Evaluation of mechanical properties of Zr–Cu–Al–Ni TFMG using nanoindentation

Nanomechanical properties of thin-film metallic glasses (TFMG) with various thicknesses can be evaluated through nanoindentation experiments. In this study, zirconium based TFMG (Zr-TFMG, Zr65Cu15Al10Ni10) is deposited on various substrates and then, the effects of film thickness and substrate type on material property evaluation are investigated. Free volume model (FVM) is employed to consider the pressure-dependent behavior such as shear band and softening of Zr-TFMG. FVM parameters of Zr-TFMG were determined by matching the numerical load-depth curves with experimental ones. Significant pile-up on Si substrate, while sink-in on soda-lime glass substrate, implies that deformation behavior of Zr-TFMG depends on the substrate type. Growth of free volume with increasing thickness influences the evaluated FVM parameters.