The martensitic transformation of Ti–Ni shape memory thin films under proton irradiation

The martensitic transformation behavior of a Ti–Ni alloy irradiated by proton with different doses has been investigated. It is found that the samples irradiated by 150 keV protons have a two-step phase transformation during heating and only one-step transformation during cooling. The exothermic peak at higher temperature disappears during the following thermal cycling. A model based on the stress-assisted martensitic transformation was established by the Transport of Ions in Matter (TRIM) calculations in order to explain the transformation behavior. - Highlights: • Martensitic transformation behavior of TiNi alloy under proton irradiation • Two-step transformation appears upon heating for a sample irradiated at 150 keV. • One-step transformation appears upon cooling for a sample irradiated at 150 keV. • In the following thermal cycling, the higher temperature exothermic peak vanishes