MeV electron irradiation induced crystallization in metallic glasses: Atomic structure, crystallization mechanism and stability of an amorphous phase under the irradiation

► Irradiation-induced crystallization is observed in various alloy systems, indicating that this phenomenon has wide generality in metallic materials. ► The tendency for the occurrence of irradiation-induced crystallization is evaluated from the thermal crystallization temperature. ► Ni-Nb based metallic glasses show the high stability against the irradiation among metallic glasses. ► Crystallization induced by MeV electron irradiation was discussed and some possible mechanisms were suggested.