Effects of crystallization on low-temperature specific heat capacity of Cu60Zr20Hf10Ti10 bulk metallic glass

The specific heat capacities of Cu60Zr20Hf10Ti10 bulk metallic glass (BMG) and crystallized alloys were measured from 2 to 101 K. The effect of crystallization on the specific heat capacity of the BMG was studied. The effects of crystallization and the relationship between local modes and boson peak in the BMG were discussed. The specific heat capacity deviates from the simple Debye behaviors, showing the presence of local harmonic modes (Einstein oscillator) in the BMG and the crystallized alloy. Model calculation includes the contribution of one Debye mode and two Einstein modes for the BMG, one Debye mode and one Einstein mode for the crystallized alloy, showing an adequate description of the experimental data.