Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Nanocomposite Ti/Al multilayered thin films have been deposited by magnetron sputtering. These multilayers exhibit interesting structural transitions on reducing the layer thickness of both Ti and Al. Ti transforms from its bulk stable hep structure to fee and Al transforms from fee to hep. The effect of ratio of Ti layer thickness to Al layer thickness on the structural transitions has been investigated for a constant bilayer periodicity of 10 nm by considering three different multilayers: 7.5 nm Ti / 2.5 nm Al, 5 nm Ti / 5 nm Al and 2.5 nm Ti / 7.5 nm Al. The experimental results have been qualitatively explained on the basis of a thermodynamic model. Preliminary experimental results of interfacial reactions in Ti/Al bilayers resulting in the formation of Ti-aluminides are also presented in the paper.