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Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) thin films have gained a lot of attention due to their unique features, such as the shape memory effect. Micro-actuators, micro-valve, micro-fluid pumps, bio-medical applications, and electronic applications have a lot of interest in these smart thin films. Sputter-deposited NiTi thin films have shown the potential to be very useful as a powerful actuator in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) because of their large recovery forces and high recoverable strains. Despite the advancement of improved deposition methods for the NiTi thin films, there are still certain unsolved challenges that impede accurate composition control throughout the deposition process. Many applications, spanning from the aerospace industries to a range of nanotechnologies, require knowledge of the sputtering characteristics of the materials that are subjected to bombardment, ejection, and deposition of ions. In recent decades, atomic scale modeling has been given a high emphasis in ion sputtering research, providing an adequate and precise description of collision cascades in solids using the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) and Transport of Ions in Matter (TRIM). In this paper, SRIM is used to address how the heavy ions interact with the target materials. A variety of ion-solid interaction characteristics, including the sputter yield, have been determined by simulating collision cascades in the solids. On the other hand, TRIM was used to describe the range of ions that enter into the matter and cause damage to the target throughout the process. The simulation was carried out to compare the sputtering yield of Ni and Ti by varying the energy input (from 300V to 1300V). SRIM simulation was conducted by varying the thickness of the film, the angle of incidence of ions, and the energy involved in the sputtering process. The characterization of the films has been carried out using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) to comprehend the surface and interface morphologies of the films and to validate the simulated results. With an increase in energy input (target voltage), the sputtering yield increased. The sputtering yield of the Ni target was higher than the Ti target indicating that Ni can be removed relatively easier than Ti.

The present study investigates the superelasticity properties of spark plasma sintered (SPS) nickel titanium shape memory alloy (NiTi SMA) with the influence of sintering temperature and particle size. The nanoindentation is conducted on the surface of the NiTi SMA at various loads such as 100, 300 and 500mN. The nanoindentation technique determines the quantitative results of elasto-plastic properties such as depth recovery in the form of superelasticity, stiffness, hardness and work recovery ratio from load–depth ($P$–$h$) data during loading and unloading of the indenter. Experimental findings show that the depth and work recovery ratio increases with the decrease of indentation load and particle size. In contrast, increasing the sintering temperature exhibited a better depth and work recovery due to the removal of pores which could enhance the reverse transformation. The contact stiffness is influenced by $dp∕dh$ which leads to attain a maximum stiffness at the highest load (500mN) and particle size (45$\mu$m) along with the lowest sintering temperature (700^∘C). NiTi alloy exhibited a maximum hardness of 9.46GPa when subjected to indent at the lowest load and particle size sintered at 800^∘C. The present study reveals a better superelastic behavior in NiTi SMA by reducing the particle size and indentation load associated with the enhancement of sintering temperature.

Effect of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (80 nm) on the grain structure and phase formation in Ni-50Ti system during high-energy mechanical alloying (MA) was studied. While the formation of NiTi B2 phase occurs progressively during MA, it is shown that the hard inclusions cause abrupt phase formation at short milling times, particularly at higher nano-Al₂O₃ contents. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed significant grain refinement in the presence of alumina nanoparticles to sizes less than 10 nm, which precedes the formation of semicrystalline structure and reduces the diffusion length and thus accelerates the phase formation. The composite powder reached steady-state MA condition at shorter milling times with finer grain structure and higher hardness.