Annealing-induced shape recovery in thin film metallic glass

The shape recovery property of a sputtered Zr50.3Cu28.1Al14Ni7.6 (in at.%) thin film metallic glass upon heating is examined. Due to the surface tension-driven viscous flow, the shape of indentation appears to recover to different extents at various temperatures and holding times. It is found that a maximum of 59.8% indentation depth recovery is achieved after annealing within the supercooled liquid region (SCLR). The amount of free volume in the film is found to play a role in the recovery. Atomic force microscopy results reveal a decrease in film roughness to a minimum value within SCLR. To elucidate the experimentally observed shape recovery, a numerical modeling has been employed. It is evident that the depressed region caused by indentation is elevated after annealing.