Specimen thickness dependent crystallization of amorphous Ni69Cr14P17 alloy

Metallic glasses are of technological interest due to their unique combination of physical properties, e.g. soft ferromagnetism, high ductility and large resistance to corrosion. Many interesting properties of metallic glasses improve or deteriorate, however, in the presence of even small fractions of crystalline phases. The basic understanding of the crystallization process is, therefore, important. The thermal stability of amorphous Ni69Cr14P17 is of interest for the following reasons: (1) this alloy is being considered for use as joining material for structural components in fusion reactors, the chemical homogeneity and the high ductility of amorphous alloys are important process parameters of joining; (2) an amorphous alloy of similar composition, Ni81P19, was shown to reveal specimen thickness dependent crystallization. It is, however, not clear whether this phenomenon would also be observed in Ni69Cr14P17 as even small additions of a third element can change the crystallization temperature and the crystallization process of an amorphous alloy