We report on the development of a high throughput x-ray diffractometer that concurrently measures spatially resolved x-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of epitaxial thin films integrated on a substrate. A convergent x-ray is focused into a stripe on a substrate and the diffracted beam is detected with a two-dimensional x-ray detector, so that the snapshot image represents a mapping of XRD intensity with the axes of the diffraction angle and the position in the sample. High throughput characterization of crystalline structure is carried out for a BaxSr1-xTiO3 composition-spread film on a SrTiO3 substrate. Not only the continuous spread of the composition (x), but also the continuous spread of the growth temperature (T) are given to the film by employing a special heating method. The boundary between the strained lattice and relaxed lattice is visualized by the concurrent XRD as functions of x and T in a high throughput fashion.

In this paper, the deposition and characterization of laterally graded materials libraries (composition spread) is presented. The films have been deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering, using two or three metallic targets at a low angle to the substrate surface as well as a system of apertures. To illustrate the advantages of combinatorial approaches for the development of advanced materials, the multicomponent metastable hard coatings (Ti,Al)N and (Ti,Al,Si)N were investigated with respect to the relations between structure and composition on the one hand and the oxidation resistance of these coatings on the other.

Thin films of Y-type magnetoplumbite (Ba2Co2Fe12O22: Co2Y) with such a huge unit cell length as 43.5 Å has been successfully fabricated for the first time with the aid of combinatorial optimization of pulsed laser deposition process. Planning a thickness gradient CoO buffer layer on MgAl2O4(111) substrate was very effective for prevent the phase separation of Co deficient impurity (BaFe2O4) to reside in the formation of desired Co2Y phase.From the TEM analysis, the CoO buffer layer of optimum thickness was incorporated into the Co2Y film to make theinterface with the make an atomically sharp.

Magnetic properties of Co-doped rutile (Ti1-xCoxO2) film in combinatorial composition-spread form have been surveyed by means of a Scanning Superconducting-quantum-interference-device Microscope (SSM). As a consequence, we found magnetic domains in the spatial regions with x>0.05 without external field, giving strong evidence for ferromagnetism with finite spontaneous magnetization. The magnetic moment was monotonously increased with increasing doping level x from 0.05 to ∼ 0.13. On the other hand, it was almost unchanged for x > ∼ 0.13, suggesting that Co does not dissolve into rutile film beyond x ∼ 0.13. The SSM results on the rutile Ti0.95Co0.05O2 thin films with different thickness showed that the magnetic moment is proportional to film thickness, leading to a conclusion that the presently observed ferromagnetism does not result from Co or Co-based oxide particles on the film surface.

This paper describes the photolysis of polystyrene with 1.06μm laser. The laser dissociation is measured with mass spectrum method. It gives the mean mass value of particles, quantum value and percentage of m/e=104 vs time.

This paper describes the use of an automated Large Sample Array Differential Scanning Calorimeter (LSA-DSC or LSA) for process optimization. The LSA was designed specifically for screening studies of multi-variable arrays where a large number of samples need to be examined simultaneously. It is ideal for kinetic evaluation of both biological and chemical reactions. The LSA can be used in either a temperature scanning (DSC) or isothermal (IMC) mode. An example where this equipment was used to optimize epoxy formulations will be presented. These formulations were prepared with high throughput techniques and evaluated using the LSA-DSC to determine the cure kinetics.

Combinatorial methods were used for studying dewetting of thin hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) and hydrophilic poly(DL-lactic acid) (PDLA) films on chemically modified gradient energy surfaces. Substrate libraries were prepared by immersing passivated Si (Si-H surface functionality) in Piranha solution (H2SO4/H2O2/H2O) at acontrolled rate, yielding a systematic variation of solvent contact angles across the surface. Additionally, chlorosilane-treated Si surfaces were exposed to UV radiation in a gradient fashion under ozone atmosphere such that a range from hydrophobic to hydrophilic conditions was obtained across the surface (≈ 3 cm). Solvent droplet contact angles of water and diiodo methane were used to quantify the spatial variation of surface energy along one axis across the surface. Libraries of thin films of PS or PDLA coatings on gradient energy surfaces orthogonal to gradients in film thickness were screened for dewetting behavior using automated optical microscopy. Contrasting trends in the wettability of PS and PDLA were visibly apparent as a function of surface energy of the substrate. The number density of polygons of the dewet PS films was found to obey a power law relationship with both film thickness and substrate surface hydrophilicity.

We developed a combinatorial robot system as the first step of combinatorial approach to wet and dry synthesis of ceramics. In this study, nanoparticles mixtures having maghemite and a small amount of Y2O3 were prepared successively by using the combinatorial robot system. maghemite and Y2O3 slurries were volumetrically and automatically measured and mixed by repetition of sucking and injecting with a micro-pipette attached to the robot arm. The structural phase transition temperature of maghemite to hematite, which was investigated from the exothermic peak in the DTA curve, increased from ca.813K to ca.1093K by 2atom%Y2O3 addition. It was considered that Y2O3 dissolution into the crystal structure of maghemite had an important role on increasing the temperature of the structural phase transition for stabilizing maghemite phase. (Combinatorial, Slurries, Maghemite, Nanoparticles, Phase transition)

A transient model for point defect dynamics during Czochralski silicon crystal growth is parameterized using detailed experimental data generated under varying crystal growth conditions. Simulated Annealing is used to perform the model parameterization because of the complex nature of the defined objective functions. It is shown that the method is robust and despite the computational expense associated with a large number of function evaluations, can be readily used in multiple dataset, multiple objective function environments.

Copper atoms were substituted on the polyimide surface in the presence of CuSO4 solution with only 10ns single shot of ArF laser. Then, we have succeeded in substituting copper atoms with dangling bonds of carbon cross- linking with oxygen atoms. In this study, we placed fused silica glass on the polyimide surface firstly, and poured the sulfate solution into the gap between the silica glass and the film, forming a thin liquid layer. Then, one shot of circuit patterned ArF laser light having 42mJ/cm2 was irradiated vertically onto the sample. The photon is dissociating and exciting the copper sulfate solution and the polyimide surface. The dissociated copper atoms form the C-O-Cu bond with active oxygen on the polyimide surface. However, we were able to grow a copper thin film of about 24μm after immersing the sample into the electro less plating solution for 15 minutes at 60.

On the other hand, we have laminated transparent and low dielectric constant SiO2 film at room temperature on polyimide surface by using Xe2 excimer lamp. Then, the copper film deposited on polyimide film and the piece of silicon were placed in the reaction chamber with mixing NF3 and O2 gasses in the ratio of 10:1; total pressure 330 Torr. Then, Xe2 excimer lamp was irradiated for 20 minutes. By the photochemical reaction, SiF4 and NO2 were produced. The adsorbed SiF4 on copper and polyimide surface of one molecule layer and NO2 up react with NO2, and growth SiO2 film on the sample surface. A chain reaction of film formation is brought about by these two chemical reactions of adsorption and oxidization. By this film formation film thickness was not more than 600 after 20 minutes with the Xe2 excimer lamp irradiation in order to lose in SiF4. Then, the silicon was supplied, and insufficient SiF4 was filled by ablating the silicon wafer by focused ArF excimer laser beam.

A combinatorial PLD-STM system has been developed for quick nano-fabrication and evaluation of epitaxial thin films and catalysts. Through a gate valve, a combinatorial nano-materials library fabricated in a PLD chamber can be transferred to a surface analysis chamber equipped with LEED and STM. The LEED pattern and atomically resolved STM image for systematically varied samples in the library are measured by locating one sample to another at the electron beam and STM probe position. In this way, we have quickly elucidated the initial growth process of SrO on SrTiO3(001) as well as surface structures of transition metal deposited TiO2 anatase. The combinatorial PLD-STM system has been verified to be very efficient technique for the exploration and optimization of nano-materials.

Numerous processing parameters, up to fifty, characterize the plasma spray deposition process. A better quality control of the resulting deposits induces a better understanding of their effects on coating formation mechanisms. Numerical models can help to provide such an understanding. From a mathematical point of view, d.c. plasma spray deposition process is assimilated to a nonlinear problem in regards to its variables (operating parameters, environment, etc.). This paper develops a global approach based on an implicit describing of the mechanisms implementing Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The global concept and the protocols to implement are presented and developed for an example related to d.c. plasma spray process.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are high temperature energy converters. When an SOFC is operated for the rst time, a substantial increase in cell performance is observed which is caused by microstructural changes at the cathode/electrolyte interface. To optimize the resulting formation of the interface, a dynamic model is required that represents the relations between materials compositions, operating conditions, electric current, and microstructure.

Building a model based on chemical reaction equations fails because of the high complexity of the interface reactions. Therefore, this contribution presents an interdisciplinary approach to modeling in materials development by applying computational intelligence techniques. Qualitative models are used to formalize the expert knowledge about the irreversible materials changes at the cathode/electrolyte interface. Fuzzy if-then rules represent the dynamic behavior of the microstructural formation. The resulting model enables the application of simulations instead of time-consuming experiments and thus allows the systematic optimization of the startup process.

The thermal diffusivities throughout a composition-spread film comprising La1- xSrxCoO3 series were determined by Transient Reflecting Grating (TRG) measurements. Thermal diffusivities of transparent SrCoO3 film and SrTiO3 substrate were determined by using third harmonics having wavelength of 266 nm as an excitation light with only a certain length of grating spacing. The thermal diffusivities of them were 0.02 and 0.05 cm2/s, respectively. With regard to untransparent thin films, the experiment was performed by setting three kinds of grating spacing for the excitation light having the fundamental wavelength, 800 nm in order to obtain high precision. The distribution profile of obtained values of the thermal diffusivity throughout the sample was traced as 0.06 - 0.18 - 0.01 cm2/s corresponding to the variation of in La1-xSrxCoO3, thus showing a convex profile, however, this anomalous profile was verified by comparing with the data obtained by the X-ray diffractometer.

A series of MHfO3: Tm (M =Ca, Sr and Ba) composition spread films and superlattices (SLs) were quickly fabricated on SrTiO3 (001) substrate in the molecular layer-by-layer growth using combinatorial pulsed laser deposition (PLD) under in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) monitoring. Crystal structures and luminescence properties of composition-spread and SLs were evaluated by the concurrent X-ray diffractometer and cathode luminescence (CL), respectively. CL properties of the films were found strongly dependent on their composition and stacking sequence. Possible effect of the stress due to the film-substrate interaction on the CL property is discussed.

Effcient and faithful parallel simulation of large asynchronous systems is a challenging computational problem. It requires using the concept of local simulated times and a synchronization scheme. We study the scalability of massively parallel algorithms for discrete-event simulations which employ conservative synchronization to enforce causality. We do this by looking at the simulated time horizon as a complex evolving system, and we identify its universal characteristics. We find that the time horizon for the conservative parallel discrete-event simulation scheme exhibits Kardar-Parisi-Zhang-like kinetic roughening. This implies that the algorithm is asymptotically scalable in the sense that the average progress rate of the simulation approaches a non-zero constant. It also implies, however, that there are diverging memory requirements associated with such schemes.

Magnetic films for miniaturization of planar inductors operating at GHz frequencies require high resistivity and high ferro-magnetic resonance frequency. Y type magnetoplumbite Ba2Co2Fe12O22(Co2Y) is a candidate material to meet such requirements because it has about 10 &m resistivity and resonance frequency higher than 2 GHz. Recently we succeeded in the fabrication of Co2Y epitaxial thin film on MgAl2O4 substrate by combinatorial pulsed laser deposition technique [3]. Here, we report on the magnetic and dielectric properties of this film. The DC resistivity of the film was 7.5 &m. The dielectric constant at 1.25 GHz was measured by a microwave microscope to be 11.0. An easy axis coercive force and saturation magnetization were about 145 Oe and 2000 Gauss respectively, being close to those of bulk sample. Furthermore, the magnetic micro domain structures of Co2Y epitaxial thin films were observed by a scanning SQUID microscope.

In this work, we discuss the combinatorial deposition and analysis of transparent conducting oxides along the ZnO-SnO2 composition tie line. Libraries were deposited by co-sputtering from ZnO and Sn-metal targets. The production and analysis of Zn-Sn-O libraries has already produced significant results, confirming the properties of the 2:1 (Zn2SnO4) region and revealing a second region of interest, the 1:1(ZnSnO3) composition. Subsequent film growth of these stochiometries by pulsed laser deposition has confirmed the potential for both of these stochiometries. Work is currently underway to optimize both Zn2SnO4 and ZnSnO3. Planned future work includes a combinatorial investigation of ternary metal systems such as Zn-In-Sn-O.

A Fresnel zone plate (FZP) is a micro-focusing optical element of synchrotron radiation hard X-ray. Our developed multilayer FZP produced a sub-micron size spot at the hard X-ray energy and the focusing efficiency is about 25%. However the higher efficiency FZP is required to utilize the sub-micron probe in microscopy, diffraction and imaging applications. A kinoform FZP composed of gradient refractive index phase zones has the advantage of a high focusing efficiency compared to the conventional multilayer FZP. In order to fabricate the kinoform FZP, we developed a computer-control system. The developed computer-control system automatically operates whole combinatorial deposition processes of the kinoform FZP by inputting the optical parameters of the FZP (focal length, X-ray wavelength, number of zones, zone materials).

Ternary alloys of CoMnGe have been synthesized and characterized using combinatorial molecular beam epitaxy techniques. Structural evolution was studied using real-time scanning reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and magnetic properties were probed using magnetooptic Kerr effect imaging and SQUID magnetometry. Growth and properties on several substrate orientations were explored. These alloys exhibit a rich variety of magnetic and magnetooptic behavior, including a robust phase near Co2MnGe with high spin polarization, Tc, and magnetooptic response. The observed magnetic responses show strong correlation with structural transformations, such that structural ordering leads to enhanced magnetism. The observed magnetic behavior and the alloys’ compatibility with Ge and Si substrates make them potential candidates for spin electronic transport studies and applications.