Probing the Electronic Structure of Metallic Glasses using AugerXVVTransitions

The bandlike $\mathrm{XVV}$ Auger transitions of glass-forming elements are shown to provide a sensitive method for investigating the electronic properties of metallic glasses. For amorphous ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{82}{\mathrm{B}}_{18-x}{\mathrm{Be}}_x$, not only do the Auger results correlate remarkably well with the magnetic data, but more importantly, a 14-eV shift was detected in the Be $\mathrm{KVV}$ Auger spectra between $x=4\mathrm{}$ and $x=5\mathrm{}$. This large shift reflects a pronounced change in the short-range order of this metallic glass system.