Concentration and temperature dependence of short-range order in Ni–Ta solid solutions using the X-ray diffraction method

Diffuse X-ray scattering investigations on the existence of short-range order (SRO) have been carried out in the Ni-Ta system for different concentrations and annealing temperatures. The values of the SRO parameters for the first coordination shell are observed to have anomalously large negative values for all the samples studied. These values of α₁ depend upon the annealing temperatures and the concentration of Ta atoms in the Ni-Ta system. The results of the theoretical predictions of the ordering potential, obtained with the formulae of the electronic theory of SRO, confirm the existence of very strong attractive correlation between the atoms of the different species in this system.