Origin of an isothermal R-martensite formation in Ni-rich Ti-Ni solid solution: crystallization of strain glass.

We report that R martensite isothermally forms with time in a solution-treated Ti(48.7)Ni(51.3) single crystal. This abnormal formation originates from the growth of a short-range ordered R phase with time, i.e., the "crystallization" of strain glass. The established time-composition-temperature Ti-Ni diagram shows a time evolution of the R phase and composition-temperature phase diagram. The presence or absence of the R phase in this new diagram, as well as in other conditions (like doping Fe or aging), is explained in a unified framework of free-energy landscape. Our finding suggests a new mechanism for the isothermal martensite formation, which could be applied to other metal and ceramic martensitic systems to find new phases and novel properties.