IR and near IR laser ablative deposition of amorphous titanium coats containing nanocrystalline grains of titanium and titanium suboxides

IR and near-IR laser ablation of bulk hexagonal titanium in vacuum results in the deposition of amorphous titanium coats containing crystalline nanograins of titanium suboxides and amorphous-like hexagonal titanium. The morphology of these coats deposited on copper and silica has been characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The coats preserve their amorphous phase at higher temperatures than do amorphous Ti samples earlier prepared by ball-milling and they slightly change their micrometer-sized features and develop nanocrystalline Ti and TiO2 grains only when heated to 900 °C. The results are consistent with efficient amorphization of ejected high-energy titanium particles, which occurs upon rapid quenching on unheated Cu and silica substrates. The reported process represents another approach among several previous attempts to fabricate hardly accessible amorphous Ti phase.