Long-range chemical interactions in solid-state reactions: effect of an inert Ag interlayer on the formation of L10-FePd in epitaxial Pd(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Fe(0 0 1) and Fe(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Pd(0 0 1) trilayers

The effect of 0, 0.5, and 1?μm-thick Ag interlayers on the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe in epitaxial Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) trilayers has been studied using X-ray diffraction, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and magnetic structural measurements. No mixing of Pd and Fe occurs via the chemically inert Ag layer at annealing temperatures up to 400?°C. As the annealing temperature is increased above 400?°C, a solid-state synthesis of an ordered L1₀-FePd phase begins in the Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1) film trilayers regardless of the thickness of the buffer Ag layer. In all samples, annealing above 500?°C leads to the formation of a disordered Fe_xPd_1?x(0?0?1) phase; however, in samples lacking the Ag layer, the synthesis of Fe_xPd_1?x is preceded by the formation of an ordered L1₂-FePd₃ phase. An analysis of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results shows that Pd is the dominant moving species in the reaction between Pd and Fe. According to the preliminary results, the 2.2?μm-thick Ag film does not prevent the synthesis of the L1₀-FePd phase and only slightly increases the phase’s initiation temperature. Data showing the ultra-fast transport of Pd atoms via thick inert Ag layers are interpreted as direct evidence of the long-range character of the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe. Thus, in the reaction state, Pd and Fe interact chemically even though the distance between them is about 10⁴ times greater than an ordinary chemical bond length.     

Thermodynamics of elastic strength of the metal surface layer

This paper presents a physicochemical model that establishes a connection between the elastic strength of the surface layer (SL) of metal and its surface Gibbs energy. The elastic limit of SL along the low-index face of the metal single crystal under stress during the transition from elastic to plastic deformation was calculated. Calculation shows that the elastic limit of metal SL with fcc and bcc structures is approximately three orders of magnitude higher than the yield strength of these metals in bulk and close to nanohardness of the metals, in particular; for Cu(111) и Al(111), it is 5.3 and 2.8?GPa, respectively. In the light of the proposed model, the effect of lowering the elastic strength of metal SL due to adsorption of surfactant is formulated.     

Effect of solute atoms on fracture toughness in dilute magnesium alloys

The effect of alloying elements on the toughness and the fracture behaviour was investigated on seven kinds of Mg-0.3?at.% X (X?=?Ag, Al, Ca, Pb, Sn, Y and Zn) alloys with a grain size of 3–5?μm. The fracture toughness and fracture behaviour in magnesium alloys were closely related to the segregation energy. The Mg–Al and –Zn alloys that had small segregation energy showed high toughness and ductile fracture in most regions, while the Mg–Ca alloy with large segregation energy exhibited low toughness and intergranular fracture. These different tendencies resulted from solute segregation at grain boundaries (GBs). The change in the lattice parameter ratio was the influential material parameter regardless of whether the GB embrittlement was for enhancement or suppression.     

Deposition of copper iodide thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods

In this paper, we report structural, morphological, electrical studies of copper iodide (CuI) thin films deposited onto glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods. CuI thin films were characterized for their structural, morphological and wettability studies by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption, and contact angle measurement methods. Thickness of thin films was 1 ± 0.1 μm measured by gravimetric weight difference method. The CuI thin films were nanocrystalline, with average crystal size of ～60 nm. The FT-IR study confirmed the formation of CuI on the substrate surface. SEM images revealed the compact and cube like structure for CuI thin films deposited by CBD and SILAR methods, respectively. Optical absorption study revealed optical energy gaps as 2.3 and 3.0 eV for CBD and SILAR methods, respectively. Wettability study indicated that CuI thin films deposited by SILAR method are more hydrophobic as compared to CBD method.     

Pre- and post-breakdown electrical studies in ultrathin Al2O3 films by conductive atomic force microscopy

The loss of local dielectric integrity in ultrathin Al₂O₃ films grown by atomic layer deposition is investigated using conducting atomic force microscopy. I–V spectra acquired at different regions of the samples by constant and ramping voltage stress are analyzed for their pre- and post-breakdown signatures. Based on these observations, the thickness dependent dielectric reliability and failure mechanism are discussed. Our results show that remarkable enhancement in breakdown electric field as high as 130 MV/cm is observed for ultrathin films of thickness less than 1 nm.     

Extraction and verification of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence

According to the characteristics of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence, an accurate extraction and verification method is developed based on wavelet transform (WT) and correlation analysis in this paper. At first, the fluid field of a turbulent boundary layer is measured precisely in a gravitational low-speed water tunnel. On the basis of the distribution of the coherent structures, velocity data of three test points are selected and analyzed, whose dimensionless heights are 20.8, 33.5, and 42.6. According to the frequency range of power spectrum density (PSD), coherent and incoherent structures are both extracted from the original signals using continuous and orthogonal wavelet transforms. To confirm the validity of the extracted signals, the probability density function (PDF) of each extracted signal is calculated. The result demonstrates that the incoherent structures obey the Gaussian distribution, while the coherent structures deviate from the Gaussian distribution. The PDFs of the coherent structures and the original signals are similar, which shows that the coherent structures make most contributions to the turbulence. For further verification, a correlation parameter between coherent and incoherent structures is defined, which evidently proves the validity of the extraction method in this paper.     

Microstructure and properties of Nb/Ta multilayer films irradiated by a high current pulse electron beam

Nb/Ta multilayer films deposited on Ti6Al4V substrate with Nb and Ta monolayer thicknesses of 30 nm, 120 nm, and 240 nm were irradiated by a high current pulse electron beam (HCPEB) to prepare Nb-Ta alloyed layers. The microstructure and the composition of the outmost surface of melted alloyed layers were investigated using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with an X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) attachment. The Ta content of the alloyed surface layer prepared from the monolayer of thickness 30 nm, 120 nm, and 240 nm was ～ 27.7 at.%, 6.37 at.%, and 0 at.%, respectively. It was found that the Ta content in the alloyed layer plays a dominant role in the microstructure of the films. The hardness and the wear rate of the alloyed layers decrease with the increasing content of Ta in the surface layer.