Evidence of phase separation correlated with nanocrystallization in Al85Ni5Y6Fe2Co2 metallic glass

After carefully ruling out the known sample preparation artifacts, high-angle annular detector dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, nanobeam composition analysis and energy-filtered imaging suggest that phase separation occurs upon heating in the Al85Ni5Y6Fe2Co2 amorphous ribbon prior to the onset of primary crystallization, but not in its as-prepared state. The length scale of the phase separation appears to correlate with the dimensions of the nanocrystals formed upon crystallization.