An icosahedral Al−Pd−Mn quasicrystal sample is laser vaporized to form metal clusters by gas aggregation. The clusters are subsequently laser ionized and mass analyzed in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The mass spectra show cluster compositions which are qualitatively similar to that of the sample. This is consistent with a kinetically controlled cluster growth process. Cluster thermodynam...

We report the in situ formation of an ordered equilibrium decagonal Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal overlayer on the fivefold symmetric surface of an icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn monograin. The decagonal structure of the epilayer is evidenced by x-ray photoelectron diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction, and electron backscatter diffraction. This overlayer is also characterized by a reduced density of stat...

We identified the presence and chemical nature of bulk vacancies in Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystals by measuring the structure and composition of twoand fivefold cleavage surfaces of different preannealed quasicrystals subjected to postcleavage heat treatments using scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. A strong dependence of the surface structure from the preannealing is observe...

Abstract This paper reports formation enthalpies of phases in the Al–Mn–Pd ternary alloy system as calculated from first principles using electronic density functional theory. We consider all crystal structures reported assessed phase diagrams and its binary subsystems (Al–Mn, Al–Pd, Mn–Pd), well additional or hypothetical structures. Icosahedral decagonal quasicrystalline approximants are amon...