A nanoscaled underlayer confinement approach for achieving extraordinarily plastic amorphous thin film

This study demonstrates that the brittle problem of a metallic glass coating can be alleviated by percolating with a nanocrystalline metallic underlayer. The brittle thin film metallic glass can become highly ductile and exhibit a plastic strain of over 50% at room temperature. The present study has an important implication for microelectromechanical systems applications as the lifespan of a brittle amorphous layer can be significantly improved by using an appropriate metallic underlayer. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.