The Kinetic Theory of Growth of Zr-Sn Diffusion Layers on Zr₅₅Cu₃₀Al₁₀Ni₅ Metallic Glass

The growth kinetics of the intermetallic compound layer between molten pure Sn and ZrCu₃₀Al₁₀Ni₅ bulk metallic glass (BMG) is mainly controlled by the diffusion mechanism at stage I at which the value of the time exponent is approximately 1/2, also there is unusual or unique stage II whose time exponent of the growth is suppressed to 1/3. It is deduced that phase transition such as nucleation, coalescence occurring in the vicinity of the interface of the diffusion layer within the BMG and the average size growing as one-third power of time, called the Lifshitz–Slezov law. A more elegant means of attack is based upon the Fokker–Planck approach, which permits us to calculate directly the probability of the distribution of steady-state thickness fluctuations. Physical implications of the analytical results also give the one-third power of time of distance scale. The transmission of Sn particles through a disorder system of the BMG, scattered by the local fluctuation levels, is the source of the time exponent from 1/2 to 1/3 as a macroscopic cumulative effect.