Predicting Polymorphic Phase Stability in Multilayered Thin Films

Predicting Polymorphic Phase Stability in Multilayered Thin Films
Author: Gregory B. Thompson
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2003
Genre: Phase rule and equilibrium
ISBN:

Abstract: As thin films are reduced in thickness, allotropic phase transformations to structures that are not the equilibrium phase in the standard state can be stabilized. These polymorphic phase transformations have been referred to as pseudomorphism. Many of these pseudomorphic phases have been serendipitously discovered. For the first time, the use of a classical thermodynamic model has been developed in the prediction of phase stability in Zr/Nb and Ti/Nb multilayered thin film structures. The classical thermodynamic model predicts that in regions of high volume fractions of Nb, the lower volume fraction, or alternatively, the thinner Zr or Ti layer, can be stabilized as a bcc phase rather then an hcp phase. The pseudomorphic phase is stabilized by a reduction in the interfacial free energy. An outcome of the classical thermodynamic model is a new type of phase stability diagram, referred to as a biphase diagram, in predicting which combinations of length scale and volume fraction will stabilize the pseudomorphic or bulk equilibrium phases. The change in hcp to bcc phase stability in Zr and Ti has been confirmed by transmission and reflection x-ray diffraction and electron diffraction. In each case, the Zr or Ti layer adopted a lattice parameter similar to its high temperature beta-bcc lattice parameter. An O-lattice construction, a nearest-neighbor-bond model, and a van der Merwe model have been used to estimate the contributing structural and chemical contributions to the hcp-bcc interfacial free energy reduction value. The Zr/Nb values match well to experimentally determined interfacial free energies that can be calculated from the slopes of the stability boundaries on the biphase diagram. Atom Probe Tomography (APT) results indicated a significant interdiffusion of up to 15 at.% Nb into the Ti layers that helped to facilitate the hcp-bcc transition in Ti. Refinement of the free energy calculations using the APT results brought the predicted and experimental interfacial free energy values in closer agreement for Ti/Nb. The successful prediction of bcc Zr or Ti in volume fraction rich Nb multilayers was used in the prediction and confirmation by x-ray and electron diffraction of a novel bcc to hcp phase stability change for Nb for each multilayer system. The hcp Nb phase has adopted independent hcp lattice parameters from either Zr or Ti. In either the Zr/Nb or Ti/Nb system, the hcp Nb lattice parameters were found to be equivalent. Finally, a series of Ti-8at.%V/Nb multilayers were sputter deposited. The addition of V, a bcc-stabilizer in Ti alloys, has been shown to allow for controlled facilitation of the hcp-bcc phase stability in the Ti layer. This result opens up the possibility for predictive phase engineering of multilayers at a specific layer thickness.

Phase Stability in Ti/bcc Multilayered Thin Films

Phase Stability in Ti/bcc Multilayered Thin Films
Author: Li Wan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

Materials structures with large surface area-to-volume ratios can exhibit size dependent physical and chemical properties that are different than their bulk form. These changes are often related to the material adopting a different crystallographic phase. Often these phase transformations are serendipitously observed with the criteria for their stability difficult to ascertain. This work elucidates the underpinnings of phase stability behavior in the nanoscale regime by providing a systematic study using Ti/bcc multilayered thin film architectures. The influences of lattice misfit, layer thickness, composition and chemical intermixing on the phase stability are determined. In situ thin film growth stresses of these materials are measured and correlated to the interfacial stress evolution to help rationalize the stability behavior. X-ray and electron diffraction have been employed to determine the phase with atom probe tomography used to characterize the chemical compositions within the materials and across the interfaces. This work will delineate how intrinsic film stress drives compositional intermixing across such interfaces which can thermodynamically promote phase transformations.

Structure and Properties of Multilayered Thin Films: Volume 382

Structure and Properties of Multilayered Thin Films: Volume 382
Author: Tai D. Nguyen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 520
Release: 1995-11-10
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN:

Layered thin film structures often have unusual properties which make them appealing in a wide range of applications. Fabrication of submicron and nanometer multilayers can produce metastable phases that many not be predicted from the bulk equilibrium phase diagrams. Understanding the growth, structure, stability and properties of multilayers, and controlling their microstructure through processing, are important in many applications. This book focuses on the relationship of structure and processing to the properties that are relevant to all researchers in the field of multilayers. Topics include: phase transformation and reaction kinetics; processing and growth; structural characterization; magnetic, electronic and optical properties; mechanical properties; X-ray optics; thin-film interfaces.