Data for Varying Kinetic Stability, Icosahedral Ordering, and Mechanical Properties of a Model Zr-Cu-Al Metallic Glass by Sputtering

Data for "Varying Kinetic Stability, Icosahedral Ordering, and Mechanical Properties of a Model Zr-Cu-Al Metallic Glass by Sputtering" by Sachin V. Muley, Chengrong Cao, Debaditya Chatterjee, Carter Francis, Felix P. Lu, M. D. Ediger, John H. Perepezko, and Paul M. Voyles. This paper shows that the kinetic and thermodynamic stability of Zr65Cu27.5Al7.5 metallic glass thin films may be manipulated by changing the film deposition rate during sputtering. Changing stability increases the ordering of the glass structure, as shown by fluctuation electron microscopy and angular correlations in nanodiffraction, and increases the film's elastic modulus and hardness. The data include x-ray diffraction, calorimetry, nanoindentation, SEM, AFM, and electron nanodiffraction on the films and on a bulk ribbon glass with the same composition quenched from the melt.