High thermal stability of the amorphous structure of GexNbTaTiZr (x=0.5, 1) high-entropy alloys

•New alloy design strategy is proved to be successful in designing compositions for stable amorphous structure.•GexNbTaTiZr (x=0.5, 1) amorphous structures exhibit excellent thermal stability with HRTEM verification.•The new design strategy is promising for designing stable diffusion barriers, magnetic films, etc.

Two GexNbTaTiZr (x=0.5, 1) compositions were designed to show excellent thermal stability in amorphous structure. Both amorphous structures in the deposited thin film can be retained after one-hour vacuum annealing at 700 °C and 750 °C, respectively. Thermodynamic, topological and kinetic factors governing this excellent thermal stability are discussed via high entropy effect, atomic size differences and sluggish diffusion phenomena.