Scratch test induced shear banding in high power laser remelted metallic glass layers

Laser remelted surface layers of a Cu-based metallic glass forming alloy have been produced with fully amorphous depths up to 350 μm for single track widths of around 1.3 mm and have been checked by transmission of synchrotron radiation. They have been subjected to indentation hardness and scratch testing, and the development of shear bands in both situations has been addressed. During the cross-sectional hardness indentation tests, Vickers values of over 735 HV2 have been found through the depth of the treated layer, and the scratch testing has revealed extremely low friction coefficient values (<0.02 at 10 N in single-pass and 0.02 at 18 N multi-pass regimes against a diamond stylus). The shear band formation has been related to both scratch test speed (strain rate) and load (contact stress) by methods such as atomic force microscopy measurements and subsequent surface roughness characterization by a height–height correlation function.