1.
Phys Rev Lett
; 95(23): 235703, 2005 Dec 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16384319
ABSTRACT
We have measured and theoretically analyzed the diffuse scattering in the binary alloy system Au-Ni, which has been proposed as a testing ground for theories of alloy phase stability. We found strong evidence that in the alloys Au3Ni and Au3Ni2, fluctuations of both ordering- and clustering-type are competing with each other. Our results resolve a long-standing controversy on the balance of relaxation and mixing energies in this alloy system and explain recent findings of ordering in thin Au-Ni films.