| Abstract Scope |
The existence of medium-range order (MRO) in metallic glasses (MGs) holds a strong influence on their general properties such as ductility and thus their performance in applications. MRO reflects the tendency of nearest-neighbor atoms to form clusters of interconnected low potential-energy structures, as brought forward by atomistic simulations (JALCOM 821, 153209, 2020; Acta Mater. 267, 119730, 2024).
By leveraging 4-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) both in experiment and simulation, the authors reported the existence of clusters of common diffraction symmetries in MGs of more and less advanced structural equilibration. Following up on this earlier work, that focused solely on diffraction symmetries within the first maximum of the structure factor, we here present MG 4D-STEM data along both the first and second diffraction shell. Based on this significant extension of wave-vector realm, additional information is gained on the length scales at which MRO-features such as clusters dominate the structure. |