MISCIBILITY GAP DUE TO ORDERING IN THE BCC FE-GE SYSTEM

Phase equilibria in the bcc Fe-Ge system have been investigated by means of electron probe microanalysis and transmission electron microscopy. Two kinds of ordered phases, B2 and DO3 types, have been detected, the B2 phase being formed from the disordered A2 phase by a 2nd order transition. The DO3 phase is also formed from the B2 phase by a 2nd or higher order transition at higher temperatures. Below about 820 °C, however, the transition becomes a 1st order, and a miscibility gap between these ordered phases occurs in the composition range from 13 to 16 at. pct Ge. It has been also confirmed that the solubility of Ge in the bec phase shows a retrogression due to the formation of DO3 phase. On the basis of these experimental results, the phase diagram for the Fe-Ge system has been partly revised. © 1991 The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, and ASM International.