The Structural Characterization of Ni-Ti-Zr Metallic Glass

Metallic glasses, in contrast to its crystalline counterparts, exhibit unique mechanical and structural properties, which make them attractive for practical applications. Especially Ni-Ti-Zr metallic glass is a promising alloy for micromechanical systems because of its known shape memory properties. Shape memory effect is connected with structural phase transformation. In this paper, the ambient-temperature-structure of Ni-Ti-Zr metallic glass is investigated using transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, the surface and chemical analysis is documented using scanning electron microscopy. Thermal stability of the alloy has been determined using differential scanning calorimetry.