Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films were fabricated with a 0.05 M solution by a sol-gel process at temperatures between 550 and 650 °C. Analysis by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the films annealed at 650 °C showed pure perovskite phase, tetragonal structure, and columnar grains with an average grain size of 150 nm. Electrical measurements performed on the films annealed at 650 °C showed two dielectric peaks in the dielectric constant–temperature curve, a remnant polarization of 1.4 μC/cm2, a coercive field of 18.3 kV/cm, and good insulating property. The measured pyroelectric coefficient for the films annealed at 650 °C was larger than 3.1 × 10−4 C/m2K at the temperatures ranging from 10 to 26 °C and reached the maximum value of 4.1 × 10−4 C/m2K at 16 °C. The excellent pyroelectric property rendered the Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films annealed at 650 °C promising for uncooled infrared detectors and thermal imaging applications.

A new low-temperature method to produce (InxGa1−x)2O3 (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) powders with high purity, high chemical homogeneity and improved crystallinity in the as-synthesized state has been developed. This procedure produced finely divided powders through an exothermic reaction between the precursors. The process starts with aqueous solutions of In(NO3)3 and Ga(NO3)3 as the precursors and hydrazine as the (noncarbonaceous) fuel. The combustion reaction occurred when heating the precursors between 150 and 200 °C in a closed vessel filled with an inert gas (Ar), which yields (InxGa1−x)2O3 directly. These materials were compared with powders prepared by a more typical combustion synthesis reaction between nitrates and a carbonaceous fuel at a higher ignition temperature of 500 °C.

Zr/Nb-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) with a composition of Zr48Nb8Fe8Cu12Be24 was formed in cylindrical shapes 8 mm in diameter by the quartz tube water quenching method. The formation and acoustic, thermal, mechanical, and elastic properties of the BMG were investigated. The BMG exhibited excellent glass-forming ability, high thermal stability, and excellent mechanical properties.

Eu2CuO4 (ECO) has been used as a buffer layer for growing of Yba2Cu3O7–δ (YBCO) thin films on SrTiO3(100) and Y-stabilized ZrO2(100) substrates. The epitaxy, crystallinity, and surface of YBCO thin films have been significantly improved by using ECO buffer layer as investigated by x-ray diffraction, rocking curves, scanning electron microscope, surface step profiler, and x-ray small-angle reflection. The best value of the full width at half-maximum of the YBCO(005) peak can be greatly reduced down to less than 0.1°. The scanning-electron-microscope photos indicate a very smooth surface for the YBCO thin films. The average roughness is less than 5 nm over a wide scanning region of 2000 mm. The results of x-ray small-angle reflection indicate a very clear and flat interface between YBCO and ECO layers. Meanwhile, the resistivity of ECO is about 20 times higher than that of PrBa2Cu3Oy at the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. Our results suggest that ECO should be a good barrier candidate for fabricating high-Tc superconductor junctions.

The crystallization of bulk amorphous SiO2 samples, prepared by the sol-gel method, was obtained by heat treatments in air at temperatures as low as 500 °C. This occurs when silver is added to the precursor solutions in an amount such that it forms aggregates embedded in the glass. Another requirement to observe the low-temperature glass crystallization is that the bulk samples must be prepared from precursor solutions with specific compositions. These compositions, have a high H2O/TEOS ratio, which produces an amorphous SiO2 structure with some structural similarities to cristobalite, the phase in which the SiO2 glass crystallizes.

Nanosized particles of γ–Fe2O3 were prepared by heat treatment of the precipitates, obtained from a homogeneous solution of stearic acid and hydrated iron(III) nitrate. The compositional and thermal characteristics of the precipitates were studied with the aid of infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The x-ray diffraction and small-angle x-ray scattering investigation shows that γ–Fe2O3 nanoparticles with narrow size distribution can be prepared successfully by this route.

Plastic zone evolution in Al–2 wt% Si metal films on silicon and sapphire substrates was studied using nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM was used to measure the extent of plastic pileup, which is a measure of the plastic zone radius in the film. It was found that the plastic zone size develops in a self-similar fashion with increasing indenter penetration when normalized by the contact radius, regardless of film hardness or underlying substrate properties. This behavior was used to develop a hardness model that uses the extent of the plastic zone radius to calculate a core region within the indenter contact that is subject to an elevated contact pressure. AFM measurements also indicated that as film thickness decreases, constraint imposed by the indenter and substrate traps the film thereby reducing the pileup volume.

Gallium–lanthanum sulfide glasses are potential hosts for 1.3-μm optical fiber amplifiers and for fiber lasers in the near and middle infrared. In these glasses the addition of CsCl increases the thermal stability region making possible to draw optical fibers, without altering the optical properties of the glass. Ga2S3–La2S3 glasses modified by 10 to 40% CsCl have been studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy, to investigate the structural role of CsCl. The chlorine environment is found similar to that in CsCl. The gallium-based network is composed from almost regular tetrahedra weakly connected by corners and is not altered by the addition of CsCl.

A triphasic cordierite-type gel was prepared from silica sol, boehmite sol, and an aqueous solution of Mg(NO3)2 · 6H2O. The silica sol was obtained from water glass by the ion exchange method, while boehmite sol was obtained by peptization of freshly prepared Al(OH)3. Phase transformations occurring in the gel were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray diffractometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Spinel was observed to crystallize from the gel prior to cristobalite; their reaction subsequently yielded α-cordierite. At higher temperatures, α-cordierite transformed into modulated β-cordierite. Kinetic parameters of α-cordierite formation and α-cordierite to modulated β-cordierite transformation were determined by differential scanning calorimetry under nonisothermal conditions. Formation of a-cordierite was found to be a diffusion-controlled process, with an overall activation energy of Ea = 1242 ± 66 kJ/mol. During the α → β-cordierite transformation, a modulated phase was formed by surface transformation of α-cordierite. The overall activation energy for the formation of the modulated structure is Ea = 583±77 kJ/mol.

Contact-induced fracture modes in trilayers consisting of a brittle bilayer coating on a soft substrate were investigated. Experiments were performed on model transparent glass/sapphire/polycarbonate structures bonded with epoxy adhesive, to enable in situ observation during the contact. Individual layer surfaces were preferentially abraded to introduce uniform flaw states and so allowed each crack type to be studied separately and controllably. Fracture occurred by cone cracking at the glass top surface or by radial cracking at the glass or sapphire bottom surfaces. Critical loads for each crack type were measured, for fixed glass thickness and several specified sapphire thicknesses. Finite element modeling (FEM) was used to evaluate the critical load data for radial cracking, using as essential input material parameters evaluated from characterization tests on constituent materials and supplemental glass/polymer and sapphirse/polymer bilayer structures. The FEM calculations demonstrated pronounced stress transfer from the applied contact to the underlying sapphire layer, explaining a tendency for preferred fracture of this relatively stiff component. Factors affecting the design of optimal trilayer structures for maximum fracture resistance of practical layer systems were considered.

The three single-crystal elastic constants of the cubic materials Al and TiN were calculated by an ab initio method within the local-density approximation of density-functional theory. The values were compared with experiment and averaged by the Kroner method to give polycrystalline results. The results agree well with experiment.

Fe–N alloys with crystalline structures different from those obtained at atmospheric pressure were produced by solid-state reaction between Fe and amorphous boron nitride under high pressure. Two new paramagnetic Fe–N phases were obtained at temperatures above 800 K under pressures between 2.0 and 4.0 GPa. One is of cubic structure with lattice constant of 6.114 Å, and another is of orthorhombic structure with lattice constants of a = 4 8.443, b = 4 4.749, and c 4 3.993 Å. ε–Fe3Nx with N contents of 18.1 to 21.4 at.%, which could not be obtained at atmospheric pressure, was produced at pressures of 3.0 to 4.0 GPa and temperatures of 690 to 800 K. The mechanism of formation of ε–Fe3Nx under high pressure is discussed.

In situ synthesis of fine copper particles (>200 nm) has been carried out using borohydride reduction in preorganized gel of poly(vinyl alcohol). The copper ions were chelated by polymer matrix at room temperature thorough physical entrapment along with a weak chemical complexation. The process is akin to biomimetic route and demonstrates a high order of control over nucleation, growth, and morphologies as well as orientation of the end product. The organized arrays of copper sulfate precipitate and copper particles replicate the conformation of organic matrix and form patterned structures similar to one observed in stationary chemical waves.

The magnetic properties of the substitutional iron and aluminum impurity centers in a sintered Vycor silica glass were studied before and after 1.1–1.3 MeV γ irradiation. Observation of two overlapping spin resonances (g ∼ 4.20–4.28) in the spectra of both the irradiated and preirradiated glasses indicated the existence of two types of tetra coordinated substitutional iron centers of the [FeO4−/Na+]0 type. The intensity of these electron-paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals decreased upon g irradiation of the glass with concomitant generation of aluminum hole center [AlO4]0, which was manifested by the occurrence of a new six-line EPR signal with g 4 2.009, while thermal annealing of these aluminum oxygen hole centers restores the intensity of the iron centers almost to their preirradiation level. This result suggests that if not the whole, a major fraction of the electrons released in the process of g-ray-induced hole trapping at the Al site are captured by the substitutional iron centers. The electron traps, thus formed, are quite stable and can be deactivated by thermal stimulation.

Epitaxial Srn+1TinO3n+1 thin films with n = 1–5 were synthesized on (001) SrTiO3 substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. The structure and microstructure of the films were investigated by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microbeam diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in combination with computer image simulations. Both diffraction and HRTEM studies revealed that all the films are epitaxially oriented with their c axis perpendicular to the (001) SrTiO3 plane of the substrate. Detailed investigations using quantitative HRTEM methods indicated that the films have the expected n = 1–5 structures of the Ruddlesden–Popper Srn+1TinO3n+1 homologous series. Among these films, Sr2TiO4, Sr3Ti2O7, and Sr4Ti3O10 thin films are nearly free of intergrowths, while Sr5Ti4O13 and Sr6Ti5O16 thin films contain noticeably more antiphase boundaries in their perovskite sheets and intergrowth defects. We show that these results are consistent with what is known about the thermodynamics of Srn+1TinO3n+1 phases.

The electrical conduction behavior of sputter-grown (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films having IrO2 electrodes were studied under the assumption of a fully accumulated film having a negative space charge density of 1 × 1019 cm−3 at 25 °C. The negative space charge decreased the actual field strength in the film and resulted in a decreasing leakage current with increasing film thickness at a given applied field. The current conduction in a very low field, roughly less than 150 KV/cm, showed a linear current density–voltage (J–V) behavior at 25 °C. From that field to about 420 KV/cm, the bulk-limited Poole–Frenkel mechanism controlled the overall conduction property at room temperature. Under high field strength, from 420 KV/cm to 1 MV/cm, the interface-limited thermionic field emission mechanism was dominant. The dielectric constant obtained from Poole–Frenkel fitting was approximately 300 ± 50 at 25 °C, which was in qualitative agreement with the value obtained from low-frequency capacitance measurements. The detailed mechanisms of the linear and nonlinear field-dependent emission conductions were discussed with reference to the direction of band bending, not to the carrier concentration.

The densification and grain growth of ZnO doped with Al from 0.08 to 1.2 mol% were investigated during isothermal sintering between 1100 and 1400 °C. The Al dopant significantly inhibited the grain growth of ZnO and increased the grain growth exponent from 3 for pure ZnO to 4–6 for Al-doped ZnO. The grain growth activation energy was also changed from approximately 200 kJ/mol for pure ZnO to approximately 480 kJ/mol for Al-doped ZnO. The results of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy showed that a ZnAl2O4 spinel phase existed as a second phase at the ZnO grain boundaries in Al-doped ZnO specimens. The spinel particles exerted an effective drag (pinning) on the migration of ZnO grain boundaries. The analyses of the Al doping effect on the densification rate provided evidence that the driving force for densification was reduced by the second-phase particles. A mechanism of pore surface drag (pinning) on densification equivalent to the observed drag (pinning) of grain boundaries on grain growth was proposed.

Chemical mechanical polishing of copper and tantalum was performed using fumed amorphous silica abrasive particles dispersed in H2O2, Fe(NO3)3, and glycine solutions. Results showed that in DI water silica did not polish Cu but Ta had a relatively high polish rate. Cu polish rate decreased with increasing particle concentration in Fe(NO3)3-based slurries due to the adsorption of Fe3+ on the silica surface. Addition of H2O2 enhanced Cu polish rate but reduced Ta polish rate. The specific surface area of the particles played an important role in the removal of Ta and Cu, presumably due to some chemical bonding between the materials being polished and the silica particles.

Joining of melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y123) grains has been achieved without use of an external agent. The technique uses barium-cuprate liquid phase released from platelet boundaries to mediate the growth of Y123 at the interface between two grains. The epitaxial nature and high quality of the growth was determined by optical and transmission electron microscopy. The composition of Ba–Cu–O phases found in some parts of the joins was determined by electron probe microanalysis. A clean low-angle join was found to consist of a grain boundary with dislocation networks and facets. Transport critical current measurements on this type of join revealed strongly coupled behavior. The technique shows promise for the joining of melt-textured material for power engineering applications.

The preparation of high-permittivity perovskite materials requires high-temperature (550–750 °C) oxidizing environments, providing stringent limitations on the choice of electrode materials. To minimize interdiffusion and oxidation reactions, an electrically conductive diffusion barrier such as Ti1−xAlxN is needed below the electrode material (Pt, IrO2, RuO2…). Ti1−xAlxN films were deposited by multitarget reactive sputtering in a mixture of Ar and N2. The stability of these films has been investigated under typical conditions for crystallization of perovskite dielectrics. Sample composition was characterized using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis. In particular, the concentration depth profiles of both 18O and 27Al were measured before and after RTA treatments via the narrow resonances of 18O(p,α)15N at 151 keV (FWHM = 100 eV) and 27Al(p,γ)28Si at 992 keV (FWHM = 100 eV). The different 18O excitation curves show that the oxidation resistance increases with Al incorporation. The Al excitation curves indicate a uniform Al content for as-deposited TixAl1−xN and reveal Al diffusion to the surface during the oxidation process which indicates the formation of an Al-rich oxide layer at the TixAl1−xN surface, leaving a layer depleted in Al below it.