Cryogenic thermal cycling (CTC, between room temperature and 77 K) of a (Cu,Zr)-based bulk metallic glass (MG) leads to substantial reductions in the initial yield load F_y observed on instrumented indentation, and can reverse annealing-induced increases in F_y. In contrast, for hardness and elastic modulus, CTC has much less effect and can only partially reverse annealing effects. The distribution of F_y values is wide, reflecting heterogeneity in the MG. For a melt-spun Fe-based glass, CTC with more cycles induces similar changes in F_y, and has almost no effect on the magnetic properties. Such differing effects of CTC can be consistently interpreted in terms of its preferential effect on soft spots in a relatively rigid glass matrix. The capability for targeted stimulation of shear-transformation zones permits tailoring of MG properties, clearly facilitates initiation of plastic flow, and offers the prospect of improved plasticity and toughness even in annealed samples.

（Cu，Zr）基大块金属玻璃（MG）的低温热循环（CTC，在室温和77 K之间）导致在仪器压痕上观察到的初始屈服载荷F _y大大降低，并可以逆转退火引起的F _y增加。相反，对于硬度和弹性模量，CTC的影响要小得多，并且只能部分逆转退火作用。F _y值的分布很宽，反映了MG中的异质性。对于熔融纺制的铁基玻璃，具有更多循环的四氯化碳会引起相似的F _y变化。，并且几乎对磁性能没有影响。CTC的这种不同效果可以用其对相对较硬的玻璃基质中的软点的优先效果来一致地解释。有针对性地刺激剪切转变区的能力允许调整MG特性，明显促进塑性流动的开始，甚至在退火样品中也提供了改善的可塑性和韧性的前景。