NdBa2Cu3O7-x (NdBCO) superconducting films were successfully grown on MgO substrates by liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) using YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) seed films which have lower peritectic temperatures. Microstructural characterizations using optical and electron microscopes revealed that most of the seed grains decomposed at the high processing temperature and dissolved when they touched the solution. The NdBCO grains were formed first by the quasi-homoepitaxial growth of NdBCO units on the few surviving YBCO seed grains and then grew pendently to cover the large bare surface areas of the MgO substrates quickly by lateral overgrowth. A micrometer-thick melt layer was entrapped between the film and the substrate. Through the few links provided by the surviving seed grains, a stable film/substrate orientation relationship could still be maintained. A semiquantitative analysis was done for the lateral overgrowth process, and two different lateral overgrowth stages were observed with about 50 times difference in the lateral overgrowth rate. Then, a semiquantitative understanding for the entire YBCO-seeded NdBCO LPE growth process was finally reached.

Dense 3-mol%-yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP/Ni) homogeneous composites were prepared by a wet-processing route with metal concentration ranging from 0 to 40 vol%. Cyclic fatigue stress/life, tensile and bending strength, and fracture toughness were investigated in 3Y-TZP monolithic samples and 3Y-TZP/Ni composites. It was found that the addition of Ni particles to the 3Y-TZP matrix produced an embrittlement effect in the composites, decreasing the mechanical properties. This fact was attributed to the weak bonding between the Ni and 3Y-TZP particles in samples sintered in a reductive atmosphere. Additionally, the presence of Ni particles decreases the cyclic tensile fatigue of the composites probably by an environmentally assisted slow crack growth.

B6O crystal growth from the B–B2O3 system was investigated at 1700–2200 °C and 4.5–6.5 GPa by using two different sample assemblies. Single B6O crystals over 100 μm in size have been synthesized at 5.5 GPa and 2100 °C. This makes it possible to study the properties of this interesting material. The factors affecting the B6O crystal morphology, size, color, and growth process were discussed. The solubility of B6O in B2O3 flux was estimated at 5.5 GPa and different temperatures. On the basis of the experimental results, we suggest two methods to grow large B6O crystals.

The formation of turbostratic boron nitride (tBN) phase on the cubic boron nitride (cBN) phase was investigated at specific conditions. The cBN film was deposited on the Si substrate by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. When the bias voltage at the substrate was adjusted to –85 V, the tBN phase nucleated on the cBN phase and grew simultaneously with the cBN phase. This was a critical bias voltage below which only the tBN phase was formed. The surface morphology of this film was typically shown as nodules dispersed on a very flat surface. The formation of nodulelike tBN phases seemed to be caused by a small variation of local stress on the growth surface. Once the nucleation of the nodulelike tBN phase occurred, the growth of tBN phase was accelerated. Transmission electron microscopy result showed evidence of the stress relaxation of the film caused by the formation of tBN phase at the interface of the tBN and cBN phases.

In this paper, series crystals Nd:Gd0.8La0.2VO4, Nd:Gd0.6La0.4VO4, and Nd:Gd0.45La0.55VO4 were grown by the Czochralski method. The structure and lattice constants of the series crystals were measured. The morphology of Nd:Gd0.8La0.2VO4 is discussed, and it is composed of {100} and {101} simple forms. The thermal expansion and specific heat of the Nd:Gd0.8La0.2VO4 crystal were also measured. The absorption and emission spectra of the Nd:Gd0.8La0.2VO4 and Nd:Gd0.6La0.4VO4 crystals were measured at room temperature. The laser outputs at 1.06 and 1.34 μm were determined when a crystal sample of Nd:Gd0.8La0.2VO4 was pumped by a laser diode at 808 nm, and the visible green and red laser outputs of the intracavity frequency double at 0.53 and 0.67 μm were determined when nonlinear KTiOPO4 and LiB3O5 crystals were used.

In continuation of our previous work [J. Ovenstone, P.J. Titler, R. Withnall and J. Silver, J. Phys. Chem. B, 105, 7170 (2001)] we report the following results. Amorphous europium-doped titania phosphors (Ti1−3xEu4xO2) were prepared with europium concentrations from x = 0.000397 to x = 0.143. From investigations using photoluminescence (PL), it was deduced that the luminescence was due to a europium/titanium compound rather than from a europium-containing precipitate dispersed within a titania precipitate. PL brightness was shown to increase linearly to a concentration of x = 0.0159 before quenching began, and the rate of increase of brightness dropped. Brightness then continued to rise (almost linearly) from x = 0.0238 to x = 0.143. Under electron beam excitation these phosphors showed weak cathodoluminescence; for the amorphous materials no quenching was observed. For the crystalline materials (prepared by annealing the amorphous materials at high temperature) no red luminescence was observed above a concentration of x = 0.00318; however, some faint red luminescence was observed below this concentration. In addition, some faint blue emission was observed in crystalline samples that had no red luminescence, indicating the presence of small amounts of Eu2+ ions. This was attributed to reduction of the Eu3+ ions in the electron beam. Europium doping was shown to increase the size of the band gap in the amorphous materials, but had little effect on the band gap of the crystalline powders.

Multilayered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with BaTiO3–BaZrO3 (BTZ) dielectric layers were fabricated, and the dielectric permittivity of the BTZ layers with different thicknesses in MLCCs was measured. The dielectric permittivity of the BTZ ceramic disk was also measured under various ac electric fields. The variation in the dielectric behaviors with the thickness of BTZ layers in MLCCs was explained by the ac-field dependence of dielectric permittivity observed in the BTZ ceramic disk. The ac-field dependence of dielectric permittivity of BTZ was markedly observed below the temperature of a broad maximum in the dielectric permittivity versus temperature (є versus T) curve. It was found that the temperature of the broad maximum shifted to the low-temperature side and the peak shape became asymmetric with increasing ac field. These changes in the dielectric properties under high ac fields were explained by a model of relaxors with the concept of the formation of polar microregions (PMRs) and the freezing of fluctuating ipoles in PMRs.

A bulk metallic glass-forming Ti–Cu–Ni–Sn alloy with in situ formed composite microstructure prepared by both centrifugal and injection casting presents more than 6% plastic strain under compressive stress at room temperature. The in situ formed composite contains dendritic hexagonal-close-packed-Ti solid solution precipitates and a few Ti3Sn, β –(Cu, Sn) grains dispersed in a glassy matrix. The composite microstructure can avoid the development of the highly localized shear bands typical for the room-temperature deformation of monolithic glasses. Instead, highly developed shear bands with evident protuberance are observed, resulting in significant yielding and homogeneous plastic deformation over the entire sample.

This paper reports on a study of stress in thin silicon plates sectioned from wafers by a near-infrared transmission technique. Phase stepping was incorporated to determine the magnitude and orientation of stress from fractional birefringence fringe images. The anisotropic relative optic-stress coefficient of (100) silicon was determined and the limitation of the stress orientation measurement is discussed.

Intermetallic compound (IMC) growth during solid-state aging at 125, 150, and 170 °C up to 1500 h for four solder alloys (eutectic SnPb, Sn–3.5Ag, Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu, and Sn–0.7Cu) on Cu under bump metallization was investigated. The samples were reflowed before aging. During the reflow, the solders were in the molten state and the formation of the IMC Cu6Sn5 in the cases of eutectic SnPb and Sn–3.5Ag had a round scallop-type morphology, but in Sn–0.7Cu and Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu the scallops of Cu6Sn5 were faceted. In solid-state aging, all these scallops changed to a layered-type morphology. In addition to the layered Cu6Sn5, the IMC Cu3Sn also grew as a layer and was as thick as the Cu6Sn5. The activation energy of intermetallic growth in solid-state aging is 0.94 eV for eutectic SnPb and about 1.05 eV for the Pb-free solders. The rate of intermetallic growth in solid-state aging is about 4 orders of magnitude slower than that during reflow. Ternary phase diagrams of Sn–Pb–Cu and Sn–Ag–Cu are used to discuss the reactions. These diagrams predict the first phase of IMC formation in the wetting reaction and the other phases formed in solid-state aging. Yet, the morphological change and the large difference in growth rates between the wetting reaction and solid-state aging cannot be predicted.

The possible role of microstructural features in determining the self-affinity of the fracture surface of a cast aluminum alloy is explored in this work. Fracture surfaces generated both in tension and impact tests were topometrically analyzed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and stylus profilometry. The roughness exponent exhibited the “universal” value ζ ≈ 0.78, and the correlation length ζ was of the order of the grain size. The brittle intermetallic compounds known to be important in crack initiation did not show any correlation with the self-affine parameters of the resulting fracture surfaces in this particular case.

We investigated the crystal structure of Ti3SiC2 by means of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Two polymorphs, α– and β–Ti3SiC2, were identified. The amount of the α phase was larger than the β phase, indicating that the former has lower energy than the latter. We also found that the bright spots in HREM images of Ti3SiC2 do not necessarily correspond to the atomic columns; thus an intuitive interpretation of the image contrast in terms of the stacking sequences of the close-packed layers should be made cautiously

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.

We report up to 6 wt% storage of H2 at 2 atm and T = 77 K in processed bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The hydrogen storage isotherms are completely reversible; D2 isotherms confirmed this anomalous low-pressure adsorption and also revealed the effects of quantum mechanical zero point motion. We propose that our postsynthesis treatment of the sample improves access for hydrogen to the central pores within individual nanotubes and may also create a roughened tube surface with an increased binding energy for hydrogen. Such an enhancement may be needed to understand the strong adsorption at low pressure. We obtained an experimental isosteric heat qst = 125 ± 5 meV. Calculations are also presented that indicate disorder in the tube wall enhances the binding energy of H2.

Cellular solids were processed from machined scraps of a medium carbon steel by sintering. Mechanical properties of the cellular solids were investigated by compressive tests from the viewpoint of effects of high dislocation density in the machined scraps on the solid-state bonding. The flow stress in the plateau region for the cellular solid made of the as-machined scraps was higher than that of the one made of the annealed scraps. Clearly, the bonding strength between scraps was increased by the high dislocation density in the as-machined scraps.

We have examined galena powders with the aim of providing information about the preparation mode of such powders from ancient Egyptian burial objects. Two extreme conditions of milling have been used to prepare galena powders in the laboratory, and the resulting products have been examined using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The microstructure of hand-crushed coarse particles consists mainly of dislocation tangles. Annealing at 300 °C promotes a substantial recovery of the dislocation structure with the formation of subboundaries. Energetic ball milling produces a large variety of particle sizes, from 10 nm to several micrometers, with grains containing very high dislocation densities. Although PbS is a soft plastic compound, its fragmentation occurs down to very small sizes along various fracture regimes like in many brittle materials. Comparisons are made between TEM observations and the data obtained from x-ray diffraction peak profile analysis.

In this work, the solid solution series directionally solidified eutectic, Co1−xNixO/ZrO2(CaO), 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, was examined as a possible model system for interfacial fracture studies. These materials were grown by the optical floating zone method in an image furnace under controlled atmospheres to prevent the formation of Co3O4. For all compositions, lamellar microstructures were produced. The interface plane orientation relationship {111} Co1−xNixO║{100} ZrO2(CaO) was maintained throughout the solid solution series. The phase compositions were close to nominal values with some solubility of CoO in ZrO2(CaO). Preliminary indentation measurements demonstrate the onset of interfacial delamination for compositions of x <0.2.

By combining the cross-sectional observation of the randomly oriented film areas and the analyses of the film microstructural influence by the substrate-surface morphology, we achieved a novel understanding of the YBa2Cu3O7–x (YBCO) thin film growth process, which leads to an explanation of different microstructures formed in YBCO thin films. Selective and competitive growth of YBa2Cu3O7–x and Ba–Cu–O/Cu–O was found to occur in the whole film growth process depending on the local surface roughness in which the interfacial energy played a controlling role.

In this article, we review recent advances in the understanding and analysis of damage initiation and evolution in laminate structures with brittle outerlayers and compliant sublayers in concentrated loading. The relevance of such damage to lifetime-limiting failures of engineering and biomechanical layer systems is emphasized. We describe the results of contact studies on monolayer, bilayer, trilayer, and multilayer test specimens that enable simple elucidation of fundamental damage mechanics and yet simulate essential function in a wide range of practical structures. Damage processes are observed using post mortem (“bonded-interface”) sectioning and direct in situ viewing during loading. The observations reveal a competition between damage modes in the brittle outerlayers—cone cracks or quasiplasticity at the top (near-contact) surfaces and laterally extending radial cracks at the lower surfaces. In metal or polymeric support layers, yield or viscoelasticity can become limiting factors. Analytical relations for the critical loads to initiate each damage mode are presented in terms of key system variables: geometrical (layer thickness and indenter radius); material (elastic modulus, strength and toughness of brittle components, hardness of deformable components). Such relations provide a sound physical basis for the design of brittle layer systems with optimal damage thresholds. Other elements of the damage process—damage evolution to failure, crack kinetics (and fatigue), flaw statistics, and complex (tangential) loading—are also considered.

Ordered PbSe crystalline nanowire arrays have been successfully fabricated in the nanochannels of porous anodic alumina membrane by direct current electrodeposition. X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction investigations demonstrate that the PbSe nanowires have a uniform cubic structure. Electromicroscopy results show that the nanowires are quite ordered with diameters of about 50 nm and lengths up to 5 micrometers. X-ray energy dispersion analysis indicate that Pb:Se is very close to 1:1. The optical absorption spectrum of these PbSe nanowires show that there exist two peaks at 280 and 434 nm, respectively, attribute to excitonic absorption peaks.