Vitrification and determination of the crystallization time scales of the bulk-metallic-glass-forming liquid Zr58.5Nb2.8Cu15.6Ni12.8Al10.3

The crystallization kinetics of Zr58.5Nb2.8Cu15.6Ni12.8Al10.3 were studied in an electrostatic levitation (ESL) apparatus. The measured critical cooling rate is 1.75 K/s. Zr58.5Nb2.8Cu15.6Ni12.8Al10.3 is the first bulk-metallic-glass-forming liquid that does not contain beryllium to be vitrified by purely radiative cooling in the ESL. Furthermore, the sluggish crystallization kinetics enable the determination of the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram between the liquidus and the glass transition temperatures. The shortest time to reach crystallization in an isothermal experiment; i.e., the nose of the TTT diagram is 32 s. The nose of the TTT diagram is at 900 K and positioned about 200 K below the liquidus temperature. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.