Impact of ion irradiation on the thermal, structural, and mechanical properties of metallic glasses

The impact of ion-beam irradiation on the thermal, structural, and mechanical properties of metallic glasses is investigated using the model glass, CuTi, in molecular dynamics computer simulations. It is found that ion-beam bombardment successively modifies the compositional and structural order toward a universal steady state, which proves to be independent of the initial relaxation state and thermal history of the unirradiated sample. This is reflected by key materials properties, including enthalpy, structural and compositional short-range order, as well as Young's modulus and fracture behavior. The results are interpreted within the framework of competing dynamics, where radiation-induced plastic relaxation counteracts ion-beam disordering.