  Notched bars of bulk metallic glasses, Pd$_{40}$Ni$_{40}$P$_{20}$ and
Zr$_{52.5}$Cu$_{17.9}$Ni$_{14.6}$Al$_{10}$Ti$_{5}$, were deformed under 3-point
bending conditions, resulting in the formation of shear bands before failure.
The immediate environment of shear bands was investigated in detail using
fluctuation electron microscopy to extract information on the strain-induced
modifications of the medium-range order (MRO) and its lateral extension.
Characteristic material-independent gradients were observed for the tensile and
compressive sides of the samples indicating the impact of the local stress
state on the MRO. Our results reveal an upper limit of a few microns for the
lateral extension of the shear-affected environments of shear bands.
