Nucleation-and-growth kinetics of small crystals in amorphous Al88Ce2Ni9Fe

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Abstract
An amorphous Al88Ce2Ni9Fe alloy has been prepared to contain dispersed small Al crystals by a single-roller melt-spinning technique. The growth kinetics of the Al crystals embedded in amorphous phase have been examined by measuring their growth rates. It is found that the crystal size increases to saturation at different rates and to different sizes depending on the ageing temperature. A surface effect is also noted upon ageing thin-foil specimens prepared for electron microscopy. The activation energy for the crystal growth is estimated to be 0·5–0·7 eV. Based on these observations a possible diffusion mechanism in the amorphous phase is discussed with particular interest in the atomic structure.