Atomic and Electronic Structure of Amorphous Alloys

ABSTRACTAmorphous metallic alloys can be synthesized by many techniques including melt quenching, vapor quenching, electrodeposition, and irradiation of crystalline alloys by neutrons or by ions. Certain alloys are prone to glass formation and can be readily made amorphous by all of these methods. In this article, a survey of experimental data on the atomic and electronic structure of such good glass forming alloys is presented. On the basis of this data, it is argued that good glass forming alloys tend to have in common several underlying microscopic features. The article concludes with some general remarks on the relationship of these common features to glass formation.