Characterization of nanoscale mechanical heterogeneity in a metallic glass by dynamic force microscopy

We report nanoscale mechanical heterogeneity of a metallic glass characterized by dynamic force microscopy. Apparent energy dissipation with a variation of ~12%, originating from nonuniform distribution of local viscoelasticity, was observed. The correlation length of the heterogeneity was measured...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2011-03, Vol.106 (12), p.125504-125504, Article 125504
Main Authors: Liu, Y H, Wang, D, Nakajima, K, Zhang, W, Hirata, A, Nishi, T, Inoue, A, Chen, M W
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report nanoscale mechanical heterogeneity of a metallic glass characterized by dynamic force microscopy. Apparent energy dissipation with a variation of ~12%, originating from nonuniform distribution of local viscoelasticity, was observed. The correlation length of the heterogeneity was measured to be ~2.5 nm, consistent with the dimension of shear transformation zones for plastic flow. This study provides the first experimental evidence on the nanoscale viscoelastic heterogeneity in metallic glasses and may fill the gap between atomic models and macroscopic glass properties.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.106.125504