The wear behavior of bulk Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 metallic glasses has been studiedusing sliding wear tests and scanning electron microscopy in both as-prepared and annealed samples. It was found that the wear resistance of differently processed samples increases in the following order: crystallized state; as-prepared state; relaxed state. The thermal stability of worn samples was also investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry. Under the experiment conditions, no sliding wear-induced crystallization is observed in either as-prepared or relaxed samples indicating good thermal stability of the bulk metallic glasses.

Si film has been grown on a wurtzite gallium nitride layer on sapphire by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. Uniform nitrogen incorporation was found in the Si film at the concentration of 5%, indicating an incorporation-limited process through interstitial diffusion from GaN layer to Si layer. The nitrogen occupied the substitutional sites in the Si film, leading this Si layer to be n-type doping with the carrier concentration of 1.42 × 1018/cm3 and the hall mobility of 158 cm2/(V s). This is consistent with other calculated and experimental results, which suggest that only 5% nitrogen can occupy the substitutional sites in the nitrogen-doped Si materials.

The development of lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based capacitors using common Pt electrodes has been a long-time goal of ferroelectric random access memories (FRAM).In this work, a series of Pb1−xLax(Zr0.55Ti0.45)O3 capacitors (for 0.01 < x < 0.05) having fatigue-free characteristics have been grown on Pt/ Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. Typically 2–3 mol% La-modified PZT capacitors fabricated at 580 °C by applying a PZT seed layer exhibited fatigue-free behavior up to 6.5 × 1010 switching cycles, a low coercive field of 50–55 kV/cm, and a stable charge retention profile with time, all of which assure their suitability for the future nonvolatile FRAM.

Low-temperature deposition of high-quality (Ba, Sr)TiO3 (BST) thin films was achieved in air on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using the charged liquid cluster beam (CLCB) method. The Ba, Sr, and Ti precursors were synthesized using alkoxy carboxylate ligands to tailor their physical properties to the CLCB process. The as-deposited BST films fabricated at substrate temperatures as low as 280 °C exhibited high purity. The leakage current density and dielectric constant of the film, deposited at 300 °C and subsequently annealed at 700 °C, were 2.5 × 10−9 A/cm2 at 1.5 V and 305, respectively.

Surface chemical properties of nanoguasicrystalline powders of Al–Cu–Fe synthesized by the ball-milling technique have been investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The samples were exposed to ambient conditions at room temperature as well as higher temperatures. Our XPS results reveal that the surfaces of nanopowders of Al70Cu20Fe10 are coated with an Al2O3 layer within which the quasicrystalline phase resides. It also appears that the thickness of this layer does not increase significantly on either heating below 873 K or prolonged exposure to ambient conditions.

A high quantity and yield (up to 85%) of boron nitride (BN) nanotubes have been produced using a mechanothermal method. Elemental boron powders were first mechanically milled at room temperature in NH3 atmosphere and subsequently heated in N2 gas at 1200 °C for up to 16 h. The BN nanotubes obtained have either multiwalled cylindrical or bamboolike structures, suggesting different growth processes. The high formation yield of BN nanotubes is due to a high density of nanostructured nuclei created by an extensive milling treatment.

The effect of high-boiling-point solvent addition on the morphology of low-p(O2) processed, sol-gel YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films is discussed. Proper selection and addition of a high-boiling-point solvent prevents film roughening during precursor pyrolysis, while permitting at least a tenfold reduction in pyrolysis time compared to standard film processing in air or O2. Use of such solvents appears to increase film plasticity, avoiding elastic compressive stress related buckling. High-quality YBCO films on 〈100〉 LaAlO3 with a critical current density (Jc) ∼ 3–4 MA/cm2 at 77 K, are routinely crystallized with this new sol-gel process. Diethanolamine-based, sol-gel YBCO films deposited on sol-gel SrTiO3-buffered 〈100〉 Ni have Jc(77 K) > 1 MA/cm2, demonstrating a route toward all-sol-gel superconducting wires.

Chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) has been widely studied under several conditions to obtain C/C composites. A “film boiling technique” (so-called Kalamazoo), by the use of liquid precursor, based on thermal gradient CVI has been recently developed as one of the very effective techniques to increase the carbon yield and the densification rate. A small cold wall type laboratory reactor has been realized to analyze the kinetics of reactions and the deposited pyrocarbon matrix. In this study, ferrocene, as the source of catalyst, is mixed to the liquid precursor to induce a catalytic effect on the film boiling technique since the transition metals are known to increase the carbon deposition rate. In addition to an important increase of the densification rate, it is revealed that the deposition mechanism and microtextures are completely modified by the presence of catalyst, with the presence of multiwall nanotubes within the matrix. A model has been adapted from Allendorff and Hunt's work to interpret this peculiar deposition mechanism.

The morphology and composition of MgO films grown on single-crystalline diamond (100) have been studied. MgO thin films were deposited in the substrate temperature range from room temperature (RT) to 723 K by means of electron beam evaporation using a MgO powder source. Atomic force microscopy images indicated that the film grown at RT without O2 supply was relatively uniform and flat whereas that deposited in oxygen ambient yielded higher growth rates and rough surface morphologies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses demonstrate that the MgO film deposited at RT without O2 has the composition closest to that of the stoichiometric MgO and that a thin contaminant layer composed mainly of magnesium peroxide (before etching) or hydroxide (after etching) was unintentionally formed on the film surface, respectively.These results will be discussed in relation to the interaction among the evaporated species and intentionally supplied oxygen molecules at the growth front as well as the interfacial energy between diamond and MgO.

The microstructure of BaTiO3 thin films, epitaxially deposited on (001) MgO by pulsed laser ablation, has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The films are always c-axis-orientated, but dislocations, {111} stacking faults, and antiphase boundaries are frequently observed. Conventional TEM and high-resolution microscopy allow one to deduce the Burgers vectors of dislocations as b1 = 〈100〉 or b2 = 〈110〉, both being perfect dislocations. Most extrinsic stacking faults are ending at 1/3〈112〉 or 1/3〈111〉 partial dislocations; the displacement vector of the antiphase boundaries is 1/2〈101〉. Studying the interfacial structure by means of zone images taken along [100] and [110] shows that the misfit is mainly released by dislocations with Burgers vectors of 1/2〈110〉 and 1/2〈101〉.

We present the recent extensions of our stochastic microstructure evolution model including multiphase domain evolution and dislocation plasticity. The model was implemented by means of numerical simulations based on the velocity Monte Carlo algorithm. It describes the evolution of a two-dimensional microstructure by tracking the motion of triple junctions, i.e., the vertices where three grain boundaries (GBs) meet. GBs can be modeled as straight, curved, or discretized segments; the misorientation dependence of both grain-boundary energies and mobilities can be included to represent different textures.

Structural and optical properties of ion - conducting lithium bismuthate glasses are reported here. The structure of these glasses has been explored from the compositional variation of the density, molar volume, and glass transition temperature. The optical study in the visible and infrared region indicates a large transmission window for these glasses. The BiO6 octahedra were identified as the main structural unit from the Raman spectra of these bismuthate glasses.

The creep properties for SUS 316 HTB austenitic stainless steel were evaluated by using the small-punch creep test at 650 °C for loads of 234, 286, 338, 408, and 478 N and at 700 °C for loads of 199 and 234 N. The creep curves, determined by means of the small-punch creep test, were similar to those obtained from a conventional uniaxial creep test. That is, they exhibited clearly the three creep stages. The width of secondary creep stage and rupture time tr decreased with the increase in testing load level. The creep rupture strength for the service-exposed material was lower than that of the as-received material at high testing loads. However, the creep resistance behavior was opposite at relatively low load levels. This difference in creep resistance was explained on the basis of the difference in the creep deformation and microstructural evolution during tests. It was also found that the ratio between the load of small-punch creep test and the stress of uniaxial creep test was about 1 for having the same value of creep rupture life.

In this work, Fe2Mo intermetallic powder, produced by H2 gas reduction of Fe2MoO4 was characterized by techniques like x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM studies confirmed the presence of nano- and microcrystalline grains of Fe2Mo. The above powders when compressed uniaxially showed a logarithmic relation with “relative density”, δr, of the compacts. The multiple compaction mechanisms were analyzed by Kawakita's and Balshin's models. Vickers hardness number, VHN, was found to increase linearly with δr of the compacts. The hardness of Fe2Mo intermetallic when δr = 1 was estimated as 343 VHN. Using Tabor's analysis, the yield strength of Fe2Mo was found to be about 1100 MPa. This value was further confirmed from the details of relative broadening (112) Bragg peak of Fe2Mo obtained from XRD analyses of Fe2Mo at different compaction pressures.

β-Spodumene (Li2O · Al2O · 4SiO2, LAS4) precursor powders were obtained through a sol-gel process using Si(OC2H5)4, Al(OC4H9)3, and LiNO3 as starting materials and LiF as a sintering aid. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy with a wavelength dispersive spectrometer, and electron diffraction analysis were utilized to study the phase transition of the β-spodumene glass–ceramics prepared from the gel-derived precursor powders with LiF additive. For the LAS4 precursor powders containing no LiF, the only crystalline phase obtained was β-spodumene. For the pellets containing less than 4.0 wt% LiF and sintered at 1050 °C for 5 h, the crystalline phases were β-spodumene solid solution and β-eucryptite (Li2O · Al2O3 · 2SiO2, LAS2) solid solution. When the LiF content was 5.0 wt% and the sintering process was carried out at 1050 °C for 5 h, the crystalline phases were β-spodumene solid solution, β-eucryptite solid solution (triclinic), and eucryptite [rhombohedral (hex.)]. When the LiF addition attains 3.0 wt%, the fully densified grains are formed, accompanied with an increase in grain size for LiF addition. At the triple junction of grain boundaries a second phase segregates which is identified to be β-spodumene solid solution. In the sintering period of LAS4 precursor powders with LiF additive, the grains converted to β-eucryptite solid solution and β-spodumene solid solution remains at the grain boundaries.

Silicon nitride ceramic composites were bonded using mixed Y2O3, La2O3, Al2O3, and SiO2 powers. The effect of bonding conditions on the joint strength was studied. The joint strength under different bonding conditions was measured by four-point bending tests. The interfacial microstructures were observed and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and x-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The results of EPMA and XRD analyses showed that the liquid/glass solders reacted with silicon nitride at the interface, forming a Si3N4//Si2N2O/Y–La–Si–Al–O–N glass/Y–La–Si–Al–O glass gradient interface. From the results of the four-point bending tests, it is known that with an increase in bonding temperature and hold time, the joint strength first increased, reached a peak, and then decreased. LaYO3 precipitated from the joint glass can improve strength of the joint at both room and high temperatures.

In this work an attractive technique is presented that brings together the advantage of the micelle reverse technique to control the particle growth and the efficiency of the amine silanes as sol-gel-compatible surface modifiers. The diamino silane is far from being a passive agent in the formation process of the gold particle; it strongly modifies the growth of the gold particle in the reverse micelle. The diamino silane allows the gold particles to keep their individual properties unaltered throughout the process, which ends with their incorporation into a SiO2–TiO2 sol-gel thin film.

Long beltlike nanowires were successfully synthesized for a semiconducting oxide of vanadium by a hydrothermal route at 180 °C for 5 h and were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, energy dispersive -ray spectroscopy, and electron diffraction microscopy. The product is mainly layered V2O5 · 0.3H2O with a small fraction of V2O5 · xH2O (0.3 < x < 1.7) and V2O5 phases. The obtained nanowires, several tens of micrometers long and a few of tens of nanometers wide, are crystallized well, growing along the [010] direction. The effects of preparation conditions on the formation of the nanowires are discussed.

In-plane 90° rotated biepitaxial Fe3O4 thin films have been successfully prepared onto MgO (110) substrates using a CeO2 seed layer and their microstructure, electric, and magnetic properties were investigated. From the x-ray φ-scan measurements, the in-plane epitaxial relations were determined as 〈110〉Fe3O4//〈110〉MgO and 〈001〉Fe3O4//〈001〉MgO for the no-seeded Fe3O4 layer, and 〈001〉Fe3O4//〈110〉MgO and 〈110〉Fe3O4//〈001〉MgO for the CeO2 (110) seeded Fe3O4 layer. The CeO2 seed layer was found to rotate the upper Fe3O4 lattice at 90° upon normal axis to the layer against the no-seeded Fe3O4. The transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction analyses revealed that the transition region of the biepitaxial Fe3O4 boundary between CeO2-seeded and no-seeded portions consisted of columnarlike polycrystalline grains. The Fe 3O4 films exhibited single-crystallinelike electric and magnetic properties, however, substantial spin-dependent-tunneling magnetoresistance across the 90° grain boundary was not observed even in the antiparallel situation for each Fe3O4 portion.

The effect of the mechanical activation of the reactants on the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of niobium silicides was investigated. SHS experiments were performed on reactant powder blends of composition Nb:Si = 1:2 and Nb:Si = 5:3 pretreated for selected milling times. A self-sustaining reaction could be initiated when a sufficiently long milling time was employed. At short milling times, the reactions self-extinguished or propagated in an unsteady mode. Combustion peak temperature, wave velocity, and product composition were markedly influenced by the length of the milling treatment. Single-phase products could be obtained for sufficiently long milling times. Observation of microstructural evolution in quenched reactions together with isothermal experiments allowed clarification of the mechanism of the combustion process and the role played by the mechanical activation of the reactants.