Grain Growth Mechanism in Ion Beam Mixing of Al-Mn System

Abstract

The kinetics and grain growth mechanism in ion beam mixing have been investigated for the AI-Mn system. First, we determined the temperature dependence of mixing rate using Rutherford backscattering and then the phases formed by ion beam mixing were characterized by x-ray and electron diffraction analyses. The present experiments demonstrate that the residual diffusive motion is the decisive factor for direct formation of the various phases of intermetallic AI-Mn alloys. The residual diffusivity depends strongly on the mixing temperature and its relaxation time ranges from 10^-12 up to l0^-6 sec or longer. Finally, a model describing the ion beam mixing effect is proposed.