Amorphization Mechanisms in Metallic and Semiconducting Materials

Amorphization is the process by which a crystalline solid transforms into a disordered, non-crystalline state. In metallic systems, extreme mechanical loading, shear localisation and elastic instabilities can induce local loss of lattice order, profoundly altering hardness, ductility and strength. High-entropy alloys exploit enthalpy-guided composition to generate paracrystalline motifs and controlled nanoscale amorphous regions, while certain intermetallics deform by direct amorphization along shear planes in place of conventional dislocation activity. In semiconductors, deformation-induced transitions to the amorphous phase can arise from slip-mediated stacking-fault accumulation, rapid quenching, irradiation or shock loading. Central mechanisms include the nucleation and interaction of planar defects, bond-breaking under dynamic stresses and the collapse of lattice stability under high elastic strain. Understanding these pathways is essential for designing materials with enhanced mechanical resilience, tailored electronic properties or improved performance under extreme conditions, spanning applications from high-strength structural components to flexible electronics and radiation-hard devices.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that minute additions of elements with strongly negative mixing enthalpies can induce targeted local amorphization in high-entropy alloys, producing paracrystalline regions interlaced with medium-range ordered motifs. These engineered alloys achieve exceptional hardness and yield strength and deform primarily via nanoscale shear-banding and controlled nanocrystallization. Complementary work has revealed an elastic strain–induced amorphization pathway in similar multicomponent systems, where lattice ordering collapses sharply beyond a critical tensile strain of roughly ten per cent. This mechanism diverges from defect-driven processes and underscores the importance of atomic-environment inhomogeneity in inhibiting dislocation nucleation and triggering elastic failure. Foundational investigations in polycrystalline intermetallics have further shown that, above certain grain sizes, deformation proceeds by direct amorphization along shear planes without traditional dislocation motion, giving rise to an inverse grain-size dependence of strength.

Amorphization Mechanisms in Metallic and Semiconducting Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in amorphization mechanisms in metallic and semiconducting materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Paracrystalline state: A partially ordered atomic arrangement containing both crystalline domains and disordered regions.

Stacking fault: A planar crystallographic defect arising from an irregular sequence of atomic layers.

Shear band: A narrow zone of intense shear deformation that localises stress and can initiate phase transformation.

Elastic instability: The abrupt loss of lattice stability under applied strain, leading to sudden structural collapse.

High-entropy alloy (HEA): A multi-component metallic alloy with near-equimolar element ratios, characterised by high configurational entropy.

References

1. Pt-induced atomic-level tailoring towards paracrystalline high-entropy alloy. Nature Communications (2023).
2. In situ TEM study of deformation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition in silicon. NPG Asia Materials (2016).
3. Plasticity without dislocations in a polycrystalline intermetallic. Nature Communications (2019).
4. Elastic strain-induced amorphization in high-entropy alloys. Nature Communications (2024).
5. Shock-induced Amorphization in Covalently Bonded Solids. EPJ Web of Conferences (2018).