Neutron diffraction study of a Ni-42.2 at.% Zr alloy made by the multilayer amorphisation reaction and of Ni-42.2 at.% Zr metallic alloy glass

Abstract

A NiZr multilayer sample having 272 periods of 90 Å Ni and 90 Å Zr, deposited on a rocksalt substrate, was annealed to produce an amorphous NiZr alloy by a solid-state reaction. Removed from the substrate, this thin-film sample weighed less than 3 mg. A master alloy having the composition Ni-42.2 at.% Zr, identical to that of the multilayer sample, was used to produce a metallic glass sample by the chill-block melt-spinning method. Neutron diffraction measurements were made on both samples using the D20 diffractometer at ILL Grenoble. Total structure factors, S( Q), and radial distribution functions were obtained. Features in the S( Q) of the thin-film sample were less pronounced than those for the ribbon, which is inconsistent with the thin-film sample being in a more structurally relaxed state.