Surface characteristics of metallic glass spheres of Au(55)Pb(22.5)Sb(22.5)

It is pointed out that the production of metallic glasses of high atomic number is currently of considerable importance for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target applications. In connection with the present investigation, spherules of the alloy Au(55)Pb(22.5)Sb(22.5) were produced. Metallic glass was formed on solidification. With the aid of X-ray diffraction studies, it was established that the spheres were completely amorphous. A near-surface phase separation on spheres of the metallic glass could be observed. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) measurements showed that the average composition of the surface differed from that of the bulk.