X-ray-absorption spectroscopy study of the partial devitrification of amorphousNi80B20and the formation of amorphous nickel

The devitrification of initially amorphous ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{80}{\mathrm{B}}_{20}$ has been studied by x-ray-absorption spectroscopy as a function of the annealing temperature. It is found that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the main absorption peak at ≈850 eV is sensitive to the degree of amorphization of the specimen. The initial FWHM of 2.51 eV for the homogeneous amorphous ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{80}{\mathrm{B}}_{20}$ decreases to a value of 2.12 eV for the crystalline final mixture of Ni and ${\mathrm{Ni}}_3\mathrm{B}.$ In an intermediate, partially devitrified state, a FWHM of 2.30 eV is measured, which supports an earlier identification of pure amorphous nickel.