Thickness-dependent fcc–hcp phase transformation in polycrystalline titanium thin films

Polycrystalline Ti thin films are shown to gradually transform from face-centered cubic (fcc) to hexagonal close-packed structure (hcp) with increasing film thickness. Diffraction stress analysis revealed that the fcc phase is formed in a highly compressive hcp matrix (⩾2 GPa), the magnitude of which decreases with increasing film thickness. A correlation between stress and crystallographic texture vis-à-vis the fcc–hcp phase transformation has been established. The total free energy change of the system upon phase transformation calculated using the experimental results shows that the fcc–hcp transformation is theoretically possible in the investigated film thickness regime (144–720 nm) and the hcp structure is stable for films thicker than 720 nm, whereas the fcc structure can be stabilized in Ti films much thinner than 144 nm.