NITI THIN-FILM CHARACTERIZATION BY RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROMETRY

Nickel and titanium can form alloys showing the shape memory effect wh en combined in the right stoichiometric proportion (1:1). Recently, su ch alloys have been produced as thin films by sputtering (RF or DC, wi th or without magnetron), with a view to making microelectromechanical actuators. Precise control of the characteristic transformation tempe rature is crucial for obtaining the shape memory effect. This requires analytical tools which can accurately determine the relative composit ion, and hence the transition temperature. In this paper, Rutherford b ackscattering spectrometry will be shown to meet the requirements of t hin film processing of NiTi shape memory alloys, and to have advantage s when compared with other techniques.