Flux-driven cellular precipitation in open system to form porous Cu 3Sn

Recently, a new morphology of porous Cu3Sn with lamellar structure is observed. Several possible explanations of the formation are proposed and compared. The most reasonable one seems to be the one based on a theory of flux-driven cellular precipitation in open system. Outflux of Sn from Cu6Sn5 generates simultaneously supersaturation with vacancies and with copper leading to the eutectoid-like transformation β → α + γ (where γ is void). The transformation is complete due to a complete outflux of Sn from the Cu6Sn5 phase. Simple formulae for prediction of the lamellar structure parameters and the propagation velocity are obtained and compared reasonably with experimental data. The suggested model can be interpreted as one more case of the flux-driven phase transformations in open systems.