In-situ crystalline TiNi thin films deposited by HiPIMS at a low substrate temperature

Magnetron sputtered TiNi thin films usually exhibit an amorphous structure and need a high substrate tem-perature (>450 degrees C) or a post-annealing treatment (>500 degrees C) to promote crystallization. However, these treat-ments could extremely limit the use of low melting point substrate materials. In this study, TiNi thin films were prepared by HiPIMS using different deposition parameters. The structure and phase transformation of TiNi films were investigated. Based on SEM, XRD, TEM, DSC and electrical resistivity analysis, results show that it is possible to deposit dense crystalline TiNi thin films at a low substrate temperature (230 degrees C). The crystallization mechanism was also discussed. Ions energy and substrate temperatures significantly affected the formation of crystalline structures.