Micro pulling down growth of very thin shape memory alloys single crystals

Abstract

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have attracted much attention in the last decades due to their thermo-mechanical properties such as superelasticity and shape memory effect. Among the different families of SMAs, Cu–Al–Ni alloys exhibit these properties in a wide range of temperatures including the temperature range of 100–200[Formula: see text]C, where there is a technological demand of these functional materials, and exhibit excellent behavior at small scale making them more competitive for applications in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). However, polycrystalline alloys of Cu-based SMAs are very brittle so that they show their best thermo-mechanical properties in single-crystal state. Nowadays, conventional Bridgman and Czochralski methods are being applied to elaborate single-crystal rods up to a minimum diameter of 1[Formula: see text]mm, but no works have been reported for smaller diameters. With the aim of synthesizing very thin single-crystals, the Micro-Pulling Down ([Formula: see text]-PD) technique has been applied, for which the capillarity and surface tension between crucible and the melt play a critical role. The [Formula: see text]-PD method has been successfully applied to elaborate several cylindrical shape thin single-crystals down to 200[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m in diameter. Finally, the martensitic transformation, which is responsible for the shape memory properties of these alloys, has been characterized for different single-crystals. The experimental results evidence the good quality of the grown single-crystals.