The lamination cladding of Nb and Al plates with an inserted Ti foil and heat treatment at 973 K, which was higher than the Al melting point, was applied
to the development of Nb-Al intermetallic compounds. It was revealed that the uniform region consisting of ne particles with a grain size of below 1 μm and
Al was formed in the vicinity of the Nb substrate and gradually grew toward the interior of molten Al, in which TiAl3 particles distributed. EDX analysis and Xray
diffraction examination revealed that the constituent phase of the ne particles is a ternary ÿTi,NbÿAl3 of the D022 crystal structure. The molten Al
containing Ti may contribute to the formation of the ne particle regions in contact with the Nb substrate. By heating at 973 K, the front of the ne particle
regions proceed toward the molten Al, accompanied by the decomposition of the TiAl3 particles distributed in the molten Al, resulting in the uniform growth
of the ne particle regions without the TiAl3 particles