Ar¹²⁺ Induced Irradiation Damage in Bulk Metallic Glass (Cu₄₇Zr₄₅Al₈)_98.5Y_1.5

The highly charged ion Ar¹²⁺ with an energy of 3 MeV is used for irradiating metallic glass (Cu₄₇Zr₄₅Al₈)_98.5Y_1.5 and polycrystalline metallic W at the irradiation fluences of 1×10¹⁴ ions/cm², 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm² and 1×10¹⁶ ions/cm². The main structure of metallic glass remains an amorphous phase under different irradiation fluences according to x-ray diffraction analysis. The scanning electron microscope observation on the morphologies indicates that no significant irradiation damage occurs on the surface and cross section of the metallic glass sample after different fluences of irradiation, while a large area of irregular cracks and holes were observed on the surface of metallic W at a fluence of 1×10¹⁶ ions/cm², with cracks and channel impairments at a certain depth from the surface. The root-mean-square (rms) roughness of metallic glass increases with increasing fluence of Ar¹²⁺, while the reflectance decreases with increasing irradiation fluence. A nano-hardness test shows that the hardness of metallic glass decreases after irradiation. Under certain conditions, metallic glass (Cu₄₇Zr₄₅Al₈)_98.5Y_1.5 exhibits a higher capability of resistance to Ar¹²⁺ irradiation in comparison with polycrystalline W.