Reactivity and transport in the system Fe-Si

Various stable phases in the technologically significant intermetallic Fe–Si system were grown by reactive diffusion and via a modified Bridgman method. The product phases were identified by X-ray fluorescence and Mössbauer spectroscopy. From the analysis of the products, their phase sequence and their thicknesses, the growth rate laws and the average component-diffusion coefficients in FeSi are determined. The latter values are in good agreement with the results obtained from tracer diffusion of 59Fe in FeSi.