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Metallic glasses: Gaining plasticity for microsystems

  • Bulk Metallic Glasses / Research Summary
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Abstract

Since the 1960s, metallic glasses (MGs) have attracted tremendous re-search interest in materials science and engineering, given their unique cornbination of mechanical properties. How-ever, the industrial applications of MGs have been hindered due to their lack of ductility in bulk form at room temperature. In contrast, it was observed that MGs could exhibit excellent plasticity at the small size scale. In this article, we summarize the related experimental findings having been reported so far together with the possible origins of such a size effect in MGs. The enhanced plasticity of MGs in small volumes, together with their high mechanical strengths and remarkable thermoplastic formability, strongly implies that MGs are the promising materials for fabricating the next generation of micro- and nano-devices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Yong Yang, Jianchao Ye & Jian Lu

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Yanfei Gao & Peter K. Liaw

  3. Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    Yanfei Gao

Authors
  1. Yong Yang
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  2. Jianchao Ye
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  3. Jian Lu
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  4. Yanfei Gao
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  5. Peter K. Liaw
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Correspondence to Yong Yang.

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Yang, Y., Ye, J., Lu, J. et al. Metallic glasses: Gaining plasticity for microsystems. JOM 62, 93–98 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-010-0039-1

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