Structural Study of Zr<SUB>60</SUB>Al<SUB>15</SUB>Ni<SUB>25</SUB> Amorphous Alloys with a Wide Supercooled Liquid Region by the Anomalous X-ray Scattering (AXS) Method

The atomic structure of a Zr60Al15Ni25 amorphous alloy in the as-quenched state which exhibitis a wide supercooled liquid region and a high reduced glass transition temperature was studied from the environmental structures of Zr and Ni determined by the anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) method in combination with the ordinary X-ray diffraction. The atomic structure of this particular amorphous alloy annealed in the super-cooled liquid region was also investigated. It was found that the arrangements of Al atoms around Zr atoms differ markedly from those in the crystallized sample. This indicates that a large change of the Zr environment is indispensable for the crystallization, which may provide good thermal stability to this particular amorphous alloy.