Computer-generated models of metallic glass alloys are explored to exhibit the short-range order of their atomic structure. Binary alloys Pd-Si, Fe-P, and Fe-B are studied as a function of composition. Several approaches are used. The distribution of near-neighbor types is calculated in detail, from which it is argued that a specific coordination is preferred and satisfied by a local unit structure around each metalloid. The metalloids are removed from the structure and the size distribution and shapes of the Bernal holes remaining are calculated; the results corroborate the conclusion drawn above. The local geometry is explored by computer graphic methods and a surprising degree of regularity is discovered. Two local geometries dominate the surroundings of metalloid species: the octahedron and the trigonal prism. The relative occurrence of each is seen to vary with composition but the two methods used differ as to the degree of variation. Finally, the alloy density is calculated from a Voronoi polyhedral analysis for the first time. Density and its variation with composition are seen to be adequately simulated by the models under study.

• Received 8 September 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.23.1506