Microstructure and Damping Property of the Discontinuous NiTi SMA Thin Films/PZT Substrate Composite

Discontinuous NiTi SMA thin films were deposited on PZT substrate by magnetron sputtering method with a specially designed pore plate. The microstructure and damping property of the prepared composite were studied with X-Ray diffraction, scanning electric microscopy and dynamic elastic modulus apparatus. It was found that NiTi SMA thin films with physical dimension of width of less-than or equal to 2mm and distance between the adjacent thin films of 1mm are of best equiaxed crystal microstructure after crystallization at 600°C. The damping effect of the composite is still caused by PZT and the damping value is generally lower than that of pure PZT, about 9.9%.