The nature of the surface of a metal-metalloid metallic glass

The surface of a metallic glass has been characterized at the atomic and microstructural levels. On the atomic sale, the glassy surface had been previously characterized via model which allows the calculation of surface coordination numbers and the fractal dimension. Catalytic experiments and LEIS measurements appear to confirm the model's prediction of surface roughness on the atomic scale. In this work, the glassy surface has been characterized on the microstructural level via RHEED patterns. In addition, the fresh glassy surface produced by comminution of Fe-B glass has been characterized with respect to the relative stability of the comminuted glass as compared to as-quenched glass