Direct evidence for oxygen stabilization of icosahedral phase during crystallization of Zr<SUB>65</SUB>Cu<SUB>27.5</SUB>Al<SUB>7.5</SUB> metallic glass

The present letter reports the formation of the icosahedral phase during crystallization of amorphous Zr65-xCu27.5Al7.5Ox (x = 0.43% and 0.82%) alloys. Three-dimensional atom probe studies have revealed that the quasicrystalline phase is enriched in oxygen. This, together with the fact that no icosahedral phase forms at low oxygen level (0.14%), clearly establishes that the quasicrystalline phase in Zr-based metallic glasses is stabilized by oxygen