Amorphous layer formation by irradiation of an intense pulsed ion beam (PIB) has been studied experimentally. A mixed carbon and fluorine PIB with energy of 180 keV, current density of 180 A/cm2, and pulse duration of 25 ns is exposed to a Ni65Cr15P16B4alloy, resulting in an amorphous layer on the substrate surface within 0.66 &mgr;m in depth. The cooling rate for a nickel substrate from the melting point to the glass transition temperature is estimated to be ∼3.8×105K/s. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.