Copper - Germanium - Nickel

Lesley Cornish, Andy Watson

Introduction

Copper is used extensively for electrical and electronic applications because of its high electrical conductivity. By adding alloying elements producing solid solutions, the resistivity of the alloys can be lowered giving rise to their application as resistance materials. Little work has been carried out on the study of the phase equilibria in the Cu-Ge-Ni system. The earliest and most extensive work was by [1959Bur] who used X-ray analysis and optical microscopy to determine a partial isothermal section at 500°C for Ge contents less than 60 at.%. Later, [1985Boc] used DTA, optical microscopy, X-ray analysis and microhardness measurements to produce a partial isothermal section, also at 500°C (for Cu and Ni contents less than 30 mass%) and isopleths at 75 and 85 mass% Cu. The isothermal sections produced by [1959Bur] an...