A highly glass-forming alloy with low glass transition temperature

A rare-earth Pr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) is obtained in the shape of rod up to 5 mm in diameter by die cast. Unlike other rare-earth-based BMGs, it exhibits a distinct glass transition, the low glass transition temperature (T-g=409 K), a large and stable supercooled liquid region, and paramagnetic property. The glass transition as well as its kinetic nature and the fragility parameters of the BMG have been studied. The BMG offers an ideal model to investigate the nature of glass transition as well as the relaxation and nucleation with a large experimentally accessible time and temperature window at low temperatures. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.