Phase transformation in free-standing SMA nanowires

The primary focus of this work is on determining if the phase transformation of shape memory alloy (SMA) nanowires exhibits a critical size below which the phase transformation is inhibited. The SMA nanowires are fabricated through the use of the mechanical pressure injection method. The mechanical pressure injection method is a template-assisted nanowire fabrication method in which an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template is impregnated with liquid metal. The fabrication of SMA nanowires with different diameters is accomplished through the fabrication of AAO templates of varying diameters. The phase transformation behavior of the fabricated SMA nanowires is characterized using transmission electron microscopy. By analysis of the fabricated SMA nanowires, it is found that the phase transformation of SMA nanowires is not affected for nanowires ranging in diameter from 650 to 10 nm.