The range of polishing-induced subsurface damage remaining in a commercially available production grade 4H-SiC (0001) epi-ready substrate was evaluated by the observation from the (-1100) cleavage plane using two kinds of highly strain-sensitive characterization methods. Firstly, the analysis using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) with a submicron spatial resolution was conducted on the exposed cross sectional plane. Then, for the further quantitative evaluation excluding the influence of roughness or contamination of the cleavage plane, a synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction experiment was carried out. The range of the subsurface damage evaluated in those experiments was ensured by confirming none of additional strain inserted at the cleavage, as compared with the damage-free substrate prepared by high temperature thermal etching. As a result, the depth of the residual strained region below polishing-induced scratches at the surface was estimated to be in the range of a few microns, which is much deeper than the previously reported value of 100 nm by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. It suggests a potential of EBSD for the conventional tool to characterize even a small amount of strain in SiC single crystal.

We studied the electrical properties of thermally treated V2O5-CuO-Fe2O3-P2O5 (vanadate) glasses under reducing high-vacuum conditions. The glasses were prepared by using a melt-quenching method and then applied on Al2O3 substrates as ∼40μm-thick films. The glass films were then heat treated at 375−550°C under a vacuum of 10−6 Pa. Powder X-ray diffraction showed the formation of complex oxides of both MxV2O5 (M = Cu, Fe; x = 0.12−1.3) and vanadium oxides (VOx; x = 1.5−2.5). The resistivity of the glass film crystallized at 550°C measured at 50°C and 300°C were 1.8 × 100 Ωcm and 2.8 × 10−1 Ωcm, respectively, which was 10 times lower than that of the film crystallized in air. The Seebeck coefficient was −132 μV/K at 50°C and −130 μV/K at 300°C. These results show that the vanadate glasses crystallized under the appropriate condition become potential candidate materials for semiconductor and thermoelectric application.

We examined the influence of momentary annealing on the nanoscale surface morphology of NiO(111) epitaxial thin films deposited on atomically stepped sapphire (0001) substrates at room temperature in O2 at 1.3 × 10−3 and 1.3 × 10−6 Pa using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The NiO films have atomically flat surfaces (RMS roughness: approximately 0.1–0.2 nm) reflecting the step-and-terrace structures of the substrates, regardless of the O2 deposition pressure. After rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of the NiO(111) epitaxial film deposited at 1.3 × 10−3 Pa O2, a periodic straight nanogroove array related to the atomic steps of the substrate was formed on the film surface for 60 s. In contrast, the fabrication of a transient state in the nanogroove array formation was achieved with RTA of less than 1 s. However, when the O2 atmosphere during PLD was 1.3 × 10−6 Pa, random crystal growth was observed and resulted in a disordered rough surface nanostructure after RTA.

A high-quality (100)-oriented epitaxial Fe3Si films were grown on (100) MgO substrates by RF-magnetron sputtering. The full width at half maximum of the Fe3Si 400 rocking curve was 0.18°, when the film was grown at 750°C. The epitaxial films of 100 nm thicknesses had a smooth continuous surface. The coercive field (Hc) was approximately 10 Oe, and the saturation magnetization (Ms) was 900 emu/cm3, which are almost the same as those of bulk Fe3Si. The anisotropy constant (K1) of magnetization indicated that the epitaxial Fe3Si films grown at 750°C mainly consisted of long range ordering phase (DO3 phase) and that the epitaxial films post-annealed at 900°C was constituted with ordering phase.

Iron silicide thin films were prepared on silicon (Si) and yittria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering and evaporation methods. Epitaxial b-FeSi2 thin films were grown on (100) and (111) planes of Si and YSZ substrates, while noncrystallized films were deposited on (110) plane of both Si and YSZ substrates. The epitaxial relationships between the b-FeSi2 and YSZ were the same as those between b-FeSi2 and Si, in the case of (100) and (111) planes. It is possible that epitaxial b-FeSi2 film can be grown when substrates and b-FeSi2 surfaces consist of either a single element or only cations, while the crystalline film was not shown when either substrate or b-FeSi2 surface consists of a mixture of anions and cations or iron and silicon.

A titania-based self-standing film with high transparency and flexibility was successfully prepared via a sol-gel process, in which a titanium tetraisopropoxide/isostearate complex (precursor), n-hexylammonium isostearate (catalyst), and o-xylene (solvent) were used. The sol obtained by the sol-gel reaction was floated on a water surface to form an unsupported film. This film was composed of a titania/isostearate nanocomposite with ordered layer structure. The basal spacings of the nanocomposites depended on the chain length of the carboxylate modifier.

The chemical forms of carbon leaching from carbon-containing Zr and Fe-based metallic materials have been investigated to improve the estimation of the contribution of C-14 in the performance assessment of TRU waste disposal. Both organic and inorganic carbons were identified in the leached solution with carbon containing zirconium and steel, and the concentrations of total carbon (organic plus inorganic) in the leached solutions increased with time. The carbon concentrations in the leached solution for both metallic samples were higher at higher pH. With High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), organic carbons were identified to be low-molecular weight alcohols, carboxylic acids and aldehydes.

To explore the chemical state of carbon in the matrix materials, the leaching experiments were carried out also for ZrC, Fe3C, the powder mixtures of carbon and zirconium, and of carbon and iron. The low-molecular weight organic carbons were detected only in the case of carbides (ZrC and Fe3C). The chemical forms of carbon in the zirconium alloy were suggested to be carbide or carbon by H.D. Smith[1]. The present result suggests that the chemical forms of carbon in zirconium or iron are mainly in the form of carbide.

In the interest of performance assessment, the distribution coefficients of the organic carbon species identified in the leached solution for cement were obtained. As expected, some of them were shown to be larger than the values assumed in the performance assessment of Progress Report on Disposal Concept for TRU Waste in Japan[2].

The dependences of dopant species and concentrations on the growth of oxide precipitates have been studied using transmission electron microscopy. Doping species are phosphorus, antimony and boron. Samples were annealed at 800°C and 850°C for 24∼384hr in dry nitrogen. In phosphorus-doped silicon, the precipitate density is independent of doping concentration and the growth of precipitate obeys the three-quarter power law. The enhancement of the precipitate growth is observed in antimony-doped silicon. On the other hand, the precipitate growth is suppressed in heavily boron-doped silicon as compared with that of lightly boron-doped silicon. This indicates the generation of excess silicon interstitials in heavily boron-doped silicon.