Time – temperature – transformation diagram and microstructures of bulk glass forming Pd 40 Cu 30 Ni 10 P 20

Isothermal crystallization studies were performed on the bulk glass forming alloy Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 in the undercooled liquid region between the glass transition and liquidus temperature, resulting in a complete time–temperature–transformation ~TTT! diagram for crystallization. The TTT diagram shows a typical ‘‘C’’ shape with the nose at 50 s and 680 K. Assuming steady state nucleation and a diffusion-controlled growth rate, the TTT diagram was successfully fit over the entire range of the measurement. The microstructure after isothermal crystallization shows a modulation in Cu and P for all degrees of undercooling. The primary solidified phase is Cu3Pd, which forms distinct dendrites at low undercooling. From additional constant cooling experiments, the critical cooling rate to bypass crystallization was determined to be 0.33 K/s. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. @S0003-6951~00!02231-2#