Structure and shear deformation of metallic crystalline–amorphous interfaces

The structure and shear properties of crystalline–amorphous laminar nanocomposites are studied in an atomistic model of face-centered cubic copper with amorphous Cu₄₆Zr₅₄ bulk metallic glass in the quasi-static limit. The plastic shear deformation response is determined by the production and motion of interface dislocations at the crystalline–amorphous interface, which is closely linked to the structural and chemical transition from crystalline Cu to the amorphous Cu/Zr phase. The implication of interfacial shear are discussed in context of dislocation–interface interactions and co-deformation of a crystalline–amorphous nanocomposite.