Nanoindentation Study of the Influence of the Loading Rate on the Deformation of Metallic Glasses

Nanoindentation experiments at the loading rates from 0.05 to 100 mN.s-1 on the amorphous FeNiB alloy were executed. We found that the serrations in the load-displacement (P-h) curve are more pronounced at lower loading rates and gradually disappear upon increasing loading rate. We have estimated the contribution of the inhomogeneous plastic deformation from pop-in events on the P-h curves. The pop-in population was compared with the morphology of indents.