Effects of Cu ion irradiation in Cu50Zr45Ti5 metallic glass

We studied the role of thermal spike in nanocrystallization of Cu50Zr45Ti5 metallic glasses after 1 MeV Cu ion irradiation at room temperature. Nanocrystals of Cu10Zr7 and CuZr2 phases are formed after the ion irradiation. The study suggests that thermal spike formation and subsequent quenching are too fast to allow direct structural transformation in the damage cascade regions. The overall irradiation effects are caused by enhanced atomic mobility due to increased excessive free volume.