Xi Wang, Yves Bellouard, Joost J. Vlassak

Published in Acta Materialia 53 (2005) p4955-4961.

Abstract — We present the results of a crystallization study on NiTi shape memory thin films in which amorphous films are annealed by a scanning laser. This technique has the advantage that shape memory properties can be spatially distributed as required by the application. A kinetics study shows that nucleation of the crystalline phase occurs homogenously in the films. Consequently, the laser annealing process produces polycrystalline films with a random crystallographic texture. The crystallized films have a uniform microstructure across the annealed areas. The material in the crystalline regions transforms reversibly to martensite on cooling from elevated temperature and stress measurements show that a significant recovery stress is achieved in the films upon transformation.

This micrograph indicates the nulceation and growth mechanism in the crystallization of amorphous near-equiatomic NiTi films. The crystal nucleates homogenously inside the bulk of the film, and quickly consume most of the film thickness, and then grows laterally in a two-dimensional growth mode. Heterogeneous nucleation at an interface was not observed due to the composition shift at those locations caused by interfacial reaction.

Source: Xi Wang, Joost.J. Vlassak, Crystallization Kinetics of Amorphous NiTi Shape Memory Alloy Thin Films, Scripta Materialia, 54, 925-930 (2005). (see attachment for preprint of the paper)