Bypassing shear band nucleation and ductilization of an amorphous–crystalline nanolaminate in tension

Based on a recent nucleation model, the critical shear band nucleus size has been estimated to be about 20 nm; we, therefore, predict that if the characteristic dimension of an amorphous phase is <20 nm, catastrophic failure can be avoided. We reproduced a previous tension test on an amorphous–crystalline Cu–Zr laminate, having amorphous layers thinner than 10 nm. The nanolaminate exhibited a remarkable tensile elongation of 4%. The fracture surface of this newly tested material was examined.