Transversal growth microstructures of quasicrystalline Ti-Zr-Ni films

TL;DR

This study investigates how deposition temperature affects the microstructure and morphology of quasicrystalline Ti-Zr-Ni films produced by pulsed laser deposition, revealing temperature-dependent structural variations.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the microstructural evolution of Ti-Zr-Ni quasicrystalline films as a function of deposition temperature using advanced microscopy and diffraction techniques.

Findings

Low temperatures produce nanometer grains in an amorphous matrix.

Higher temperatures result in non-uniform structures with amorphous layers and crystallized columns.

Crystallite size increases with film thickness.

Abstract

Pulsed laser deposition from a Nd:YAG laser was employed in production of hundreds of nanometer thick quasicrystalline Ti-Zr-Ni films on glass substrate. The influence of deposition temperature Ts on the structure, morphology and microstructure of the films across their thickness was investigated. The morphology and microstructure features were evaluated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The low deposition temperatures were found to produce films with nanometer sized grains embedded in an amorphous matrix. The grains exhibit quasicrystalline order. The higher deposition temperatures lead to films whose structure is not uniform all along the growth direction. The layer in contact with the substrate is a very thin amorphous layer. The main part of the film consists of crystallized columns. The columns have grown from a nano-crystallized layer where the size of crystallites increases with increasing thickness.