Investigation of the homogeneity of Cu-Ni sintered materials using microprobe

The application of various parameters for the estimation of the degree of homogenization of Cu Ni sinters is investigated. For this purpose specimens were prepared with different Ni contents, different degrees of initial porosity and different sintering periods. Analysis is done by means of point and line technique. The following parameters were used: standard deviation from the mean Ni content, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ S_c = \sqrt {\frac{1}{n}\sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {\left({c_i - \bar c} \right)^2 } } $\end{document}, variation coefficient \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ v = \frac{{S_c }}{{\bar c}} $\end{document}, maximum concentration grapient of nickel, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ g = \left({\frac{{dc}}{{dx}}} \right)_{\max } $\end{document} and the relation of the minimum to the maximum Ni concentration in different points of the sinter. – These parameters are enough precise for the representation of the degree of homogenization, but besides this the latter enables to express the homogeneity in the form of a fraction as measure for the homogeneity of a sinter.     

Investigation of chemical composition and homogeneity of thin magnetic layers using microprobe

Thin layers (0.7–1.0 μm) of permalloy on berylium bronze wires of 100 μm in diameter were analysed using microprobe CAMECA MS 46. The layers were deposited by electrolytic method. A calibrating curve for 12 standards of similar composition as analysed layers was made. A special method of analysing was worked out, with regard to very thin layers. Point and line analyses were made for each wire to determine the contents of Fe, Ni and Co. Homogeneity of layers of different wires were compared.     

Glass microstructure evaluations using high temperature mechanical spectroscopy measurements

This paper compares the microstructures of several glasses by measuring the Young’s modulus and internal friction as a function of temperature, using the impulse excitation technique (IET). IET is based on the analysis of the resonant vibration of a solid material sample, induced by an impulse excitation. IET determines the mechanical resonant frequencies (f_r) from which the elastic moduli can be calculated, and for each f_r the corresponding internal friction (Q⁻¹). It was found that the stiffness of quartz and borosilicate glasses increases with temperature. The stiffness of soda-lime and alumino-silicate glasses decreases with the increase of temperature. The change of stiffness of quartz and alumino-silicate glasses during heat-treatment is reversible, but that of borosilicate and soda-lime glasses is not. Explanations for the irreversibility are suggested based on the Q⁻¹-features of the glasses. Diffusion of network modifier ions in the glass network holes is proposed to cause a non-reversible stiffness change, whereas localised anelastic relaxation of network modifier ions leads to a reversible stiffness change.     

Ultrasonic measurement technique to study thermometric effects in glass

Ultrasonic measurements of shear wave propagation in alkali containing glasses reveal temporal instabilities and thermal after-effects which parallel thermometric effects, the secular rise and zero point depression in the ice point of glass thermometers. The ultrasonic method of observing these effects has advantages over the thermometric technique. Sound velocity is a dynamic quantity proportional to the elastic moduli and density which can be measured on an absolute basis and over a frequency range if desired. Thus in measuring instabilities in the elastic properties of glass the ultrasonic method provides additional information over the use of the thermometric technique whose measured changes relate only to density changes in the glass and only on a relative basis. In addition sound velocity can be measured over as wide a temperature range as desired extending from cryogenic to above glass transition range temperatures. Also no fixed reference points are required as with thermometers. Sample preparation is relatively simple and the availability of ‘packaged’ ultrasonic measurement facilities makes this method of measuring very small changes (ppm) in elastic properties very attractive.Data as a function of time and temperature are presented for a series of alkali-lead-silicates incorporating separately Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and for a lead silicate containing the alkaline earth Ba. The results indicate the reversible nature of the instabilities and after-effects and express their magnitudes and sensitivities to the temperature and temperature interval of measurement. They are also related to the thermal history of the glass, and the concentration and species of the incorporated alkali.     

Fictive temperature measurement of alumino-silicate glasses using IR spectroscopy

A simple IR reflection method was used in a previous study to determine the fictive temperature of silica glasses and a soda-lime glass. The IR method is based upon the fact that the silica structural band of a glass takes a unique wavenumber at a particular fictive temperature. When this method was applied to an alumino-silicate glass in this study, however, the IR reflection peak wavenumber of the glass surface was found to be strongly affected by the reaction of the glass with water vapor in the atmosphere. Still, it was possible to measure the fictive temperature of the alumino-silicate glass using IR spectroscopy by taking an IR reflection of the bulk sample after eliminating the surface layer affected by the reaction with water vapor. The IR peak wavenumber of the silica structural band decreased with increasing fictive temperature for the alumino-silicate glass, similar to silica glass.     

Glass transition phenomenology and flexibility: An approach using the energy landscape formalism

The thermodynamic phenomenology of the glass transition in chalcogenide glasses is studied by using rigidity theory, which treats covalent bonding as mechanical constraints. Since flexible systems have a certain number of nearly zero frequency modes (called floppy modes), these modes provide channels in the energy landscape of the glass, and as a consequence, the entropy and fragility depend upon the number of constraints, even for the supercooled melt. Using this approach, the variation of the glass transition temperature with the chemical composition can be obtained from the number of floppy modes, since low frequencies enhance in a considerable way the average quadratic displacement of atomic vibrations. The result reproduces the observed experimental variation of the glass transition temperature with chemical composition.     

Ultra-flat InP substrates produced using a chemo-mechanical polishing technique

One of the factors that may control the ultimate performance of semiconductor opto-electronic devices is that of substrate flatness. This communication discussed the main principles involved in improving the flatness of wafers polished using chemo-mechanical techniques. Results are presented for the polishing of InP using a solution of bromine in methanol. At low bromine concentrations ( <1%) the micro-roughness of the surface was reduced to <1 nm over a lateral spacing of 25 μm.     

Perfection and homogeneity of space-grown GaSb:Te crystals

A Te-doped GaSb crystal grown by the method of directed crystallization under microgravitation has been studied by X-ray topography. It is shown that the structural perfection of the crystal part grown without contact with the ampule walls is substantially higher than the structural perfection of the crystals grown under terrestrial conditions. The distribution of a Te dopant in the crystal is studied by quantitative X-ray topography, and it is shown that, if the gap between the growing crystal and the ampule is small, the Marangoni convection in the melt can be less intense than the convection provided by residual microgravitation. The relation between the formation of a flat face on the crystallization front (faceting) and the formation of twins is also established.     

Crystallization statistics. A new tool to evaluate glass homogeneity

We propose and test a new method to evaluate the chemical homogeneity of glasses based on statistical analyses of the volume distribution of crystals developed through thermal treatments. The method is based on the fact that each volume element of a glass piece subjected to a proper thermal treatment should exhibit a certain number of crystals, which is dictated by its chemical composition. We performed numerical simulations to interpret the experimental results obtained for some glasses, and demonstrate that this new method is adequate to determine the degree and scale of heterogeneity of glasses that display volume crystallization.     

Measuring the Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes Grown on Sodalime Glass Substrates using Cu as Catalyst

We have studied the electrical resistance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on sodalime glass using Cu as catalyst at 580°C temperature. The conductivity was measured at room temperature using four point probe technique. The Cu catalyst was coated on glass substrate by using dc magnetron sputtering system and etched by hydrogen (H₂) gas in order to form nanometer sized catalytic particles. Mixture of C₂H₂/H₂/Ar (20:80:100 standard centimeter cubic per minutes) gases were heated at 580°C for growth of CNTs on a glass substrate by using Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (TCVD). The temperature dependence of sheet resistance and current-voltage characteristics of the film were measured by a four point probes method. The morphology of the catalyst surface was probed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and the growth behavior of CNTs was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Basic steps and layer homogeneity in CVD [II]

Taking into account reactant depletion, gas diffusion, surface processes, and a fourth basic step that is connected with the influence of surface equilibria, the compensation of depletion is treated for both host material deposition and in-situ doping. So, some aspects can be given for the realization of layer homogeneity in epitaxy, as well as in LPCVD. In conclusion, the terminology of border cases in CVD is discussed.     

Defect studies in CuBIIIC chalcopyrite compounds using the ion channeling technique

Based on simple approximations the backscattering minimum yield is estimated for axial ion channeling in perfect crystals of six CuB^IIIC chalcopyrite compounds. The results obtained for CuInSe₂ are compared with experimental channeling spectra. Point defect concentrations up to about 10²¹ cm⁻³ are estimated for CuInSe₂ single crystals grown by the vertical Bridgman method. A simple power law is found for the fluence dependence of the damage density in oxygen implanted CuInSe₂ single crystals.     

Study of elastic moduli of lithium borobismuthate glasses using ultrasonic technique

Ultrasonic studies on x B₂O₃25 Li₂O(75 − x) Bi₂O₃, (0 ≤ x ≤ 75 mol%) glasses have been carried out. The elastic moduli of glasses have been investigated using ultrasonic velocity measurements at 4 MHz. The results revealed an increase of the ultrasonic velocity and Debye temperature with the increase of the B₂O₃ content which was attributed to the increase in the packing density, the local contraction of the network around the Bi and Li cations and the increase of the number of bonds per unit volume. Also, the increase of the elastic moduli with the increase in the B₂O₃ content is affected with the increase in the dissociation energy, the average cross-link density, the increase in the number of bridging oxygen atoms, and the substitution of high bond strength BO with low bond strength BiO. The optical properties such as the refractive index, the energy gap and the optical polarizability were evaluated from the values of the elastic moduli. It was observed that as the bulk modulus increases, the optical energy gap increases and both the refractive index and the optical basicity decrease.     

Deposition of microcrystalline Ge films using hot-wire technique without toxic gases

To investigate the deposition of Ge films without toxic gas such as germane, we have studied the Ge films prepared by the hot-wire technique, which utilize the reaction between a Ge target and hydrogen atoms generated by the hot-wire decomposition of H₂ gas. The films deposited on Si substrate were microcrystalline Ge films and the mean crystallite size of the films increased from 13.3 to 24.8 nm with increasing the substrate temperature from 300 to 500 °C. Moreover, the deposition rate of Ge films deposited on Si substrate was higher than that of Ge films deposited on Corning 1737 substrate. It was found that the substrate temperature and the kind of substrate are key parameters for the preparation of microcrystalline Ge films by the hot-wire technique.     

Synthesis and characterization of semiconductor metal sulfide nanocrystals using microemulsion technique

The semiconductor nanocrystals ZnS, PbS, CdS and CuS were synthesized via microemulsion technique involving metal acetate, reducing agent (Na₂S) and Triton X‐100 as surfactant. Nanocrystals were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The average size of ZnS, PbS, CdS and CuS nanocrystals were found to be 5.6 nm, 13.3 nm, 11.4 nm and 6.2 nm, respectively. Different parameters like surfactant (Triton X‐100) concentration, water‐to‐surfactant ratio (ω), precursor concentration [zinc acetate, (Zn(AC)₂], reducing agent concentration [sodium sulphide, (Na₂S)] were optimized to synthesize ZnS quantum dots.