Roles of SiH4 and SiF4 in growth and structural changes of poly-Si films

The structural properties of polycrystalline silicon films, prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system, with different flow rates of SiH₄/SiF₄ mixtures at 300 °C were investigated. This study indicates that the low hydrogen coverage on the growing surface, under optimum fluorine radicals, will be leaded to an improvement of crystallized area as compared with case of high hydrogen coverage surface. Moreover, the studies of the role of SiH₄ and SiF₄ radicals show that the SiH₄ radicals are important in the nucleation and growth of grains. However, SiF₄ radicals are effective in the structural change of grain boundaries regions and by this way, in the present system, establish the growth of grains under the dominant 〈1 1 0〉 direction. The stress investigation indicates that addition of high flow rate of SiF₄ in amorphous film, results in the nearly stress free films. Finally, we found that the changes in g-value reflect the changes in the intrinsic compressive and tensile stress in the both polycrystalline and amorphous silicon films.     

Application of rainbow schlieren deflectometry to measure temperature and oxygen concentration in a laminar gas-jet diffusion flame

The quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry (RSD) technique was applied to measure temperature and oxygen concentration in an axisymmetric hydrogen gas-jet diffusion flame burning in quiescent air at fuel jet exit Reynolds number of 70. Schlieren measurements were compared with conventional measurements using a thermocouple and a gas-sampling probe. Good agreement between the two measurement techniques was achieved on the fuel-lean side of the flame.     

Velocity measurements in liquid sodium by means of ultrasound Doppler velocimetry

A successful application of ultrasound Doppler velocimetry in liquid sodium flows is described. To obtain sufficient Doppler signals, different problems had to be solved: the transmission of the ultrasonic beam through the channel wall made of stainless steel, the acoustic coupling between the transducer and the channel wall, and the wetting of the inner surface of the wall by the liquid metal, respectively. A sodium flow in a square duct exposed to a transverse magnetic field is investigated. In accordance with the existing knowledge about MHD channel flows, we found that the velocity profiles modified to a M-shape owing to the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Received: 12 June 2001/Accepted: 27 October 2001     

Necessary Conditions for Differentiability of Distance Functions

Necessary conditions for the Gâteaux differentiability of the distance function to a set are considered. A series of characterizing results is obtained.     

Inclusion of carbon nanotubes in a TiO2 sol-gel matrix

We report here the successful inclusion of carbon nanotubes (CNs) into a TiO₂ matrix prepared by a sol-gel method. The presence of CNs in the sol-gel matrix and the structure of the film were analyzed principally by transmission electron microscopy. Complementary information about the behavior of embedded carbon nanotubes versus heat treatment and ion irradiation were obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The elaboration of an inorganic matrix containing embedded carbon nanotubes leads to a new nanocomposite. The possible applications of this nanocomposite are discussed.     

On a conjecture of Cox and Katz

This note shows that a certain toric quotient of the quintic Calabi-Yau threefold in provides a counterexample to a recent conjecture of Cox and Katz concerning nef cones of toric hypersurfaces. Received: 8 February 2001; in final form: 17 September 2001 / Published online: 1 February 2002     

Solving the problem of contact equilibrium of a punch and an elastic body

The variational problem of contact equilibrium of a punch and an elastic body is considered. An equivalent formulation of the problem is given in variational inequality form. Existence and uniqueness of the solution is investigated in a particular case. A penalty method is proposed for approximate solution of the problem.Translated from Vychislitel'naya i Prikladnaya Matematika, No. 56, pp. 97–103, 1985.