Strain evolution during spinodal decomposition of TiAlN thin films

We use a combination of in-situ x-ray scattering experiments during annealing and phase-field simulations to study the strain and microstructure evolution during decomposition of TiAlN thin films. The evolved microstructure is observed to depend on composition, where the larger elastic anisotropy of higher Al content films causes formation of elongated AlN and TiN domains. The simulations show strain formation in the evolving cubic-AlN and TiN domains, which is a combined effect of increasing lattice mismatch and elastic incompatibility between the domains. The experimental results show an increased compressive strain in the TiAlN phase during decomposition due to the onset of transformation to hexagonal-AlN