Bulk metallic glass formation near intermetallic composition through liquid quenching

Metallic glass is typically formed either by liquid quenching near deep-eutectics or by solid-state reaction near the intermetallic in center of the phase diagram. In our research, two optimum bulk glass formers are synthesized in the vicinity of the intermetallic compound of Cu-Zr system through liquid quenching. It is shown that such a pair of unique glass formation is only feasible in a narrow composition range close to but clearly separated by the intermetallic composition where both the kinetic and thermodynamic conditions for the amorphous formation are matched. The discovery of this intermetallic glass pair through quenching allows us to find a potentially applicable host of metallic glass systems. This is followed by a discussion on its impact on understanding the formation and physics of bulk metallic glasses. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3168411]