Microstructural characterization of Cu/Al composites and effect of cooling rate at the Cu/Al interfacial region

Cu/Al composites are of vital importance in industrial applications because of their numerous advantages. The influence of bonding temperature and cooling rate on the microstructure and morphology of Cu/Al composites was investigated in this paper. The interfacial morphology and constituent phases at the Cu/Al interface were analyzed by optical microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results indicate that effective Cu-Al bonding requires a higher bonding temperature to facilitate interdiffusion between the two metals. The microstructural characteristics are associated with various bonding temperatures, which impact the driving force of interdiffusion. It is observed that cooling rate exerts a significant influence on the morphology and amount of the intermetallic compounds at the interfacial region. Meanwhile, microhardness measurements show that hardness varies with the bonding temperature and rate of cooling.