Spinodal Decomposition in Ni-Nb-Y Metallic Glasses Analyzed by Quantitative Anomalous Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

Phase separated Ni-Nb-Y metallic glasses were prepared by means of rapid quenching from the melt. Quantitative Anomalous Small-Angle X-ray Scattering experiments were performed at the K-absorption edges of Nickel, Niobium and Yttrium. The paper outlines, that the separation of the pure-resonant scattering contribution is obtained by employing the Gaussian algorithm on a vector equation. Moreover the quantitative analysis of the Resonant Invariant at the K-absorption edges of Niobium and Yttrium provided the chemical concentrations of Yttrium and Niobium in the random density fluctuations, which are attributed to spinodal decomposition. The results are compared to a partially crystallized sample annealed at 773 K over 30 minutes.