Structural characterization techniques for the analysis of semiconductor strained heterostructures

A combined method for structural characterization of strained epitaxial heterostructures involving different techniques such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), multiple crystal X-ray diffractometry (MCD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is presented. In order to obtain a complete characterization of the analysed structure, three different quantities are measured independently: the epilayer thickness, the density of misfit dislocations which may appear at the interface, and the significant components of the strain tensor, mainly the tetragonal distortion, affecting the epilayer lattice. In this way the thermodynamic state and the mechanisms of plastic deformation of the structures can be fully investigated. In this contribution we present and discuss the experimental results concerning a set of InP/GaAs samples having different layer thicknesses ranging from 5 to 500 nm. The thickness of the samples has been determined by RBS. Measurements of in-plane strain and tetragonal distortion have been performed by MCD and RBS-channelling respectively, finally TEM has been used for determining the defects densities and distribution.     

Sol-Gel Preparation of Selective Emitters for Thermophotovoltaic Conversion

Selective emitters are materials characterized by a high temperature emissivity significantly changing in different spectral regions. One of the crucial steps for the development of Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generators is given by an optimal matching of the spectral emissivity of an IR radiation source with the spectral region where is maximum the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. The emitters should retain good structural properties at the working temperature above 1300°C and they can be either an external coating for the a burner or, as a structural material, a burner and emitter at once.In this work, oxide glass and ceramics containing rare earths have been prepared and characterized as selective emitters candidates. Different approaches and materials have been attempted all based on a colloidal route. Rare earths oxides (erbium and holmium) have been incorporated in transparent silica glass and in polycrystalline alumina and zirconia using their hydrated salts as oxide precursors. Rare earth modified silica glass were obtained by sintering silica xerogel containing fumed silica and hydrolysed ortholisicate. Rare earth modified alumina and mixed alumina-zirconia ceramics were obtained from slurries containing alumina colloidal particles and milled ceramic fibres. Functional properties i.e. the high temperature spectral emissivities have been measured by means of a specially designed apparatus where the working conditions of the selective emitters can be reproduced and monitored.     

Porous Garnet Coatings Tailoring the Emissivity of Thermostructural Materials

The power radiated by a surface influences the energy transfer processes following a T⁴ slope. It is therefore clear that, at high temperature, the study and control of spectral emissivity of materials play a key role in many important technologies: re-entry-vehicle thermal protection shields, high temperature radiators, selective emitters in thermophotovoltaic generators, etc. We have developed a class of thick porous garnet coatings that may raise or lower the spectral emissivity of thermostructural materials in the VIS, NIR, and IR regions. The porosity of the coatings nearly cancels any emission contribution from the underlying materials due to the scattering in the inhomogeneous system: pore/high refraction garnet. The yttrium aluminum garnet polycrystals vary their emissivity as a function of the doping rare earth elements they contain. We achieved an emission control capability in the range 700–3000 nm. Porous coatings have been prepared from ceramic slips containing a reactive colloidal phase and rare earth garnet powders prepared by drying and calcining mixed oxide aqueous gels. Garnet coatings containing Er, Yb, and Tm were prepared with thickness ranging between 50 and 400 microns. The coatings have been investigated by morphological and microstructural studies. A dedicated experimental set up has been developed to measure the spectral emissivity up to 1700 K under different heating conditions.     

Analysis of the fluid-bed stability of FCC catalysts at high temperature in terms of bed elasticity

The effect of temperature on the fluid-bed stability of three FCC catalysts has been analyzed through considerations on fluid-bed elasticity. Experimental findings on the effect of temperature on the elasticity modulus at minimum bubbling conditions, （E）mb, were analyzed using the hydrodynamic fluid-bed stability model developed by Foscolo and Gibilaro （1984） and adopting the interparticle-forces-based stability criterion developed by Mutsers and Rietema （1977）. For both models, the parameters which control changes in （E）mb with temperature are discussed, in order to establish the origin of the fluid-bed elasticity and analyze the ability of these models to discriminate between the relative importance of the hydrodynamic and interoarticle forces on the stability of the fluidized catalysts.