple made up of two metals is annealed at a given temperature for a long time, all the phases of the binary system which exist under equilibrium conditions at the diffusion temperature will form intermetallic layers. It is important that the diffusion temperature be high enough and the diffusion time be long enough to permit the nuclea-tion of all thermodynamically stable phases at the interface of the couples and their growth to observable thicknesses. These simple time-temperature criteria are at times difficult to satisfy, and it is the purpose of this note to point out a situation in which this is the case. The authors are currently studying diffusion bonding in the Al-Ni system." It is well established