Compositions of xBiLaO3–(1 − x) PbTiO3 over the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.225 were calcined and sintered. The dielectric constant with temperature and differential scanning calorimetry measurements were in excellent agreement with respect to Curie-like tetragonal to cubic transformations starting at 495 °C for pure PbTiO3, shifting to lower temperatures with increasing x. For compositions of x ≥ 0.05, a second higher-temperature (∼600 °C) endotherm, and matching dielectric anomaly, were consistently observed, for which there were no structural changes indicated by hot-stage x-ray diffraction. This transformation was speculated to be based on a thermally induced desegregation of B-site cations.

The undercooling behavior of pure Sn, Sn–0.7Cu, Sn–3.5Ag, and Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu solder alloys was observed in terms of various under bump metallurgies (UBMs). Four different UBMs (electroplated Cu, electroplated Ni, electroless Ni(P), and electroless Ni(P)/immersion Au) were used. The amount of the undercooling of Pb-free solder alloys was reduced when reacted with electroplated Cu UBM and Ni-based UBMs. The Ni-based UBMs were more effective than Cu UBM in reducing the undercooling of Pb-free solders. When Ni3Sn4 was formed during the interfacial reactions with Ni-based UBMs, the reduction of undercooling was significant, especially for pure Sn and Sn–3.5Ag. The effects of UBMs on the undercooing of Pb-free solder alloys are discussed by comparing intermetallic compounds formed during interfacial reactions with UBMs. In addition, the microstructural changes as well as the microhardness of four solders with or without UBMs are discussed, which could be related to their undercooling behaviors.

We report the catalyst-free synthesis of ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowires using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The formation of single-crystalline ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowire backbones has been confirmed by lattice resolved transmission electron microscopy. Depending on the growth parameters, especially the growth temperature, the morphology and size of the ZnO nanobranches evolved from nanothorn-shaped (at 350 °C) to nanoneedle-shaped structures (at 500 °C). When the growth temperature was further increased to 800 °C, thin ZnO nanowire branches grew out of the Si nanowire backbones coated with thin ZnO shells, whereas no ZnO branch was formed on bare Si nanowires due to limited nucleation. The growth behavior was further exploited to fabricate ZnO/Si nanowire networks by growing the ZnO nanowires selectively on laterally aligned Si–ZnO core-shell nanowire arrays. In addition, cathodoluminescent properties of ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowire backbones are discussed with respect to position and size.

Nanocomposite films containing ZnO quantum dots (QDs) and SiOxNy matrix were prepared by target-attached radio frequency sputtering. Photoluminescence (PL) dominated by violet and blue emissions was observed from all ZnO QD–SiOxNy nanocomposite films with dot diameters ranging from 2.77 to 6.65 nm. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the formation of nitrogen-correlated bonding configurations in both the SiOxNy matrix and the dot/matrix interfaces. The nitrogen-correlated configuration at the interface produced a substantial polarization effect at dot surface. The suppression of green-yellow emission observed in photoluminescence spectra of all samples was ascribed to the hole-trapping process promoted by the enhancement of the surface polarization.

In the present work, the damage tolerance and R-curve behavior of alumina–zirconia–niobium multiphase composites were studied by the indentation strength method. A matrix of yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y–TZP) strengthened with particles of Al2O3 (ATZ) and an alumina matrix strengthened with particles of 3Y-TZP (ZTA) were prepared by hot press of commercial powders, containing Nb metal particles as reinforcing phase. The crack growth behavior was analyzed, and it was found that stress-induced transformation toughening of ZrO2 and bridging of the Nb inclusions were the two main factors that can shield an advancing crack and exert crack closure stresses on the crack wake. Moreover, on the basis of quantitative toughening analysis, it is argued that a synergistic effect originated from the interaction between the toughening mechanisms of Nb grains and zirconia, takes place in the alumina–zirconia–Nb multiphase composites. This showed that the combined toughening effect was bigger than the sum of the individual toughening effects when either reinforcement acted alone.

The most frequent cause of failure for wireless, handheld, and portable consumer electronic products is an accidental drop to the ground. The impact may cause interfacial fracture of ball-grid-array solder joints. Existing metrology, such as ball shear and ball pull tests, cannot characterize the impact-induced high speed fracture failure. In this study, a mini-impact tester was utilized to measure the impact toughness and to characterize the impact reliability of both eutectic SnPb and SnAgCu solder joints. The annealing effect at 150 °C on the impact toughness was investigated, and the fractured surfaces were examined. The impact toughness of SnAgCu solder joints with the plating of electroless Ni/immersion Au (ENIG) became worse after annealing, decreasing from 10 or 11 mJ to 7 mJ. On the other hand, an improvement of the impact toughness of eutectic SnPb solder joints with ENIG was recorded after annealing, increasing from 6 or 10 to 15 mJ. Annealing has softened the bulk SnPb solder so that more plastic deformation can occur to absorb the impact energy.

Borides of high electron density metals such as Os show promise as hard materials. Arc-melting elemental osmium and boron under an argon atmosphere produced osmium diboride (OsB2). Both a Vickers diamond microindenter and a Berkovich nanoindenter were used to measure hardness. Vickers microindentation indicates that the hardness of OsB2 increases significantly with decreasing applied load. The average hardness reaches approximately 37 GPa as the applied load is lowered to 0.245 N. The hardness is found to be highly dependent on the crystallographic orientation. For the {010} grains, along the 〈100〉 direction, the average hardness is significantly higher than that in the orthogonal 〈001〉 direction. Cracks associated with pop-in events in the nanoindentation load–displacement curves are observed in the {010} grains. The measured Young’s modulus of OsB2 is 410 ± 35 GPa, which is comparable to that obtained from first-principles calculations.

Nanostructured tungsten trioxide films were fabricated with the technique of glancing angle deposition (GLAD) in a thermal evaporation chamber with a base pressure of 1.3 × 10−4 Pa. Films were deposited at vapor incidence angles of 0°, 20°, 40°, and 50° with film thickness varying between 160 and 200 nm, as determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. After deposition, samples were heated for 1 h in air at 400 °C and were subsequently intercalated with small amounts (5 to 15 nm) of lithium by dry lithiation, a technique developed in our laboratory. Compared with our previous work on as-deposited nanostructured films, these samples showed significantly enhanced coloration in the infrared region. It was found that the films exhibited an absorption- based coloration in the lower wavelengths as well as an increased reflection in the infrared region. Morphological investigation by atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed grain agglomeration and increased surface roughness upon heating. Our studies further indicate that grain agglomeration significantly contributes to the superior coloration properties of the films.

Near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing nanoparticles synthesized by the reduction of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4) using sodium sulfide (Na2S) exhibited absorption bands at ∼530 nm and at the NIR region of 650−1100 nm. A detailed study on the structure and microstructure of as-synthesized nanoparticles was reported previously. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were found to consist of amorphous AuxS (x = ∼2), mostly well mixed within crystalline Au. In this work, the optical properties were tailored by varying the precursor molar ratios of HAuCl4 and Na2S. In addition, a detailed study of composition and particle-size effects on the optical properties was discussed. The change of polarizability by the introduction of S in the form of AuxS (x = ∼2) had a significant effect on NIR absorption. Also, it was found in this work that exposure of these particles to NIR irradiation using a Nd:YAG laser resulted in loss of the NIR absorption band. Thermal effects generated during NIR irradiation had led to microstructural changes that modified the optical properties of particles.

Delamination at an interface with the weakest adhesion strength, which is found to be between the SiC(N) capping layer and the SiOCH low-k dielectric, is a potential failure mechanism contributing to time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) reliability. Bond breaking at that interface is believed to be driven by a field-enhanced thermal process and catalyzed by leakage current through the capping layer based on physical analyses and TDDB measurements. Delamination is found to be easier in terminated tips and corners than in parallel comb lines due to the layout orientation of the Cu lines. Moreover, TDDB activation energy Ea can be an indicator of the ease of delamination, whereby a lower Ea corresponds to an easier delamination.

Commercial Zr44Ti11Cu10Ni10Be25 bulk metallic glass (Vitreloy 1b) disk was subjected to extreme plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion at room temperature. Two-dimensional mapping by high-intensity synchrotron x-ray diffraction in the plane of the shear deformation reveals no evidence of nanocrystallization; however, average effective volume changes as a function of the deformation can be evaluated.

We show that friction anisotropy is an intrinsic property of the atomic structure of Al–Ni–Co decagonal quasicrystals and not only of clean and well-ordered surfaces that can be prepared in vacuum [J.Y. Park et al., Science309, 1354 (2005)]. Friction anisotropy is manifested in both nanometer-size contacts obtained with sharp atomic force microscope tips and macroscopic contacts produced in pin-on-disk tribometers. We show that the friction anisotropy, which is not observed when an amorphous oxide film covers the surface, is recovered when the film is removed due to wear. Equally important is the loss of the friction anisotropy when the quasicrystalline order is destroyed due to cumulative wear. These results reveal the intimate connection between the mechanical properties of these materials and their peculiar atomic structure.

Self-assembled core-shelled hierarchical structures consisting of single-crystalline pyramid Zn microtip as a core, converted ZnO coating as the shell, and the grown ZnO nanowires as branches, have been prepared. Such ZnO hierarchical structures fabricated by a simple aqueous chemical growth method on Zn foil substrate are expected to be easily integrated into nanodevices. These self-organized structures are superior to both the random nanoarchitecture arrays formed in vapor system and the precipitated nanostructures suspended in the solution. Because of the easier transportation of electrons from the metallic core to ZnO branches, the self-assembled core-shelled hierarchical structures exhibit better field-emission characteristics.

Highly porous Ti and TiZrV getter film coatings have been successfully grown on (100) silicon substrates using the glancing-angle direct-current magnetron sputtering method. The evolution of the microstructures of the Ti and the TiZrV films strongly depends on the sputtering flux rate, surface diffusion rate, nucleation rate, compositions, and self-shadowing geometry of the nuclei on the sputtering flux. The larger the glancing angle, the higher the porosity and specific surface area of the Ti and TiZrV films. The weight-gain results strongly depend on several factors, such as specific surface area, the surface structure of the getter film, the diffusion rate of O in the getter film, the reactivity of Ti, Zr, and V on O, and the order of the stabilities of Ti, Zr, and V oxides on the film’s surface. Porous Ti film absorbs oxygen better than porous TiZrV film does due to its higher surface area and the high diffusion rate of O in Ti films.

We propose a new method for the preparation of the polymer/organoclay nanocomposite, termed the solution and melt mixing (SOAM) method, where the polymer and clays are first blended in solution, and subsequently the mixture is further blended in the melt. We prepared the ternary nanocomposite systems of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and Cloisite25A clays (C25A) by solution blending as well as by the SOAM method. The C25A content in the nanocomposite was optimized by analyzing the x-ray diffraction (XRD) data of binary mixtures (SAN/C25A and PVC/C25A nanocomposites). The values of the interaction parameter (χab) were calculated by using the molar attraction constants of the specific functional groups derived from Hoy’s table. While PVC and C25A were shown to be highly compatible, SAN and C25A were less compatible. XRD data and transmission electron microscopy observations indicated that the SAN/PVC/C25A nanocomposites had at least partially exfoliated structures. The tensile modulus and the elongation at break of the nanocomposites prepared by the SOAM method were higher than those prepared by simple solution blending.

Size-controlled spinel iron oxide (SIO) nanoparticle/organic hybrid was synthesized in situ from iron (III) allylacetylacetonate (IAA) at around 80 °C. The formation of SIO particles chemically bound with organics was confirmed by infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The sizes of SIO nanoparticles in the hybrids were monodispersed and ranged from 7 to 23 nm under controlled hydrolysis conditions. The hybrid including SIO particles of 7.3 nm was superparamagnetic, whereas those dispersed with particles above 11 nm were ferrimagnetic. The specific absorption rate (SAR) value was dependent upon the magnetic properties of the hybrid at 100 Oe. The SAR was 15.2 W g−1 in a 230 kHz alternating magnetic field and 100 Oe when the crystallite size of SIO particle in the hybrid was 16 nm. The temperatures of agars dispersed with hybrid powders of 5 and 8 mg ml−1 reached the optimum temperature (42 °C) for 17 and 8 min, respectively. The increase in temperature was controlled in terms of the strength of magnetic field. The simulation of heat transfer in the agar phantom model revealed that the suitable temperature distribution for therapy was attained from 15 to 20 min at 230 kHz and 100 Oe.

Using periodic density-functional theory (DFT), we investigated the structure and cohesive properties of the α-alumina Σ11 tilt grain boundary, with and without segregated elements, as a model for the thermally grown oxide in jet engine thermal barrier coatings. We identified a new low-energy structure different from what was proposed previously based on electron microscopy and classical potential simulations. We explored the structure and energy landscape at the grain boundary for segregated Al, O, and early transition metals (TMs) Y and Hf. We predict that the TMs preferentially adsorb at the same sites as Al, while some adsites favored by O remain unblocked by TMs. All segregated atoms have a limited effect on grain boundary adhesion, suggesting that adhesion energies alone cannot be used for predictions of creep inhibition. These findings provide some new insights into how TM dopants affect alumina growth and creep kinetics.

Macroscopic cracks in bulk silicon are generally considered to be immune to fatigue. Here, evidence for pronounced fracture-related fatigue damage in cyclic contact loading of (001) monocrystalline silicon with hard spheres of millimeter-scale radius is presented. The periodic indentation field generates ring cracks around the contact, which proliferate with continued cycling. Copious debris in the form of slabs and particulates is ejected from within the crack walls onto the specimen surface. Continued ejection leads ultimately to large-scale surface removal. The fatigue damage progressively degrades the material strength, more rapidly at higher contact load. Implications concerning the function of silicon devices, including microelectro-mechanical systems, will be briefly discussed.