High‐Throughput Investigation of the Oxidation and Phase Constitution of Thin‐Film Ni–Al–Cr Materials Libraries

Abstract

Thin‐film materials libraries of the intermetallic model system Ni–Al–Cr were fabricated and their oxidation behavior was studied by compositional, optical, electrical, and structural high‐throughput characterization methods. The study reveals the compositional regions of the binary and ternary compositions which withstand longest to annealing in air (up to 700 °C), and are, therefore, resistant to oxidation and delamination under these conditions. A complete ternary thin‐film phase diagram for the Ni–Al–Cr system in its state after 9 h annealing in air at 500 °C was determined. Optical high‐throughput characterization is shown to be valid for rapid identification of oxidizing phases. Generally, the initially metallic phases show different oxidation behavior in air. We find that the ternary compositions are more resistant to oxidation than the binary phases. Compositions around Ni 25 Al 12.5 Cr 62.5 were found to show very good oxidation resistance. These results were supported by additional information from corresponding electrical and optical property investigations. The presented high‐throughput approach is generic for the efficient study of multinary thin‐film materials in harsh environments.