Structural investigation of Ni–Nb–Ti–Zr–Co–Cu glassy samples prepared by different welding techniques

Although, bulk metallic glasses exhibit remarkable mechanical, physical and chemical properties, their critical size (the largest size of fully glassy sample produced by casting) is limited. The utilization of a welding technique enables producing larger glassy samples. Ni53Nb20Ti10Zr8Co6Cu3 glassy alloy ribbon samples prepared by melt spinning of the pre-alloyed arc-melted ingots were welded by the electron-beam and fiber laser-beam welding techniques. The detailed structural investigations of the welded bead and thermally affected zone were performed by micro-area X-ray diffractometry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. At certain optimized welding conditions the amorphous structure can be retained after melting. The obtained data are promising for future applications of the laser and electron-beam welding techniques to glassy alloys.