Abstract
A dual-phase Y–W metallic glass is observed in nanoscaled Y–W multilayered films upon 200 keV xenon ion irradiation. Diffraction analysis and bright field images reveal that the metallic glass consists of separated glass phases evolved from the Y and W lattices, respectively, through spinodal decomposition, and that the glass features a two-dimensional fractal morphology consisting of the W-based glass phase branches sitting on the Y-based glass substrate. The fractal dimension is determined to be 1.75±0.05, suggesting that the fractal is grown through a cluster-diffusion-limited-aggregation model. Moreover, based on a newly derived n-body Y–W potential, atomistic simulations confirm the possibility of metallic glass formation in the equilibrium immiscible Y–W system.
