The structural characterizations of Ti-17 alloy films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Highlights: • The α + β dual-phase titanium alloy film was obtained. • The film morphology shows a zone 1–zone T transition in the SZM. • The film changes from a random growth to a texture growth as the T_s rises. • The film hardness and modulus increase as the T_s rises. One of the most attractive structural features of titanium (Ti) alloys is its α + β dual-phase growth. Previous work focused on α- or β-Ti phase films, but dual-phase growth in films has not yet been studied. This paper investigates the magnetron-sputtered structures of Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr alloy as a function of substrate temperature from 125 °C to 530 °C. The film shows a phase transformation from single β to α + β growth as substrate temperature rises. We discuss the morphology and texture evolutions that arise in sputtering deposition in reference to the structure zone model. We use nanoindentation to assess the mechanical properties of the films. The phase evolution, zone 1–zone T transition, and texture growth with the increasing substrate temperature all contribute to mechanical property improvements of the films.