Structural Study of an Amorphous Liquid-quenched Ni_<80>-P_<20> Alloy

The structure of amorphous Ni_-P_ alloy obtained by rapid quenching from the liquid state has been studied by X-ray diffraction. After calculating the structure factor by means of the common Fourier analysis, the atomic radial distribution function is obtained from which interatomic distance and coordination number were estimated. Comparing the results with those in the liquid state, it is found that the general feature of the structure in the amorphous state is quite similar to that in the liquid state. A brief comment on the partial structures in this alloy is also made