  Mg-based alloys are industrially used for structural applications, both as
solid solutions alloys and as composites containing intermetallic compounds.
However, a further development in terms of mechanical properties requires the
investigation of underlying causalities between synthesis, processing and
microstructure to adjust the mechanical and the corrosion properties, ideally
down to the near atomic scale. Such fundamental scientific investigations with
high resolution characterisation techniques require model materials of
exceptionally high purity and strictly controlled microstructure e.g. with
respect to grain size, morphology, chemical homogeneity as well as content and
size of oxide inclusions. In this context, the Mg-Al-Ca system appears
exceptionally challenging from a metallurgical perspective due to the high
reactivity and high vapor pressures, so that conventional industrial techniques
cannot be successfully deployed. Here, we demonstrate the applicability of
various scientific synthesis methods from arc melting over solution growth to
diffusion couples, extending to effects and parameters for thermo-mechanical
processing. Suitable pathways to overcome the specific challenges of the
Mg-Al-Ca system are demonstrated, as well as the persistent limitations of the
current state of the art laboratory metallurgy technology.
