Electron Microscopy Investigation of Amorphous Alloys.

The structure hierarchy of amorphous metallic alloys (AMA) was investigated by means of electron microscopy. Different kinds of microstructure with sizes from 0.2 nm to 3 mm were visualized in AMA. Microstructure image has a quasi-stochastic nature. The two dimensional correlation function used for multi-scale modeling consisted of Gauss and quasi-periodic components. The Gauss component describes the stochastic structure of the amorphous matrix. The quasi-periodic component describes any kind of structure ordering, for example, the atomic clusters in the amorphous matrix. An image modeling method was developed for atomic clusters and long wave AMA structure inhomogeneities. High resolution electron microscopy images of one- and two-dimensional atomic clusters and electron microscopy images of long wave inhomogeneities in AMA structure (for example, “network” structures) were modeled using this method. The type of the correlation function and its parameters, and the estimation of electron potential distribution in the atomic structure were determined for different types of AMA structures. In this way the correlation characteristics of structure hierarchy in real AMA were experimentally determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]