A process for bonding a first metal such as beryllium to a second metal such as a copper alloy using a powder metallurgy compositional gradient. According to one aspect of the present invention, a sequence of powder layers is located between beryllium and copper alloy pieces, the layers containing mixtures of a beryllium powder and a copper powder, e.g., of a copper alloy, high purity copper and/or the like. The composition of the layers is adjusted such that the layer adjacent the beryllium piece is beryllium rich, and so that the layers become progressively richer in copper as they get closer to the copper piece. The variation in composition between the pieces produces the compositional gradient. Bonding of the beryllium and copper alloy pieces is then accomplished by a hot consolidation technique such as hot isostatic pressing, vacuum hot pressing, solid state bonding or diffusion bonding at a temperature generally within a range of 500° and 800°C. The resulting bond strength is in excess of about 35 MPa at a temperature generally within a range of room temperature and 400°C.
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