Room-temperature nanoindentation measurements of La-based bulk metallic glass

Deformation behavior of La62Al14(Cu5/6Ag1/6)14(Ni0.5Co0.5)10 (at.%) bulk metallic glass (BMG) was investigated by nanoindentation measurements under ambient conditions. A trend of deformation mode change from homogeneous deformation I to inhomogeneous deformation to homogeneous deformation II transition was illustrated as the loading rate increases from 0.0025 to 1 mN s−1 for the La62Al14(Cu5/6Ag1/6)14(Ni0.5Co0.5)10 BMG at room temperature. The mechanism of the loading-rate dependence of plastic deformation behavior for the La-based BMG was discussed based on the shear transformation zone model.