Patent ID: 7188559

Claim:
A method of making a composite laminate material comprising: interleaving a plurality of first foils made from one or more of first metals and metal alloys, with a plurality of second foils made from one or more of second metals and metal alloys suitable to react with the one or more of the first metal and metal alloys to produce a hard intermetallic compound, and wherein the one or more of the second metals and metal alloys are selected from the group consisting of aluminum and alloys of aluminum; and reacting in situ under heat and pressure in the presence of atmospheric gases the plurality of first foils with the plurality of second foils so as to substantially completely react the one or more of the second metals and metal alloys with the one or more of the first metal and metal alloys, forming where each second metal foils had been a region of a hard intermetallic compound; wherein a composite laminate material having (i) layers of the one or more of the first metals and metal alloys, interspersed with (ii) regions of the hard intermetallic compound, is made.