Using Laplace transform, we solve the inverse problem of obtaining the shear relaxation modulus and creep compliance of linear viscoelastic solids from indentation by axisymmetric indenters of power-law profiles. We identify several simple, though nontrivial, loading paths for carrying out indentation measurements such that the inverse problem has analytical solutions. We show that the shear relaxation modulus and creep compliance may be readily obtained using the newly derived analytical expressions together with proposed indentation loading paths.

In order to study the electronic properties of conjugated polymer nanowire junctions, we have fabricated two devices consisting of two crossed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanowires with platinum microleads attached to each end of each nanowire. We find that the junction resistance of the crossed nanowires is much larger than the intrinsic resistance of the individual PEDOT nanowire, and increases with decreasing temperature, which can be described by a thermal fluctuation-induced tunneling conduction model. In addition, the crossed junctions show linear current-voltage characteristics at room temperature.

A ternary system composed of Tb(DBM)3Phen (TbDP), Eu(DBM)3Phen (EuDP), and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) was prepared with good thermal stability and the photoluminescence (PL) was studied. By comparing their emissions, it was found that energy transfer exists from PVK to lanthanide complexes in the ternary system. It also was found that the lifetime of 5D0 of Eu3+ in the ternary system is longer than that of the binary system of EuDP and PVK, but the lifetime of 5D4 of Tb3+ in the ternary system is shorter than that of the binary system of TbDP and PVK, showing evidence of energy transfer from TbDP to EuDP. Temperature-dependent PL spectra of the ternary system from 9 to 300 K further showed there is a change in energy transfer efficiencies from Tb3+ ions to Eu3+ ions at different temperature ranges, which not only is more evidence of energy transfer but also can be used as a temperature detector or a thermal-sensitive probe of a optical fiber sensor.

Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images and selected area electron diffraction pattern showed that the one-dimensional GaN nanorods with [0001]-oriented single-crystalline wurzite structures were formed on Si (111) substrates by using hydride vapor-phase epitaxy without a catalyst. Although some stacking faults and inversion domain boundaries existed in the GaN nanorods, few other defects such as threading dislocations were observed. The formation of the facet plane in the N-polar region of the GaN nanorod containing an inversion domain boundary originated from the slow growth rate, followed by the lateral adatom diffusion from the Ga-polar region to reduce the length difference.

Nanoscale surface texturing of silicon was accomplished by oblique Ar+ ion beam irradiation. Atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging showed that nanotexturing produced an anisotropic morphology consisting of ordered nanometer-sized ripples. Surface force microscope (SFM) measurements showed that the nanotextured surface exhibited scale-dependent nanomechanical behavior during indentation loading/unloading and anisotropic sliding friction, significantly different from those of the original (untextured) surface. AFM and SFM results showed a strong dependence of the nanoindentation response and friction coefficient on the tip radius and sliding direction relative to the ripple orientation. The observed experimental trends are interpreted in terms of the applied normal load, real contact area, interfacial adhesion force, tip-ripple interaction scale, and ripple orientation.

This work presents a simple electrochemical etching method to increase the surface roughness of copper indium disulphide (CIS) thin films using low concentration of hydrochloric acid. Film morphologies were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The structure of films was investigated using x-ray diffraction. A comparative study of optical properties of as-deposited and roughened CIS thin films by transmittance and reflectance experiments show a strong enhancement of absorbance for wavelengths between 600 and 900 nm.

YVO4: 10%RE3+ (RE = Eu, Sm, Dy, Er) nanophosphors have been synthesized by a facile modified hydrothermal technology to obtain the high purity. The key procedure for this hydrothermal process is the adding order of precursors, in which excess sodium vanadate should be added in the solution of rare earth nitrates. The microstructure (crystal phase, morphology, particle size) of these phosphors are characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope, which indicates that there are some cube-like crystals with tetragonal zircon structure and the average particle size is approximately 40 nm. The luminescent behaviors for the four rare earth ion-activated YVO4 nanophosphors have been studied, and, for YVO4: 10%Eu3+ nanophosphors in particular, it is found that a different hydrothermal process influences the phase composition, microstructure, and photoluminescence. This result suggests that the hydrothermal synthesis process (by adding sodium vanadate to the solution of rare earth nitrates) is favorable for YVO4 nanophosphor to obtain pure phase, small particle size, long luminescent lifetime, and high luminescence quantum efficiency.

At 1100 °C, the diffusion properties of Ti4+ into congruent LiNbO3 crystals codoped with 0.5 mol% Er2O3 and different MgO concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mol% have been studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Three Y-cut and three Z-cut plates with different Mg doping levels were coated with a 60-nm-thick Ti film at first and then annealed at 1100 °C for 28 h in a wet O2 atmosphere. SIMS was used to analyze depth profile characteristics of diffused Ti ions and the constituent elements of the substrate as well. The results show that the diffusion reservoir was exhausted and the Ti metal film was completely diffused. All measured Ti profiles follow a Gaussian function. No Mg out-diffusion accompanied the Ti in-diffusion procedure for all crystals studied. The 1/e diffusion depth is similar to 8.3/10.2, 7.4/8.7, and 6.6/8.2 ± 0.2/0.2 μm/μm for the Y/Z-cut crystal with the Mg doping level of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mol%, respectively, yielding a Ti4+ diffusivity of 0.62/0.93, 0.49/0.67, and 0.39/0.60 ± 0.03/0.03 (μm2/h)/(μm2/h), respectively. The diffusion shows definite anisotropy and a considerable MgO doping level effect. Under the same Mg doping level, the diffusion in a Z-cut crystal is faster. The diffusivity decreases with the increase of the Mg doping level. This effect is qualitatively explained from the viewpoint of the Mg doping effect on concentration of the intrinsic defects in LiNbO3 crystal.

We report on the fabrication and tunneling characteristics of pulsed-laser deposited LaSrMnO (LSMO)/PbZrTiO(PZT)/LSMO/SrTiO3 magnetic tunnel junctions. The trilayer films show magnetic onset at about 360 K with ferromagnetic hysteresis and uniaxial magnetic behavior at room temperature. The microscopic studies show that the effective barrier thickness is reduced due to the presence of defects in the barrier region. Tunneling magnetoresistance measurements were performed on several samples. Our results suggest that the asymmetric deformation of the barrier potential profile induced by the ferroelectric polarization of PZT influences the tunneling characteristics and can be used for electrically controlled readout in quantum computing schemes.

Bismuth-doped (Ba1−xCax)TiO3 ceramics (x = 0.10, Bi-BCT) were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction technique. An abnormal double-like hysteresis polarization–electric (P–E) loop was observed at room temperature for aged Bi-BCT. Raman scattering gives critical evidence for the formation of O2− vacancies in Bi-BCT. The change from the single P–E loops in the fresh samples to the double loops in the aged samples excludes the existence of a ferroelectric–antiferroelectric transition in Bi-BCT. A reversible domain switching mechanism resulting from a symmetry-conforming short-range ordering of point defects gives a reasonable explanation for the naturally age-induced double-like P–E loops in Bi-BCT.

Cobalt (15 at.%) doped bismuth vanadate, Bi4(V0.85Co0.15)2O11-δ (BICOVOX0.15), is known to have high oxygen ion conduction in the medium temperature range (400–600 °C). Small grain size may be important in stabilizing the highly conductive and disordered γ-phase at lower temperature. In this article, we report for the first time the synthesis of highly porous nanoscale BICOVOX powders by a solution combustion technique. The effects of fuel-to-oxidizer ratio, and postcombustion heat treatment temperature and time on the phase content and microstructure of the powders were investigated. As-combusted powders were revealed to be a mixture of Bi2O3, BiVO4, and γ-BICOVOX phases that were converted to phase pure γ-BICOVOX during heat treatment.

Microstructural characterization and crystallization kinetics of (1-x)TeO2-0.10CdF2-xPbF2 (x = 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 in molar ratio) glasses were investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS), and absorbance spectroscopy techniques. For all of the glass compositions only one exothermic peak was observed on the DTA plots, and on the basis of the XRD and Raman spectrophotometry investigations it was understood that they refer to the formation of the α-TeO2 phase. SEM/EDS investigations revealed the presence of oriented needle-like α-TeO2 crystals in the 0.85TeO2-0.10CdF2-0.05PbF2 glass, rectangle-shaped α-TeO2 crystals in the 0.80TeO2-0.10CdF2-0.10PbF2 glass, and disoriented needle-like crystals in the 0.75TeO2-0.10CdF2-0.15PbF2 glass. DTA analyses were carried out at different heating rates, and the Avrami constants for all of the glasses were approximately 1. The activation energy calculations and SEM investigations demonstrated that the formation of the crystalline phases occurred via surface crystallization mechanism for all of the glasses. Activation energies for crystallization in these glasses were determined from the modified Kissinger plots and were found to vary between 67 and 183 kJ/mol. The addition of PbF2 as a network modifier into the glass structure contributes to the intensity of the Raman peaks change and forced the transition of the glass network from TeO4 trigonal bipyramid units to the TeO3 trigonal pyramid structural units.

An analytical solution for the Kissinger equation relating the activation energy, E, with the peak temperature of the reaction rate, Tm, has been found. It is accurate (relative error below 2%) for a large range of E/RTm values (from 15 to above 60) that cover most experimental situations. The possibilities opened by this solution are outlined by applying it to the analysis of some particular problems encountered in structural relaxation of amorphous materials and in kinetic analysis.

A uniaxial synchro-compression test of a cylindrical bulk metallic glass (BMG) specimen along with a crystalline metallic ring having an inner diameter much larger than the specimen’s diameter and thereby without radial confinement on the BMG specimen was performed. The plastic deformation behavior of a conventional Zr65Cu17.5Ni10Al7.5 BMG under synchro-compression with a cupper ring was investigated. It was found that remarkably plastic deformation in the inherently brittle BMG could occur under the uniaxial stress state as the loading area of the cupper ring was sufficiently large, and multiplication of the shear band on the synergistically deformed BMG specimen could be accomplished. The synergistic effect of the crystalline metal on the plastic deformation behavior of the BMG was attributed to the reduced thermal softening extent inside the shear bands that resulted from the restraining effect of the copper ring on the spring-back action of the testing machine.

The influence of casting temperatures on microstructures and mechanical properties of rapidly solidified Cu50Zr45.5Ti2.5Y2 alloy was investigated. With increasing casting temperatures, the amount of the crystalline phase decreases. At a high casting temperature, i.e., 1723 K, glass-forming ability (GFA) of the present alloy is enhanced. The results imply that adjusting the casting temperature could be used for designing the microstructures of bulk metallic glass matrix composite. Nanoindentation tests indicated that CuZr phases are slightly softer and can accommodate more plastic deformation than the amorphous matrix. Compression tests confirmed that this kind of second phase (CuZr) precipitated under lower casting temperatures helps to initiate multiple shear bands, resulting in a great improvement in mechanical properties of the samples. Our work indicates that casting temperatures have a great influence on GFA, microstructures, and mechanical properties of the rapidly solidified alloy, therefore controlling the casting temperature is crucial to the production of BMGs.

A recent report on the “room temperature superplasticity” in the Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 bulk metallic glass [Y.H. Liu et al., Science315, 1385 (2007)] was ascribed to the distinctive micrometer-sized structural heterogeneity. To verify the microstructure in this alloy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and anomalous small-angle x-ray scattering experiments were conducted. The results show that no micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized structural heterogeneities can be found. The micrometer-sized dark and bright regions that were previously reported as the reason for the plasticity are artifacts caused by TEM specimen preparation, rather than the intrinsic structure feature of this alloy. This finding is important for further studying the unique properties of this alloy.

We used reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling to simulate the atomic structure of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG), incorporating short-range structural data from the electron diffraction total reduced density function G(r) and medium-range structural data from fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM). Including the FEM data created within the model loosely ordered planar atomic arrangements covering regions ∼1 nm in diameter without degrading the agreement with G(r). RMC refinement against only G(r) produced no agreement with FEM. Improved simulations are needed to create fully realistic BMG structures, but these results show that including FEM in RMC further constrains the structure compared with G(r) data alone and that the FEM signal in real materials is likely to arise from pseudo-planar arrangements of atoms.

The evolution of shear bands (SBs) into cracks was observed by using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope in Zr59Cu20Al10Ni8Ti3 metallic glassy samples after a small punch test with different strain rates. As shear strain increased along a radial SB, three distinctive regions of morphologies were found (I) bonded SB, (II) microcrack plus bonded SB, and (III) full crack. In region II with moderate shear strain, some glassy “extrusions” were also observed. Once shear offset increases to a critical value, the SB becomes a full crack. For two different SBs in one specimen, the critical shear offsets maintain approximately the same value, which sheds light on the critical shear failure condition of metallic glass. The critical shear offset was also found to be sensitive to the strain rate and a higher strain rate led to less critical shear offset. It is suggested that the structure evolution and heat evolution within a shearing SB should be responsible for the previous results.

The thermal stability and corrosion behavior of the nanostructured layer on commercially pure zirconium, produced by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT), were investigated. It is indicated that the nanograined Zr is stable at annealing temperatures up to 650 °C, above which significant grain growth occurs and the grain size shows parabolic relationship with annealing time. The activation energy for grain growth of the nanograined Zr is 59 kJ/mol at 750–850 °C, and the grain growth is dominated by grain-boundary diffusion. The as-SMATed nanograined Zr exhibits higher corrosion resistance than the 550–750 °C annealed SMATed Zr and the unSMATed coarse-grained Zr. It is indicated that the corrosion resistance of Zr tends to increase with the reduction of grain size, which is related to the dilution of segregated impurities at grain boundaries due to grain refinement and the formation of passive protection film.

The work-hardening mechanisms of the Ti60Cu14Ni12Sn4Nb10 nanocomposite alloy were studied. This material is composed of micrometer-sized dendrites embedded in a nanostructured eutectic matrix and a CuTi2 intermetallic phase. Our study shows that, in the as-quenched state, the nanostructured eutectic matrix behaves softer than the dendrites. During mechanical deformation, both the dendrites and the eutectic matrix harden, whereas the hardness of the CuTi2 intermetallic phase remains unaltered. The high strength of the dendrites is caused by the interplay between solid solution hardening and dislocation networks during plastic flow. Interestingly, the mechanical hardening of the nanoeutectic matrix is also assisted by a martensitic transformation of the NiTi phase. Transmission electron microscopy studies clearly show that the martensitic transformation of this phase is accompanied with grain size refinement, which also plays a role in the deformation-induced mechanical hardening.