Thermodynamic description of the Al-Ge-Ni system over the whole composition and temperature ranges

The phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of the Al-Ge-Ni system are useful for understanding the diffusion process during the transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding. In this work, the thermodynamic description of the Al-Ge-Ni system over the whole composition and temperature ranges was performed by means of the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method. The enthalpies of mixing of the liquid phase, three isothermal sections at 973, 823, and 673 K and nine vertical sections at 10, 20, 35, 55, 60, 70, 75, and 80 at% Ni and at a constant Al:Ni ratio of 1:3 were taken into account in the present optimization work. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the Al-Ge-Ni system was first obtained. The liquidus projection and reaction scheme were constructed according to the thermodynamic parameters obtained in this work. The phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties calculated by the present thermodynamic description show satisfactory agreement with the available experimental information.