Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Amorphous Ni69Cr14P17 specimens thinned for transmission electron microscopy have been studied in situ during thermal treatment. In the thinnest regions of the specimens (thickness d < 50 nm), a metastable hexagonal (Ni,Cr)3P phase nucleates at the perforation edge with the c-axis perpendicular to the specimen surface. The crystal width of this phase grows linearly with time. Above 530°C the hexagonal phase transforms into a stable b.c.t. (Ni,Cr)3P phase. It is concluded that the surface and grain boundary energies dominate nucleation and growth.