Glass formation and phase separation in the Ag–Cu–Zr system

Glass formation and phase separation in Ag–Cu–Zr alloys have been investigated by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy to discuss the possibility of phase separation in bulk metallic glasses. The experimentally determined glass forming composition range overlaps marginally with the calculated miscibility gap. As-quenched amorphous Ag20Cu48Zr32 alloy shows a composition contrast in a fully amorphous structure. Subsequently crystallized microstructure shows a good size correlation with the prior compositional fluctuations, indicating preferred nucleation in one of the phase-separated regions.