Grating patterns with high aspect ratios created on the surface of Pd-based metallic glass by thermal imprinting

The thermal imprinting of grating patterns (lines and spaces) with high aspect ratios (height-to-width ratio of the lines) on the surface of Pd42.5Cu30Ni7.5P20 metallic glass was investigated. The flow model suggested that sample’s temperature of 350 ℃ under the processing time just within the incubation time for crystallization will lead the fabrication of grating with the highest aspect ratio. The load-time curve obtained during imprinting showed that a significant decrease in the load originated from a decrease in the sample viscosity above the glass transition temperature. By minimizing the decrease in loading, a grating with a height of 37 ± 4.1 μm and a fully amorphous structure was produced. Among the metallic glass gratings for X-ray phase imaging, the grating fabricated in this study shows high aspect ratio of ~8.7. As a demonstration, the grating performance was investigated by constructing a simple diffraction apparatus, revealing that the positions of the experimentally observed diffraction spots were consistent with the calculated ones. The results suggested that it can be considered as potential for the grating of X-ray Talbot interferometer.