Thermodynamic prediction of metastable phases of Ni-Ti system formed by ion beam mixing

By taking into account the valence electron number and periodic number of constituting metals, a new method is first proposed to calculate the structural enthalpy in the Miedema’s model and the modified Miedema’s model is then used to predict the formation of metastable phases in Ni-Ti system. To testify the relevance of the present prediction, the multilayered films of Ni1-xTix (x=27.3, 30.5, 42.4, 83.1, 89) are prepared and irradiated by 200 keV xenon ions. Experiment results reveal that uniform amorphous phases are obtained in the Ni72.7Ti27.3, Ni69.5Ti30.5, and Ni57.6Ti42.4 films by increasing the irradiation dose. While for the Ni16.9Ti83.1 and Ni11Ti89 films, an hcp Ti-based solid solution phase and a bcc Ti-rich solid solution phase coexist upon irradiation dose higher than 6×1014 Xe+/cm2. The predictions of relative stabilities of metastable phases in Ni-Ti system by the modified Miedema’s model match well with IBM experiments, thus justifying the modification proposed in the present study.