Traditional metal alloys require energy-intensive processes to manage atomic complexity for improved strength and toughness, with stringent control over impurities and processing conditions. High-/medium-entropy alloys (HEAs/MEAs) offer a sustainable alternative by introducing atomic complexity with fewer constraints, enabling unique phase transitions. Here, a Cu–Au–Ag MEA is fabricated using vacuum suspension melting followed by heat treatment. The alloy exhibits three distinct levels of heterogeneous structures: micron-scale phase separation, nano-ordered L1₂ phase, and chemical short-range order (CSRO). It demonstrates tensile and compressive strengths of 550 MPa and 1700 MPa for the micropillar sample, respectively, with 25% tensile elongation and over 50% compressive strain. The large-scale sample achieves a tensile strength and elongation of about 500 MPa and 40%, respectively. Compared to traditional gold, silver, and copper alloys, both the strength and plasticity are enhanced. The microstructural characteristics and corresponding mechanical properties are found to match the experimental structure through high-temperature ternary alloy phase diagrams and simulations. This work introduces a alloy design approach that leverages atomic affinity manipulation to regulate multilayer heterogeneous structures, which offers an efficient pathway for designing MEAs suitable for demanding high-performance electronic packaging applications.

Cu additions notably strengthen Al-Mg-Si and Al-Si-Mg alloys due to the dense precipitation of quaternary nano precipitates during ageing. However, the chemical evolution and mechanical behaviors of the quaternary micro-scale Q constituent phase occurring in cast and homogenized states have rarely been studied. Meanwhile, there exists a type of AlCuMgSi cluster in the cast state, which has been regarded as Q particles. The accurate identification of phase constituents is the basis for the future design of alloys with better performance. In our work, this type of cluster was revealed to consist of α-Al, θ-Al₂Cu, Q, and Si phases through micro-to-atomic scale studies using scanning and transmission electron microscopes. The skeleton of the dendrite was θ phase. The second phases in the dendritic eutectic cluster dissolved quickly during a 4 h homogenization at 550 °C. The Q phase was found to effectively absorb the Fe impurities during casting and homogenization. As a result, the formation of other harmful Fe-rich intermetallics was suppressed. These Q constituent particles were observed to break into separate pieces in an intermediately brittle manner when compressed in situ in a scanning electron microscope. These findings provide insights into the thermodynamic modeling of the Al-Mg-Si-Cu system and alloy design.