Effect of ion irradiation on structural properties of Cu64Zr36 metallic glass

By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we study the low energy ion irradiation effect on the short-range order (SRO) of metallic glass structures. Breaking the topological SRO in a controlled manner may lead to desirable modifications of deformation behavior of glass structures. These changes in SRO were also found to be stable during the thermal annealing at temperatures below the glass transition temperature (Tg). The tensile deformation simulations performed for the Cu-Zr glass nanorods show that irradiated nanorods become softer compared to the pristine ones, changing the yielding mechanism - from a slip via formation of a single shear band to formation of a broad necking region.