Apparatus for rapid thermal analysis studies of reluctant glass formers
An apparatus is described for performing rapid thermal analysis of milligram quantities of reluctant glass formers. Nucleation and crystallization kinetic analysis on samples cooled at very rapid cooling rates of 10 to 2500 C/s is described. The apparatus utilizes focused heating of a sample contained on a fine thermocouple. The measured times and temperatures for nucleation of crystallization at various cooling rates and experimental conditions permit the construction of continuous cooling crystallization boundaries and the determination of critical cooling rates for glass formation.