Effect of Ar+ ion irradiation on the microstructure and properties of Zr–Cu–Fe–Al bulk metallic glass

Plate-like Zr61.5Cu21.5Fe5Al12 specimens were irradiated by 300 keV Ar+ ions. X-ray diffraction results showed that the alloy specimens still maintained amorphous structures. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction results, however, showed that a nanocrystalline fcc phase was formed when irradiated to a fluence of 3 × 1015 cm−2. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis proved that the ion irradiations enlarged the supercooled liquid range of the amorphous alloy. Nanoindentation results showed further that the hardness and Young’s modulus of the alloy increased with increasing ion irradiation doses.