Annealed Nickel-Titanium Smart Alloy Thin Films

The demand on NiTi thin film equipment is gradually increasing in a wide range in all the fieldssuch as biomedical, automotive, and aeronautic. NiTi SMA has now moved from the bulk form to the microscale and nano-scales.NiTi thin films embedded with its two peculiar characters that are shape memory property andpseudoelasticitywhich can give raise a huge power-to-weightratio in MEMS, results theamazing methods for activation. The present investigation focuses on study of the effectof annealing on sputtered deposited NiTi single bi-layered thin film. NiTi thin film has been fabricated using ac/dc magnetron sputtering machine followed by the sputter chamber heat treatment. As-deposited as well as the annealed NiTi thin film has been analysed by FESEM, GIXRD, DSC, Profilometry, Vickershardness tester, Corrosiontest. Thediffusional changes at the substrate/thin film interface,crystalline behaviourhas been clearly understood by the help of FESEM micrograph. With FESEM, EDX was also done to inspect the elements present on the surface and interface of NiTi thin film.