TY - JOUR A1 - Sänger, Johanna C. A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Günster, Jens T1 - Microplastic response of 2PP‐printed ceramics N2 - AbstractTwo‐photon polymerization (2PP) additive manufacturing (AM) utilizes feedstocks of ceramic nanoparticles of a few nanometers in diameter, enabling the fabrication of highly accurate technical ceramic design with structural details as small as 500 nm. The performance of these materials is expected to differ from conventional AM ceramics, as nanoparticles and three‐dimensional printing at high resolution introduce new microstructural aspects. This study applies 2PP‐AM of yttria‐stabilized zirconia to investigate the mechanical response behavior under compressive load, probing the influence of smallest structural units induced by the line packing during the printing process, design of sintered microblocks, and sintering temperature and thereby microstructure. We find a dissipative mechanical response enhanced by sintering at lower temperatures than conventional. The pursued 2PP‐AM approach yields a microstructured material with an increased number of grain boundaries that proposedly play a major role in facilitating energy dissipation within the here printed ceramic material. This microplastic response is further triggered by the filigree structures induced by hollow line packing at the order of the critical defect size of ceramics. Together, these unique aspects made accessible by the 2PP‐AM approach contribute to a heterogeneous nano‐ and microstructure, and hint toward opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in future ceramic applications. KW - Manufacturing KW - Mechanical properties KW - Microstructure KW - Plasticity KW - Zirconia: yttria stabilized PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-605176 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.19849 SN - 1551-2916 VL - 107 IS - 10 SP - 6636 EP - 6645 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-60517 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Derlet, P. T1 - Micro-plasticity in a fragile model binary glass N2 - Atomistic deformation simulations in the nominally elastic regime are performed for a model binary glass with strain rates as low as 10 4 /s (corresponding to 0.01 shear strain per 1 μs). A strain rate dependent elastic softening due to a micro-plasticity is observed, which is mediated by thermally-activated localized structural transformations (LSEs). A closer inspection of the atomic-scale structure indicates the material response is distinctly different for two types of local atomic environments. A system spanning iscosahe- drally coordinated substructure responds purely elastically, whereas the remaining substructure admits both elastic and microplastic evolution. This leads to a heterogeneous internal stress distribution which, upon unloading, results in negative creep and complete residual-strain recovery. A detailed structural analysis in terms of local stress, atomic displacement, and SU(2) local bonding topology shows such mi- croscopic processes can result in large changes in local stress and are more likely to occur in geomet- rically frustrated regions characterized by higher free volume and softer elastic stiffness. The thermally- activated LSE activity also mediates structural relaxation, and in this way should be distinguished from stress-driven shear transformation activity which only rejuvenates glass structure. The frequency of LSE activity, and therefore the amount of micro-plasticity, is found to be related to the degree to which the glassy state is relaxed. These insights shed atomistic light onto the structural origins that may govern re- cent experimental observations of significant structural evolution in response to elastic loading protocols. KW - Molecular dynamics KW - Bulk metallic glasses KW - Plasticity KW - Residual strains PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-523782 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.116771 VL - 209 SP - 116771 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52378 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Das, Amlan A1 - Rashidi, Reza A1 - Dufresne, Eric A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Metallic glasses: Elastically stiff yet flowing at any stress N2 - Crystalline solids have a minimum stress needed to displace atoms or to move defects. This stress defines the true elastic limit and is generally a sizeable share of the macroscopic yield stress. Here we demonstrate that a metallic glass, an amorphous solid with a yield stress in the giga-pascal regime, lacks such a true microscopic elastic limit. Leveraging in-situ coherent x-ray scattering, we uncover a strongly accelerated atomic-scale transport upon the application of a stress as small as 0.005 times the yield stress. With increasing stress levels, the distribution of structural relaxation times changes from compressed exponential to simple exponential form, revealing a stress–temperature equivalence in the time-scale domain. These findings strongly promote a microstructurally heterogeneous picture of metallic glasses, in which a part of the amorphous microstructure controls macroscopic yielding whereas another part admits microplastic flow at any stress. KW - Metallic glasses KW - Microstructure PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-624530 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2024.11.015 VL - 82 SP - 92 EP - 98 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-62453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fantin, Andrea A1 - Manzoni, Anna Maria A1 - Springer, H. A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Local lattice distortions and chemical short-range order in MoNbTaW N2 - Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) conducted on an equiatomic MoNbTaW bcc medium-entropy alloy that was annealed at 2273 K reveals unexpectedly small 1st and 2nd shell element-specific lattice distortions. An experimental size-mismatch parameter, δexp, is determined to be ca. 50% lower than the corresponding calculated value. Around W, short-range order (SRO) preferring 4d elements in the 1st and 2nd shells persists. A Nb-W ordering is found, which is reminiscent of ordering emerging at lower temperatures in the B2(Mo,W;Ta,Nb)- and B32(Nb,W)-phases. With high-temperature ordering preferences in fcc also foreshadowing low-temperature phase, these findings suggest a general feature of high-temperature SRO. KW - High Entropy Alloys KW - Short-range order KW - Lattice distortions KW - EXAFS PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-598164 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2024.2326014 SN - 2166-3831 VL - 12 IS - 5 SP - 346 EP - 354 PB - Taylor & Francis AN - OPUS4-59816 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Liquid Metal Embrittlement in High-Strength Steels N2 - One contribution of materials science to energy efficiency is the continuous development of novel high-performance structural materials that push the strength-ductility envelope. A prominent example are modern advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs), which have enabled considerable weight reductions in the automotive sector, thereby enabling greenhouse emission reductions. To protect such advanced alloys from property degradation via corrosion, zinc (Zn) coatings are often applied through galvanization. Whilst protective, a Zn-coating comes with problems – the AHSS substrate becomes susceptible for liquid-metal embrittlement (LME) than can be the origin of significant mechanical property degradation when liquified Zn infiltrates into the steel substrate. Being for from understood, we focus here on non-cracked environments to capture the early stages of LME. This approach revealed the nucleation and growth of nano-scale intermetallic phases inside uncracked GBs (Materials Today Advances 13, 100196, 2022), highlighting the complex multi-phase microstructure developing before cracking occurs. To shed further light on the early stages of LME in AHSSs, we also consider the microstructural evolution of interrupted welds. We discuss our findings in the context of the time-resolved substructure evolution right beneath the interface between the AHSS and the Zn-based coating and track how Zn progressively infiltrates the substrate along phase and grain boundaries. The experimental results are further corroborated with thermodynamic simulations. T2 - ASATM CY - Singapore DA - 10.01.2023 KW - Liquid-metal embrittlement KW - Steels KW - Grain boundaries KW - Micro-cracking PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-60647 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tielemann, Christopher A1 - Reinsch, Stefan A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Deubener, J. A1 - Müller, Ralf T1 - Internal nucleation tendency and crystal surface energy obtained from bond energies and crystal lattice data N2 - We present an easy-to-apply method to predict structural trends in the internal nucleation tendency of oxide glasses. The approach is based on calculated crystal fracture surface energies derived from easily accessible diatomic bond energy and crystal lattice data. The applicability of the method is demonstrated on literature nucleation data for isochemically crystallizing oxide glasses. KW - Glass KW - Nucleation tendency KW - Fracture surface energy KW - Crystal lattice KW - Bond energy PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-548814 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nocx.2022.100093 SN - 2590-1591 VL - 14 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-54881 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rizzardi, Q. A1 - Derlet, P. M. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Intermittent microplasticity in the presence of a complex microstructure N2 - We demonstrate the gradual shift from scale-free intermittent microplasticity to a scale-dependent behavior via the introduction of a variety of microstructural features within the Al-Cu binary alloy system. As long as the obstacles to dislocation motion remain shearable, the statistics of intermittent microplasticity has fat-tailed contributions. The introduction of incoherent precipitates leads to a complete transition from scale-free powerlaw scaling to an exponential and scale-dependent distribution. These results demonstrate how non-Gaussian interactions survive across different microstructures and further suggest that characteristic microstructural length scales and obstacle pinning-strengths are of secondary importance for the intermittency statistics, as long as dislocations can shear their local environment. KW - Scale-dependent behavior KW - Al-Cu binary alloy system PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.073602 SN - 2475-9953 VL - 6 IS - 7 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - American Physical Society AN - OPUS4-55387 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Das, Amlan A1 - Dufresne, Eric A1 - Derlet, Peter M. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Intermittent cluster dynamics and temporal fractional diffusion in a bulk metallic glass N2 - Glassy solids evolve towards lower-energy structural states by physical aging. This can be characterized by structural relaxation times, the assessment of which is essential for understanding the glass’ time-dependent property changes. Conducted over short times, a continuous increase of relaxation times with time is seen, suggesting a time-dependent dissipative transport mechanism. By focusing on micro-structural rearrangements at the atomic-scale, we demonstrate the emergence of sub-diffusive anomalous transport and therefore temporal fractional diffusion in a metallic glass, which we track via coherent x-ray scattering conducted over more than 300,000 s. At the longest probed decorrelation times, a transition from classical stretched exponential to a power-law behavior occurs, which in concert with atomistic simulations reveals collective and intermittent atomic motion. Our observations give a physical basis for classical stretched exponential relaxation behavior, uncover a new power-law governed collective transport regime for metallic glasses at long and practically relevant time-scales, and demonstrate a rich and highly non-monotonous aging response in a glassy solid, thereby challenging the common framework of homogeneous aging and atomic scale diffusion. KW - Glassy solids KW - Fractional diffusion KW - Coherent x-ray scattering PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-608015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50758-3 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-60801 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Intermittent cluster dynamics and temporal fractional diffusion in a bulk metallic glass N2 - Inspired by the ability to track atomic-scale dynamics with x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS)1 and recent results of long-term atomistic simulations on material transport2, we reveal here an unprecedented spectrum of short- and long-term relaxation dynamics. Tracked along a 300 000 s long isotherm at 0.98Tg, a Zr-based bulk metallic glass exhibits temporal fluctuations that persist throughout the entire isotherm, demonstrating a continuous heterogeneous dynamics at the probed length scale. In concert with microsecond molecular dynamic simulations, we identify intermittent cluster dynamics as the origin for temporal signatures in the corresponding intensity cross-correlations. Despite temporally heterogeneous aging, the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts functions is well suited to capture the average intermediate relaxation time regime, but at very long time scales an asymptotic power-law better describes the data. This indicates anomalous diffusion and gives overall strong evidence for temporal fractional diffusion in metallic glasses. We discuss these results in terms of the underlying structural fast and slow relaxation modes and their manifestation in the temporal form of the structural decorrelations. T2 - 9th IDMRCS CY - Chiba, Japan DA - 12.08.2023 KW - Metallic glass KW - Transport KW - Structure KW - Dynamics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-60696 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stinville, J.C. A1 - Charpagne, M.A. A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Proudhon, H. A1 - Ludwig, W. A1 - Callahan, P.G. A1 - Wang, F. A1 - Beyerlein, I.J. A1 - Echlin, M.P. A1 - Pollock, T.M. T1 - Insights into Plastic Localization by Crystallographic Slip from Emerging Experimental and Numerical Approaches N2 - Advanced experimental and numerical approaches are being developed to capture the localization of plasticity at the nanometer scale as a function of the multiscale and heterogeneous microstructure present in metallic materials. These innovative approaches promise new avenues to understand microstructural effects on mechanical properties, accelerate alloy design, and enable more accurate mechanical property prediction. This article provides an overview of emerging approaches with a focus on the localization of plasticity by crystallographic slip. New insights into the mechanisms and mechanics of strain localization are addressed. The consequences of the localization of plasticity by deformation slip for mechanical properties of metallic materials are also detailed. KW - Slip localization KW - Metallic materials KW - Experimental and numerical techniques KW - Mechanical properties KW - Plasticity PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-578398 DO - https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-matsci-080921-102621 SN - 1531-7331 VL - 53 SP - 275 EP - 317 AN - OPUS4-57839 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shimada, Y. A1 - Ikeda, Yuki A1 - Yoshida, K. A1 - Sato, M. A1 - Chen, J. A1 - Du, Y. A1 - Inoue, K. A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Nagai, Y. A1 - Konno, T. T1 - In situ thermal annealing transmission electron microscopy of irradiation induced Fe nanoparticle precipitation in Fe–Si alloy N2 - The typical experimental conditions inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM), such as ultra-high vacuum, high-energy electron irradiation, and surface effects of ultrathin TEM specimens, can be the origin of unexpected microstructural changes compared with that of bulk material during in situ thermal-annealing experiments. In this paper, we report on the microstructural changes of a Fe–15%Si alloy during in situ TEM annealing, where, in its bulk form, it exhibits an ordering transformation from D03 to B2 at 650 °C. Using a heating-pot type double tilt holder with a proportional–integral–differential control system, we observed the precipitation of α-Fe both at the sample surface and inside the sample. Surface precipitates formed via surface diffusion are markedly large, several tens of nm, whereas precipitates inside the specimen, which are surrounded by Fe-poor regions, reach a maximum size of 20 nm. This unexpected microstructural evolution could be attributed to vacancies on Si sites, which are induced due to high-energy electron irradiation before heating, as well as enhanced thermal diffusion of Fe atoms. KW - In situ thermal-annealing experiment KW - Microstructural changes of a Fe Si alloy KW - Microstructural evolution PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0070471 SN - 0021-8979 VL - 131 IS - 16 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-54728 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kar, S. A1 - Ikeda, Yuki A1 - Lünser, K. A1 - Woodcock, Th. G. A1 - Nielsch, K. A1 - Reith, H. A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Fähler, S. T1 - Growth Twins and Premartensite Microstructure in Epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga Films N2 - Magnetic shape memory alloys have been examined intensively due to their multifunctionality and multitude of physical phenomena. For both areas, epitaxial films are promising since the absence of grain boundaries is beneficial for applications in microsystems and they also allow to understand the influence of a reduced dimension on the physical effects. Despite many efforts on epitaxial films, two particular aspects remain open. First, it is not clear how to keep epitaxial growth up to high film thickness, which is required for most microsystems. Second, it is unknown how the microstructure of premartensite, a precursor state during the martensitic transformation, manifests in films and differs from that in bulk. Here, we focus on micrometer-thick austenitic Ni-Mn-Ga films and explain two distinct microstructural features by combining high-resolution electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. First, we identify pyramid-shaped defects, which originate from {1 1 1} growth twinning and cause the breakdown of epitaxial growth. We show that a sufficiently thick Cr buffer layer prevents this breakdown and allows epitaxial growth up to a thickness of at least 4 μm. Second, premartensite exhibits a hierarchical microstructure in epitaxial films. The reduced dimension of films results in variant selection and regions with distinct premartensite variants, unlike its microstructure in bulk. KW - Alloy KW - Epitaxial films KW - Hierarchical microstructure Premartensite KW - Twinning KW - Magnetic shape memory PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118902 SN - 1359-6454 VL - 252 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-57301 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Wallis, Theophilus A1 - Ikeda, Yuki A1 - Saikia, U. A1 - Ahmadian, A. A1 - Liebscher, C. A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Giant segregation transition as origin of liquid metal embrittlement in the Fe-Zn system N2 - A giant Zn segregation transition is revealed using CALPHAD-integrated density-based modeling of segregation into Fe grain boundaries (GBs). The results show that above a threshold of only a few atomic percent Zn in the alloy, a substantial amount of up to 60 at.% Zn can segregate to the GB. We found that the amount of segregation abruptly increases with decreasing temperature, while the Zn content in the alloy required for triggering the segregation transition decreases. Direct evidence of the Zn segregation transition is obtained using high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Base on the model, we trace the origin of the segregation transition back to the low cohesive energy of Zn and a miscibility gap in Fe-Zn GB, arising from the magnetic ordering effect, which is confirmed by ab-initio calculations. We also show that the massive Zn segregation resulting from the segregation transition greatly assists with liquid wetting and reduces the work of separation along the GB. The current predictions suggest that control over Zn segregation, by both alloy design and optimizing the galvanization and welding processes, may offer preventive strategies against liquid metal embrittlement. KW - CALPHAD KW - Microstructure Design KW - Grain boundary engineering KW - Steels KW - Density-based Model KW - Segregation Engineering PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-584292 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2023.115758 SN - 1359-6462 SN - 1872-8456 VL - 238 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-58429 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qu, R. A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Liu, Z. A1 - Tönnies, D. A1 - Tian, L. A1 - Ritchie, R. A1 - Zhang, Z. A1 - Volkert, A. T1 - Flaw-insentive fracture of a micrometer-sized brittle metallic glass N2 - Brittle materials, such as oxide glasses, are usually very sensitive to flaws, giving rise to a macroscopic fracture strength that is much lower than that predicted by theory. The same applies to metallic glasses (MGs), with the important difference that these glasses can exhibit certain plastic strain prior to catas- trophic failure. Here we consider the strongest metallic alloy known, a ternary Co 55 Ta 10 B 35 MG. We show that this macroscopically brittle glass is flaw-insensitive at the micrometer scale. This discovery emerges when testing pre-cracked specimens with self-similar geometries, where the fracture stress does not de- crease with increasing pre-crack size. The fracture toughness of this ultra-strong glassy alloy is further shown to increase with increasing sample size. Both these findings deviate from our classical under- standing of fracture mechanics, and are attributed to a transition from toughness-controlled to strength- controlled fracture below a critical sample size. KW - Metallic glass KW - Fracture toughness KW - Size effect KW - Small-scale PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.117219 VL - 218 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-53097 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ikeda, Yuki A1 - Mancias, J. A1 - Gan, B. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Evidence of room-temperature shear-deformation in a Cu-Al intermetallic N2 - Lamellar eutectics are known to evidence plastic shear in otherwise brittle intermetallics, if the lamella spacing is small enough. Here we pursue this idea of confined plasticity in intermetallics further and demonstrate room-temperature shear-deformation in a two-phase CuAl 2 -CuAl intermetallic nano- composite. The presence of a phase with a 3-fold symmetry is also revealed after deformation. Simula- tion of transmission electron microscopy images shows this to be monoclinic CuAl. These observations are made in the deformation zone underneath locations of nanoindents, of which the force-displacement curves exhibit an unusual response of continuously increasing pop-in sizes with load. KW - Nanoindentation KW - Intermetallic KW - Nano-composite KW - Shear bands KW - Plasticity PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2020.08.033 VL - 190 SP - 126 EP - 130 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52455 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sänger, Johanna Christiane A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Zocca, Andrea A1 - Rosalie, Julian A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Sturm, Heinz A1 - Günster, Jens T1 - Entering a new dimension in powder processing for advanced ceramics shaping N2 - Filigree structures can be manufactured via two-photon-polymerization (2PP) operating in the regime of non-linear light absorption. For the first time it is possible to apply this technique to the powder processing of ceramic structures with a feature size in the range of the critical defect size responsible for brittle fracture and, thus, affecting fracture toughness of high-performance ceramics. In this way, tailoring of advanced properties can be achieved already in the shaping process. Traditionally, 2PP relies on transparent polymerizable resins, which is diametrically opposed to the usually completely opaque ceramic resins and slurries. Here we present a transparent and photocurable suspension of nanoparticles (resin) with very high mass fractions of yttria-stabilized zirconia particles (YSZ). Due to the extremely well dispersed nanoparticles, scattering of light can be effectively suppressed at the process-relevant wavelength of 800 nm. Sintered ceramic structures with a resolution of down to 500 nm were obtained. Even at reduced densities of 1 to 4 g/cm³, the resulting compressive strength with 4,5 GPa is equivalent or even exceeding bulk monolithic yttria stabilized zirconia. A ceramic metamaterial is born, where the mechanical properties of yttria stabilized zirconia are altered by changing geometrical parameters and gives access to a new class of ceramic materials. KW - Two-photon-polymerization KW - Ceramics KW - Powder processing KW - Transparency KW - Meta material KW - Yttria stabilized zirconia PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564598 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202208653 SN - 1521-4095 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-56459 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Elastic Microstructures in Metallic Glasses N2 - Metallic glasses (MGs) are disordered solids that exhibit a range of outstanding mechanical, thermomechanical, and functional properties. Whilst being a promising class of structural materials, well-defined and exploitable structure-property relationships are still lacking. This offsets them strongly from the crystalline counterparts, for which length-scale based property determination has been key for decades. In recent years, both atomistic simulations and experiments have nurtured the view of heterogeneities that manifest themselves either as a structural partitioning into well-relaxed percolated network components and more frustrated domains in atomistic simulations, or as spatially-resolved property fluctuations revealed with atomic force microscopy. These signatures depend sensitively on the processing history and likely reflect emerging medium-range order fluctuations at the scale of 1-10 nanometers. Here we demonstrate and discuss the emergence of spatially resolved property fluctuations at length scales that are one to two orders of magnitude larger. Such long-range decorrelation length scales are hard to reconcile in a monolithic glass but may offer the perspective of experimentally easy-to-access length-scale based structure-property relationships. Whilst long-range property fluctuations can be seen in both the plastic and elastic response, we focus here on high-throughput elastic nanoindentation mapping across the surface of a Zr-based model glass. After a deconvolution of surface topography and curvature effects, the spatially-resolved elastic response reveals an elastic microstructure with a correlation length of ca. 150-170 nm. Analytical scanning-transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is used to link the elastic property fluctuations to the chemistry and structure of the MG. In concert, nano-elastic mapping and STEM suggests that structural variations in the glass are responsible for the unexpectedly large length scales. We discuss these findings in terms of the materials processing history and the perspective of exploiting nanoindentation-based spatial mapping to uncover structural length scales in atomically disordered solids. T2 - 7th International Indentation Workshop – IIW7 CY - Hyderabad, India DA - 17.12.2023 KW - Metallic glass KW - Nanoindentation KW - Microstructure PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-60692 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ikeda, Yuki A1 - Yuan, R. A1 - Chakraborty, A. A1 - Ghassemi-Armaki, H. A1 - Zuo, J. M. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Early stages of liquid-metal embrittlement in an advanced high-strength steel N2 - Grain-boundary degradation via liquid-metal embrittlement (LME) is a prominent and long-standing failure process in next generation advanced high-strength steels. Here we reveal, well ahead of the crack tip, the presences of nano-scale grains of intermetallic phases in Zn-infiltrated but uncracked grain boundaries with scanning- and 4D transmission electron microscopy. Instead of the often-reported Znrich Fe-Zn intermetallics, the nano-scale phase in the uncracked infiltrated grain boundaries is identified as the G-phase, and its presence reveals the local enhancement of strain heterogeneities in the grain boundary network. Based on these observations, we argue that intermetallic phase formation is not occurring after cracking and subsequent liquid Zn infiltration but is instead one of the primary nanoscopic drivers for grain-boundary weakening and crack initiation. These findings shift the focus of LME from micro- and meso-scale crack investigations to the very early stages immediately following Zn diffusion, after which secondary phase nucleation and growth emerge as the root-cause for failure. KW - Advanced high strength steels KW - Liquid metal embrittlement KW - Transmission electron microscopy KW - 4-Dimensional scanning transmission KW - electron microscopy PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-539716 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtadv.2021.100196 SN - 2590-0498 VL - 13 IS - 196 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-53971 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holzer, Marco A1 - Johansen, Sidsel M. A1 - Christensen, Johan F.S. A1 - Smedskjaer, Morten M. A1 - Cicconi, Maria Rita A1 - de Ligny, Dominique A1 - Müller, Ralf A1 - de Camargo, Andrea S.S. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Direct connection between secondary relaxation mode and fracture toughness in alkali-aluminosilicate glasses N2 - Oxide glasses are intrinsically brittle, lacking sufficient atomic-scale mechanisms that can relax mechanical stresses in the vicinity of a propagating crack. As a result, fracture is typically well-captured by considering local bond rupture at the crack tip. Here we demonstrate that barrier energies related to the low-temperature 𝛾-relaxation mode in alkali-aluminosilicate glasses are inversely related to the fracture toughness measured via standardized three-point bending fracture experiments. This holds true for both a series with varying cations (Li, Na, K) and one with varying Li concentration. The structural rationale for this finding is gained via Raman spectroscopy. The findings suggest that a fundamental structural relaxation mode measured on bulk specimens can serve as an effective guideline for fracture toughness of oxide glasses. Data for additional silicate glasses support this conclusion. KW - Fracture toughness KW - Oxide glass KW - Mechanical properties KW - Alkali-aluminosilicate glasses KW - Internal friction PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-651540 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtadv.2025.100669 SN - 2590-0498 VL - 29 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-65154 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fareed, Adnan A1 - Rosalie, Julian A1 - Kumar, Sourabh A1 - Kar, S. A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Fähler, S. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Constrained incipient phase transformation in Ni-Mn-Ga films: A small-scale design challenge N2 - Ni-Mn-Ga shape-memory alloys are promising candidates for large strain actuation and magnetocaloric cooling devices. In view of potential small-scale applications, we probe here nanomechanically the stress-induced austenite–martensite transition in single crystalline austenitic thin films as a function of temperature. In 0.5 μm thin films, a marked incipient phase transformation to martensite is observed during nanoindentation, leaving behind pockets of residual martensite after unloading. These nanomechanical instabilities occur irrespective of deformation rate and temperature, are Weibull distributed, and reveal large spatial variations in transformation stress. In contrast, at a larger film thickness of 2 μm fully reversible transformations occur, and mechanical loading remains entirely smooth. Ab-initio simulations demonstrate how an in-plane constraint can considerably increase the martensitic transformation stress, explaining the thickness-dependent nanomechanical behavior. These findings for a shape-memory Heusler alloy give insights into how reduced dimensions and constraints can lead to unexpectedly large transformation stresses that need to be considered in small-scale actuation design. KW - Shape-memory alloys KW - Nanoindentation KW - Incipient plasticity KW - NiMaGa PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581422 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.112259 VL - 233 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-58142 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Cluster dynamics and anomalous transport in metallic glasses N2 - Quenching a metallic liquid sufficiently fast can give rise to an amorphous solid, typically referred to as a metallic glass. This out-of-equilibrium material has a long suite of remarkable mechanical and physical properties but suffers from property deterioration via structural relaxation. As a function of time, relaxation may indeed constitute significant threads to safe applications. Consequently, relaxation of glasses has a long history across different amorphous materials and typical characterization methods promote a picture of gradually evolving and smooth relaxation, as for example obtained from mechanical spectroscopy. However, the true structural dynamics and underlying mechanisms remain far from understood and have hampered a physically informed atomic-scale picture of transport and physical aging of glasses. Here we exploit the ability to track atomic-scale dynamics with x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) and resolve an unprecedented spectrum of short- and long-term relaxation time scales in metallic glasses. Conducted across temperatures and under the application of stress, the results reveal anything else than smooth aging and gradual energy minimization. In fact, temporal fluctuations persist throughout isothermal conditions over several hundred thousand of seconds, demonstrating heterogeneous dynamics at the atomic scale. In concert with microsecond molecular dynamic simulations, we identify possible mechanisms of correlated atomic-scale dynamics that can underly the temporal fluctuations and structural decorrelations. Despite temporally heterogeneous, the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts functions is well suited to capture the average intermediate relaxation time regime, but at very long time scales an asymptotic power-law emerges. This indicates anomalous diffusion and gives overall strong evidence for temporal fractional diffusion in metallic glasses. We discuss these results in terms of the structural fast and slow relaxation modes as well as a true microstructure in metallic glasses. T2 - Department Seminar OSU 2023 CY - Columbus, OH, USA DA - 22.09.2023 KW - Metallic glass KW - Transport KW - Structure KW - Dynamics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-60699 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Waske, Anja A1 - Tehranchi, Ali A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. A1 - Fellinger, Tim-Patrick A1 - Mehmood, Asad A1 - Witt, Julia A1 - Ozcan, Ozlem A1 - Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kumar, Sourabh A1 - Mishra, Rajesh Kumar A1 - Holzer, Marco A1 - Stucchi de Camargo, Andrea Simone A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Manzoni, Anna A1 - Fantin, Andrea A1 - John, Elisabeth A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Bührig, Sophia A1 - Murugan, Jegatheesan A1 - Marschall, Niklas A1 - George, Janine A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Chemically complex materials enable sustainable high-performance materials N2 - Chemically complex materials (CCMats) 􀀀 including high-entropy alloys, oxides, and related multi-principal element systems 􀀀 offer a paradigm shift in materials design by leveraging chemical diversity to simultaneously optimize functional, structural, and sustainability criteria. The vastness of the compositional and structural space in CCMats propels the field into an expanding exploratory state. To reconcile functional and structural performance across this immense parameter space remains an open challenge. This Perspective evaluates the opportunities and challenges associated with harnessing chemical complexity across a broad spectrum of applications, such as hydrogen storage, ionic conductors, catalysis, magnetics, dielectrics, semiconductors, optical materials, and multifunctional structural systems. It is delineated how three central design strategies: targeted substitution (SUB), defect engineering (DEF), and diversity management (DIV) enable the reconciliation of high functional performance with long-term structural stability and environmental responsibility. Advances in computational thermodynamics, microstructure simulations, machine learning, and multimodal characterization are accelerating the exploration and optimization of CCMats, while robust data infrastructures and automated synthesis workflows are emerging as essential tools for navigating their complex compositional space. By fostering cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer and embracing data-driven design, CCMats are poised to deliver next-generation materials solutions that address urgent technological, energy, and environmental demands. KW - Chemically complex materials KW - Structural stability KW - Functional performance KW - Design strategies KW - Sustainability PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655598 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359028626000033?via%3Dihub DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cossms.2026.101256 SN - 1359-0286 VL - 42 SP - 1 EP - 26 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-65559 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Beyond Serrated Flow in Bulk Metallic Glasses: What Comes Next? N2 - This manuscript is based on an oral contribution to the TMS 2020 annual meeting and is dedicated to Prof. Peter Liaw, who for decades has shown great interest in serrated plastic flow. Here we will focus on the case of bulk metallic glasses, and begin with briefly summarizing some aspects of serrated and non-serrated inhomogeneous flow—a phenomenon that has perplexed materials scientists for decades. Four directions of research are identified that emerged out of the desire to fundamentally understand the intermittent inhomogeneous flow response. These research directions gear away from the phenomenological stress–strain behavior but put the underlying shear defect into focus. Unsolved problems and future research topics are discussed. KW - Non-serrated inhomogeneous flow PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-513106 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-05985-w SN - 1073-5623 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-51310 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dudziak, Mateusz A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Beyond conventional calorimetry: Unlocking thermal characterization with fast scanning techniques N2 - Fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) has emerged as a transformative technique in thermal analysis, enabling the investigation of rapid and kinetically driven thermal transitions that are inaccessible to conventional differential scanning calorimetry. This review highlights the capabilities enabled by FSC for studying a wide range of materials under extreme thermal conditions, including polymers, pharmaceuticals, metallic glasses, nanocomposites, and hydrogels. By employing ultrafast heating and cooling rates, FSC allows for the suppression of crystallization, resolution of weak transitions, and analysis of thermally labile or size-limited samples. The technique is particularly valuable for probing glass transitions, relaxation phenomena, and phase behavior in systems with complex morphologies or confined geometries. Case studies demonstrate the use of FSC in characterizing vitrification, physical aging, and interfacial dynamics, as well as its application in emerging fields such as additive manufacturing, supramolecular systems, and neuromorphic materials. Together, these examples underscore the role that FSC plays in advancing the understanding of structure-property relationships across diverse material classes. KW - Flash DSC KW - Calorimetry KW - Glass transition PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647405 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2025.180177 VL - 754 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-64740 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rashidi, Reza A1 - Vaerst, Olivia A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Rösner, Harald A1 - Wilde, Gerhard A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Atomic-scale strain fluctuations as an origin for elastic microstructures in metallic glasses N2 - Metallic glasses (MGs) exhibit an elastic microstructure that spans from a few to hundreds of nanometers, the origin of which continues to remain poorly understood. Here we employ four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) on a Zr65Cu25Al10 (at. %) bulk MG. Mapping local diffraction patterns over representative areas also probed elastically with automated nanoindentation, two comparable correlation length scales have been identified. Specifically, local diffraction patterns are analyzed with respect to their ellipticity, revealing systematic fluctuations between positive and negative volumetric strains. A power spectrum analysis of the strain fluctuations returns a dominant length scale of the order of 100 nm, which is very much compatible with what elastic property mapping indicates. Annealing reduces the magnitude of the statistical strain fluctuations, without strongly affecting the associated fluctuation length scale. These findings demonstrate that atomic-scale strains are very likely the origin of the structurally unexpected large elastic fluctuations obtained in nanoscale contact mechanics experiments. KW - Metallic glass KW - 4D-STEM KW - Strain anisotropy KW - Nanoindentation KW - Elastic microstructure KW - Heterogeneities PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-654991 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2026.121982 SN - 1359-6454 VL - 308 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier Inc. AN - OPUS4-65499 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Zengquan A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Derlet, Peter M. A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Atomic cluster dynamics causes intermittent aging of metallic glasses N2 - In the past two decades, numerous relaxation or physical aging experiments of metallic glasses have revealed signatures of intermittent atomic-scale processes. Revealed via intensity cross-correlations from coherent scattering using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), the observed abrupt changes in the time-domain of atomic motion does not fit the picture of gradual slowing down of relaxation times and their origin continues to remain unclear. Using a binary Lennard-Jones model glass subjected to microsecond-long isotherms, we show here that temporally and spatially heterogeneous atomic-cluster activity at different length-scales drive the emergence of highly non-monotonous intensity cross-correlations. The simulated XPCS experiments reveal a variety of time-dependent intensity-cross correlations that, depending on both the structural evolution and the 𝑞-space sampling, give detailed insights into the possible structural origins of intermittent aging measured with XPCS. KW - Metallic glasses KW - Aging KW - Molecular dynamics KW - XPCS PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-595415 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.119730 SN - 1359-6454 VL - 267 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-59541 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rashidi, Reza A1 - Riechers, Birte A1 - Rosalie, Julian A1 - Maaß, Robert T1 - Annealing-dependent elastic microstructure in a Zr-based metallic glass N2 - In this letter, we demonstrate the robust presence of an elastic microstructure in a Zr-based metallic glass (MG) with a characteristic length-scale of the order of 100 nm. This length scale increases systematically towards the MG surface in differently sized casts, whereas thermal relaxation homogenizes both the internal length-scale gradient and the magnitude of the elastic fluctuations. Strongest changes during relaxation arise in the stiffest parts of the elastic microstructure. These findings indicate that the elastic microstructure emerges due to cooling constraints and may therefore be a microstructural manifestation of the internal residual stresses that arise during MG-solidification. KW - Metallic glass KW - Heterogeneity KW - Elastic microstructure KW - Nanoindentation PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-610962 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2024.116380 VL - 255 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-61096 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chang, Yen-Ting A1 - Sharda, Abhi A1 - Rosalie, Julian M. A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Charpagne, Marie A. T1 - A bcc refractory high-entropy alloy: the ideal case of smooth plastic flow N2 - Single crystalline metals exhibit correlated dislocation dynamics, irrespective of lattice system. This collective evolution of dislocation structures is intermittent and scale-free, implying divergent length scales that play a critical role in failure initiation and therefore microstructural design. Here we report on a HfNbTaTiZr refractory high-entropy alloy, that lacks criticality in the collective dislocation response. This unusual behaviour manifests itself in almost quenched-out microplastic stress-strain fluctuations and sluggish dislocation avalanching, otherwise only seen in complex engineering alloys. These findings demonstrate how the high-entropy paradigm can serve as a role model to effectively suppress unwanted plastic fluctuations in metals deformation. KW - Plasticity KW - Dislocations KW - Avalanches KW - Refractory high-entropy alloys PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630241 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2025.2497860 SN - 2166-3831 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Taylor & Francis Group AN - OPUS4-63024 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -