On the specific heat of Al-Si and Al-Ge alloys - a simulation study

Abstract

The large variation in specific heats with concentration between temperatures 50 K and 200 K for Al-Si and Al-Ge alloys are analyzed in detail by lattice dynamical and Monte Carlo approaches. The large deviation from linearity at low temperatures does not seem to be due to the Debye's low temperature contribution. It is shown that an anharmonic vibration in the above solid solutions, particularly at 200 K, is the cause for the small variation in the specific heat.