Microstructural influence on the early stages of interreaction of Al/Ni-investigated by TAP and HREM

The intermetallic phases of the binary system Al/Ni have attracted considerable effort in investigation, because of a wide field of technological applications. In our recent work we have demonstrated the influence of the microstructure on the early interreaction stages. Although the chemical and spatial information obtained by 3D-atomprobe analysis is unrivaled in resolution, identification of observed phases is only possible by use of complementary methods of investigation. The present paper describes the important role of high resolution electron microscopy for indentifying the structural nature of formed phases detected by 3D-atomprobe analysis. An outline of a model which might explain the different reaction paths in Al/Ni observed for different microstructures will be given.