Ex situ characterization of phase transformations and associated microstructures in polycrystalline thin films

This article presents new ex situ techniques, as well as novel applications of conventional methods, to:investigate phase transformations and associat ed microstructures in polycrystalline thin films. Specifically, we review t he results of a dark-held transmission, electronmicroscopy study of the dis order-order transformation thermodynamics and kinetics in CoPt and FePt thi n films and, in addition, discuss the applications of differential scanning calorimetry to the interrogation of solid-state reactions in Nb/Al, Ni/Al, and Ti/Al systems. These investigations have naturally prompted the develo pment of methods to analyze and better understand our experimental data. Th us, we also outline a new, automated image processing algorithm for transmi ssion electron micrographs and discuss its implementation to interpret imag es of thin Al film microstructures. Further, as computer simulation has bee n employed to highlight important nucleation and growth: parameters, we bri efly summarize the results of these investigations. (C) 1999 American Vacuu m Society. [S0734-2101(99)07204-8].