Glass and nanocrystalline phase formation in CuZrAg alloys: Insights from combinatorial thin film libraries studied by mapping synchrotron X-ray diffraction

We report detailed diffraction peak analysis and parameters indicative of the transition between fully amorphous microstructures and nanocrystal formation in sputter deposited thin film metallic glasses. Specifically, we fabricated ternary CuZrAg alloy films (2 µm thickness) with a large compositional gradient on flexible, X-ray transparent polymer substrates in high vacuum conditions. The combinatorial libraries were subjected to point-by-point structural (XRD synchrotron radiation) and chemical (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy) analysis, characterizing roughly 172 alloys. A strong correlation was found between peak symmetry and width, and early stages of crystalline phase formation. These nanocrystals are difficult to detect from the evolution of the peak position. In view of current literature, our data questions the recently claimed universality of the peak width as indicator of high glass forming ability. The addition of Ag significantly improves the poor glass formation of binary CuZr (36 alloys) under identical deposition conditions, as fully amorphous alloys are found for the majority of the investigated composition space. A thorough understanding of the microstructure of CuZrAg alloys on flexible substrates is highly relevant in view of favourable antibacterial properties and potential application as coatings for biomedical surfaces.