Hyperfine interaction studies of amorphous materials using NMR

Through hyperfine interactions the electronic structure of amorphous materials can be investigated by NMR. Furthermore, the local character of these interactions makes them adequate to study the local environment and the local symmetry around the probe nuclei through the measurement of hyperfine fields and electric field gradients. We review recent NMR studies of amorphous metals from the following two points of view: (1) Electronic structure: Knight shifts and spin relaxation times in paramagnetic materials and hyperfine fields in ferromagnetic materials. (2) Local amorphous structure: topological and chemical short-range order. Emphasis will be given to the comparisons between amorphous materials and corresponding crystalline materials.