In-situ studies of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) Ni-Ti thin films

Ni-Ti thin films (SMA) formed by sputtering have been attracting great interest as powerful actuators in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as microvalves, microfluidic pumps and micromanipulators. Successful implementation of Ni-Ti micro-actuactors requires a good understanding of the relationship among processing, microstructure and proprieties of Ni-Ti thin films. At the ROssendorf BeamLine (ROBL-CRG) at the ESRF, we carried out a series of experiments that clearly illustrate the benefit of in-situ studies, not only during annealing, but also during sputtering. The in-situ annealing experiments, using a Be-dome furnace installed into the six-circle diffractometer of the Materials Research Hutch (MRH) allowed us to determine the kinetics of the phenomena, to identify the sequence of precipitation and to correlate the build-up of the final structure with the processing conditions. The in-situ sputtering experiments during film growth were performed using a magnetron sputter deposition chamber also installed into the six-circle diffractometer [1]. This facility allowed us to follow, almost in “real time”, the structural evolution of the deposited thin film as a consequence of changing deposition parameters.