Microscopic investigations of the nanocomposite WGa

The nanocomposite WGa was investigated by perturbed γγ-angular correlation spectroscopy (PAC) using the probe atom 111In. The WGa samples were prepared by inert gas condensation; the Ga content ranged between 10 at.% and 50 at.%. The radioactive 111In atoms were diffused into the WGa samples at temperatures between 600 K and 740 K. Two distinct locations of the 111In probe atoms were observed. One was identified as a substitutional site within precipitated α-Ga, for which a depression of the melting temperature was observed. The other was due to specific properties of the composite WGa and is stable up to temperatures of at least 500 K.