Stability of Al-rich glasses in the Al–La–Ni system

The stability of Al-rich glasses in the Al–La–Ni ternary system has been measured. Glasses with critical thicknesses ranging from 270 to 780 μm have been achieved. An in-situ two-phase amorphous region containing as much as ∼10 vol.% of nanocrystals was also observed with critical thicknesses ranging from 420 to 950 μm. Measurements of Tg, Tx and Tℓ, as well as other empirical measures of thermal stability based on these quantities, confirm the unusual thermal stability of these glasses. These results suggest that bulk Al-based glasses with a maximum critical thickness exceeding 1 mm may be possible in alloys based on this system.