Fig. 1. Microstructure characterization of composites, (a) TEM plane-view image of electrodeposited Ni layer; (b) statistic distribution of the grain size of the Ni layer, (c) electron diffraction pattern of the amorphous layer.

Fig. 2. (a) Engineering stress-strain curves of Fe-based amorphous specimen, and composite specimens with Ni layer thickness (tNi) ranging from 1 to 24?μm; (b) yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the amorphous and laminated composite specimens with different Ni layer thicknesses; (c) relationship between yield strength and uniform elongation of amorphous and composite specimens.

Fig. 3. (a), (b) and (c) LSCM three-dimensional images (the left column) for the amorphous specimen and tNi?=?8 and 24?μm, respectively. (d), (e) and (f) corresponding line scanning profile along thickness direction (the right column). θ is the shear angle between the shear plane and loading direction. (g) relationship between shear angle and Ni layer thickness.

Fig. 4. SEM observations of fracture surfaces of (a) amorphous specimen (b) tNi?=?1?μm, (c) tNi?=?6?μm, and (d) tNi?=?24?μm. The smooth region and the vein pattern region in the amorphous layer are indicated by arrows. The framed area in (d) indicates traces of crack propagation.

Fig. 5. Relationship between smooth region percentage and Ni layer thickness.

Fig. 6. Relationship between (a) stress on the shear fracture plane and the Ni layer thickness, and (b) size of smooth region and shear stress on the shear fracture plane.