NEUTRON-DIFFRACTION STUDY OF A NI-42.2 AT PERCENT ZR ALLOY MADE BY THE MULTILAYER AMORPHIZATION REACTION AND OF NI-42.2 AT PERCENT ZR METALLIC ALLOY GLASS

A NiZr multilayer sample having 272 periods of 90 angstrom Ni and 90 a ngstrom Zr, deposited on a rocksalt substrate, was annealed to produce an amorphous NiZr alloy by a solid-state reaction. Removed from the s ubstrate, this thin-film sample weighed less than 3 mg. A master alloy having the composition Ni-42.2 at.%Zr, identical to that of the multi layer sample, was used to produce a metallic glass sample by the chill -block melt-spinning method. Neutron diffraction measurements were mad e on both samples using the D20 diffractometer at ILL Grenoble. Total structure factors, S(Q), and radial distribution functions were obtain ed. Features in the S(Q) of the thin-film sample were less pronounced than those for the ribbon, which is inconsistent with the thin-film sa mple being in a more structurally relaxed state.