Diffusion induced grain boundary migration in the Cu-Cd system Original Research Article

The diffusion induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) has been studied in the Cu-Cd system by exposing polycrystalline copper to Cd vapor. The temperature and time dependence of the rate of migration was measured in the range 340–480 °C. A parabolic migration behavior of the grain boundaries has been observed. The diffusivity, Dbδ, was calculated from the growth rates and v/Dbδ values obtained through concentration–distance profile at each temperature. It has been observed that the diffusion coefficient obtained experimentally during DIGM in the Cu-Cd system are 8 to 10 orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding volume diffusion coefficient. The activation energy for solute transport corresponds to that required for boundary diffusion in the Cu-Cd system.