Abstract
The annealing-induced amorphization of a sputtered glass-forming Cu 51 Zr 42 Al 4 Ti 3 thin film has been clarified by in-situ transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with ex-situ atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Upon heating of the film at low temperatures, nanocrystallization and growth of metastable sputtered crystallites occur in the amorphous matrix. Heated to 438°C, within the supercooled liquid region (ΔT), the film becomes fully amorphous. At higher temperatures above ΔT, i.e. 525°C, crystalline Cu 10 Zr 7 and AlTi 2 phases appear as a result of crystallization. The annealing-induced nanocrystallization and amorphization appear to be rather general and applicable to a large number of systems. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.