A combinatorial thin film sputtering approach for synthesizing and characterizing ternary ZrCuAl metallic glasses

We report a combinatorial sputtering approach for synthesizing ternary metallic glass alloys on both silicon and sapphire substrates. ZrCuAl metallic-glass thin films were co-deposited using a multi-source radio-frequency magnetron-sputtering process. The combinatorial synthesis process yields a wide range of compositions via a single co-sputter deposition process. The compositions of the films were characterized by the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and the structure of the ZrCuAl alloy thin films was investigated by the X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thorough phase analyses indicated the phases present in the films at different compositions were in good agreement with the binary Zr-Cu phase diagram. Narroindentation results showed that mechanical properties of the bulk-metallic glasses (BMGs) thin film, such as elastic modulus and hardness, are functions of the Zr (or Cu) concentration. The composition with a moderate Zr content (45 atomic percent (at.%)) resulted in a high film modulus and hardness. The post anneal treatment increased the film elastic modulus and hardness. Small additions of aluminum slightly enhanced the film mechanical proper-ties. Using this combinatorial technique could facilitate the development of the new multi-element metallic-glass alloy, particularly for systems with many elements. The first attempt of casting the optimum resultant ternary BMGs rod was successful. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.