With regard to substrate deformation, this work analyzed the microcantilever beam-bending test and provided a closed formula of deflection versus load. The substrate deformation was formulated using two coupled springs; the spring compliances were related to the elastic compliances of the substrate, the support angle between the substrate and the microcantilever beam, and the beam thickness. Finite element analysis was conducted to calculate the spring compliances and verify the analytic formula. The results showed that the proportionality factor of the load to the deflection was a third-order polynomial of the length from the loading point to the fixed beam end. Examples are also given to indicate the relative error of Young's modulus when evaluated with the beam-bending theory without considering the substrate deformation.

Interfacial reactions between an Al thin film and a single-crystal (001) 6H–SiC substrate were investigated using x-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Aluminum thin films were prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering method on 6H–SiC substrates at room temperature and then annealed at various temperatures from 500 to 900 °C. A columnar-type polycrystalline Al thin film was formed on a 6H–SiC substrate in the as-deposited sample. No remarkable microstructural change, compared to the as-deposited sample, was observed in the sample annealed at 500 °C for 1 h. However, it was found that the Al layer reacted with the SiC substrate at 700 °C and formed an Al–Si–C ternary compound at the Al/SiC interface. Samples annealed at 900 °C showed a double-layer structure with an Al–Si mixed surface layer and an Al–Si–C compound layer below in contact with the substrate.

Diamond deposition on copper is problematic mainly due to the poor affinity between copper and carbon. Therefore, it becomes necessary to pretreat the substrate surfaces prior to diamond deposition. Several surface pretreatments have been investigated, such as polishing using various abrasives and substrate biasing. In this study, we report new results relating diamond nucleation on copper substrates to a combination of surface polishing and biasing pretreatments. The results show that the combined pretreatments give a higher nucleation density than the two individual treatments. It was found that an increase of 70% in the nucleation density was observed when the surfaces were polished with diamond paste and then negatively biased. Copper surfaces polished with diamond powder and then biased displayed the highest nucleation density obtained. Raman spectroscopy revealed that after negatively biasing the substrate for 30 min, broad D- and G-bands of microcrystalline graphite were present, which completely disappeared with subsequent diamond growth, leaving behind a good-quality diamond film.

A novel method for synthesizing anisotropically shaped particles of materials having cubic symmetry is reported. Anisotropically shaped single-crystal particles of cubic SrTiO3 were obtained by epitaxial growth on tabular tetragonal Sr3Ti2O7. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that both the shape and the size of the single-crystal particles was regulated by selecting a precursor material that can act as a reaction site in molten KCl and has an epitaxial relation with SrTiO3. The [001] and [110] directions of tabular SrTiO3 are parallel to the [001] and [110] directions of the Sr3Ti2O7 host particle, respectively. Tabular SrTiO3 particles with rectangular faces having an edge length of 10–20 μm and a thickness of ˜2 μm were obtained by reacting TiO2 and tabular Sr3Ti2O7 particles of the same edge length in molten KCl.

TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals were prepared by hydrolysis of Ti-bearing dicalcium phosphate powder. On the surface of the TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals, TiO2 regions and hydroxyapatite regions can function as photocatalysts and adsorbents for organic contaminants, respectively, allowing simultaneous decomposition of organic contaminants by the photocatalysis of TiO2 under irradiation. Therefore, the TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals can favorably be applied for antibacterial applications and environmental purification.

A polycrystalline sample of Bi2InNbO7 was synthesized by a solid-state reaction and characterized by powder x-ray diffraction and Rietveld structure refinement. The optical absorption and electrical properties of Bi2InNbO7 were investigated. It was found that the Bi2InNbO7 compound exhibited a direct gap semiconducting behavior. Conductivity measurement showed the compound had an activation energy of 2.62(5) eV. Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurement revealed that the band gap of Bi2InNbO7 is about 2.7(4) eV.

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) has been successfully developed for the fabrication of cellular NiTi intermetallic compounds, which have an open cellular structure with about 60 vol% porosity and more than 95% open-porosity ratio. The SHS reactions lead to the formation of TiNi, Ti2Ni, Ni3Ti, and Ni4Ti3 intermetallics. The SHS process can be controlled by regulating the preheating temperature, which has effects on the phase amount and the shape as well as macrodistribution of pores in the products.

A reversible bending phenomenon of Si3N4 nanowires on the conductive carbon–formalin microgrid under an illumination of electron beam was observed using a transmission electron microscope. The nanowires exhibit high flexibility. The bending deflection is approximately proportional to the square of the current density (J) of the electron beam. The bending strength of Si3N4 nanowire is much higher than that of bulk Si3N4 materials. The force that bent the nanowires may be an electrostatic force.

Oxygen diffusion in bicrystal SrTiO3 was investigated with the aid of resistive anode encoder of secondary-ion mass spectrometry. The diffusion profiles of 18O on volume, grain boundary (joining interface), and dislocation were separately determined from the three-dimensional distribution of 18O in the bicrystal SrTiO3. The volume diffusion of oxygen is found to be dependent on (i) Nb doping concentration, (ii) crystallographic orientation, and (iii) nonequilibrium oxygen defects that are annihilated by thermal annealing. The feature of 18O diffusion image along the dislocation in (100) and (110) bicrystals can be explained by the dislocation array introduced by the mechanical polishing.

The effect of microwave heating on the hydrothermal synthesis of Al-substituted tobermorite and the removal characteristics of resulting materials were examined and compared with the effect of conventional heating. The microwave heating reduced the crystallization time of Al-substituted tobermorite—i.e., Al-substituted tobermorite was synthesized within 80 min at around 140 °C—and produced smaller crystallites than the conventional heating. The minute crystallites were found to promote the removal characteristics for Cs+ ions in short reaction time.

A 3-μm-thick Fe–Ni alloy thin film was deposited on a 0.2-mm-thick low-carbon steel substrate by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, and the properties of the film were investigated. The film exhibits a columnar growth structure and a fiber texture with the relationship of (110)film//(111)substrate. A thermal cycle test showed good adhesion between the film and the substrate. Most importantly, the Fe–Ni alloy deposition results in a significant reduction in thermal expansion of the whole specimen. These results suggest that a properly deposited Fe–Ni alloy film could be applied to a low-carbon steel sheet to significantly reduce its thermal expansion. Such reduced thermal expansion would enhance the image resolution of a shadow mask made of a low-carbon steel sheet.

Photobleaching of the optical absorption band in the 5-eV region of sol-gel-derived germanium oxide glass thin films was examined with the irradiation of the 5-eV light. The photobleaching represented by the saturated absorption coefficient change (−Δα) and the ratio of the neutral oxygen monovacancies to neutral oxygen divacancies concentrations for the germanium oxide were 175 cm−1 and 0.113, respectively. These values are larger than those of the pure germanium oxide bulk glass as well as germanosilicate thin films. The changes in bonding configuration around Ge atom by ultraviolet illumination were analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition was used to deposit ultrasmooth nanostructured diamond films (roughness of 14 nm) on a titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) by employing a feedgas mixture containing a high methane fraction (15% by volume) in nitrogen and hydrogen. Of particular interest in this study is the exceptional adhesion of the 4-μm-thick diamond coatings to the metal substrates as observed by indentation testing up to 150 kg load with a 1/8-in.-diameter tungsten carbide ball. No film delamination was observed up to 150 kg indentation load for each of 5 samples grown under the same processing conditions. Scanning electron microscopy of the film surrounding the indentations revealed circumferential microcracking beginning at loads ranging from 60 kg to as high as 150 kg. The strain to cause film microcracking was estimated from calculations of indentation surface areas to be as high as 1.9 ± 0.2%, which represents a significant improvement in toughness over other ceramic coatings.

A wideband and temperature-stabilized optical isolator for 1.55-μm wavelength was developed using a new Bi-substituted holmium–ytterbium ion garnet (HoYbBiIG) single crystal as a Faraday rotator. The optical isolator features 0.34-μm bandwidth, less 0.6 dB insertion loss and over 37 dB backward loss at a wavelength of (1.55 ± 0.17) μm throughout the temperature range from −10 to 60 °C. The Faraday rotation and optical absorption loss of HoYbBiIG were investigated in the near-infrared wavelength region (λ = 0.9 to 1.7 μm). The specific Faraday rotation of Ho0.85Yb1.02Bi1.13Fe5O12 is about −767°/cm at λ = 1.55 μm. The Faraday rotation wavelength and temperature characteristics of HoYbBiIG crystals are also discussed. These results indicate that the Bi-substituted holmium–ytterbium iron garnet single crystals realize a high Faraday rotation stability against temperature and wavelength in the near-infrared region.

SnO crystallites having a size ranging 0.1–0.2 μm were synthesized by a hydrothermal process, which consisted of prolonged solution aging under pH = 1.0, followed by hydrothermal treatment under pH = 9 to 10 at 75–95 °C. Oxidation of Sn+2 to Sn+4 during the hydrothermal stage was effectively inhibited by increasing the solution-aging time. This was attributed to the formation, upon aging, of polymeric hydrous SnO colloids, which are more oxidation resistant than aquo-hydroxo tin complex monomers. For solutions with a sufficiently long (≥240 h) aging time, the SnO yield increased with increasing pH and temperature during the hydrothermal treatment.

Effects of the vicinal angle, film thickness, and temperature on the growth modes, microstructures, and electrical properties of YBa2Cu3O7–δ on SrTiO3 were studied. Island growth transition between the initial nucleation and the later coalescence stages was observed with film thickness on a planar SrTiO3, while no islands were observed at the later stage due to the step-flow mode. As the growth temperature increased, a-axis precipitates were transformed to c-axis precipitates (islands), while no islands formed on vicinal SrTiO3. The supercurrent critical temperature was strongly related to the substrate vicinal angle due to the step-flow mode.

We present a laser-based direct write technique termed matrix-assisted pulsed-laser evaporation direct write (MAPLE DW). This technique utilizes a laser transparent fused silica disc coated on one side with a composite matrix consisting of the material to be deposited mixed with a laser absorbing polymer. Absorption of laser radiation results in the decomposition of the polymer, which aids in transferring the solute to an acceptor substrate placed parallel to the matrix surface. Using MAPLE DW, complex patterns consisting of metal powders, ceramic powders, and polymer composites were transferred onto the surfaces of various types of substrates with <10 micron resolution at room temperature and at atmospheric pressure without the use of masks.

Synthesis of a rutile-type lead-substituted tin oxide with (110) face was investigated. The characterization was performed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurements. The homogeneous rutile-type lead-substituted tin oxide was obtained until 4.1 mol% of tin was substituted with lead. The surface of obtained oxide had a homogeneously lead-substituted (110) face.

A significant improvement (40–60%) was reported in the low voltage (100–1000V) cathodoluminescence efficiency of ZnS phosphors coated with SiO2 by the sol-gel technique. The properties of the coatings were found to be critically dependent upon the precursor concentration, pH value and the temperature of the solution with optimum performance being obtained for a SiO2 concentration of 1.0 wt%, pH values between 7–9, and a solution temperature of 83 °C. The efficiency curves exhibited a characteristic voltage dependence which was analyzed by a one-dimensional numerical model. Enhanced low voltage efficiency was attributed to a reduction of surface recombination and the actual shape of the efficiency curve was determined by the interplay between the reduction of surface recombination and energy losses in the SiO2 coating.

The structure of Ag nanoparticles, embedded in crystalline SiO2 by high-dose implantation, was investigated. It was found that single crystal is favored over multiple-twinned particles. In addition, the contracted (111) lattice spacing of the Ag nanocrystals was measured by x-ray diffraction.