Beam Effects on Atomic Dynamics in Metallic Glasses Studied With Electron Correlation Microscopy

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Microscopy

Background:

• Metallic glasses (MGs) exhibit complex atomic dynamics near equilibrium.
• Electron correlation microscopy (ECM) probes atomic dynamics via diffracted intensity correlations.
• Previous ECM studies focused on higher temperatures.

Purpose of the Study:

• Extend ECM to room temperature measurements for metallic glasses.
• Investigate the influence of the electron beam on atomic dynamics.
• Validate ECM for studying disordered systems at ambient conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized electron correlation microscopy (ECM) at room temperature.
• Calculated two-time correlation functions of diffracted intensities.
• Analyzed the effect of varying electron dose rates on dynamics.

Main Results:

• Established ECM measurements at room temperature for metallic glasses.
• Observed an inverse relationship between electron dose rate and correlation decay times.
• Found dynamical mechanisms (stretching exponent) independent of electron dose rate.
• Extrapolated results align with X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS).

Conclusions:

• Beam-driven ECM is a valid technique for studying dynamics in disordered systems at room temperature.
• ECM provides insights into atomic rearrangements in metallic glasses.
• The findings support the use of ECM for materials research under ambient conditions.