TA 1 [110] phonon dispersion and martensitic phase transition in ordered alloys Fe 3 Pt

In a previous neutron scattering study, we had observed that the TA 1 [ξξ0] phonon softening in L1 2 -ordered ferromagnetic Fe 72 Pt 28 Invar is pronounced at the zone boundary M-point and leads to an antiferrodistortive phase transition at low temperatures. Here, we report on similar neutron scattering investigations on two ordered crystals with higher Fe content to investigate the relation between the TA 1 [ξξ0] phonon softening and the martensitic transformation, which occurs in Fe-rich ordered Fe-Pt. We find that the TA 1 [ξξ0] phonon softening, especially at the M-point zone boundary, does not depend on the composition of the investigated crystals. In Fe 74.5 Pt 25.5 , however, the antiferrodistortive phase transition temperature is enhanced due to tetragonal strain preceding the martensitic transition. In Fe 77 Pt 23 a precursor driven premartensitic phase transition is not observed. The structure of the martensite is, however, influenced by the soft mode lattice instability of the austenite. This would explain the origin of structural details found previously for Fe3Pt thermoelastic martensite. Copyright Societa Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 1999