A comparison of the crystallization behavior of liquid-quenched and vapor-quenched amorphous Cu60Ti40

The crystallization behavior of two Cu₆₀Ti₄₀ amorphous alloys, one prepared by a vapor-quench (VQ) process and one by a liquid-quench (LQ) process, has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Microstructural studies show that the two alloys have the same transformation sequence under similar annealing conditions. However DSC measurements of the crystallization temperature during isochronal annealing and of the incubation time for crystallization during isothermal annealing show that the LQ alloy is more thermally stable and therefore more structurally relaxed. TEM analysis of the partially annealed microstructures gives some insight into the mode of crystal nucleation and growth as a function of temperature. During isothermal annealing significant differences are observed for the two alloys in the shape and orientation of the crystals and in the crystal structure formed. Whereas the VQ alloy transforms polymorphicaly into the intermetallic Cu₃Ti₂, the LQ alloy forms the Ti-rich phase, Cu₄Ti₃. The two phases are closely related in structure and composition. The differences observed for the two alloys are discussed in terms of greater structural relaxation and short range order in the LQ alloy resulting from the mode of synthesis.     

Magnetization and structural studies of Mn doped ZnO nanoparticles: Prepared by reverse micelle method

Single phase Mn (2.5 at%) doped ZnO nanocrystalline samples were synthesized by reverse micelle method as characterized by Rietveld refinement analysis of X-ray diffraction data, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction analyses. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies indicated that manganese exist as Mn²⁺ in ZnO lattice. DC magnetization measurements as a function of field and temperature, of 2.5 at% Mn doped ZnO nanoparticles annealed at 675 K, showed room temperature ferromagnetism (RTF). This observation is further confirmed by the EPR spectrum of the sample, which shows a distinct ferromagnetic resonance signal at room temperature. These results indicate that the observed RTF in Mn-doped ZnO may be attributed to the substitutional incorporation of Mn at Zn sites.     

射频磁控溅射生长ZnO薄膜及性能研究

采用射频磁控溅射技术在玻璃衬底生长ZnO及ZnO∶ Al薄膜,通过改变氩氧比、衬底温度和溅射功率获得样品.用X射线衍射仪、紫外-可见分光光度计、扫描电子显微镜进行表征.结果发现:室温下40W的溅射功率1h的溅射时间,改变氩氧比获得样品.XRD图谱中无明显衍射峰出现;紫外可见光分光光度计测试结果显示400nm波长以下,透光率在90;以上.说明薄膜生长呈无定形.衬底温度高于200℃样品,XRD有明显(002)衍射峰出现,在400～ 800 nm波长范围,透光率在88;以上,衬底温度300℃时,XRD衍射峰半高宽最小,晶粒尺寸大.TEM显示:衬底300℃晶粒尺寸最大,晶体发育好.在200℃掺铝ZnO薄膜,(002)峰不明显,有(101)峰出现.     

Rapid Crystallization of L-Alanine on Engineered Surfaces using Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Evaporative Crystallization

This study demonstrates the application of metal-assisted and microwave-accelerated evaporative crystallization (MA-MAEC) technique to rapid crystallization of L-alanine on surface engineered silver nanostructures. In this regard, silver island films (SIFs) were modified with hexamethylenediamine (HMA), 1-undecanethiol (UDET), and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUDA), which introduced -NH(2), -CH(3) and -COOH functional groups to SIFs, respectively. L-Alanine was crystallized on these engineered surfaces and blank SIFs at room temperature and using MA-MAEC technique. Significant improvements in crystal size, shape, and quality were observed on HMA-, MUDA- and UDET-modified SIFs at room temperature (crystallization time = 144, 40 and 147 min, respectively) as compared to those crystals grown on blank SIFs. Using the MA-MAEC technique, the crystallization time of L-alanine on engineered surfaces were reduced to 17 sec for microwave power level 10 (i.e., duty cycle 100%) and 7 min for microwave power level 1 (duty cycle 10%). Raman spectroscopy and powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that L-Alanine crystals grown on engineered surfaces using MA-MAEC technique had identical characteristic peaks of L-alanine crystals grown using traditional evaporative crystallization.     

Growth and characterization of semiconducting cadmium selenide thin films

Semiconducting thin films of cadmium selenide have been grown by conventional thermal evaporation technique. The effect of various growth parameters like rate of deposition and deposition temperature has been studied in detail. Films deposited at room temperature are cadmium rich with segregated selenium globules. A deposition temperature of 453 K has been found to yield stoichiometric, homogeneous films. The films have been analysed for optical band gap and thermal activation energies. Films of low electrical resistivity have been obtained for possible applications.     

Initial stages of SiC crystal growth by PVT method

Initial stages of SiC crystal growth by Physical Vapor Transport method were investigated. The following features were observed: (a) many nucleation crystallization centres appeared on the seed surface during the initial stage of the growth, (b) at the same places many separate flat faces generated on the crystallization front, (c) the number of facets was dependent on the shape of the crystallization front and decreased during growth, (d) appearance of many facets lead to decrease of structural quality of crystals due to degradation of regions where crystallization steps from independent centres met. The results revealed that the optimal crystallization front should be slightly convex, which permits the growth of crystals with single nucleation centre and evolution of single facet on the crystallization front. The subjects of study were the shape and the morphology of growth interface. Defects in the crystallization fronts and wafers cut from the crystals were studied by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with KOH etching and X‐ray diffraction. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of thermal annealing on the composition and structural parameters of DC magnetron sputtered titanium dioxide thin films

Titanium dioxide films have been deposited using DC magnetron sputtering technique. Films were deposited onto RCA cleaned p‐silicon substrates at the ambient temperature at an oxygen partial pressure of 7 × 10^–5 mbar and sputtering pressure of 1 × 10 ^–3 mbar. The deposited films were annealed in the temperature range 673–873 K. The structure and composition of the films were confirmed using X‐ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The structure of the films deposited at the ambient was found to be amorphous and the films annealed at 673 K and above were crystalline with anatase structure. The lattice constants, grain size, microstrain and the dislocation density of the film are calculated and correlated with annealing temperature.     

Effect of gallium incorporation on the physical properties of ZnO films grown by spray pyrolysis

Gallium-doped zinc oxide thin films were deposited by the spray pyrolysis technique onto Corning 7059 glass substrates at a temperature of 350°C using a precursor solution of zinc acetate in isopropyl alcohol. The films were prepared using different gallium concentrations keeping the other deposition parameters such as air and solution flow rates and solution concentration constant. The variations of the structural, electrical and optical properties with the doping concentration were investigated. X-ray diffraction data showed that the films were polycrystalline with the (0 0 2) preferred orientation. The texture coefficient and grain size were evaluated for different doping concentrations. The films with 5.0 at% gallium had a resistivity of 1.5×10⁻³ Ω cm and a transmittance of 85% with an energy band gap of 3.35 eV.     

Preparation of Ge-Si epitaxial alloys by sputtering

Ge-Si alloy layers have been epitaxially grown throughout the whole range of composition onto Ge substrates by the simultaneous getter sputtering from elemental Ge and Si sources. The epitaxial temperature was 550 to 830° C at growth rates of about 1 μm/h, depending on the Si atomic fraction in the range of 0.05 to 0.88. As the Si content in the alloy increases, the crystallinity of the layer decreases: Si-rich alloy layers contained microtwins. Hall measurements of alloy layers without intentional doping indicated p-type conductivity with Hall mobility of 600 cm²/V·sec at carrier concentration of 2 × 10¹⁶ cm^-3 for 25 at% Si in the alloy at room temperature. The observed temperature dependence of the hole mobility is indicative of alloy scattering.     

Direct melt crystal growth of isotactic polybutene‐1 trigonal phase

The morphology, crystalline structure and crystal growth kinetics of melt‐crystallized thin isotactic polybutene‐1 films have been studied with transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction and optical microscopy. It is demonstrated that a bypass of tetragonal phase crystallization and direct melt crystal growth of the trigonal phase can be achieved via self‐seeding at atmospheric pressure using solution‐grown trigonal crystals as nuclei. Electron microscopy and optical microscopy observations show that melt‐crystallized isotactic polybutene‐1 single crystals of the trigonal phase have rounded or hexagonal morphologies around 75°C. The growth rate of trigonal crystals in the melt has been obtained by in‐situ optical microscopy. The growth rate of trigonal crystals in the melt is 1/100 and 1/1000 that of tetragonal crystals in the melt around 70 and 90°C, respectively. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Catalyzed Nucleation of Poly (Vinyl Chloride)

Microscopically visible crystallization in a typical non-crystallizing organic polymer - poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is achieved by dissoloving it in an appropriate solvent (cyclohexanone) and inducing the nucleation by introducing various insolube crystallization cores - microcrystals of noble metals (Au, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ru, Os). It is established that the higher the melting temperature of the metal the higher its activity as a crystallization core in the heterogeneous nucleation of PVC. The reverse process-oriented crystallization of a foreign substance - NaCl crystals on PVC films is also demonstrated. This result gives an indication of precrystalline structures in seemingly amorphous PVC films.     

The growth of single crystals of Ni-W alloy under conditions of high temperature gradient

The structure of single crystals of the NV-4 nickel alloy containing 32–36 wt % W is investigated. The temperature gradient at the crystallization front and the velocity of the crystallization front are the variable parameters of directional crystallization. The degrees of structural perfection of the single crystals grown under different conditions are compared. The crystallization parameters providing growth of single crystals that have high structural perfection and can be successfully used as seeds for the growth of single-crystal blades are determined. Typical defects formed upon directional crystallization of single crystals of the Ni-W (35 wt %) alloy are examined. The studied defects are classified, and the factors responsible for the disturbance of the single-crystal structure are analyzed.     

Exaggerated grain growth in bixbyite via fast diffusion along planar defects

Naturally occurring bixbyite single crystals from the Maynard claim at Thomas Mountain Range in Utah, USA, show pronounced grain growth, when compared to bixbyite crystals from other locations in close vicinity. These enlarged single crystals reveal characteristic linear surface features, which were initially interpreted as twin boundaries. HRTEM studies in conjunction with EDS analysis and electron diffraction, however, confirmed that these features originate from thin interlayers of braunite, Mn₇SiO₁₂, epitaxially grown within the host crystal. A model for the observed exaggerated grain growth is presented, which is based on the assumption that fast diffusion occurs along the braunite/bixbyite phase boundaries in three dimensions and, more importantly, promote nucleation at surface edges. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigation of single crystal growth of GaPO4 by the flux method

GaPO₄ crystals have been grown by a spontaneous nucleation method and the top-seeded solution growth method using three different solvents, 3MoO₃-Li₂O, 3MoO₃-K₂O and 2KPO₃-5MoO₃-3LiF. All of the as-grown crystals were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction. The results show that all the crystals were well crystallized and belong to the point group 32, and 2KPO₃-5MoO₃-3LiF flux is the best for nucleation and growth of transparent GaPO₄ crystals. The infrared spectrum of GaPO₄ single crystal obtained by the flux method shows that there is no incorporation of OH groups during the crystallization, which is beneficial for high temperature piezoelectric applications.     

Preparation and characterization of superfine ammonium perchlorate (AP) crystals through ceramic membrane anti-solvent crystallization

In this paper, a novel ceramic membrane anti-solvent crystallization (CMASC) method was proposed for the safe and rapid preparation ammonium perchlorate (AP) crystals, in which the acetone and ethyl acetate were chosen as solvent and anti-solvent, respectively. Comparing with the conventional liquid anti-solvent crystallization (LASC), CMASC which successfully introduces ceramic membrane with regular pore structure to the LASC as feeding medium, is favorable to control the rate of feeding rate and, therefore, to obtain size and morphology controllable AP. Several kinds of micro-sized AP particles with different morphology were obtained including polyhedral-like, quadrate-like to rod-like. The effect of processing parameters on the crystal size and shape of AP crystals such as volume ratio of anti-solvent to solvent, feeding pressure and crystallization temperature were investigated. It is found that higher volume ratio of anti-solvent to solvent, higher feeding pressure and higher temperature result in smaller particle size. Scaning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the resulting AP crystals. The nucleation and growth kinetic of the resulting AP crystals were also discussed.     

F-及SiF2-6对α型半水硫酸钙结晶成核及形貌的影响

本文模拟了半水法湿法磷酸生产过程中α型半水硫酸钙(α-HH)的结晶过程。在30%P₂O₅,反应温度95 ℃,过饱和度S=1.64~2.10条件下,通过浊度仪监测溶液中浊度变化,测定了不同F^-及SiF^2-₆浓度下α-HH结晶诱导时间,采用经典成核理论公式计算了α-HH的临界晶核半径及成核速率,并通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)表征分析了F^-及SiF^2-₆对α-HH结晶过程的影响。结果表明:随着F^-、SiF^2-₆浓度的升高,α-HH晶体的结晶诱导时间延长,表面能和临界晶核半径都增大,然而成核速率减小。当过饱和度S=1.64时,加入0.06 mol·L^-1 F^-,α-HH结晶诱导时间延长了465 s,成核速率减小到0.403×10²⁹ 晶核数·cm^-3·s^-1,然而,加入0.06 mol·L^-1 SiF^2-₆,α-HH结晶诱导时间延长了710 s,成核速率减小到0.339×10²⁹晶核数·cm^-3·s^-1。SiF^2-₆对α-HH晶体抑制成核作用大于F^-。F^-、SiF^2-₆阻碍了α-HH晶体沿C轴方向生长,使得晶体长径比减小,晶体形貌向短柱状变化。F^-、SiF^2-₆影响了α-HH晶体(200)、(310)、(400)晶面衍射峰强度和结晶度。控制半水法湿法磷酸中F^-及SiF^2-₆浓度水平,可以得到短柱状的α-HH晶体,有利于过滤洗涤。     

Structural and electrical properties of Germanium-doped Sb70Te30 eutectic thin films

Ge-doped Sb₇₀Te₃₀ eutectic films show high potential for high transfer rate recording and non-volatile memory applications. Their potential applications are based on the difference in optical and electrical properties between the crystalline and amorphous phases. However, the structure and crystallization mechanism of such films is not yet well understood.The aim of this work is to study the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transformation mechanism in eutectic thin films of pure Sb₇₀Te₃₀ and doped with 2, 5 and 10 at% of Ge. Results of isokinetics and isothermal annealing were carried out using various techniques: four-probe electrical, optical reflectance and X-ray measurements.The results of optical and electrical measurements of Ge doped Sb₇₀Te₃₀ eutectic films showed that the addition of Ge increases both, the crystallization temperature and the effective activation energy of crystallization and that the mechanism of crystallization does not depend on Ge contents.In amorphous films, Ge acts as impurity center and does not affect the optical band gap value, but decreases the pre-exponential factor in the thermally activated conductivity. In crystalline films, Ge is probably incorporated into the Sb₇₀Te₃₀ structure and Ge vacancy are responsible for p-type metallic conduction, which increases with increasing the Ge content.     

Complex crystallization mode of amorphous/nanocrystalline composite Al86Ni2Co5.8Gd5.7Si0.5

Kinetics of the first crystallization stage of Al₈₆Ni₂Co_5.8Gd_5.7Si_0.5 amorphous alloy and structure of the partially crystallized specimens were investigated by measurements of electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The presence of Al nanocrystals and eutectic colonies consisted of mutually oriented crystals of Al and metastable phase was found. The transient nucleation and slowing-down diffusion-limited growth and the interface-controlled growth of the quenched-in nuclei were identified as mechanisms of formation of the Al nanocrystals and eutectic colonies, respectively.