Electron energy loss for two transition metal-transition metal glasses

Electron energy loss data are reported for metallic glasses Fe 0.92Zr 0.08 and Ni 0.5Zr 0.5. These data document the sensitivity of the spectra to sample thickness and suggest studies of metallic glasses require samples that are nearly 1 2 an order of magnitude “thinner” than crystalline alloys. Each electron energy loss spectrum has a dominant loss near 23–25 eV which is similar to the loss function of the pure 3- d metal. This lack of a shift in the location of the dominant loss challenges any simple model of plasmon behavior. The M 23 core losses are visible in the “thinner” samples and, in agreement with earlier studies on metal-metalloid glasses, no measureable chemical shift is observed.