Short-range order and atomic clusters in liquid Cu–Sn alloys

Abstract We report an investigation of the short-range order of liquid Cu–Sn alloys carried out by means of X-ray and neutron diffraction. The diffracted X-ray intensity was evaluated with a model assuming micro-inhomogeneities in the material. Furthermore, the reverse Monte Carlo modelling technique was applied to derive partial correlation functions. The alloys under investigation are found to be micro-heterogeneous with clusters of Cu 3 Sn stoichiometry distributed among the remaining Sn atoms.