Effect of annealing on atomic ordering of amorphous ZrTaTiNbSi alloy

In this letter, we have reported on initial stages of atomic ordering in ZrTaTiNbSi amorphous films during annealing. The atomic ordering and structure evolution were studied in Zr₁₇Ta₁₆Ti₁₉Nb₂₂Si₂₆ amorphous films as a function of annealing temperature in the temperature range from 473 to 1173 K. Up to annealing temperature of 1173 K, the films retained amorphous structure, but the degree of disorder is increased with the increase in temperature. The formation of Si–M covalent bonds, which contributed to the local atomic arrangement, occurred in the initial stages of ordering. The bonding reactions between Si and other metal species explain the anomalous structural changes which were observed in x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. We discuss the stages of phase transformation for amorphous films as a function of annealing temperature. From these results, we propose that annealing leads to formation of random Si–M₄ tetrahedron, and two observed rings, a first and second in the electron diffraction patterns compared to M–M and Si–M bond length, respectively.