Polyamorphism in Yb-based metallic glass induced by pressure.

The Yb _62.5 Zn ₁₅ Mg _17.5 Cu ₅ metallic glass is investigated using synchrotron x-ray total scattering method up to 38.4 GPa. The polyamorphic transformation from low density to high density with a transition region between 14.1 and 25.2 GPa is observed, accompanying with a volume collapse reflected by a discontinuousness of isothermal bulk modulus. This collapse is caused by that distortional icosahedron short range order precedes to perfect icosahedron, which might link to Yb 4f electron delocalization upon compression, and match the result of in situ electrical resistance measurement under high pressure conditions. This discovery in Yb-based metallic glass, combined with the previous reports on other metallic glass systems, demonstrates that pressure induced polyamorphism is the general behavior for typical lanthanide based metallic glasses.