An electron microscopy study of precipitation in Cu-Ti sideband alloys

Electron transmission microscopy and diffraction have revealed directly the fine-scale precipitation processes and the mechanism of formation of the periodic microstructures which characterize the decomposition of Cu-Ti “sideband” alloys. The initial stages of decomposition involve the development of «100» compositional waves giving rise to the well-known sideband or satellite reflections along the «100» directions. This «wave-like» clustering producing a triaxially modulated structure involves the formation of two disordered phases; ordering does not accompany the initial clustering. Prolonged aging produces a periodic array of interpenetrating rods along the «100» directions of the matrix. During aging the periodic structures coarsen according to a t^1/3 law. The experimental activation energy for the coarsening of the modulated structures is approximately 48 kcal/ mole. Maximum strength is associated with the formation of the transition phase β’ which forms byin situ transformation of the titanium-rich regions; this transformation is not accompanied by a loss of coherency in the modulated structures at the aging temperatures studied in this investigation. It is suggested that these periodic structures arise from spinodal decomposition.