Because tapering leads to inevitable artifacts in the analyses of compression experiments on micrometer sized pillars, in this study taper-free nanosized pillars of Zr-based metallic glass of Zr61.8Cu18Ni10.2Al10 composition with diameter ranging from 600 to 90 nm were fabricated. These pillars were compressed in situ in a transmission electron microscope as a function of pillar diameter. Under compression each pillar of large diameter exhibits predominant inhomogeneous and intermittent plastic flow characterized by shear banding (SB) events. However, pillars around 150 nm in diameter and below show homogeneous deformation during compression without SB.
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