Abstract
Ion bombardment of samples composed of unlike atoms have been reported by numerous authors to lead to spatial redistribution of atoms, i.e., ion-beam mixing. A critical temperature,
T
c
was found experimentally for several systems. It marks the change in the dominant mixing mechanism. Here, a relationship between
T
c
and the Debye temperature, Θ, is proposed based on reported experimental data. Experiments are suggested to shed more light on the relationship.