Boron was incorporated into GaN in order to determine its limits of solubility, its ability of reducing the lattice constant mismatch with 6H-SiC, as well as its effects on the structural and optical properties of GaN epilayers. BxGa1−xN films were deposited on 6H-SiC (0001) substrates at 950 °C by low pressure MOVPE using diborane, trimethylgallium, and ammonia as precursors. A single phase alloy with x=0.015 was successfully produced at a gas reactant B/Ga ratio of 0.005. Phase separation into pure GaN and BxGa1−xN alloy with x=0.30 was deposited for a B/Ga reactant ratio of 0.01. This is the highest B fraction of the wurtzite structure alloy ever reported. For B/Ga ratio ≥ 0.02, no BxGa1−xN was formed, and the solid solution contained two phases: wurtzite GaN and BN based on the results of Auger and x-ray diffraction. The band edge emission of BxGa1−xN varied from 3.451 eV for x=0 with FWHM of 39.2 meV to 3.465 eV for x=0.015 with FWHM of 35.1 meV. The narrower FWHM indicated that the quality of GaN epilayer was improved with small amount of boron incorporation.

Boron was incorporated into GaN in order to determine its limits of solubility, its ability of reducing the lattice constant mismatch with 6H-SiC, as well as its effects on the structural and optical properties of GaN epilayers. BxGal-xN films were deposited on 6H-SiC (0001) substrates at 950 °C by low pressure MOVPE using diborane, trimethylgallium, and ammonia as precursors. A single phase alloy with x=0.015 was successfully produced at a gas reactant B/Ga ratio of 0.005. Phase separation into pure GaN and BxGal-xN alloy with x=0.30 was deposited for a B/Ga reactant ratio of 0.01. This is the highest B fraction of the wurtzite structure alloy ever reported. For B/Ga ratio ≥ 0.02, no BxGal-xN was formed, and the solid solution contained two phases: wurtzite GaN and BN based on the results of Auger and x-ray diffraction. The band edge emission of BxGal-xN varied from 3.451 eV for x=0 with FWHM of 39.2 meV to 3.465 eV for x=0.015 with FWHM of 35.1 meV. The narrower FWHM indicated that the quality of GaN epilayer was improved with small amount of boron incorporation.

Borosilicate glass films were made by the sol-gel method from tetraethoxysilane and trimethylborate precursors. The precursor or glass composition at each stage of processing was analyzed to determine the sources of boron loss. The films were heated in a furnace and with a laser to compare boron volatilization by the two heating methods. The films were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, ellipsometry, induction-charged plasma spectroscopy, and Auger microscopy. The highest losses of boron occurred during coating and low temperature (<500 °C) furnace firing. Films with the highest boron concentrations were made by dip coating and rapid firing, either with a laser or by placing them into a hot furnace. Infrared spectroscopy revealed Si–O–B bonds, indicating incorporation of boron into the borosilicate glass structure for laser- and furnace-fired films.

Depth profiles of intrinsic in-plane, biaxial stresses were obtained as a function of τ, the 1/e penetration depth, in a 1.0 um thick planar d. c. magentron sputter deposited molybdenum film using asymmetric grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXD). τ was varied between 20 and 276 Å. The stresses σ11 and σ22 were characterized in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the long axis of the cathode respectively using a cos2 φ method. The results show that starting from τ=17Å, σ11 and σ22 are compressive and become rapidly more compressive with a minimum at τ ∼ 20 - 40 Å thereafter increasing gradually toward tensile values. The reasons for the shape of the stress gradient are not well understood but may be related to the relaxation of the stresses at the tops of the columnar Zone T-type microstructure and to the oxygen gradient in the film.

The resistivity of the as-fabricated thermistor material, nickel-iron-manganite, changes during initial aging in the temperature range of 150-300ºC before becoming stable.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine if any valency change or chemical shift of the cations or oxygen occurred during aging. The goal of the study was to identify any ionic changes that might affect thermistor stability. The only observed changes in 2p3/2 peaks due to aging were those related to Ni ions; the same peaks for Mn, Fe, and the 0-Is peak were unchanged. The changes in the Ni 2p3/2 peak may possibly be related to: (a) the migration of Ni2+ ions from octahedral to tetrahedral sites, (b) subtle changes in the energy states of Ni2+ which promoted a more stable ionic structure, or (c) the presence of Ni3+ ions, some of which revert to Ni2s+.

Composite coatings consisting of discrete phases of TiN and MoS2 were codeposited on graphite substrates from Ti((CH3)2N)4/NH3/MoF6/H2S gas mixtures in a cold-wall reactor at 1073 K and 1.3 kPa. Chemical composition and microstructure of the coatings were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Kinetic friction coefficients of the coatings were determined by a computer-controlled friction microprobe and values less than 0.2 were obtained with a type-440C stainless-steel counterface under ambient condition.

Intrinsic stresses as a function of σ, the 1/e penetration depth were measured for a smooth, 1μm thick, fine grained, cylindrical post magnetron sputtered molybdenum film deposited on a vycor glass substrate in the dynamic deposition mode. Using grazing incidence diffraction and the Mo (321) reflection, lattice spacing profiles were determined for τ values from 200-4400 Å. The in-plane intrinsic stresses parallel and perpendicular to the post axis were determined employing the ϕ-integral method and assuming elastic isotropy. The results were related to the surface structure and composition profiles via atomic force microscopy (AFM) and auger electron spectroscopy (AES) respectively.