Large area crystallization of amorphous Si with overlapping high repetition rate laser pulses

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Sang-Gil

2012-09-01

This paper presents a pulsed laser crystallization technique, enabling large area crystallization of amorphous Si to produce grains having well-defined size and orientation. The method is developed by first determining the parameters influencing crystallization induced by single laser pulses of circular cross-sectional profile. In a second step, crystallization by overlapping round spots is examined. The experiments reveal three zones characterized by distinctly different crystallized morphologies following the laser irradiation. One of these zones corresponds to the regime of lateral crystal growth, wherein grains are driven towards the center of the spot by the radial temperature gradient. These findings are then applied to processing via line beam profiles that facilitate large area crystallization upon rapid translation of the specimen. Crystallization of extended areas hinges on the determination of the crystal growth length for a single spot. The pitch between successive pulses is then set on the basis of this information. It is shown that the pulse energy has only a weak effect on the crystal growth length. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Surface and bulk crystallization of amorphous solid water films: Confirmation of “top-down” crystallization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuan, Chunqing; Smith, R. Scott; Kay, Bruce D.

2016-10-01

The crystallization kinetics of nanoscale amorphous solid water (ASW) films are investigated using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). TPD measurements are used to probe surface crystallization and RAIRS measurements are used to probe bulk crystallization. Isothermal TPD results show that surface crystallization is independent of the film thickness (from 100 to 1000 ML). Conversely, the RAIRS measurements show that the bulk crystallization time increases linearly with increasing film thickness. These results suggest that nucleation and crystallization begin at the ASW/vacuum interface and then the crystallization growth front propagates linearly into the bulk. This mechanism was confirmed by selective placement of an isotopic layer (5% D2O in H2O) at various positions in an ASW (H2O) film. In this case, the closer the isotopic layer was to the vacuum interface, the earlier the isotopic layer crystallized. These experiments provide direct evidence to confirm that ASW crystallization in vacuum proceeds by a “top-down” crystallization mechanism.

Electron-irradiation-induced crystallization of amorphous orthophosphates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meldrum, A.; Ewing, R.C.; Boatner, L.A.

1996-12-01

Amorphous LaPO 4 , EuPO 4 , GdPO 4 , ScPO 4 , and fluorapatite [Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F] were irradiated by electron beam in a TEM. Irradiations were done at -150 to 300 C, 80 to 200 keV, and current densities from 0.3 to 16 A/cm 2 . In all cases, the materials crystallized to form a randomly oriented polycrystalline assemblage. Crystallization is driven dominantly by inelastic processes, although ballistic collisions with target nuclei can be important above 175 keV, particularly in apatite. Using a high current density, crystallization is so fast that continuous lines of crystallites can be ''drawn'' on the amorphous matrix

Thermodynamically controlled crystallization of glucose pentaacetates from amorphous phase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wlodarczyk, P., E-mail: patrykw@imn.gliwice.pl; Hawelek, L.; Hudecki, A.; Kolano-Burian, A. [Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals, ul. Sowinskiego 5, 44-100 Gliwice (Poland); Wlodarczyk, A. [Department of Animal Histology and Embryology, University of Silesia, ul. Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice (Poland)

2016-08-15

The α and β glucose pentaacetates are known sugar derivatives, which can be potentially used as stabilizers of amorphous phase of active ingredients of drugs (API). In the present work, crystallization behavior of equimolar mixture of α and β form in comparison to both pure anomers is revealed. It was shown that despite the same molecular interactions and similar molecular dynamics, crystallization from amorphous phase is significantly suppressed in equimolar mixture. Time dependent X-ray diffraction studies confirmed higher stability of the quenched amorphous equimolar mixture. Its tendency to crystallization is about 10 times lower than for pure anomers. Calorimetric studies revealed that the α and β anomers don’t form solid solutions and have eutectic point for x{sub α} = 0.625. Suppressed crystallization tendency in the mixture is probably caused by the altered thermodynamics of the system. The factors such as difference of free energy between crystalline and amorphous state or altered configurational entropy are probably responsible for the inhibitory effect.

Crystallization kinetics of amorphous aluminum-tungsten thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Car, T.; Radic, N. [Rugjer Boskovic Inst., Zagreb (Croatia). Div. of Mater. Sci.; Ivkov, J. [Institute of Physics, Bijenicka 46, P.O.B. 304, HR-10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Babic, E.; Tonejc, A. [Faculty of Sciences, Physics Department, Bijenicka 32, P.O.B. 162, HR-10000 Zagreb (Croatia)

1999-01-01

Crystallization kinetics of the amorphous Al-W thin films under non-isothermal conditions was examined by continuous in situ electrical resistance measurements in vacuum. The estimated crystallization temperature of amorphous films in the composition series of the Al{sub 82}W{sub 18} to Al{sub 62}W{sub 38} compounds ranged from 800 K to 920 K. The activation energy for the crystallization and the Avrami exponent were determined. The results indicated that the crystallization mechanism in films with higher tungsten content was a diffusion-controlled process, whereas in films with the composition similar to the stoichiometric compound (Al{sub 4}W), the interface-controlled crystallization probably occurred. (orig.) With 4 figs., 1 tab., 26 refs.

Manufacturing Amorphous Solid Dispersions with a Tailored Amount of Crystallized API for Biopharmaceutical Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Theil, Frank; Milsmann, Johanna; Anantharaman, Sankaran; van Lishaut, Holger

2018-05-07

The preparation of an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) by dissolving a poorly water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in a polymer matrix can improve the bioavailability by orders of magnitude. Crystallization of the API in the ASD, though, is an inherent threat for bioavailability. Commonly, the impact of crystalline API on the drug release of the dosage form is studied with samples containing spiked crystallinity. These spiked samples possess implicit differences compared to native crystalline samples, regarding size and spatial distribution of the crystals as well as their molecular environment. In this study, we demonstrate that it is possible to grow defined amounts of crystalline API in solid dosage forms, which enables us to study the biopharmaceutical impact of actual crystallization. For this purpose, we studied the crystal growth in fenofibrate tablets over time under an elevated moisture using transmission Raman spectroscopy (TRS). As a nondestructive method to assess API crystallinity in ASD formulations, TRS enables the monitoring of crystal growth in individual dosage forms. Once the kinetic trace of the crystal growth for a certain environmental condition is determined, this method can be used to produce samples with defined amounts of crystallized API. To investigate the biopharmaceutical impact of crystallized API, non-QC dissolution methods were used, designed to identify differences between the various amounts of crystalline materials present. The drug release in the samples manufactured in this fashion was compared to that of samples with spiked crystallinity. In this study, we present for the first time a method for targeted crystallization of amorphous tablets to simulate crystallized ASDs. This methodology is a valuable tool to generate model systems for biopharmaceutical studies on the impact of crystallinity on the bioavailability.

Ball-milling-induced crystallization and ball-milling effect on thermal crystallization kinetics in an amorphous FeMoSiB alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, F.Q.; Lu, K.

1997-01-01

Microstructure evolution in a melt-spun amorphous Fe 77.2 Mo 0.8 Si 9 B 13 alloy subjected to high-energy ball milling was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). It was found that during ball milling, crystallization occurs in the amorphous ribbon sample with precipitation of an α-Fe solid solution, and the amorphous sample crystallizes completely into a single α-Fe nanostructure (rather than α-Fe and borides as in the usual thermal crystallization products) when the milling time exceeds 135 hours. The volume fraction of material crystallized was found to be approximately proportional to the milling time. The fully crystallized sample with a single α-Fe nanophase exhibits an intrinsic thermal stability against phase separation upon annealing at high temperatures. The ball-milling effect on the subsequent thermal crystallization of the amorphous phase in an as-milled sample was studied by comparison of the crystallization products and kinetic parameters between the as-quenched amorphous sample and the as-milled sample was studied by comparison of the crystallization products and kinetic parameters between the as-quenched amorphous sample and the as-milled partially crystallized samples. The crystallization temperatures and activation energies for the crystallization processes of the residual amorphous phase were considerably decreased due to ball milling, indicating that ball milling has a significant effect on the depression of thermal stability of the residual amorphous phase

Structure, thermodynamics, and crystallization of amorphous hafnia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Xuhui; Demkov, Alexander A.

2015-01-01

We investigate theoretically amorphous hafnia using the first principles melt and quench method. We identify two types of amorphous structures of hafnia. Type I and type II are related to tetragonal and monoclinic hafnia, respectively. We find type II structure to show stronger disorder than type I. Using the phonon density of states, we calculate the specific heat capacity for type II amorphous hafnia. Using the nudged elastic band method, we show that the averaged transition barrier between the type II amorphous hafnia and monoclinic phase is approximately 0.09 eV/HfO 2 . The crystallization temperature is estimated to be 421 K. The calculations suggest an explanation for the low thermal stability of amorphous hafnia

Crystallization characteristics of amorphous alloys of FeZr

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozhan, M. Idrus; Grundy, P.J.

1993-01-01

The crystallization characteristics of sputter-deposited amorphous alloys of Fe 100-x Zr x prepared at zirconium concentrations between 9 and 89 at.% was investigated. The transformation of the alloys from the amorphous to the crystalline state has been examined by thermal analysis, electrical resistance and X-ray diffraction. The crystallization temperatures were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and electrical resistance as a function of temperature. The final phases were determined by X-ray diffraction. The activation energies were calculated from the Kissinger plots and the heats of crystallization were calculated and correlations between the thermal analysis and the resistance results are presented

Crystallization of biogenic hydrous amorphous silica

Science.gov (United States)

Kyono, A.; Yokooji, M.; Chiba, T.; Tamura, T.; Tuji, A.

2017-12-01

Diatom, Nitzschia cf. frustulum, collected from Lake Yogo, Siga prefecture, Japan was cultured in laboratory. Organic components of the diatom cell were removed by washing with acetone and sodium hypochlorite. The remaining frustules were studied by SEM-EDX, FTIR spectroscopy, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the spindle-shaped morphology of diatom frustule was composed of hydrous amorphous silica. Pressure induced phase transformation of the diatom frustule was investigated by in situ Raman spectroscopic analysis. With exposure to 0.3 GPa at 100 oC, Raman band corresponding to quartz occurred at ν = 465 cm-1. In addition, Raman bands known as a characteristic Raman pattern of moganite was also observed at 501 cm-1. From the integral ratio of Raman bands, the moganite content in the probed area was estimated to be approximately 50 wt%. With the pressure and temperature effect, the initial morphology of diatom frustule was completely lost and totally changed to a characteristic spherical particle with a diameter of about 2 mm. With keeping the compression of 5.7 GPa at 100 oC, a Raman band assignable to coesite appeared at 538 cm-1. That is, with the compression and heating, the hydrous amorphous silica can be readily crystallized into quartz, moganite, and coesite. The first-principles calculations revealed that a disiloxane molecule stabilized in a trans configuration is twisted 60o and changed into the cis configuration with a close approach of water molecule. It is therefore a reasonable assumption that during crystallization of hydrous amorphous silica, the Si-O-Si bridging unit with the cis configuration would survive as a structural defect and then crystallized into moganite by keeping the geometry. This hypothesis is adaptable to the phase transformation from hydrous amorphous silica to coesite as well, because coesite has the four-membered rings and easily formed from the hydrous amorphous silica under high pressure and high

Effect of γ-(Fe,Ni) crystal-size stabilization in Fe-Ni-B amorphous ribbon

Science.gov (United States)

Gorshenkov, M. V.; Glezer, A. M.; Korchuganova, O. A.; Aleev, A. A.; Shurygina, N. A.

2017-02-01

The effect of stabilizing crystal size in a melt-quenched amorphous Fe50Ni33B17 ribbon is described upon crystallization in a temperature range of 360-400°C. The shape, size, volume fraction, and volume density have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The formation of an amorphous layer of the Fe50Ni29B21 compound was found by means of atomic-probe tomography at the boundary of the crystallite-amorphous phase. The stabilization of crystal sizes during annealing is due to the formation of a barrier amorphous layer that has a crystallization temperature that exceeds the crystallization temperature of the matrix amorphous alloy.

Crystallization of amorphous phase in niobium alloys with oxygen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dekanenko, V.M.; Samojlenko, Z.A.; Revyakin, A.V.

1982-01-01

Crystallization and subsequent phase transformations of amorphous phase during annealings in the system Nb-O are studied. It is shown that quenching from liquid state of niobium alloys with oxygen with a rate of 10 5 -10 6 K/s results in partial crystallization of the melt. Phase transition from amorphous to crystal state at 670 K in all probability takes place without the change of chemical composition. After crystallization the decomposition of oversaturated solid solution on the basis of NbO takes place with the separation of low- temperature modification, γ-Nb 2 O 5 . Niobium pentoxide of both modifications during prolong annealings at 770 K and short- time annealings higher 1070 K disappears completely [ru

Crystallization induced of amorphous silicon by nickel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, J.A; Rinaldi, P; Budini, N; Arce, R; Buitrago, R.H

2008-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) deposited on glass substrates is a very promising material for the production of different electronic devices, like thin film transistors, active matrices or solar cells. The crystallization of the amorphous silicon to obtain pc-Si can be achieved with different processes, among which nickel-induced crystallization is because it requires low concentrations of the metal and low annealing temperatures. Nucleation and growth of crystalline silicon are measured by the formation of silicide NiSi 2 , which has a lattice constant very similar to that of Si, and acts as a seed upon which crystalline grains can develop. The size of the pc-Si final grain depends on many factors, such as the initial concentration of Ni, the annealing time and temperature, and the presence of other atoms in the Si structure. This work presents a study on the influence of these parameters on the silicon crystallization process induced by Ni. We deposited a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon samples (a-Si:H) on glass substrates, using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method (PE-CVD) with silane gas (SiH 4 ). The deposition temperature was 200 o C, and we prepared intrinsic samples (i), lightly doped with boron (p), heavily doped with boron (p + ) and heavily doped with phosphorous (n + ). Each sample was divided into eight portions, depositing different concentrations of Ni into each one using the cathodic sputtering method. The concentration of Ni was determined by atomic adsorption spectroscopy, and included from 1.5 1 0 15 to 1.5 1 0 16 at/cm 2 . Later the samples were submitted to different thermal treatments in a circulating nitrogen atmosphere. In order to avoid violent dehydrogenation of the a-Si:H that damages the samples, the annealing was carried out gradually. In a first stage the samples were heated at a velocity of 0.5 o C /min up to 400 o C, holding them for 24 hrs at this temperature in order to reach hydrogen effusion. Heating

Electron-beam-irradiation-induced crystallization of amorphous solid phase change materials

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Dong; Wu, Liangcai; Wen, Lin; Ma, Liya; Zhang, Xingyao; Li, Yudong; Guo, Qi; Song, Zhitang

2018-04-01

The electron-beam-irradiation-induced crystallization of phase change materials in a nano sized area was studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. Amorphous phase change materials changed to a polycrystalline state after being irradiated with a 200 kV electron beam for a long time. The results indicate that the crystallization temperature strongly depends on the difference in the heteronuclear bond enthalpy of the phase change materials. The selected area electron diffraction patterns reveal that Ge2Sb2Te5 is a nucleation-dominated material, when Si2Sb2Te3 and Ti0.5Sb2Te3 are growth-dominated materials.

Effects of flexible substrate thickness on Al-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oya, Naoki [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Toko, Kaoru, E-mail: toko@bk.tsukuba.ac.jp [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Saitoh, Noriyuki; Yoshizawa, Noriko [Electron Microscope Facility, TIA, AIST, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569 (Japan); Suemasu, Takashi [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan)

2015-05-29

Amorphous germanium (a-Ge) thin films were directly crystallized on flexible plastic substrates at 325 °C using Al-induced crystallization. The thickness of the plastic substrate strongly influenced the crystal quality of the resulting polycrystalline Ge layers. Using a thicker substrate lowered the stress on the a-Ge layer during annealing, which increased the grain size and fraction of (111)-oriented grains within the Ge layer. Employing a 125-μm-thick substrate led to 95% (111)-oriented Ge with grains having an average size of 100 μm. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that the Ge grains had a low-defect density. Production of high-quality Ge films on plastic substrates allows for the possibility for developing Ge-based electronic and optical devices on inexpensive flexible substrates. - Highlights: • Polycrystalline Ge thin films are directly formed on flexible plastic substrates. • Al-induced crystallization allows the low-temperature growth (325 °C) of amorphous Ge. • The substrate bending during annealing strongly influences the crystal quality of poly-Ge. • A thick substrate (125 μm) leads to 95% (111)-oriented Ge with grains 100 μm in size.

ANTIMONY INDUCED CRYSTALLIZATION OF AMORPHOUS SILICON

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Y. Wang; H.Z. Li; C.N. Yu; G.M. Wu; I. Gordon; P. Schattschneider; O. Van Der Biest

2007-01-01

Antimony induced crystallization of PVD (physics vapor deposition) amorphous silicon can be observed on sapphire substrates. Very large crystalline regions up to several tens of micrometers can be formed. The Si diffraction patterns of the area of crystallization can be observed with TEM (transmission electron microscopy). Only a few and much smaller crystals of the order of 1μm were formed when the antimony layer was deposited by MBE(molecular beam epitaxy) compared with a layer formed by thermal evaporation. The use of high vacuum is essential in order to observe any Sb induced crystallization at all. In addition it is necessary to take measures to limit the evaporation of the antimony.

Transformation of amorphous calcium carbonate to rod-like single crystal calcite via "copying" collagen template.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Zhonghui; Hu, Binbin; Dai, Shuxi; Du, Zuliang

2015-10-01

Collagen Langmuir films were prepared by spreading the solution of collagen over deionized water, CaCl2 solution and Ca(HCO3)2 solution. Resultant collagen Langmuir monolayers were then compressed to a lateral pressure of 10 mN/m and held there for different duration, allowing the crystallization of CaCO3. The effect of crystallization time on the phase composition and microstructure of CaCO3 was investigated. It was found that amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was obtained at a crystallization time of 6 h. The amorphous CaCO3 was transformed to rod-like single crystal calcite crystals at an extended crystallization time of 12 h and 24 h, via "copying" the symmetry and dimensionalities of collagen fibers. Resultant calcite crystallites were well oriented along the longitudinal axis of collagen fibers. The ordered surface structure of collagen fibers and electrostatic interactions played key roles in tuning the oriented nucleation and growth of the calcite crystallites. The mineralized collagen possessing both desired mechanical properties of collagen fiber and good biocompatibility of calcium carbonate may be assembled into an ideal biomaterial for bone implants. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nickel-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, J A; Arce, R D; Buitrago, R H [INTEC (CONICET-UNL), Gueemes 3450, S3000GLN Santa Fe (Argentina); Budini, N; Rinaldi, P, E-mail: jschmidt@intec.unl.edu.a [FIQ - UNL, Santiago del Estero 2829, S3000AOM Santa Fe (Argentina)

2009-05-01

The nickel-induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is used to obtain large grained polycrystalline silicon thin films on glass substrates. a-Si:H is deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition at 200 deg. C, preparing intrinsic and slightly p-doped samples. Each sample was divided in several pieces, over which increasing Ni concentrations were sputtered. Two crystallization methods are compared, conventional furnace annealing (CFA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The crystallization was followed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations, X-ray diffraction, and reflectance measurements in the UV region. The large grain sizes obtained - larger than 100{mu}m for the samples crystallized by CFA - are very encouraging for the preparation of low-cost thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells.

Elucidation of Compression-Induced Surface Crystallization in Amorphous Tablets Using Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) Microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mah, Pei T; Novakovic, Dunja; Saarinen, Jukka; Van Landeghem, Stijn; Peltonen, Leena; Laaksonen, Timo; Isomäki, Antti; Strachan, Clare J

2017-05-01

To investigate the effect of compression on the crystallization behavior in amorphous tablets using sum frequency generation (SFG) microscopy imaging and more established analytical methods. Tablets containing neat amorphous griseofulvin with/without excipients (silica, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and polyethylene glycol (PEG)) were prepared. They were analyzed upon preparation and storage using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SFG microscopy. Compression-induced crystallization occurred predominantly on the surface of the neat amorphous griseofulvin tablets, with minimal crystallinity being detected in the core of the tablets. The presence of various types of excipients was not able to mitigate the compression-induced surface crystallization of the amorphous griseofulvin tablets. However, the excipients affected the crystallization rate of amorphous griseofulvin in the core of the tablet upon compression and storage. SFG microscopy can be used in combination with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and SEM to understand the crystallization behaviour of amorphous tablets upon compression and storage. When selecting excipients for amorphous formulations, it is important to consider the effect of the excipients on the physical stability of the amorphous formulations.

Pressure effects on Al89La6Ni5 amorphous alloy crystallization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhuang, Yanxin; Jiang, Jianzhong; Zhou, T. J.

2000-01-01

The pressure effect on the crystallization of the Al89La6Ni5 amorphous alloy has been investigated by in situ high-pressure and high-temperature x-ray powder diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The amorphous alloy crystallizes in two steps in the pressure range studied (0-4 GPa). The first p...

Channeling implantation of high energy carbon ions in a diamond crystal: Determination of the induced crystal amorphization

Science.gov (United States)

Erich, M.; Kokkoris, M.; Fazinić, S.; Petrović, S.

2018-02-01

This work reports on the induced diamond crystal amorphization by 4 MeV carbon ions implanted in the 〈1 0 0〉 oriented crystal and its determination by application of RBS/C and EBS/C techniques. The spectra from the implanted samples were recorded for 1.2, 1.5, 1.75 and 1.9 MeV protons. For the two latter ones the strong resonance of the nuclear elastic scattering 12C(p,p0)12C at 1.737 MeV was explored. The backscattering channeling spectra were successfully fitted and the ion beam induced crystal amorphization depth profile was determined using a phenomenological approach, which is based on the properly defined Gompertz type dechanneling functions for protons in the 〈1 0 0〉 diamond crystal channels and the introduction of the concept of ion beam amorphization, which is implemented through our newly developed computer code CSIM.

Crystallization kinetics and magnetic properties of FeSiCr amorphous alloy powder cores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Hu-ping [School of Logistics Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063 (China); Wang, Ru-wu, E-mail: ruwuwang@hotmail.com [National Engineering Research Center For Silicon Steel, Wuhan 430080 (China); College of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081 (China); Wei, Ding [School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Zeng, Chun [National Engineering Research Center For Silicon Steel, Wuhan 430080 (China)

2015-07-01

The crystallization kinetics of FeSiCr amorphous alloy, characterized by the crystallization activation energy, Avrami exponent and frequency factor, was studied by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements. The crystallization activation energy and frequency factor of amorphous alloy calculated from Augis–Bennett model were 476 kJ/mol and 5.5×10{sup 18} s{sup −1}, respectively. The Avrami exponent n was calculated to be 2.2 from the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) equation. Toroid-shaped Fe-base amorphous powder cores were prepared from the commercial FeSiCr amorphous alloy powder and subsequent cold pressing using binder and insulation. The characteristics of FeSiCr amorphous alloy powder and the effects of compaction pressure and insulation content on the magnetic properties, i.e., effective permeability μ{sub e}, quality factor Q and DC-bias properties of FeSiCr amorphous alloy powder cores, were investigated. The FeSiCr amorphous alloy powder cores exhibit a high value of quality factor and a stable permeability in the frequency range up to 1 MHz, showing superior DC-bias properties with a “percent permeability” of more than 82% at H=100 Oe. - Highlights: • The crystallization kinetics of FeSiCr amorphous alloy was investigated. • The FeSiCr powder cores exhibit a high value of Q and a stable permeability. • The FeSiCr powder cores exhibit superior DC-bias properties.

Formation and crystallization kinetics of Nd-Fe-B-based bulk amorphous alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Qiong; Ge, Hongliang; Zhang, Pengyue; Li, Dongyun; Wang, Zisheng [China Jiliang University, Magnetism Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou (China)

2014-06-15

In order to improve the glass-forming ability (GFA) of Nd-Fe-B ternary alloys to obtain fully amorphous bulk Nd-Fe-B-based alloy, the effects of Mo and Y doping on GFA of the alloys were investigated. It was found that the substitution of Mo for Fe and Y for Nd enhanced the GFA of the Nd-Y-Fe-Mo-B alloys. It was also revealed that the GFA of the samples was optimized by 4 at.% Mo doping and increased with theYcontent. The fully amorphous structures were all formed in the Nd{sub 6-x}Y{sub x}Fe{sub 68}Mo{sub 4}B{sub 22} (x =1-5) alloy rods with 1.5 mm-diameter. After subsequent crystallization, the devitrified Nd{sub 3}Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 68}Mo{sub 4}B{sub 22} alloy rod exhibited a uniform distribution of grains with a coercivity of 364.1 kA/m. The crystallization behavior of Nd{sub 3}Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 68}Mo{sub 4}B{sub 22} BMG was investigated in isothermal situation. The Avrami exponent n determined by JAM plot is lower than 2.5, implying that the crystallization is mainly governed by a growth of particles with decreasing nucleation rate. (orig.)

Crystallization Behavior of A Bulk Amorphous Mg62Cu26Y12 Alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shyue-Sheng; Chin, Tsung-Shune; Su, Kuo-Chang

1994-07-01

The crystallization temperature, the associated activation energy and the crystallized structure of a bulk amorphous Mg62Cu26Y12 alloy with a diameter of 2.5 mm were studied. It possesses a one-step crystallization behavior. The crystallization reaction was found to be represented by: AM(MG62Cu26Y12)→Mg2Cu+MgY+CuY+Mg, ( Tx=188°C, Eac=134 kJ/mol) where AM represents the amorphous state, T x the crystallization temperature at an infinitesimal heating rate, and E ac the associated activation energy. The amount of crystalline phases were found to be Mg2Cu:MgY:CuY=76:17:7. The Mg phase is identifiable only by high resolution electron microscopy, not by X-ray diffraction. The crystallization leads to a sharp rise in electrical resistivity which is reversed to those of iron-based amorphous alloys.

Polarization and resistivity measurements of post-crystallization changes in amorphous Fe-B-Si alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chattoraj, I.; Bhattamishra, A.K.; Mitra, A.

1993-01-01

The effects of grain growth and compositional changes on the electrochemical behavior and the resistivity of amorphous iron-boron-silicon (Fe 77.5 B 15 Si 7.5 ) alloys after crystallization were studied. Deterioration of the protective passive film was observed, along with increased annealing. Potentiodynamic polarization provided excellent information about microstructural and chemical changes. It was concluded that electrochemical measurements could be used in conjunction with resistivity measurements in direct studies of grain growth and chemical changes occurring in different phases of the devitrified alloy

Amorphization of thiamine chloride hydrochloride: A study of the crystallization inhibitor properties of different polymers in thiamine chloride hydrochloride amorphous solid dispersions.

Science.gov (United States)

Arioglu-Tuncil, Seda; Bhardwaj, Vivekanand; Taylor, Lynne S; Mauer, Lisa J

2017-09-01

Amorphous solid dispersions of thiamine chloride hydrochloride (THCl) were created using a variety of polymers with different physicochemical properties in order to investigate how effective the various polymers were as THCl crystallization inhibitors. THCl:polymer dispersions were prepared by lyophilizing solutions of THCl and amorphous polymers (guar gum, pectin, κ-carrageenan, gelatin, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)). These dispersions were stored at select temperature (25 and 40°C) and relative humidity (0, 23, 32, 54, 75, and 85% RH) conditions and monitored at different time points using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Moisture sorption isotherms of all samples were also obtained. Initially amorphous THCl was produced in the presence of ≥40% w/w pectin, κ-carrageenan, gelatin, and guar gum or ≥60% w/w PVP. Trends in polymer THCl crystallization inhibition (pectin≥κ-carrageenan>gelatin>guar gum≫PVP) were primarily based on the ability of the polymer to interact with THCl via hydrogen bonding and/or ionic interactions. The onset of THCl crystallization from the amorphous dispersions was also related to storage conditions. THCl remained amorphous at low RH conditions (0 and 23% RH) in all 1:1 dispersions except THCl:PVP. THCl crystallized in some dispersions below the glass transition temperature (T g ) but remained amorphous in others at T~T g . At high RHs (75 and 85% RH), THCl crystallized within one day in all samples. Given the ease of THCl amorphization in the presence of a variety of polymers, even at higher vitamin concentrations than would be found in foods, it is likely that THCl is amorphous in many low moisture foods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface characterization of amorphous and crystallized Fe 80B 20

Science.gov (United States)

Huntley, D. R.; Overbury, S. H.; Zehner, D. M.; Budai, J. D.; Brower, W. E.

1986-11-01

Recent studies of catalysis by amorphous metals have prompted an interest in their surface properties. We have utilized Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy alkali ion scattering to study the surface composition, electronic properties and topography of amorphous and crystallized Fe 80B 20 ribbons. The majorresults are that the surface stoichiometry is approximately that of the bulk, unaltered by segregation. Bulk crystallization results in the diffusion of impurities to the surface, but does not change the Fe/B ratio. A small shift in the B1s core level binding energy was observed on crystalline, annealed surfaces relative to amorphous or sputtered surfaces, but no shifts were observed in the iron core level energies. A weak feature due to the B2p levels was observed in the valence band spectra from sputtered surfaces. The surfaces exhibit atomic scale roughness which is not altered by bulk crystallization. Finally, there were no observable differences in the structure, composition or electronic properties between the two sides of the ribbons.

Crystallization process and magnetic properties of amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phu, N D; Luong, N H; Chau, N; Hai, N H; Ngo, D T; Hoang, L H

2011-01-01

This paper studied the crystallization process, phase transition and magnetic properties of amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles prepared by the microwave heating technique. Thermal analysis and magnetodynamics studies revealed many interesting aspects of the amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles. The as-prepared sample was amorphous. Crystallization of the maghemite γ-Fe 2 O 3 (with an activation energy of 0.71 eV) and the hematite α-Fe 2 O 3 (with an activation energy of 0.97 eV) phase occurred at around 300 deg. C and 350 deg. C, respectively. A transition from the maghemite to the hematite occurred at 500 deg. C with an activation energy of 1.32 eV. A study of the temperature dependence of magnetization supported the crystallization and the phase transformation. Raman shift at 660 cm -1 and absorption band in the infrared spectra at 690 cm -1 showed the presence of disorder in the hematite phase on the nanoscale which is supposed to be the origin of the ferromagnetic behaviour of that antiferromagnetic phase.

van der Waals epitaxy of SnS film on single crystal graphene buffer layer on amorphous SiO2/Si

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Yu; Yang, Yunbo; Guo, Fawen; Sun, Xin; Lu, Zonghuan; Mohanty, Dibyajyoti; Bhat, Ishwara; Washington, Morris; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wang, Gwo-Ching

2018-03-01

Conventional hetero-epitaxial films are typically grown on lattice and symmetry matched single crystal substrates. We demonstrated the epitaxial growth of orthorhombic SnS film (∼500 nm thick) on single crystal, monolayer graphene that was transferred on the amorphous SiO2/Si substrate. Using X-ray pole figure analysis we examined the structure, quality and epitaxy relationship of the SnS film grown on the single crystal graphene and compared it with the SnS film grown on commercial polycrystalline graphene. We showed that the SnS films grown on both single crystal and polycrystalline graphene have two sets of orientation domains. However, the crystallinity and grain size of the SnS film improve when grown on the single crystal graphene. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction measurements show that the near surface texture has more phases as compared with that of the entire film. The surface texture of a film will influence the growth and quality of film grown on top of it as well as the interface formed. Our result offers an alternative approach to grow a hetero-epitaxial film on an amorphous substrate through a single crystal graphene buffer layer. This strategy of growing high quality epitaxial thin film has potential applications in optoelectronics.

Citrate effects on amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) structure, stability, and crystallization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tobler, Dominique Jeanette; Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego; Dideriksen, Knud

2015-01-01

Understanding the role of citrate in the crystallization kinetics of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is essential to explain the formation mechanisms, stabilities, surface properties, and morphologies of CaCO3 biominerals. It also contributes to deeper insight into fluid-mineral inte......Understanding the role of citrate in the crystallization kinetics of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is essential to explain the formation mechanisms, stabilities, surface properties, and morphologies of CaCO3 biominerals. It also contributes to deeper insight into fluid...

Evaluation of the physical stability and local crystallization of amorphous terfenadine using XRD-DSC and micro-TA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonemochi, Etsuo; Hoshino, Takafumi; Yoshihashi, Yasuo; Terada, Katsuhide

2005-01-01

It is very difficult to follow rapid changes in polymorphic transformation and crystallization and to estimate the species recrystallized from the amorphous form. The aim of this study was to clarify the structural changes of amorphous terfenadine and to evaluate the polymorphs crystallized from amorphous samples using XRD-DSC and an atomic force microscope with a thermal probe (micro-TA). Amorphous samples were prepared by grinding or rapid cooling of the melt. The rapid structural transitions of samples were followed by the XRD-DSC system. On the DSC trace of the quenched terfenadine, two exotherms were observed, while only one exothermic peak was observed in the DSC scan of a ground sample. From the in situ data obtained by the XRD-DSC system, the stable form of terfenadine was recrystallized during heating of the ground amorphous sample, whereas the metastable form was recrystallized from the quenched amorphous sample and the crystallized polymorph changed to the stable form. Obtained data suggested that recrystallized species could be related to the homogeneity of samples. When the stored sample surface was scanned by atomic force microscopy (AFM), heterogeneous crystallization was observed. By using micro-TA, melting temperatures at various points were measured, and polymorph forms I and II were crystallized in each region. The percentages of the crystallized form I stored at 120 and 135 deg C were 47 and 79%, respectively. This result suggested that increasing the storage temperature increased the crystallization of form I, the stable form, confirming the temperature dependency of the crystallized form. The crystallization behavior of amorphous drug was affected by the annealing temperature. Micro-TA would be useful for detecting the inhomogeneities in polymorphs crystallized from amorphous drug

Electron microscopy study of Ni induced crystallization in amorphous Si thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radnóczi, G. Z.; Battistig, G.; Pécz, B.; Dodony, E.; Vouroutzis, N.; Stoemenos, J.; Frangis, N.; Kovács, A.

2015-01-01

The crystallization of amorphous silicon is studied by transmission electron microscopy. The effect of Ni on the crystallization is studied in a wide temperature range heating thinned samples in-situ inside the microscope. Two cases of limited Ni source and unlimited Ni source are studied and compared. NiSi 2 phase started to form at a temperature as low as 250°C in the limited Ni source case. In-situ observation gives a clear view on the crystallization of silicon through small NiSi 2 grain formation. The same phase is observed at the crystallization front in the unlimited Ni source case, where a second region is also observed with large grains of Ni 3 Si 2 . Low temperature experiments show, that long annealing of amorphous silicon at 410 °C already results in large crystallized Si regions due to the Ni induced crystallization

Pseudo single crystal, direct-band-gap Ge{sub 0.89}Sn{sub 0.11} on amorphous dielectric layers towards monolithic 3D photonic integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Haofeng; Brouillet, Jeremy; Wang, Xiaoxin; Liu, Jifeng, E-mail: Jifeng.Liu@dartmouth.edu [Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 (United States)

2014-11-17

We demonstrate pseudo single crystal, direct-band-gap Ge{sub 0.89}Sn{sub 0.11} crystallized on amorphous layers at <450 °C towards 3D Si photonic integration. We developed two approaches to seed the lateral single crystal growth: (1) utilize the Gibbs-Thomson eutectic temperature depression at the tip of an amorphous GeSn nanotaper for selective nucleation; (2) laser-induced nucleation at one end of a GeSn strip. Either way, the crystallized Ge{sub 0.89}Sn{sub 0.11} is dominated by a single grain >18 μm long that forms optoelectronically benign twin boundaries with others grains. These pseudo single crystal, direct-band-gap Ge{sub 0.89}Sn{sub 0.11} patterns are suitable for monolithic 3D integration of active photonic devices on Si.

Capillarity creates single-crystal calcite nanowires from amorphous calcium carbonate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yi-Yeoun; Hetherington, Nicola B J; Noel, Elizabeth H; Kröger, Roland; Charnock, John M; Christenson, Hugo K; Meldrum, Fiona C

2011-12-23

Single-crystal calcite nanowires are formed by crystallization of morphologically equivalent amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) particles within the pores of track etch membranes. The polyaspartic acid stabilized ACC is drawn into the membrane pores by capillary action, and the single-crystal nature of the nanowires is attributed to the limited contact of the intramembrane ACC particle with the bulk solution. The reaction environment then supports transformation to a single-crystal product. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Crystallization of amorphous Fe78Si9B13 alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubczyk, E; Krajczyk, A; Jakubczyk, M

2007-01-01

The crystallization process of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 metallic glass was investigated by DSC, X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, Hall effect and TEM methods. The investigations proved two-stages crystallization. By means of non-isothermal DSC experiments the activation energy and the Avrami exponent were determined for both stages. The created phases: α-Fe(Si) and (Fe,Si) 2 B were identified on the basis of X-ray and TEM investigations. However, TEM observations showed also a little amount of the FeB 49 phase as well as some rest of the amorphous phase. The electrical and Hall resistivities decrease abruptly after the creation of the phases out of the amorphous matrix

Crystallization-induced plasticity of Cu-Zr containing bulk amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seok-Woo; Huh, Moo-Young; Fleury, Eric; Lee, Jae-Chul

2006-01-01

This study examined the parameter governing the plasticity observed in various Cu-Zr containing monolithic amorphous alloys. All the alloys were fully amorphous in their as-cast condition but exhibited different plastic strains. Microscopic observations of the quasi-statically compressed alloys showed abundant nanocrystallites in the amorphous matrices in the alloys that exhibited pronounced plasticity. On the other hand, insignificant changes in the microstructure were observed in the alloy that did not show plasticity. The mechanism for the formation of these deformation-induced nanocrystallites was examined from the viewpoints of thermodynamics and kinetics. The role of the deformation-induced nanocrystallites on the plasticity of the amorphous alloy was examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that compressive loading facilitates nanocrystallization in monolithic Cu-Zr containing amorphous alloys, resulting in plasticity. The parameter governing the plasticity in these monolithic Cu-Zr containing amorphous alloys lies in the activation energy for the overall crystallization process

In situ observation of shear-driven amorphization in silicon crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Yang; Zhong, Li; Fan, Feifei; Wang, Chongmin; Zhu, Ting; Mao, Scott X.

2016-09-19

Amorphous materials have attracted great interest in the scientific and technological fields. An amorphous solid usually forms under the externally driven conditions of melt-quenching, irradiation and severe mechanical deformation. However, its dynamic formation process remains elusive. Here we report the in situ atomic-scale observation of dynamic amorphization processes during mechanical straining of nanoscale silicon crystals by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). We observe the shear-driven amorphization (SDA) occurring in a dominant shear band. The SDA involves a sequence of processes starting with the shear-induced diamond-cubic to diamond-hexagonal phase transition that is followed by dislocation nucleation and accumulation in the newly formed phase, leading to the formation of amorphous silicon. The SDA formation through diamond-hexagonal phase is rationalized by its structural conformity with the order in the paracrystalline amorphous silicon, which maybe widely applied to diamond-cubic materials. Besides, the activation of SDA is orientation-dependent through the competition between full dislocation nucleation and partial gliding.

Molecular relaxation behavior and isothermal crystallization above glass transition temperature of amorphous hesperetin.

Science.gov (United States)

Shete, Ganesh; Khomane, Kailas S; Bansal, Arvind Kumar

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relaxation behavior of amorphous hesperetin (HRN), using dielectric spectroscopy, and assessment of its crystallization kinetics above glass transition temperature (Tg ). Amorphous HRN exhibited both local (β-) and global (α-) relaxations. β-Relaxation was observed below Tg , whereas α-relaxation prominently emerged above Tg . β-Relaxation was found to be of Johari-Goldstein type and was correlated with α-process by coupling model. Secondly, isothermal crystallization experiments were performed at 363 K (Tg + 16.5 K), 373 K (Tg + 26.5 K), and 383 K (Tg + 36.5 K). The kinetics of crystallization, obtained from the normalized dielectric strength, was modeled using the Avrami model. Havriliak-Negami (HN) shape parameters, αHN and αHN .βHN , were analyzed during the course of crystallization to understand the dynamics of amorphous phase during the emergence of crystallites. HN shape parameters indicated that long range (α-like) were motions affected to a greater extent than short range (β-like) motions during isothermal crystallization studies at all temperature conditions. The variable behavior of α-like motions at different isothermal crystallization temperatures was attributed to evolving crystallites with time and increase in electrical conductivity with temperature. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Calorimetric studies of non-isothermal crystallization in amorphous

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

the peak crystallization temperature. Amorphous alloys of Cu–Ti system are of special interest (Koster et al 1995) due to the fact that Cu–Ti is a congruently melting compound, which should allow static under-cooling experiments. Several works ... tion when mixed with another metal or rare earth metals. (Suzuki et al 2003).

Irradiation of electron with high energy induced micro-crystallization of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Yule; Huang Junkai; Liu Weiping; Li Jingna

2001-01-01

Amorphous silicon is amorphous alloy of Si-H. It is random network of silicon with some hydrogen. And its structure has many unstable bonds as weak bonds of Si-Si and distortion bonds of all kinds. The bonds was broken or was out of shape by light and electrical ageing. It induced increase of defective state that causes character of material going to bad. This drawback will be overcome after micro-crystallization of amorphous silicon. It was discovered that a-Si:H was micro-crystallized by irradiated of electrons with energy of 0.3-0.5 MeV, density of electronic beam of 1.3 x 10 19 cm -1 s -1 and irradiated time of 10-600 s. Size of grain is 10-20 nm. Thick of microcrystalline lager is 25-250 nm

Structural changes in the crystal-amorphous interface of isotactic polypropylene film induced by annealing and γ-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimoto, Sei-ichi; Seike, Hideo; Chaisupakitsin, M.; Yoshii, Fumio; Makuuchi, Keizo.

1995-01-01

Annealing and radiation effects on the microstructures of isotactic polypropylenes, homopolymer and ethylene (<2.3 wt%) incorporated random copolymers, in the solid state were studied to get mechanistic insight into the modification and degradation of mechanical properties. The growth of helical conformation of isotactic chains in the crystal-amorphous interface was induced to greater extent by γ-irradiation, while the transition from smectic to monoclinic modifications in the crystal phase occurred simultaneously by annealing. The yield stress of the polypropylene films increased with the increased content of helical conformation as the result of annealing and/or γ-irradiation. (author)

Amorphous/crystal and polymer/filler interphases in biocomposites from poly(butylene succinate)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Signori, Francesca [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici (CNR-IPCF), Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa (Italy); Pelagaggi, Martina [Universita di Pisa - Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Via Risorgimento 35, I-56126 Pisa (Italy); Bronco, Simona [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici (CNR-IPCF), Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa (Italy); Righetti, Maria Cristina, E-mail: righetti@ipcf.cnr.it [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici (CNR-IPCF), Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa (Italy)

2012-09-10

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The existence of intermolecular interactions between poly(butylene succinate) and hemp fibres was proved from specific heat capacities data. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Different degrees of mobility of the poly(butylene succinate) amorphous segments were evidenced at the amorphous/crystal interphase. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Devitrification of the rigid amorphous fraction in poly(butylene succinate) was found to occur before and simultaneously with the fusion. - Abstract: Poly(butylene succinate)-hemp composites (PBS-hemp), with hemp content in the range 0-40 wt.%, were prepared in the melt and characterized. This paper focuses on the detailed analysis of the thermal behaviour of the PBS-hemp composites, investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), to enlighten the polymer/fibre interphase features. The occurrence of specific intermolecular interactions between PBS and hemp was assessed from specific heat capacity data. Different degrees of mobility of the PBS amorphous segments were found at the amorphous/crystal interphases. A broadening of the bulk glass transition was observed, and attributed to the presence of polymer segments slightly constrained. Moreover, a rigid amorphous fraction that devitrifies at temperatures higher than the bulk glass transition, partly before the melting region and partly simultaneously with the fusion, was observed and quantified, and attributed to the presence of major constraints probably occurring in geometrically restricted areas.

Wetting and crystallization at grain boundaries: Origin of aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J.Y.; He, D.; Zhao, Y.H.; Mittemeijer, E.J.

2006-01-01

It has been shown experimentally that the grain boundaries in aluminium in contact with amorphous silicon are the necessary agents for initiation of the crystallization of silicon upon annealing temperatures as low as 438 K. Thermodynamic analysis has shown (i) that Si can 'wet' the Al grain boundaries due to the favorable Si/Al interface energy as compared to the Al grain-boundary energy and (ii) that Si at the Al grain boundaries can maintain its amorphous state up to a thickness of about 1.0 nm. Beyond that thickness crystalline Si develops at the Al grain boundaries

Redistribution of erbium during the crystallization of buried amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aleksandrov, O.V.; Nikolaev, Yu.A.; Sobolev, N.A.; Sakharov, V.I.; Serenkov, I.T.; Kudryavtsev, Yu.A.

1999-01-01

The redistribution of Er during its implantation in silicon at doses close to the amorphization threshold and its subsequent solid-phase epitaxial (SPE) crystallization is investigated. The formation of a buried amorphous (a) layer is discovered at Er doses equal to 5x10 13 and 1x10 14 cm -2 using Rutherford backscattering. The segregation of Er in this case takes place inwardly from the two directions corresponding to the upper and lower boundaries of the buried αlayer and leads to the formation of a concentration peak at the meeting place of the two crystallization fronts. A method for calculating the coordinate dependence of the segregation coefficient k from the distribution profiles of the erbium impurity before and after annealing is proposed. The k(x) curve exhibits a drop, whose width increases with decreasing Er implantation dose. Its appearance is attributed to the nonequilibrium nature of the segregation process at the beginning of SPE crystallization

Density functional/molecular dynamics simulations of nucleus-driven crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akola, Jaakko [Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology (Finland); COMP Centre of Excellence, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (Finland); GRSS and PGI-1, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); Kalikka, Janne; Larrucea, Julen [Nanoscience Center, Department of Physics, University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Jones, Robert O. [GRSS and PGI-1, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany)

2013-07-01

Early stages of nucleus-driven crystallization of the prototype phase change material Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} have been studied by massively-parallel density functional/molecular dynamics simulations for amorphous samples (460 and 648 atoms) at 500, 600, and 700 K. All systems assumed a fixed cubic seed of 58 atoms and 6 vacancies in order to achieve sub-nanosecond phase transition. Crystallization occurs within 600 ps for the 460-atom system at 600 and 700 K, and signs of crystallization (nucleus growth, percolation) are present in the others. Crystallization is accompanied by an increase in the number of ABAB squares (A: Ge,Sb, B: Te), and atoms of all elements move significantly. The evolution of cavities/vacancies is closely monitored. The existence of Te-Te, Ge-Ge, Ge-Sb, and Sb-Sb (wrong) bonds is an inevitable consequence of rapid crystallization.

Correlation Between Superheated Liquid Fragility And Onset Temperature Of Crystallization For Al-Based Amorphous Alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo J.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Amorphous alloys or metallic glasses have attracted significant interest in the materials science and engineering communities due to their unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. The viscous flow of amorphous alloys exhibiting high strain rate sensitivity and homogeneous deformation is considered to be an important characteristic in thermoplastic forming processes performed within the supercooled liquid region because it allows superplastic-like deformation behavior. Here, the correlation between the superheated liquid fragility, and the onset temperature of crystallization for Al-based alloys, is investigated. The activation energy for viscous flow of the liquid is also investigated. There is a negative correlation between the parameter of superheated liquid fragility and the onset temperature of crystallization in the same Al-based alloy system. The activation energy decreases as the onset temperature of crystallization increases. This indicates that the stability of a superheated liquid can affect the thermal stability of the amorphous alloy. It also means that a liquid with a large superheated liquid fragility, when rapidly solidified, forms an amorphous alloy with a low thermal stability.

Surface crystallization and magnetic properties of amorphous Fe80B20 alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vavassori, P.; Ronconi, F.; Puppin, E.

1997-01-01

We have studied the effects of surface crystallization on the magnetic properties of Fe 80 B 20 amorphous alloys. The surface magnetic properties have been studied with magneto-optic Kerr measurements, while those of bulk with a vibrating sample magnetometer. This study reveals that surface crystallization is similar to the bulk process but occurs at a lower temperature. At variance with previous results on other iron-based amorphous alloys the surface crystalline layer does not induce bulk magnetic hardening. Furthermore, both the remanence to saturation ratio and the bulk magnetic anisotropy do not show appreciable variations after the formation of the surface crystalline layer. The Curie temperature of the surface layer is lower with respect to the bulk of the sample. These effects can be explained by a lower boron concentration in the surface region of the as-cast amorphous alloy. Measurements of the chemical composition confirm a reduction of boron concentration in the surface region. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Change of electrical resistivity and Young's modulus during crystallization of amorphous Fe40Ni40B20

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stel, J. van der; Veldhuizen, H.B. van; Koebrugge, G.W.; Sietsma, J.; Beukel, A. van den

1989-01-01

The kinetics of crystallization of amorphous Fe 40 Ni 40 B 20 is studied by measuring isothermal changes of the electrical resistivity and Young's modulus in the temperature range 600 to 700 K. The results satisfy very well the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation for phase transformations with a constant activation energy of 317 kJ/mol and a constant Avrami exponent n ∼ 2. This result is interpreted as two-dimensional growth of pre-existing nuclei which become as thick as the specimen in an early stage of crystallization. The relative change in electrical resistivity upon crystallization strongly depends on the measuring temperature T m , varying from 47% at T m = 77 K to 5% at T m = 600 K. It extrapolates to zero at T m ∼ 700 K. (author)

Two types of amorphous protein particles facilitate crystal nucleation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Tomoya; Kimura, Yuki; Vekilov, Peter G; Furukawa, Erika; Shirai, Manabu; Matsumoto, Hiroaki; Van Driessche, Alexander E S; Tsukamoto, Katsuo

2017-02-28

Nucleation, the primary step in crystallization, dictates the number of crystals, the distribution of their sizes, the polymorph selection, and other crucial properties of the crystal population. We used time-resolved liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to perform an in situ examination of the nucleation of lysozyme crystals. Our TEM images revealed that mesoscopic clusters, which are similar to those previously assumed to consist of a dense liquid and serve as nucleation precursors, are actually amorphous solid particles (ASPs) and act only as heterogeneous nucleation sites. Crystalline phases never form inside them. We demonstrate that a crystal appears within a noncrystalline particle assembling lysozyme on an ASP or a container wall, highlighting the role of heterogeneous nucleation. These findings represent a significant departure from the existing formulation of the two-step nucleation mechanism while reaffirming the role of noncrystalline particles. The insights gained may have significant implications in areas that rely on the production of protein crystals, such as structural biology, pharmacy, and biophysics, and for the fundamental understanding of crystallization mechanisms.

Transformation and Crystallization Energetics of Synthetic and Biogenic Amorphous Calcium Carbonate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radha, A. V. [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Forbes, Tori Z. [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Killian, Christopher E. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Gilbert, P.U.P.A [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Navrotsky, Alexandra [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

2010-01-01

Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a metastable phase often observed during low temperature inorganic synthesis and biomineralization. ACC transforms with aging or heating into a less hydrated form, and with time crystallizes to calcite or aragonite. The energetics of transformation and crystallization of synthetic and biogenic (extracted from California purple sea urchin larval spicules, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) ACC were studied using isothermal acid solution calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Transformation and crystallization of ACC can follow an energetically downhill sequence: more metastable hydrated ACC → less metastable hydrated ACC→anhydrous ACC ~ biogenic anhydrous ACC→vaterite → aragonite → calcite. In a given reaction sequence, not all these phases need to occur. The transformations involve a series of ordering, dehydration, and crystallization processes, each lowering the enthalpy (and free energy) of the system, with crystallization of the dehydrated amorphous material lowering the enthalpy the most. ACC is much more metastable with respect to calcite than the crystalline polymorphs vaterite or aragonite. The anhydrous ACC is less metastable than the hydrated, implying that the structural reorganization during dehydration is exothermic and irreversible. Dehydrated synthetic and anhydrous biogenic ACC are similar in enthalpy. The transformation sequence observed in biomineralization could be mainly energetically driven; the first phase deposited is hydrated ACC, which then converts to anhydrous ACC, and finally crystallizes to calcite. The initial formation of ACC may be a first step in the precipitation of calcite under a wide variety of conditions, including geological CO₂ sequestration.

On the crystallization of amorphous germanium films

Science.gov (United States)

Edelman, F.; Komem, Y.; Bendayan, M.; Beserman, R.

1993-06-01

The incubation time for crystallization of amorphous Ge (a-Ge) films, deposited by e-gun, was studied as a function of temperature between 150 and 500°C by means of both in situ transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of t0 follows an Arrhenius curve with an activation energy of 2.0 eV for free-sustained a-Ge films. In the case where the a-Ge films were on Si 3N 4 substrate, the activation energy of the incubation process was 1.3 eV.

Crystallization of an amorphous Fe72Ni9Si8B11 alloy upon laser heating and isothermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girzhon, V.V.; Smolyakov, A.V.; Yastrebova, T.S.

2003-01-01

With the use of methods of x-ray diffraction, resistometric and metallographic analyses specific features of crystallization and phase formation in amorphous alloy Fe 72 Ni 9 Si 8 B 11 are studied under various heating conditions. It is shown that laser heating results in alloy crystallization by an explosive mechanism when attaining a certain density of irradiation power. It is stated that ribbon surface laser heating with simultaneous water cooling of an opposite surface allows manufacturing two-layer amorphous-crystalline structures of the amorphous matrix + α-(Fe, Si) - amorphous matrix type [ru

Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons

Science.gov (United States)

Mass, Tali; Giuffre, Anthony J.; Sun, Chang-Yu; Stifler, Cayla A.; Frazier, Matthew J.; Neder, Maayan; Tamura, Nobumichi; Stan, Camelia V.; Marcus, Matthew A.; Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A.

2017-09-01

Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model assumes precipitation in contrast with observed “vital effects,” that is, deviations from elemental and isotopic compositions at thermodynamic equilibrium. Here, we show direct spectromicroscopy evidence in Stylophora pistillata corals that two amorphous precursors exist, one hydrated and one anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC); that these are formed in the tissue as 400-nm particles; and that they attach to the surface of coral skeletons, remain amorphous for hours, and finally, crystallize into aragonite (CaCO3). We show in both coral and synthetic aragonite spherulites that crystal growth by attachment of ACC particles is more than 100 times faster than ion-by-ion growth from solution. Fast growth provides a distinct physiological advantage to corals in the rigors of the reef, a crowded and fiercely competitive ecosystem. Corals are affected by warming-induced bleaching and postmortem dissolution, but the finding here that ACC particles are formed inside tissue may make coral skeleton formation less susceptible to ocean acidification than previously assumed. If this is how other corals form their skeletons, perhaps this is how a few corals survived past CO2 increases, such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum that occurred 56 Mya.

Crystal Growth Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Scheel, Hans J.; Fukuda, Tsuguo

2004-06-01

This volume deals with the technologies of crystal fabrication, of crystal machining, and of epilayer production and is the first book on industrial and scientific aspects of crystal and layer production. The major industrial crystals are treated: Si, GaAs, GaP, InP, CdTe, sapphire, oxide and halide scintillator crystals, crystals for optical, piezoelectric and microwave applications and more. Contains 29 contributions from leading crystal technologists covering the following topics: General aspects of crystal growth technology Silicon Compound semiconductors Oxides and halides Crystal machining Epitaxy and layer deposition Scientific and technological problems of production and machining of industrial crystals are discussed by top experts, most of them from the major growth industries and crystal growth centers. In addition, it will be useful for the users of crystals, for teachers and graduate students in materials sciences, in electronic and other functional materials, chemical and metallurgical engineering, micro-and optoelectronics including nanotechnology, mechanical engineering and precision-machining, microtechnology, and in solid-state sciences.

Relaxation and crystallization of amorphous carbamazepine studied by terahertz pulsed spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeitler, J Axel; Taday, Philip F; Pepper, Michael

2007-01-01

At the example of carbamazepine the crystallization of a small organic molecule from its amorphous phase was studied using in situ variable temperature terahertz pulsed spectroscopy (TPS). Even though terahertz spectra of disordered materials in the glassy state exhibit no distinct spectral featu...

Diffusion and crystal growth in plasma deposed thin ITO films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steffen, H.; Wulff, H.; Quaas, M.; Tun, Tin Maung.; Hipple, R.

2000-01-01

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films were deposited by means of DC-planar magnetron sputtering. A metallic In/Sn (90/10) target an Ar/O 2 gas mixture were used. The oxygen flow was varied between 0 and 2 sccm. Substrate voltages between 0 and -100 V were used. With increasing oxygen flow film structure and composition change from crystalline metallic In/Sn to amorphous ITO. Simultaneously the deposition rate decreases and the film density increases. The diffusion of oxygen into metallic In/Sn films and the amorphous-to-crystalline transformation of ITO were studied using in situ grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry (GIXRD), grazing incidence reflectometry (GIXR), and AFM. From the X-ray integral intensities diffusion constants, activation energies of the diffusion, reaction order and activation energy of the crystal growth were extracted. (authors)

Crystallization study of amorphous system Fe84-xWxB16 (x = 3;5)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novakova, A.A.; Sidorova, G.V.; Kiseleva, T.Yu.; Szasz, A.

1992-01-01

A complex study of the crystallization process of the amorphous system was carried out by Moessbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and DTA. Alloy samples crystallized at 600deg C contain the following phases: α-Fe, Fe 3 B and solid solution (Fe, W) 3 B. (orig.)

Ion irradiation enhanced crystal nucleation in amorphous Si thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Im, J.S.; Atwater, H.A.

1990-01-01

The nucleation kinetics of the amorphous-to-crystal transition of Si films under 1.5 MeV Xe + irradiation have been investigated by means of in situ transmission electron microscopy in the temperature range T=500--580 degree C. After an incubation period during which negligible nucleation occurs, a constant nucleation rate was observed in steady state, suggesting that homogeneous nucleation occurred. Compared to thermal crystallization, a significant enhancement in the nucleation rate during high-energy ion irradiation (five to seven orders of magnitude) was observed with an apparent activation energy of 3.9±0.75 eV

Processing-dependent thermal stability of a prototypical amorphous metal oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Li; Moghadam, Mahyar M.; Buchholz, D. Bruce; Li, Ran; Keane, Denis T.; Dravid, Vinayak P.; Chang, Robert P. H.; Voorhees, Peter W.; Marks, Tobin J.; Bedzyk, Michael J.

2018-05-01

Amorphous metal oxides (AMOs) are important candidate materials for fabricating next-generation thin-film transistors. While much attention has been directed toward the synthesis and electrical properties of AMOs, less is known about growth conditions that allow AMOs to retain their desirable amorphous state when subjected to high operating temperatures. Using in situ x-ray scattering and level-set simulations, we explore the time evolution of the crystallization process for a set of amorphous I n2O3 thin films synthesized by pulsed-laser deposition at deposition temperatures (Td) of -50, -25, and 0 °C. The films were annealed isothermally and the degree of crystallinity was determined by a quantitative analysis of the time-evolved x-ray scattering patterns. As expected, for films grown at the same Td, an increase in the annealing temperature TA led to a shorter delay prior to the onset of crystallization, and a faster crystallization rate. Moreover, when lowering the deposition temperature by 25 °C, a 40 °C increase in annealing temperature is needed to achieve the same time interval for the crystals to grow from 10 to 90% volume fraction of the sample. Films grown at Td=0 ∘C exhibited strong cubic texture after crystallization. A level-set method was employed to quantitatively model the texture that develops in the microstructures and to determine key parameters, such as the interface growth velocity, the nucleation density, and the activation energy. The differences observed in the crystallization processes are attributed to the changes in the atomic structure of the oxide and possible nanocrystalline inclusions that formed during the deposition of the amorphous phase.

Crystallization processes in an amorphous Co-Fe-Cr-Si-B alloy under isothermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Fedorets, A. N.; Pustovalov, E. V.; Plotnikov, V. S.; Modin, E. B.; Kraynova, G. S.; Frolov, A. M.; Tkachev, V. V.; Tsesarskaya, A. K.

2017-09-01

Research present the crystallization processes investigation of the amorphous Co67Fe3Cr3Si15B12 alloy. In-situ experiments on heating in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) column were carried out. Critical temperatures influencing material structure are determined. The onset temperature of material crystallization was determined.

Raman study of localized recrystallization of amorphous silicon induced by laser beam

KAUST Repository

Tabet, Nouar A.

2012-06-01

The adoption of amorphous silicon based solar cells has been drastically hindered by the low efficiency of these devices, which is mainly due to a low hole mobility. It has been shown that using both crystallized and amorphous silicon layers in solar cells leads to an enhancement of the device performance. In this study the crystallization of a-Si prepared by PECVD under various growth conditions has been investigated. The growth stresses in the films are determined by measuring the curvature change of the silicon substrate before and after film deposition. Localized crystallization is induced by exposing a-Si films to focused 532 nm laser beam of power ranging from 0.08 to 8 mW. The crystallization process is monitored by recording the Raman spectra after various exposures. The results suggest that growth stresses in the films affect the minimum laser power (threshold power). In addition, a detailed analysis of the width and position of the Raman signal indicates that the silicon grains in the crystallized regions are of few nm diameter. © 2012 IEEE.

Raman study of localized recrystallization of amorphous silicon induced by laser beam

KAUST Repository

Tabet, Nouar A.; Al-Sayoud, Abduljabar; Said, Seyed; Yang, Xiaoming; Yang, Yang; Syed, Ahad A.; Diallo, Elhadj; Wang, Zhihong; Wang, Xianbin; Johlin, Eric; Simmons, Christine; Buonassisi, Tonio

2012-01-01

The adoption of amorphous silicon based solar cells has been drastically hindered by the low efficiency of these devices, which is mainly due to a low hole mobility. It has been shown that using both crystallized and amorphous silicon layers in solar cells leads to an enhancement of the device performance. In this study the crystallization of a-Si prepared by PECVD under various growth conditions has been investigated. The growth stresses in the films are determined by measuring the curvature change of the silicon substrate before and after film deposition. Localized crystallization is induced by exposing a-Si films to focused 532 nm laser beam of power ranging from 0.08 to 8 mW. The crystallization process is monitored by recording the Raman spectra after various exposures. The results suggest that growth stresses in the films affect the minimum laser power (threshold power). In addition, a detailed analysis of the width and position of the Raman signal indicates that the silicon grains in the crystallized regions are of few nm diameter. © 2012 IEEE.

Growth of dopamine crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patil, Vidya, E-mail: vidya.patil@ruparel.edu; Patki, Mugdha, E-mail: mugdha.patki@ruparel.edu [D. G. Ruparel College, Senapati Bapat Marg, Mahim, Mumbai – 400 016 (India)

2016-05-06

Many nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals have been identified as potential candidates in optical and electro-optical devices. Use of NLO organic crystals is expected in photonic applications. Hence organic nonlinear optical materials have been intensely investigated due to their potentially high nonlinearities, and rapid response in electro-optic effect compared to inorganic NLO materials. There are many methods to grow organic crystals such as vapor growth method, melt growth method and solution growth method. Out of these methods, solution growth method is useful in providing constraint free crystal. Single crystals of Dopamine have been grown by evaporating the solvents from aqueous solution. Crystals obtained were of the size of orders of mm. The crystal structure of dopamine was determined using XRD technique. Images of crystals were obtained using FEG SEM Quanta Series under high vacuum and low KV.

Solution growth of microcrystalline silicon on amorphous substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heimburger, Robert

2010-07-05

This work deals with low-temperature solution growth of micro-crystalline silicon on glass. The task is motivated by the application in low-cost solar cells. As glass is an amorphous material, conventional epitaxy is not applicable. Therefore, growth is conducted in a two-step process. The first step aims at the spatial arrangement of silicon seed crystals on conductive coated glass substrates, which is realized by means of vapor-liquid-solid processing using indium as the solvent. Seed crystals are afterwards enlarged by applying a specially developed steady-state solution growth apparatus. This laboratory prototype mainly consists of a vertical stack of a silicon feeding source and the solvent (indium). The growth substrate can be dipped into the solution from the top. The system can be heated to a temperature below the softening point of the utilized glass substrate. A temperature gradient between feeding source and growth substrate promotes both, supersaturation and material transport by solvent convection. This setup offers advantages over conventional liquid phase epitaxy at low temperatures in terms of achievable layer thickness and required growth times. The need for convective solute transport to gain the desired thickness of at least 50 {mu}m is emphasized by equilibrium calculations in the binary system indium-silicon. Material transport and supersaturation conditions inside the utilized solution growth crucible are analyzed. It results that the solute can be transported from the lower feeding source to the growth substrate by applying an appropriate heating regime. These findings are interpreted by means of a hydrodynamic analysis of fluid flow and supporting FEM simulation. To ensure thermodynamic stability of all materials involved during steady-state solution growth, the ternary phase equilibrium between molybdenum, indium and silicon at 600 C was considered. Based on the obtained results, the use of molybdenum disilicide as conductive coating

Crystallization of amorphous pseudobinary alloys of the type (Fe1-x Nix)80 B20

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcellos, M.A.Z.; Baibich, M.N.

1984-01-01

It was studied the crystallization of amorphous metallic ribbons of Fe 1-x Ni x 80 B 2 0 using the method of isochronous heating at variable slopes. The crystallization temperatures were determined from the transition observed in the electrical resistivity. (M.W.O.) [pt

Plasma deposition of amorphous silicon-based materials

CERN Document Server

Bruno, Giovanni; Madan, Arun

1995-01-01

Semiconductors made from amorphous silicon have recently become important for their commercial applications in optical and electronic devices including FAX machines, solar cells, and liquid crystal displays. Plasma Deposition of Amorphous Silicon-Based Materials is a timely, comprehensive reference book written by leading authorities in the field. This volume links the fundamental growth kinetics involving complex plasma chemistry with the resulting semiconductor film properties and the subsequent effect on the performance of the electronic devices produced. Key Features * Focuses on the plasma chemistry of amorphous silicon-based materials * Links fundamental growth kinetics with the resulting semiconductor film properties and performance of electronic devices produced * Features an international group of contributors * Provides the first comprehensive coverage of the subject, from deposition technology to materials characterization to applications and implementation in state-of-the-art devices.

Effect of Si and Co on the crystallization of Al-Ni-RE amorphous alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, S.H. [Key Lab of Liquid structure and Heredity of Materials, Ministry of Education, South Campus of Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Bian, X.F. [Key Lab of Liquid structure and Heredity of Materials, Ministry of Education, South Campus of Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China)], E-mail: xfbian@sdu.edu.cn

2008-04-03

Crystallization of Al{sub 83}Ni{sub 10}Si{sub 2}Ce{sub 5}, Al{sub 85}Ni{sub 10}Ce{sub 5}, Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 7}Nd{sub 6} and Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 5}Co{sub 2}Nd{sub 6} amorphous alloys has been studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The multiple transition metal (TM) (containing metalloid element) have significant effect on the crystallization behavior. A small addition of Si transforms a eutectic crystallization (Al{sub 85}Ni{sub 10}Ce{sub 5}) to a primary crystallization (Al{sub 83}Ni{sub 10}Si{sub 2}Ce{sub 5}); while a small addition of Co transforms a primary crystallization (Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 7}Nd{sub 6}) to a eutectic crystallization (Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 5}Co{sub 2}Nd{sub 6}). In addition, the activation energies for crystallization (E{sub a}) are obtained to be 191, 290, 221 and 166 kJ/mol for the Al{sub 83}Ni{sub 10}Si{sub 2}Ce{sub 5}, Al{sub 85}Ni{sub 10}Ce{sub 5}, Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 5}Co{sub 2}Nd{sub 6} and Al{sub 87}Ni{sub 7}Nd{sub 6} amorphous alloys based on the Kissinger method, respectively. It is found that the primary crystallization of fcc-Al is characteristic of a lower E{sub a}, as compared with eutectic crystallization.

Crystallization of some amorphous metallic alloys studied by Moessbauer spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitek, J.; Miglierini, M.; Lipka, J.; Valko, P.; Toth, I.

1990-01-01

The present work provides an analysis of crystallization processes in amorphous metallic alloys Fe 80 Si 4 Cr 1.8 B 14 and Fe 67 Co 18 B 14 Si 1 . Crystallization of the first sample started at the temperature of 648 K. The fully crystalline state was observed after annealing at 748 K. We identified four sextets. One corresponds to crystalline Fe 2 B and the three others to FeSi solid solution with 10 at.% of Si. Crystallization of Fe 67 Co 18 B 14 Si 1 started at the temperature of 623 K. We identified two crystalline phases. The first may have its origin as (Fe 1-x Co x ) 3 B, the second one may correspond to a Fe-Co solid solution with a different Co content. (orig.)

Molecular dynamics studies of the ion beam induced crystallization in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, L.A.; Caturla, M.J.; Huang, H.

1995-01-01

We have studied the ion bombardment induced amorphous-to-crystal transition in silicon using molecular dynamics techniques. The growth of small crystal seeds embedded in the amorphous phase has been monitored for several temperatures in order to get information on the effect of the thermal temperature increase introduced by the incoming ion. The role of ion-induced defects on the growth has been also studied

Role of Laser Power, Wavelength, and Pulse Duration in Laser Assisted Tin-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. B. Neimash

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This work describes tin-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon studied with Raman spectroscopy in thin-film structures Si-Sn-Si irradiated with pulsed laser light. We have found and analyzed dependencies of the nanocrystals’ size and concentration on the laser pulse intensity for 10 ns and 150 μm duration laser pulses at the wavelengths of 535 nm and 1070 nm. Efficient transformation of the amorphous silicon into a crystalline phase during the 10 ns time interval of the acting laser pulse in the 200 nm thickness films of the amorphous silicon was demonstrated. The results were analyzed theoretically by modeling the spatial and temporal distribution of temperature in the amorphous silicon sample within the laser spot location. Simulations confirmed importance of light absorption depth (irradiation wavelength in formation and evolution of the temperature profile that affects the crystallization processes in irradiated structures.

Growth of single crystals of BaFe12O19 by solid state crystal growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, John G.; Sun, Hengyang; Kook, Young-Geun; Kim, Joon-Seong; Le, Phan Gia

2016-01-01

Single crystals of BaFe 12 O 19 are grown for the first time by solid state crystal growth. Seed crystals of BaFe 12 O 19 are buried in BaFe 12 O 19 +1 wt% BaCO 3 powder, which are then pressed into pellets containing the seed crystals. During sintering, single crystals of BaFe 12 O 19 up to ∼130 μm thick in the c-axis direction grow on the seed crystals by consuming grains from the surrounding polycrystalline matrix. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis shows that the single crystal and the surrounding polycrystalline matrix have the same chemical composition. Micro-Raman scattering shows the single crystal to have the BaFe 12 O 19 structure. The optimum growth temperature is found to be 1200 °C. The single crystal growth behavior is explained using the mixed control theory of grain growth. - Highlights: • Single crystals of BaFe 12 O 19 are grown by solid state crystal growth. • A single crystal up to ∼130 μm thick (c-axis direction) grows on the seed crystal. • The single crystal and surrounding ceramic matrix have similar composition. • Micro-Raman scattering shows the single crystal has the BaFe 12 O 19 structure.

Non-isothermal crystallization of PET/PLA blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Huipeng; Pyda, Marek; Cebe, Peggy

2009-01-01

Binary blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with poly(lactic acid), PET/PLA, were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray scattering. The PET/PLA blends, prepared by solution casting, were found to be miscible in the melt over the entire composition range. Both quenched amorphous and semicrystalline blends exhibit a single, composition dependent glass transition temperature. We report the non-isothermal crystallization of (a) PET, with and without the presence of PLA crystals and (b) PLA, with and without the presence of PET crystals. PET can crystallize in all blends, regardless of whether PLA is amorphous or crystalline, and degree of crystallinity of PET decreases as PLA content increases. In contrast, PLA crystallization is strongly affected by the mobility of the PET fraction. When PET is wholly amorphous, PLA can crystallize even in 70/30 blends, albeit weakly. But when PET is crystalline, PLA cannot crystallize when its own content drops below 0.90. These different behaviors may possibly be related to the tendency of each polymer to form constrained chains, i.e., to form the rigid amorphous fraction, or RAF. PET is capable of forming a large amount of RAF, whereas relatively smaller amount of RAF forms in PLA. Like the crystals, the rigid amorphous fraction of one polymer component may inhibit the growth of crystals of the other blend partner.

Hopper Growth of Salt Crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Desarnaud, Julie; Derluyn, Hannelore; Carmeliet, Jan; Bonn, Daniel; Shahidzadeh, Noushine

2018-06-07

The growth of hopper crystals is observed for many substances, but the mechanism of their formation remains ill understood. Here we investigate their growth by performing evaporation experiments on small volumes of salt solutions. We show that sodium chloride crystals that grow very fast from a highly supersaturated solution form a peculiar form of hopper crystal consisting of a series of connected miniature versions of the original cubic crystal. The transition between cubic and such hopper growth happens at a well-defined supersaturation where the growth rate of the cubic crystal reaches a maximum (∼6.5 ± 1.8 μm/s). Above this threshold, the growth rate varies as the third power of supersaturation, showing that a new mechanism, controlled by the maximum speed of surface integration of new molecules, induces the hopper growth of cubic crystals in cascade.

Crystallization in metglass: growth mechanism of crystals and radiation effects in Fe Ni P B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limoge, Y.; Barbu, A.

1981-08-01

Studying crystallization mechanisms and transport properties in amorphous metallic alloys we propose a model for systems wich are displaying eutectoid decomposition. Bringing together self diffusion, electron microscopy and electron irradiation experiments on a Fe Ni P B alloys we have shown that crystallization controlled by interfacial diffusion at the crystal surface can explain all the observed features of the experimental behaviour

Mechanisms of aluminium-induced crystallization and layer exchange upon low-temperature annealing of amorphous Si/polycrystalline Al bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J Y; Wang, Z M; Jeurgens, L P H; Mittemeijer, E J

2009-06-01

Aluminium-induced crystallization (ALIC) of amorphous Si and subsequent layer exchange (ALILE) occur in amorphous-Si/polycrystalline-Al bilayers (a-Si/c-Al) upon annealing at temperatures as low as 165 degrees C and were studied by X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopic depth profiling. It follows that: (i) nucleation of Si crystallization is initiated at Al grain boundaries and not at the a-Si/c-Al interface; (ii) low-temperature annealing results in a large Si grain size in the continuous c-Si layer produced by ALILE. Thermodynamic model calculations show that: (i) Si can "wet" the Al grain boundaries due to the favourable a-Si/c-Al interface energy (as compared to the Al grain-boundary energy); (ii) the wetting-induced a-Si layer at the Al grain boundary can maintain its amorphous state only up to a critical thickness, beyond which nucleation of Si crystallization takes place; and (iii) a tiny driving force controls the kinetics of the layer exchange.

Effect of heating rates of crystallization behaviour of amorphous Fe/sub 83/01/B/sub 17/ alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashfaq, A.; Shamim, A.

1993-01-01

The electric resistivity of amorphous Fe/sub 83/01/B/sub 17/ alloy has been measured to study its crystallization behaviour from room temperature to about 900 K at the constant heating rates of 40, 60 and 80 K/hr. The crystallization temperature was observed to increase with the increase of heating g rate. However amorphous to crystalline path of RT-curve between the maximum and the minimum decreases with heating rate. The Resistivity Temperature (RT) curves exhibit different steps which are shown to correspond to the phase change stages of the alloy. The slope of the rt-curve after the previous step increases with the rise in heating rate and finally passes through a board peak and then rises again. From the peak shift dta of first crystallization stage activation energy was calculated by applying various peak shift equations. The values so obtained were in good agreement with those obtained with DSC measurement for (FeM)/sub 83/01/B/sub 17/ amorphous alloys where M=Mo, Ni, Cr, and V. (author)

Amorphous iron (II) carbonate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sel, Ozlem; Radha, A.V.; Dideriksen, Knud

2012-01-01

Abstract The synthesis, characterization and crystallization energetics of amorphous iron (II) carbonate (AFC) are reported. AFC may form as a precursor for siderite (FeCO3). The enthalpy of crystallization (DHcrys) of AFC is similar to that of amorphous magnesium carbonate (AMC) and more...

Molecular mechanisms of crystal growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pina, C. M.

2000-01-01

In this paper I present an example of the research that the Mineral Surface Group of the Munster University is conducting in the field of Crystal Growth. Atomic Force Microscopy (Am) in situ observations of different barite (BaSO4) faces growing from aqueous solutions, in combination with computer simulations of the surface attachment of growth units allows us to test crystal growth models. Our results demonstrate the strong structural control that a crystal can exert on its own growth, revealing also the limitation of the classical crystal growth theories (two dimensional nucleation and spiral growth models) in providing a complete explanation for the growth behaviour at a molecular scale. (Author) 6 refs

Growth of single crystals of BaFe12O19 by solid state crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, John G.; Sun, Hengyang; Kook, Young-Geun; Kim, Joon-Seong; Le, Phan Gia

2016-10-01

Single crystals of BaFe12O19 are grown for the first time by solid state crystal growth. Seed crystals of BaFe12O19 are buried in BaFe12O19+1 wt% BaCO3 powder, which are then pressed into pellets containing the seed crystals. During sintering, single crystals of BaFe12O19 up to ∼130 μm thick in the c-axis direction grow on the seed crystals by consuming grains from the surrounding polycrystalline matrix. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis shows that the single crystal and the surrounding polycrystalline matrix have the same chemical composition. Micro-Raman scattering shows the single crystal to have the BaFe12O19 structure. The optimum growth temperature is found to be 1200 °C. The single crystal growth behavior is explained using the mixed control theory of grain growth.

High-resolution electron microscopy study of electron-irradiation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition in α-SiC single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inui, H.; Mori, H.; Sakata, T.

1992-01-01

An electron-irradiation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous (CA) transition in α-SiC has been studied by high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The irradiation-produced damage structure was examined as a function of dose of electrons by taking high-resolution maps extending from the unirradiated crystalline region to the completely amorphized region. In the intermediate region between those two regions, that is in the CA transition region, the damage structure was essentially a mixture of crystalline and amorphous phases. The volume fraction of the amorphous phase was found to increase with increasing dose of electrons and no discrete crystalline-amorphous interface was observed in the CA transition region. These facts indicate the heterogeneous and gradual nature of the CA transition. In the transition region close to the unirradiated crystalline region, a sort of fragmentation of the crystal lattice was observed to occur, crystallites with slightly different orientations with respect to the parent crystal were formed owing to the strain around the dispersed local amorphous regions. In the transition region close to the amorphized region, these crystallites were reduced in size and were embedded in an amorphous matrix. This damage structure is the result of the increased volume fraction of the amorphous phase. In the completely amorphized region, no lattice fringes were recognized in the HREM images. The atomistic process of the CA transition is discussed on the basis of the present results and those from previous studies. (Author)

Investigation of structural relaxation, crystallization process and magnetic properties of the Fe-Ni-Si-B-C amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalezic-Glisovic, A.; Novakovic, L.; Maricic, A.; Minic, D.; Mitrovic, N.

2006-01-01

The differential scanning calorimetry method was used for investigating the crystallization process of the Fe 89.8 Ni 1.5 Si 5.2 B 3 C 0.5 amorphous alloy. It was shown that the examined alloy crystallizes in three stages. The first crystallization stage occurs at 799 K, the second at 820 K and the third at 888 K. Temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility relative change was investigated by the modified Faraday method in the temperature region from room temperature up to 900 K. It has been established that the Curie temperature is about 700 K for amorphous state. The magnetic susceptibility increases by 30% after the first heating up to 710 K. During the second heating up to 840 K the alloy loses its ferromagnetic features in the temperature region from 710 to 750 K, upon which it again regains the same. After the second heating magnetic susceptibility decreases by 23% as compared to the amorphous starting value and by 53% as compared to the value before the second heating. The crystallized alloy maintains ferromagnetic features in the whole temperature region during the heating up to 900 K

Investigation of structural relaxation, crystallization process and magnetic properties of the Fe-Ni-Si-B-C amorphous alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalezic-Glisovic, A. [Joint Laboratory for Advanced Materials of SASA, Section for Amorphous Systems, Technical Faculty Cacak, Svetog Save 65, 32000 Cacak (Serbia and Montenegro)]. E-mail: aleksandrakalezic@eunet.yu; Novakovic, L. [Faculty of Physics, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro); Maricic, A. [Joint Laboratory for Advanced Materials of SASA, Section for Amorphous Systems, Technical Faculty Cacak, Svetog Save 65, 32000 Cacak (Serbia and Montenegro); Minic, D. [Faculty of Physical Chemistry, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro); Mitrovic, N. [Joint Laboratory for Advanced Materials of SASA, Section for Amorphous Systems, Technical Faculty Cacak, Svetog Save 65, 32000 Cacak (Serbia and Montenegro)]. E-mail: nmitrov@tfc.kg.ac.yu

2006-07-15

The differential scanning calorimetry method was used for investigating the crystallization process of the Fe{sub 89.8}Ni{sub 1.5}Si{sub 5.2}B{sub 3}C{sub 0.5} amorphous alloy. It was shown that the examined alloy crystallizes in three stages. The first crystallization stage occurs at 799 K, the second at 820 K and the third at 888 K. Temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility relative change was investigated by the modified Faraday method in the temperature region from room temperature up to 900 K. It has been established that the Curie temperature is about 700 K for amorphous state. The magnetic susceptibility increases by 30% after the first heating up to 710 K. During the second heating up to 840 K the alloy loses its ferromagnetic features in the temperature region from 710 to 750 K, upon which it again regains the same. After the second heating magnetic susceptibility decreases by 23% as compared to the amorphous starting value and by 53% as compared to the value before the second heating. The crystallized alloy maintains ferromagnetic features in the whole temperature region during the heating up to 900 K.

Influence of the additive Ag for crystallization of amorphous Ge-Sb-Te thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Ki-Ho; Kim, Sung-Won; Seo, Jae-Hee [Faculty of Applied Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbong-dong, Kwangju 500-757 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyun-Yong, E-mail: hyleee@chonnam.ac.k [Faculty of Applied Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbong-dong, Kwangju 500-757 (Korea, Republic of)

2009-05-29

We have investigated the optical and amorphous-to-crystalline transition properties in four-types of chalcogenide thin films; Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}, Ge{sub 8}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 11}, Ag-Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} and Ag-Ge{sub 8}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 11}. Crystallization was caused by nano-pulse illumination ({lambda} = 658 nm) with power (P) of 1-17 mW and pulse duration (t) of 10-460 ns, and the morphologies of crystallized spots were observed by SEM and microscope. It was found that the crystallized spot nearby linearly increases in size with increasing the illuminating energy (E = P {center_dot} t) and eventually ablated out by over illumination. Changes in the optical transmittance of as-deposited and annealed films were measured using a UV-vis-IR spectrophotometer. In addition, a speed of amorphous-to-crystalline transition was evaluated by detecting the reflection response signals for the nano-pulse scanning. Conclusively, the Ge{sub 8}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 11} film has a faster crystallization speed than the Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} film despite its higher crystallization temperature. The crystallization speed was largely improved by adding Ag in Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} film but not in Ge{sub 8}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 11} film. To explain these results, we considered a heat confinement by electron hopping.

Amorphous Silicon-Germanium Films with Embedded Nano crystals for Thermal Detectors with Very High Sensitivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleja, C.; Torres, A.; Rosales-Quintero, P.; Moreno, M.

2016-01-01

We have optimized the deposition conditions of amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nano crystals in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor, working at a standard frequency of 13.56 MHz. The objective was to produce films with very large Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR), which is a signature of the sensitivity in thermal detectors (micro bolometers). Morphological, electrical, and optical characterization were performed in the films, and we found optimal conditions for obtaining films with very high values of thermal coefficient of resistance (TCR = 7.9%K -1 ). Our results show that amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nano crystals can be used as thermo sensitive films in high performance infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) used in commercial thermal cameras.

Phase transitions of amorphous solid acetone in confined geometry investigated by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Sunghwan; Kang, Hani; Kim, Jun Soo; Kang, Heon

2014-11-26

We investigated the phase transformations of amorphous solid acetone under confined geometry by preparing acetone films trapped in amorphous solid water (ASW) or CCl4. Reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) were used to monitor the phase changes of the acetone sample with increasing temperature. An acetone film trapped in ASW shows an abrupt change in the RAIRS features of the acetone vibrational bands during heating from 80 to 100 K, which indicates the transformation of amorphous solid acetone to a molecularly aligned crystalline phase. Further heating of the sample to 140 K produces an isotropic solid phase, and eventually a fluid phase near 157 K, at which the acetone sample is probably trapped in a pressurized, superheated condition inside the ASW matrix. Inside a CCl4 matrix, amorphous solid acetone crystallizes into a different, isotropic structure at ca. 90 K. We propose that the molecularly aligned crystalline phase formed in ASW is created by heterogeneous nucleation at the acetone-water interface, with resultant crystal growth, whereas the isotropic crystalline phase in CCl4 is formed by homogeneous crystal growth starting from the bulk region of the acetone sample.

Pressure-induced amorphization of NaVO/sub 3 at room temperature and its re-crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Z.X.; Ong, C.W.; Tang, S.H.; Kuok, M.H.

1994-01-01

Pressure-induced amorphization is the subject of intense study for the past few years because of its importance in material science and in solid state physics. We reported a crystalline-amorphous phase transition at ca 60kbar in NaVO1/3, which is the lowest pressure for such transitions in ionic crystals. The transition is marked by the sudden appearance of very broad bands at the 800 and 350 cm/sup -1 regions. The amorphization includes the complete breaking up of the infinite chains of corner-linked tetrahedral VO/sub 4, most likely into VO/sup -/sub 3. On decompression, the amorphous phase transforms to another phase, probably also amorphous at ca 40 kbar. It reverts to the stable ambient condition α-phase upon heating. Here we report on the details of the transtitional region and the re-linking of the VO/sub 4 chains upon heating. (authors)

Effect of medium range order on pulsed laser crystallization of amorphous germanium thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, T. T., E-mail: li48@llnl.gov; Bayu Aji, L. B.; Heo, T. W.; Kucheyev, S. O.; Campbell, G. H. [Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave., Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Santala, M. K. [Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering, Oregon State University, 204 Rogers Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331 (United States)

2016-05-30

Sputter deposited amorphous Ge thin films had their nanostructure altered by irradiation with high-energy Ar{sup +} ions. The change in the structure resulted in a reduction in medium range order (MRO) characterized using fluctuation electron microscopy. The pulsed laser crystallization kinetics of the as-deposited versus irradiated materials were investigated using the dynamic transmission electron microscope operated in the multi-frame movie mode. The propagation rate of the crystallization front for the irradiated material was lower; the changes were correlated to the MRO difference and formation of a thin liquid layer during crystallization.

Effect of medium range order on pulsed laser crystallization of amorphous germanium thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, T. T.; Bayu Aji, L. B.; Heo, T. W.; Kucheyev, S. O.; Campbell, G. H.; Santala, M. K.

2016-01-01

Sputter deposited amorphous Ge thin films had their nanostructure altered by irradiation with high-energy Ar"+ ions. The change in the structure resulted in a reduction in medium range order (MRO) characterized using fluctuation electron microscopy. The pulsed laser crystallization kinetics of the as-deposited versus irradiated materials were investigated using the dynamic transmission electron microscope operated in the multi-frame movie mode. The propagation rate of the crystallization front for the irradiated material was lower; the changes were correlated to the MRO difference and formation of a thin liquid layer during crystallization.

XRD and SEM study on the phase separation and crystallization behavior for an amorphous Cu+ conductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yuan; Hou Jianguo; Yu Wenhai

1990-01-01

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study was carried out for an amorphous Cu + conductor 0.4 CuI-0.3 Cu 2 O-0.3 P 2 O 5 with the simultaneous conductivity measurement in the isothermal heat treament process. The results indicated that the initial amorphous material was phase-separated. In the course of time the separated amorphous phase disappeared, the crystalline γ-CuI and Cu 2 P 2 O 7 formed in sequence and grew up gradually. The correlation of the phase separation and crystallization behavior with the conductivity anomaly confirmed again the interface effect between different phases in amorphous fast ionic conductors and its universality

Effect of ball mill treatment on kinetics of amorphous Ni78Si10B12 alloy crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomilin, I.A.; Mochalova, T.Yu.; Kaloshkin, S.D.; Kostyukovich, T.G.; Lopatina, E.A.

1993-01-01

The effect of the parameters of Ni 78 Si 10 B 12 alloy amorphous strip milling in a ball planetary mill on the stability of powder amorphous state, crytallization kinetics and dispersity is studied by the methods of differential scanning microcaloremetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. Energy intensity of milling conditions is assessed. An increase of input energy results in a decrease of activation energy of powder crystallization. Strip milling parameters which enable to avaintain the amorphous state of the material are determined

Springer Handbook of Crystal Growth

CERN Document Server

Dhanaraj, Govindhan; Prasad, Vishwanath; Dudley, Michael

2010-01-01

Over the years, many successful attempts have been made to describe the art and science of crystal growth. Most modern advances in semiconductor and optical devices would not have been possible without the development of many elemental, binary, ternary, and other compound crystals of varying properties and large sizes. The objective of the Springer Handbook of Crystal Growth is to present state-of-the-art knowledge of both bulk and thin-film crystal growth. The goal is to make readers understand the basics of the commonly employed growth processes, materials produced, and defects generated. Almost 100 leading scientists, researchers, and engineers from 22 different countries from academia and industry have been selected to write chapters on the topics of their expertise. They have written 52 chapters on the fundamentals of bulk crystal growth from the melt, solution, and vapor, epitaxial growth, modeling of growth processes and defects, techniques of defect characterization as well as some contemporary specia...

Crystalline to amorphous transformation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheruvu, S.M.

1982-09-01

In the present investigation, an attempt was made to understand the fundamental mechanism of crystalline-to-amorphous transformation in arsenic implanted silicon using high resolution electron microscopy. A comparison of the gradual disappearance of simulated lattice fringes with increasing Frenkel pair concentration with the experimental observation of sharp interfaces between crystalline and amorphous regions was carried out leading to the conclusion that when the defect concentration reaches a critical value, the crystal does relax to an amorphous state. Optical diffraction experiments using atomic models also supported this hypothesis. Both crystalline and amorphous zones were found to co-exist with sharp interfaces at the atomic level. Growth of the amorphous fraction depends on the temperature, dose rate and the mass of the implanted ion. Preliminary results of high energy electron irradiation experiments at 1.2 MeV also suggested that clustering of point defects occurs near room temperature. An observation in a high resolution image of a small amorphous zone centered at the core of a dislocation is presented as evidence that the nucleation of an amorphous phase is heterogeneous in nature involving clustering or segregation of point defects near existing defects

A mechanistic model for radiation-induced crystallization and amorphization in U3Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rest, J.

1994-06-01

Radiation-induced amorphization is assessed. A rate-theory model is formulated wherein amorphous clusters are formed by the damage event These clusters are considered centers of expansion (CE), or excess-free-volume zones. Simultaneously, centers of compression (CC) are created in the material. The CCs are local regions of increased density that travel through the material as an elastic (e.g., acoustic) shock wave. The CEs can be annihilated upon contact with CCs (annihilation probability depends on height of the energy barrier), forming either a crystallized region indistinguishable from the host material, or a region with a slight disorientation (recrystallized grain). Recrystallized grains grow by the accumulation of additional CCs. Full amorphization is calculated on the basis of achieving a fuel volume fraction consistent with the close packing of spherical entities. Amorphization of a recrystallized grain is hindered by the grain boundary. Preirradiation of U 3 Si above the critical temperature for amorphization results in of nanometer-size grains. Subsequent reirradiation below the critical temperature shows that the material has developed a resistance to radiation-induced amorphization higher dose needed to amorphize the preirradiated samples than now preirradiated samples. In the model, it is assumed that grain boundaries act as effective defect sinks, and that enhanced defect annihilation is responsible for retarding amorphization at low temperature. The calculations have been validated against data from ion-irradiation experiments with U 3 Si. To obtain additional validation, the model has also been applied to the ion-induced motion of the interface between crystalline and amorphous phases of U 3 Si. Results of this analysis are compared to data and results of calculations for ion bombardment of Si

Evidence of eutectic crystallization and transient nucleation in Al89La6Ni5 amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang, Y. X.; Jiang, J. Z.; Lin, Z. G.; Mezouar, M.; Crichton, W.; Inoue, A.

2001-01-01

The phase evolution with the temperature and time in the process of crystallization of Al 89 La 6 Ni 5 amorphous alloy has been investigated by in situ high-temperature and high-pressure x-ray powder diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Two crystalline phases, fcc-Al and a metastable bcc-(AlNi) 11 La 3 -like phase, were identified after the first crystallization reaction, revealing a eutectic reaction instead of a primary reaction suggested in the literature. Time-dependent nucleation in the amorphous alloy is detected and the experimental data can be fitted by both the Zeldovich's and Kashchiev's transient nucleation models with transient nucleation times of 220 and 120 min, respectively. Copyright 2001 American Institute of Physics

Effect of crystallization on corrosion behavior of Fe40Ni38B18Mo4 amorphous alloy in 3.5% sodium chloride solution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Y.F.; Chiang, Wen-Chi; Wu, J.K.

2008-01-01

After the crystallization of F40Ni38B18Mo4 amorphous alloy by vacuum annealing, the corrosion resistance of its crystalline state shows inferior to its amorphous state due to the local cell action between Ni phase and (Fe, Ni, Mo)(23)B-6 phase in matrix.......After the crystallization of F40Ni38B18Mo4 amorphous alloy by vacuum annealing, the corrosion resistance of its crystalline state shows inferior to its amorphous state due to the local cell action between Ni phase and (Fe, Ni, Mo)(23)B-6 phase in matrix....

Principles of crystallization, and methods of single crystal growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chacra, T.

2010-01-01

Most of single crystals (monocrystals), have distinguished optical, electrical, or magnetic properties, which make from single crystals, key elements in most of technical modern devices, as they may be used as lenses, Prisms, or grating sin optical devises, or Filters in X-Ray and spectrographic devices, or conductors and semiconductors in electronic, and computer industries. Furthermore, Single crystals are used in transducer devices. Moreover, they are indispensable elements in Laser and Maser emission technology.Crystal Growth Technology (CGT), has started, and developed in the international Universities and scientific institutions, aiming at some of single crystals, which may have significant properties and industrial applications, that can attract the attention of international crystal growth centers, to adopt the industrial production and marketing of such crystals. Unfortunately, Arab universities generally, and Syrian universities specifically, do not give even the minimum interest, to this field of Science.The purpose of this work is to attract the attention of Crystallographers, Physicists and Chemists in the Arab universities and research centers to the importance of crystal growth, and to work on, in the first stage to establish simple, uncomplicated laboratories for the growth of single crystal. Such laboratories can be supplied with equipment, which are partly available or can be manufactured in the local market. Many references (Articles, Papers, Diagrams, etc..) has been studied, to conclude the most important theoretical principles of Phase transitions,especially of crystallization. The conclusions of this study, are summarized in three Principles; Thermodynamic-, Morphologic-, and Kinetic-Principles. The study is completed by a brief description of the main single crystal growth methods with sketches, of equipment used in each method, which can be considered as primary designs for the equipment, of a new crystal growth laboratory. (author)

Phase-field crystal simulation facet and branch crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhi; Wang, Zhaoyang; Gu, Xinrui; Chen, Yufei; Hao, Limei; de Wit, Jos; Jin, Kexin

2018-05-01

Phase-field crystal model with one mode is introduced to describe morphological transition. The relationship between growth morphology and smooth density distribution was investigated. The results indicate that the pattern selection of dendrite growth is caused by the competition between interface energy anisotropy and interface kinetic anisotropy based on the 2D phase diagram. When the calculation time increases, the crystal grows to secondary dendrite at the dimensionless undercooling equal to - 0.4. Moreover, when noise is introduced in the growth progress, the symmetry is broken in the growth mode, and there becomes irregular fractal-like growth morphology. Furthermore, the single crystal shape develops into polycrystalline when the noise amplitude is large enough. When the dimensionless undercooling is less than - 0.3, the noise has a significant effect on the growth shape. In addition, the growth velocity of crystal near to liquid phase line is slow, while the shape far away from the liquid adapts to fast growth. Based on the simulation results, the method was proved to be effective, and it can easily obtain different crystal shapes by choosing the different points in 2D phase diagram.

Growth Mechanism for Low Temperature PVD Graphene Synthesis on Copper Using Amorphous Carbon

Science.gov (United States)

Narula, Udit; Tan, Cher Ming; Lai, Chao Sung

2017-03-01

Growth mechanism for synthesizing PVD based Graphene using Amorphous Carbon, catalyzed by Copper is investigated in this work. Different experiments with respect to Amorphous Carbon film thickness, annealing time and temperature are performed for the investigation. Copper film stress and its effect on hydrogen diffusion through the film grain boundaries are found to be the key factors for the growth mechanism, and supported by our Finite Element Modeling. Low temperature growth of Graphene is achieved and the proposed growth mechanism is found to remain valid at low temperatures.

Raman scattering study of the a-GeTe structure and possible mechanism for the amorphous to crystal transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrikopoulos, K S; Yannopoulos, S N; Voyiatzis, G A; Kolobov, A V; Ribes, M; Tominaga, J

2006-01-01

We report on an inelastic (Raman) light scattering study of the local structure of amorphous GeTe (a-GeTe) films. A detailed analysis of the temperature-reduced Raman spectra has shown that appreciable structural changes occur as a function of temperature. These changes involve modifications of atomic arrangements such as to facilitate the rapid amorphous to crystal transformation, which is the major advantage of phase-change materials used in optical data storage media. A particular structural model, supported by polarization analysis, is proposed which is compatible with the experimental data as regards both the structure of a-GeTe and the crystallization transition. The remarkable difference between the Raman spectrum of the crystal and the glass can thus naturally be accounted for

Atomistic insights into the nanosecond long amorphization and crystallization cycle of nanoscale G e2S b2T e5 : An ab initio molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Branicio, Paulo S.; Bai, Kewu; Ramanarayan, H.; Wu, David T.; Sullivan, Michael B.; Srolovitz, David J.

2018-04-01

The complete process of amorphization and crystallization of the phase-change material G e2S b2T e5 is investigated using nanosecond ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Varying the quench rate during the amorphization phase of the cycle results in the generation of a variety of structures from entirely crystallized (-0.45 K/ps) to entirely amorphized (-16 K/ps). The 1.5-ns annealing simulations indicate that the crystallization process depends strongly on both the annealing temperature and the initial amorphous structure. The presence of crystal precursors (square rings) in the amorphous matrix enhances nucleation/crystallization kinetics. The simulation data are used to construct a combined continuous-cooling-transformation (CCT) and temperature-time-transformation (TTT) diagram. The nose of the CCT-TTT diagram corresponds to the minimum time for the onset of homogenous crystallization and is located at 600 K and 70 ps. That corresponds to a critical cooling rate for amorphization of -4.5 K/ps. The results, in excellent agreement with experimental observations, suggest that a strategy that utilizes multiple quench rates and annealing temperatures may be used to effectively optimize the reversible switching speed and enable fast and energy-efficient phase-change memories.

Student Augmentation for Crystal Growth Research

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Prasad, V

1999-01-01

... intelligent modeling, design and control of crystal growth processes. One doctoral student worked on integrating the radiation heat transfer model into MASTRAPP, the crystal growth model developed by the Consortium for Crystal Growth Research...

A Proposed Model for Protein Crystal Nucleation and Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Pusey, Marc; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

How does one take a molecule, strongly asymmetric in both shape and charge distribution, and assemble it into a crystal? We propose a model for the nucleation and crystal growth process for tetragonal lysozyme, based upon fluorescence, light, neutron, and X-ray scattering data, size exclusion chromatography experiments, dialysis kinetics, AFM, and modeling of growth rate data, from this and other laboratories. The first species formed is postulated to be a 'head to side' dimer. Through repeating associations involving the same intermolecular interactions this grows to a 4(sub 3) helix structure, that in turn serves as the basic unit for nucleation and subsequent crystal growth. High salt attenuates surface charges while promoting hydrophobic interactions. Symmetry facilitates subsequent helix-helix self-association. Assembly stability is enhanced when a four helix structure is obtained, with each bound to two neighbors. Only two unique interactions are required. The first are those for helix formation, where the dominant interaction is the intermolecular bridging anion. The second is the anti-parallel side-by-side helix-helix interaction, guided by alternating pairs of symmetry related salt bridges along each side. At this stage all eight unique positions of the P4(sub3)2(sub 1),2(sub 1) unit cell are filled. The process is one of a) attenuating the most strongly interacting groups, such that b) the molecules begin to self-associate in defined patterns, so that c) symmetry is obtained, which d) propagates as a growing crystal. Simple and conceptually obvious in hindsight, this tells much about what we are empirically doing when we crystallize macromolecules. By adjusting the growth parameters we are empirically balancing the intermolecular interactions, preferentially attenuating the dominant strong (for lysozyme the charged groups) while strengthening the lesser strong (hydrophobic) interactions. In the general case for proteins the lack of a singularly defined

Introduction to crystal growth and characterization

CERN Document Server

Benz, Klaus-Werner

2014-01-01

This new textbook provides for the first time a comprehensive treatment of the basics of contemporary crystallography and crystal growth in a single volume. The reader will be familiarized with the concepts for the description of morphological and structural symmetry of crystals. The architecture of crystal structures of selected inorganic and molecular crystals is illustrated. The main crystallographic databases as data sources of crystal structures are described. Nucleation processes, their kinetics and main growth mechanism will be introduced in fundamentals of crystal growth. Some phase d

Crystallization of Fe83B17 amorphous alloy by electric pulses produced by a capacitor discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgarakis, Konstantinos; Dudina, Dina V.; Mali, Vyacheslav I.; Anisimov, Alexander G.; Bulina, Natalia V.; Moreira Jorge, Alberto Jr.; Yavari, Alain R.

2015-01-01

Heating of conductive materials by electric current is used in many technological processes. Application of electric pulses to metallic glasses induces their fast crystallization, which is an interesting and complex phenomenon. In this work, crystallization of the Fe 83 B 17 amorphous alloy induced by pulses of electric current produced has been studied using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Ribbons of the alloy were directly subjected to single pulses of electric current 250 μs long formed by a capacitor discharge. As the value of ∫I 2 dt was increased from 0.33 to 2.00 A 2 s, different crystallization stages could be observed. The crystallization began through the formation of the nuclei of α-Fe. At high values of ∫I 2 dt, α-Fe and tetragonal and orthorhombic Fe 3 B and Fe 23 B 6 were detected in the crystallized ribbons with crystallites of about 50 nm. Thermal annealing of the ribbons at 600 C for 2 min resulted in the formation of α-Fe and tetragonal Fe 3 B. It was concluded that pulses of electric current produced by a capacitor discharge induced transformation of the Fe 83 B 17 amorphous phase into metastable crystalline products. (orig.)

Crystallization kinetics of Fe-B based amorphous alloys studied in-situ using X-rays diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santos D.R. dos

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The crystallization processes for the amorphous metallic alloys Fe74B17Si2Ni4Mo3 and Fe86B6Zr7Cu1 (at. % were investigated using X-rays diffraction measurements performed in-situ during Joule-heating, with simultaneous monitoring of the electrical resistance. We determined the main structural transitions and crystalline phases formed during heating, and correlated these results to the observed resistance variations. As the annealing current is increased, the resistance shows an initial decrease due to stress relaxation, followed by a drop to a minimum value due to massive nucleation and growth of alpha-Fe nanocrystals. Further annealing causes the formation of small fractions of Fe-B, B2Zr or ZrO2, while the resistance increases due to temperature enhancement. In situ XRD measurements allowed the identification of metastable phases, as the gamma-Fe phase which occurs at high temperatures. The exothermal peaks observed in the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC for each alloy corroborate the results. We also have performed DSC measurements with several heating rates, which allowed the determination of the Avrami exponent and crystallization activation energy for each alloy. The obtained activation energies (362 and 301 kJ/mol for Fe-B-Zr-Cu; 323 kJ/mol for Fe-B-Si-Ni-Mo are comparable to reported values for amorphous iron alloys, while the Avrami exponent values (n = 1.0 or n = 1.2 are consistent with diffusion controlled crystallization processes with nucleation rates close to zero.

Effects of impurities on crystal growth in fructose crystallization

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Y. D.; Shiau, L. D.; Berglund, K. A.

1989-10-01

The influence of impurities on the crystallization of anhydrous fructose from aqueous solution was studied. The growth kinetics of fructose crystals in the fructose-water-glucose and fructose-water-difructose dianhydrides systems were investigated using photomicroscopic contact nucleation techniques. Glucose is the major impurity likely to be present in fructose syrup formed during corn wet milling, while several difructose dianhydrides are formed in situ under crystallization conditions and have been proposed as a cause in the decrease of overall yields. Both sets of impurities were found to cause inhibition of crystal growth, but the mechanisms responsible in each case are different. It was found that the presence of glucose increases the solubility of fructose in water and thus lowers the supersaturation of the solution. This is probably the main effect responsible for the decrease of crystal growth. Since the molecular structures of difructose dianhydrides are similar to that of fructose, they are probably "tailor-made" impurities. The decrease of crystal growth is probably caused by the incorporation of these impurities into or adsorption to the crystal surface which would accept fructose molecules in the orientation that existed in the difructose dianhydride.

Glass transition behavior and crystallization kinetics of Cu0.3(SSe20)0.7 chalcogenide glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soliman, A.A.

2005-01-01

The glass transition behavior and crystallization kinetics of Cu 0.3 (SSe 20 ) 0.7 chalcogenide glass were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Two crystalline phases (SSe 20 and Cu 2 Se) were identified after annealing the glass at 773 K for 24 h. The activation energy of the glass transition (E g ), the activation energy of crystallization (E c ), the Avrami exponent (n) and the dimensionality of growth (m) were determined. Results indicate that this glass crystallizes by a two-stage bulk crystallization process upon heating. The first transformation, in which SSe 20 precipitates from the amorphous matrix with a three-dimensional crystal growth. The second transformation, in which the residual amorphous phase transforms into Cu 2 Se compound with a two-dimensional crystal growth

Inhibition of surface crystallisation of amorphous indomethacin particles in physical drug-polymer mixtures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Priemel, Petra A; Laitinen, Riikka; Barthold, Sarah

2013-01-01

stability than pure IMC whereas IMC Soluplus(®) mixtures did not. Water uptake was higher for mixtures containing Soluplus(®) than for amorphous IMC or IMC Eudragit(®) mixtures. However, the Tg of amorphous IMC was unaffected by the presence (and nature) of polymer. SEM revealed that Eudragit(®) particles...... through reduced IMC surface molecular mobility. Polymer particles may also mechanically hinder crystal growth outwards from the surface. This work highlights the importance of microparticulate surface coverage of amorphous drug particles on their stability....

Crystallization study of amorphous system Fe[sub 84-x]W[sub x]B[sub 16] (x = 3; 5)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novakova, A.A.; Sidorova, G.V.; Kiseleva, T.Yu.; Szasz, A. (Dept. of Physics, State Univ., Moscow (Russia) Inst. of Metallurgy, Academy of Science, Moscow (Russia) Eoetvoes Univ., Budapest (Hungary))

1992-10-01

A complex study of the crystallization process of the amorphous system was carried out by Moessbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and DTA. Alloy samples crystallized at 600deg C contain the following phases: [alpha]-Fe, Fe[sub 3]B and solid solution (Fe, W)[sub 3]B. (orig.).

Atomic mobility in the overheated amorphous GeTe compound for phase change memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sosso, G.C.; Behler, J.; Bernasconi, M.

2016-01-01

Abstractauthoren Phase change memories rest on the ability of some chalcogenide alloys to undergo a fast and reversible transition between the crystalline and amorphous phases upon Joule heating. The fast crystallization is due to a high nucleation rate and a large crystal growth velocity which are actually possible thanks to the fragility of the supercooled liquid that allows for the persistence of a high atomic mobility at high supercooling where the thermodynamical driving force for crystallization is also high. Since crystallization in the devices occurs by rapidly heating the amorphous phase, hysteretic effects might arise with a different diffusion coefficient and viscosity on heating than on cooling. In this work, we have quantified these hysteretic effects in the phase change compound GeTe by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The atomic mobility in the overheated amorphous phase is lower than in supercooled liquid at the same temperature and the viscosity is consequently higher. Still, the simulations of the overheated amorphous phase reveal a breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation between the diffusion coefficient and the viscosity, similarly to what we found previously in the supercooled liquid. Evidences are provided that the breakdown is due to the emergence of dynamical heterogeneities at high supercooling. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Thermally induced crystallization of amorphous Fe40Ni40P14B6 alloy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vasić, M.; Blagojević, V. A.; Begović, N. N.; Žák, Tomáš; Pavlović, V. B.; Minić, Dragica M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 614, AUG (2015), s. 129-136 ISSN 0040-6031 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0068 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : Amorphous alloy * Crystallization * Kinetics * Deconvolution * Impingement * Surface morphology Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.938, year: 2015

Intrinsic stress evolution during amorphous oxide film growth on Al surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flötotto, D.; Wang, Z. M.; Jeurgens, L. P. H.; Mittemeijer, E. J.

2014-01-01

The intrinsic stress evolution during formation of ultrathin amorphous oxide films on Al(111) and Al(100) surfaces by thermal oxidation at room temperature was investigated in real-time by in-situ substrate curvature measurements and detailed atomic-scale microstructural analyses. During thickening of the oxide a considerable amount of growth stresses is generated in, remarkably even amorphous, ultrathin Al 2 O 3 films. The surface orientation-dependent stress evolutions during O adsorption on the bare Al surfaces and during subsequent oxide-film growth can be interpreted as a result of (i) adsorption-induced surface stress changes and (ii) competing processes of free volume generation and structural relaxation, respectively

Direct investigations on strain-induced cold crystallization behavior and structure evolutions in amorphous poly(lactic acid) with SAXS and WAXS measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Chengbo; Li, Hongfei; Zhang, Wenyang

2016-01-01

scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The data obtained from the stretched samples within 70-90 degrees C showed that all of the formed crystals are disordered alpha' form with more compact chain packing than that of the cold crystallization. Upon stretching at 70 degrees C, the mesocrystal appears......Strain-induced cold crystallization behavior and structure evolution of amorphous poly(lactic acid) (PLA) stretched within 70-90 degrees C were investigated via in situ synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements as well as differential...... in strain-induced crystallization behavior of amorphous PLA within 70-90 degrees C can be attributed to the competition between chain orientation caused by stretching and chain relaxation. It was proposed that the strain-induced mesocrystal/crystal and the lamellae are formed from the mesophase originally...

Effect of irradiation temperature on crystallization of {alpha}-Fe induced by He irradiations in Fe{sub 80}B{sub 20} amorphous alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

San-noo, Toshimasa; Toriyama, Tamotsu; Wakabayashi, Hidehiko; Iijima, Hiroshi [Musashi Inst. of Tech., Tokyo (Japan); Hayashi, Nobuyuki; Sakamoto, Isao

1997-03-01

Since amorphous alloys are generally highly resistant to irradiation and their critical radiation dose is an order of magnitude higher for Fe-B amorphous alloy than Mo-methods, these alloys are expected to become applicable as for fusion reactor materials. The authors investigated {alpha}-Fe crystallization in an amorphous alloy, Fe{sub 80}B{sub 20} using internal conversion electron Moessbauer spectroscopy. The amount of {alpha}-Fe component was found to increase by raising the He-irradiation dose. The target part was modified to enable He ion radiation at a lower temperature (below 400 K) by cooling with Peltier element. Fe{sub 80}B{sub 20} amorphous alloy was cooled to keep the temperature at 300 K and exposed to 40 keV He ion at 1-3 x 10{sup 8} ions/cm{sup 2}. The amount of {alpha}-Fe crystal in each sample was determined. The crystal formation was not observed for He ion radiation below 2 x 10{sup 18} ions/cm{sup 2}, but that at 3 x 10{sup 8} ions/ cm{sup 2} produced a new phase ({delta} +0.40 mm/sec, {Delta} = 0.89 mm/sec). The decrease in the radiation temperature from 430 to 300 K resulted to extremely repress the production of {alpha}-Fe crystal, suggesting that the crystallization induced by He-radiation cascade is highly depending on the radiation temperature. (M.N.)

Superplasticity of amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, Yu.B.; Likhachev, V.L.; Sen'kov, O.N.

1988-01-01

Results of mechanical tests of Co 57 Ni 10 Fe 5 Si 11 B 17 amorphous alloy are presented and the effect of crystallization, occurring during deformation process, on plastic low characteristics is investiagted. Superplasticity of amorphous tape is investigated. It is shown, that this effect occurs only when during deformation the crystallization takes place. Process model, based on the usage disclination concepts about glass nature, is suggested

The Use of Atomic-Force Microscopy for Studying the Crystallization Process of Amorphous Alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Elmanov, G. N.; Ivanitskaya, E. A.; Dzhumaev, P. S.; Skrytniy, V. I.

The crystallization process of amorphous alloys is accompanied by the volume changes as a result of structural phase transitions. This leads to changes in the surface topography, which was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The changes of the surface topography, structure and phase composition during multistage crystallization process of the metallic glasses with composition Ni71,5Cr6,8Fe2,7B11,9Si7,1 and Ni63,4Cr7,4Fe4,3Mn0,8B15,6Si8,5 (AWS BNi2) has been investigated. The obtained results on changing of the surface topography in crystallization process are in good agreement with the data of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The nature of redistribution of some alloy components in the crystallization process has been suggested.

Pressure-induced preferential growth of nanocrystals in amorphous Nd9Fe85B6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Wei; Li Wei; Sun Hongyu; Li Hui; Zhang Xiangyi; Li Xiaohong; Liu Baoting

2008-01-01

Control over the growth and crystallographic orientation of nanocrystals in amorphous alloys is of particular importance for the development of advanced nanocrystalline materials. In the present study, Nd 2 Fe 14 B nanocrystals with a strong crystallographic texture along the [410] direction have been produced in Nd-lean amorphous Nd 9 Fe 85 B 6 under a high pressure of 6 GPa at 923 K. This is attributed to the high pressure inducing the preferential growth of Nd 2 Fe 14 B nanocrystals in the alloy. The present study demonstrates the potential application of high-pressure technology in controlling nanocrystalline orientation in amorphous alloys

Crystal field symmetry and magnetic interactions in rare earth-silver amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pappa, Catherine.

1979-01-01

A study has been made of the following rare earth based amorphous alloys: Ndsub(x)Agsub(100-x), Prsub(x)Agsub(100-x), Gdsub(x)Agsub(100-x), Tlsub(x)Agsub(100-x). In rare earth based amorphous alloys, the symmetrical distribution of the crystal field is very wide and hence not very sensitive to the content of the alloys. The existence of preponderant negative magnetic interactions leads to an upset magnetic order, the magnetization of a small volume not being nil. The magnetic behaviour of alloys with a small concentration of rare earths is governed by the existence of clusters of statistical origin, within which a rare earth ion has at least one other rare earth ion in the position of first neighbour. The presence of a high anisotropy at low temperatures make the magnetic interactions between clusters inoperative [fr

Formation of resonant bonding during growth of ultrathin GeTe films

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Ruining; Zhang, Wei; Momand, Jamo; Ronneberger, Ider; Boschker, Jos E.; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Kooi, Bart J.; Riechert, Henning; Wuttig, Matthias; Calarco, Raffaella

2017-01-01

A highly unconventional growth scenario is reported upon deposition of GeTe films on the hydrogen passivated Si(111) surface. Initially, an amorphous film forms for growth parameters that should yield a crystalline material. The entire amorphous film then crystallizes once a critical thickness of

Crystallization engineering as a route to epitaxial strain control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew R. Akbashev

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The controlled synthesis of epitaxial thin films offers opportunities for tuning their functional properties via enabling or suppressing strain relaxation. Examining differences in the epitaxial crystallization of amorphous oxide films, we report on an alternate, low-temperature route for strain engineering. Thin films of amorphous Bi–Fe–O were grown on (001SrTiO3 and (001LaAlO3 substrates via atomic layer deposition. In situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the crystallization of the amorphous films into the epitaxial (001BiFeO3 phase reveal distinct evolution profiles of crystallinity with temperature. While growth on (001SrTiO3 results in a coherently strained film, the same films obtained on (001LaAlO3 showed an unstrained, dislocation-rich interface, with an even lower temperature onset of the perovskite phase crystallization than in the case of (001SrTiO3. Our results demonstrate how the strain control in an epitaxial film can be accomplished via its crystallization from the amorphous state.

Enhanced proton conductivity of niobium phosphates by interfacing crystal grains with an amorphous functional phase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Yunjie; Yu, Lele; Li, Haiyan

2016-01-01

Niobium phosphate is an interesting proton conductor operational in the intermediate temperature range. In the present work two forms of phosphates were prepared: an amorphous one with high specific area and a crystalline one with low specific surface area. Both phosphates exhibited very low prot...... the high surface area amorphous phosphate was used as the precursor. At 250 °C thus obtained niobium phosphate showed a high and stable conductivity of 0.03 S cm−1 under dry atmosphere and of 0.06 S cm−1 at a water partial pressure of 0.12 atm....... conductivities. An activation process was developed to convert the phosphates into crystal grains with a phosphorus rich amorphous phase along the grain boundaries. As a result, the obtained niobium phosphates showed considerably enhanced and stable proton conductivities. The activation effect was prominent when...

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride photonic crystals for improved-performance surface electromagnetic wave biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinibaldi, Alberto; Descrovi, Emiliano; Giorgis, Fabrizio; Dominici, Lorenzo; Ballarini, Mirko; Mandracci, Pietro; Danz, Norbert; Michelotti, Francesco

2012-10-01

We exploit the properties of surface electromagnetic waves propagating at the surface of finite one dimensional photonic crystals to improve the performance of optical biosensors with respect to the standard surface plasmon resonance approach. We demonstrate that the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride technology is a versatile platform for fabricating one dimensional photonic crystals with any desirable design and operating in a wide wavelength range, from the visible to the near infrared. We prepared sensors based on photonic crystals sustaining either guided modes or surface electromagnetic waves, also known as Bloch surface waves. We carried out for the first time a direct experimental comparison of their sensitivity and figure of merit with surface plasmon polaritons on metal layers, by making use of a commercial surface plasmon resonance instrument that was slightly adapted for the experiments. Our measurements demonstrate that the Bloch surface waves on silicon nitride photonic crystals outperform surface plasmon polaritons by a factor 1.3 in terms of figure of merit.

Application of a mechanistic model for radiation-induced amorphization and crystallization of uranium silicide to recrystallization of UO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rest, J.

1996-07-01

An alternative mechanism for the evolution of recrystallization nuclei is described for a model of irradiation-induced recrystallization of UO 2 wherein the stored energy in the material is concentrated in a network of sinklike nuclei that diminish with dose due to interaction with radiation-produced defects. The sinklike nuclei are identified as cellular dislocation structures that evolve relatively early in the irradiation period. A generalized theory of radiation-induced amorphization and crystallization, developed for intermetallic nuclear materials, is applied to UO 2 . The complicated kinetics involved in the formation of a cellular dislocation network are approximated by the formation and growth of subgrains due to the interaction of shock waves produced by fission- induced damage to the material

Mathematical model to analyze the dissolution behavior of metastable crystals or amorphous drug accompanied with a solid-liquid interface reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirai, Daiki; Iwao, Yasunori; Kimura, Shin-Ichiro; Noguchi, Shuji; Itai, Shigeru

2017-04-30

Metastable crystals and the amorphous state of poorly water-soluble drugs in solid dispersions (SDs), are subject to a solid-liquid interface reaction upon exposure to a solvent. The dissolution behavior during the solid-liquid interface reaction often shows that the concentration of drugs is supersaturated, with a high initial drug concentration compared with the solubility of stable crystals but finally approaching the latter solubility with time. However, a method for measuring the precipitation rate of stable crystals and/or the potential solubility of metastable crystals or amorphous drugs has not been established. In this study, a novel mathematical model that can represent the dissolution behavior of the solid-liquid interface reaction for metastable crystals or amorphous drug was developed and its validity was evaluated. The theory for this model was based on the Noyes-Whitney equation and assumes that the precipitation of stable crystals at the solid-liquid interface occurs through a first-order reaction. Moreover, two models were developed, one assuming that the surface area of the drug remains constant because of the presence of excess drug in the bulk and the other that the surface area changes in time-dependency because of agglomeration of the drug. SDs of Ibuprofen (IB)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were prepared and their dissolution behaviors under non-sink conditions were fitted by the models to evaluate improvements in solubility. The model assuming time-dependent surface area showed good agreement with experimental values. Furthermore, by applying the model to the dissolution profile, parameters such as the precipitation rate and the potential solubility of the amorphous drug were successfully calculated. In addition, it was shown that the improvement in solubility with supersaturation was able to be evaluated quantitatively using this model. Therefore, this mathematical model would be a useful tool to quantitatively determine the supersaturation

Aluminium base amorphous and crystalline alloys with Fe impurity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitek, J.; Degmova, J.

2006-01-01

Aluminium base alloys show remarkable mechanical properties, however their low thermal stability still limits the technological applications. Further improvement of mechanical properties can be reached by partial crystallization of amorphous alloys, which gives rise to nanostructured composites. Our work was focused on aluminium based alloys with Fe, Nb and V additions. Samples of nominal composition Al 90 Fe 7 Nb 3 and Al 94 Fe 2 V 4 were studied in amorphous state and after annealing up to 873 K. From Moessbauer spectra taken on the samples in amorphous state the value of f-factor was determined as well as corresponding Debye temperatures were calculated. Annealing at higher temperatures induced nano and microcrystalline crystallization. Moessbauer spectra of samples annealed up to 573 K are fitted only by distribution of quadrupole doublets corresponding to the amorphous state. An increase of annealing temperature leads to the structural transformation, which consists in growth of nanometer sized aluminium nuclei. This is partly reflected in Moessbauer parameters. After annealing at 673 K intermetallic phase Al 3 Fe and other Al-Fe phases are created. In this case Moessbauer spectra are fitted by quadrupole doublets. During annealing up to 873 K large grains of Fe-Al phases are created. (authors)

The kinetics and mechanisms of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) crystallization to calcite, via vaterite.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Blanco, Juan Diego; Shaw, Samuel; Benning, Liane G

2011-01-01

The kinetics and mechanisms of nanoparticulate amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) crystallization to calcite, via vaterite, were studied at a range of environmentally relevant temperatures (7.5-25 °C) using synchrotron-based in situ time-resolved Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (ED-XRD) in conjunction with high-resolution electron microscopy, ex situ X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The crystallization process occurs in two stages; firstly, the particles of ACC rapidly dehydrate and crystallize to form individual particles of vaterite; secondly, the vaterite transforms to calcite via a dissolution and reprecipitation mechanism with the reaction rate controlled by the surface area of calcite. The second stage of the reaction is approximately 10 times slower than the first. Activation energies of calcite nucleation and crystallization are 73±10 and 66±2 kJ mol(-1), respectively. A model to calculate the degree of calcite crystallization from ACC at environmentally relevant temperatures (7.5-40 °C) is also presented.

Protein crystal growth in low gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Feigelson, Robert S.

1993-01-01

This Final Technical Report for NASA Grant NAG8-774 covers the period from April 27, 1989 through December 31, 1992. It covers five main topics: fluid flow studies, the influence of growth conditions on the morphology of isocitrate lyase crystals, control of nucleation, the growth of lysozyme by the temperature gradient method and graphoepitaxy of protein crystals. The section on fluid flow discusses the limits of detectability in the Schlieren imaging of fluid flows around protein crystals. The isocitrate lyase study compares crystals grown terrestrially under a variety of conditions with those grown in space. The controlling factor governing the morphology of the crystals is the supersaturation. The lack of flow in the interface between the drop and the atmosphere in microgravity causes protein precipitation in the boundary layer and a lowering of the supersaturation in the drop. This lowered supersaturation leads to improved crystal morphology. Preliminary experiments with lysozyme indicated that localized temperature gradients could be used to nucleate crystals in a controlled manner. An apparatus (thermonucleator) was designed to study the controlled nucleation of protein crystals. This apparatus has been used to nucleate crystals of materials with both normal (ice-water, Rochelle salt and lysozyme) and retrograde (horse serum albumin and alpha chymotrypsinogen A) solubility. These studies have lead to the design of an new apparatus that small and more compatible with use in microgravity. Lysozyme crystals were grown by transporting nutrient from a source (lysozyme powder) to the crystal in a temperature gradient. The influence of path length and cross section on the growth rate was demonstrated. This technique can be combined with the thermonucleator to control both nucleation and growth. Graphoepitaxy utilizes a patterned substrate to orient growing crystals. In this study, silicon substrates with 10 micron grooves were used to grow crystals of catalase

Crystallization behavior of Ge-doped eutectic Sb70Te30 films in optical disks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khulbe, Pramod K.; Hurst, Terril; Mansuripur, Masud; Horie, Michikazu

2002-01-01

We report laser-induced crystallization behavior of binary Sb-Te and ternary Ge-doped eutectic Sb70Te30 thin film samples in a typical quadrilayer stack as used in phase-change optical disk data storage. Several experiments have been conducted on a two-laser static tester in which one laser operating in pulse mode writes crystalline marks on amorphous film or amorphous marks on crystalline film, while the second laser operating at low-power cw mode simultaneously monitors the progress of the crystalline or amorphous mark formation in real time in terms of the reflectivity variation. The results of this study show that the crystallization kinetics of this class of film is strongly growth dominant, which is significantly different from the crystallization kinetics of stochiometric Ge-Sb-Te compositions. In Sb-Te and Ge-doped eutectic Sb70Te30 thin-film samples, the crystallization behavior of the two forms of amorphous states, namely, as-deposited amorphous state and melt-quenched amorphous state, remains approximately same. We have also presented experiments showing the effect of the variation of the Sb/Te ratio and Ge doping on the crystallization behavior of these films

Ultrafast characterization of phase-change material crystallization properties in the melt-quenched amorphous phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyasingh, Rakesh; Fong, Scott W; Lee, Jaeho; Li, Zijian; Chang, Kuo-Wei; Mantegazza, Davide; Asheghi, Mehdi; Goodson, Kenneth E; Wong, H-S Philip

2014-06-11

Phase change materials are widely considered for application in nonvolatile memories because of their ability to achieve phase transformation in the nanosecond time scale. However, the knowledge of fast crystallization dynamics in these materials is limited because of the lack of fast and accurate temperature control methods. In this work, we have developed an experimental methodology that enables ultrafast characterization of phase-change dynamics on a more technologically relevant melt-quenched amorphous phase using practical device structures. We have extracted the crystallization growth velocity (U) in a functional capped phase change memory (PCM) device over 8 orders of magnitude (10(-10) 10(8) K/s), which reveals the extreme fragility of Ge2Sb2Te5 in its supercooled liquid phase. Furthermore, these crystallization properties were studied as a function of device programming cycles, and the results show degradation in the cell retention properties due to elemental segregation. The above experiments are enabled by the use of an on-chip fast heater and thermometer called as microthermal stage (MTS) integrated with a vertical phase change memory (PCM) cell. The temperature at the PCM layer can be controlled up to 600 K using MTS and with a thermal time constant of 800 ns, leading to heating rates ∼10(8) K/s that are close to the typical device operating conditions during PCM programming. The MTS allows us to independently control the electrical and thermal aspects of phase transformation (inseparable in a conventional PCM cell) and extract the temperature dependence of key material properties in real PCM devices.

Effect of Sb on physical properties and microstructures of laser nano/amorphous-composite film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jia-Ning; Gong, Shui-Li; Sun, Mei; Shan, Fei-Hu; Wang, Xi-Chang; Jiang, Shuai

2013-01-01

A nano/amorphous-composite film was fabricated by laser cladding (LC) of the Co–Ti–B 4 C–Sb mixed powders on a TA15 alloy. Such film mainly consisted of Ti–Al, Co–Ti, Co–Sb intermetallics, TiC, TiB 2 , TiB, and the amorphous phases. Experimental results indicated that the crystal systems of TiB 2 (hexagonal)/TiC (cubic) and Sb (rhombohedral) played important role on the formation of such film. Due to the mismatch of these crystals systems and mutual immiscibility of the metallic components, Sb was not incorporated in TiB 2 /TiC, but formed separate nuclei during the film growth. Thus, the growth of TiB 2 /TiC was stopped by the Sb nucleus in such LC molten pool, so as to form the nanoscale particles

Effect of Sb on physical properties and microstructures of laser nano/amorphous-composite film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jia-Ning, E-mail: jn2369@163.com [Science and Technology on Power Beam Processes Laboratory, Beijing (China); Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, Beijing 100095 (China); Beijing Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Research Institute, Beijing 100024 (China); Gong, Shui-Li, E-mail: gongshuili@sina.com [Science and Technology on Power Beam Processes Laboratory, Beijing (China); Beijing Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Research Institute, Beijing 100024 (China); Sun, Mei; Shan, Fei-Hu; Wang, Xi-Chang [Science and Technology on Power Beam Processes Laboratory, Beijing (China); Beijing Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Research Institute, Beijing 100024 (China); Jiang, Shuai [Science and Technology on Power Beam Processes Laboratory, Beijing (China); Beijing Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Research Institute, Beijing 100024 (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580 (China)

2013-11-01

A nano/amorphous-composite film was fabricated by laser cladding (LC) of the Co–Ti–B{sub 4}C–Sb mixed powders on a TA15 alloy. Such film mainly consisted of Ti–Al, Co–Ti, Co–Sb intermetallics, TiC, TiB{sub 2}, TiB, and the amorphous phases. Experimental results indicated that the crystal systems of TiB{sub 2} (hexagonal)/TiC (cubic) and Sb (rhombohedral) played important role on the formation of such film. Due to the mismatch of these crystals systems and mutual immiscibility of the metallic components, Sb was not incorporated in TiB{sub 2}/TiC, but formed separate nuclei during the film growth. Thus, the growth of TiB{sub 2}/TiC was stopped by the Sb nucleus in such LC molten pool, so as to form the nanoscale particles.

Amorphization kinetics of Zr3Fe under electron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Motta, A.T.; Howe, L.M.; Okamoto, P.R.

1994-11-01

Previous investigations using 40 Ar ion bombardments have revealed that Zr 3 Fe, which has an orthorhombic crystal structure, undergoes an irradiation-induced transformation from the crystalline to the amorphous state. In the present investigation, 0.9 MeV electron irradiations were performed at 28 - 220 K in a high-voltage electron microscope (HVEM). By measuring the onset, spread and final size of the amorphous region, factoring in the Gaussian distribution of the beam, a kinetic description of the amorphization in terms of dose, dose rate and temperature was obtained. The critical temperature for amorphization by electron irradiation was found to be ∼ 220 K, compared with 570 - 625 K for 40 Ar ion irradiation. Also, the dose-to-amorphization increased exponentially with temperature. Results indicated that the rate of growth of the amorphous region under the electron beam decreased with increasing temperature and the dose-to-amorphization decreased with increasing dose rate. The size of the amorphous region saturated after a given dose, the final size decreasing with increasing temperature, and it is argued that this is related to the existence of a critical dose rate, which increases with temperature, and below which no amorphization occurs. (author). 26 refs., 6 figs

Innovation in crystal growth: A personal perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Mullin, J. B.

2008-04-01

The evolution of crystal growth has been crucially dependent on revolutionary innovations and initiatives involving ideas, technology and communication. A personal perspective is presented on some of these aspects in connection with the early history of semiconductors that have helped evolve our knowledge and advance the science and technology of crystal growth. The presentation considers examples from work on germanium, silicon, indium antimonide, gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium phosphide and mercury cadmium telluride. In connection with metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE), the influence of adduct purification for alkyls is noted together with the growth of Hg xCd 1-xTe. The role of crystal growth organisations together with initiatives in the publication of the Journal of Crystal Growth (JCG) and the pivotal role of the International Organisation of Crystal Growth (IOCG) are also highlighted in the quest for scientific excellence.

Protein-crystal growth experiment (planned)

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, S.; Asano, K.; Hashitani, T.; Kitakohji, T.; Nemoto, H.; Kitamura, S.

1988-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a microgravity environment on protein crystal growth, a system was developed using 5 cubic feet Get Away Special payload canister. In the experiment, protein (myoglobin) will be simultaneously crystallized from an aqueous solution in 16 crystallization units using three types of crystallization methods, i.e., batch, vapor diffusion, and free interface diffusion. Each unit has two compartments: one for the protein solution and the other for the ammonium sulfate solution. Compartments are separated by thick acrylic or thin stainless steel plates. Crystallization will be started by sliding out the plates, then will be periodically recorded up to 120 hours by a still camera. The temperature will be passively controlled by a phase transition thermal storage component and recorded in IC memory throughout the experiment. Microgravity environment can then be evaluated for protein crystal growth by comparing crystallization in space with that on Earth.

Hydrothermal Growth of Polyscale Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Byrappa, Kullaiah

In this chapter, the importance of the hydrothermal technique for growth of polyscale crystals is discussed with reference to its efficiency in synthesizing high-quality crystals of various sizes for modern technological applications. The historical development of the hydrothermal technique is briefly discussed, to show its evolution over time. Also some of the important types of apparatus used in routine hydrothermal research, including the continuous production of nanosize crystals, are discussed. The latest trends in the hydrothermal growth of crystals, such as thermodynamic modeling and understanding of the solution chemistry, are elucidated with appropriate examples. The growth of some selected bulk, fine, and nanosized crystals of current technological significance, such as quartz, aluminum and gallium berlinites, calcite, gemstones, rare-earth vanadates, electroceramic titanates, and carbon polymorphs, is discussed in detail. Future trends in the hydrothermal technique, required to meet the challenges of fast-growing demand for materials in various technological fields, are described. At the end of this chapter, an Appendix 18.A containing a more or less complete list of the characteristic families of crystals synthesized by the hydrothermal technique is given with the solvent and pressure-temperature (PT) conditions used in their synthesis.

Connection between the growth rate distribution and the size dependent crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrović, M. M.; Žekić, A. A.; IIić, Z. Z.

2002-07-01

The results of investigations of the connection between the growth rate dispersions and the size dependent crystal growth of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), Rochelle salt (RS) and sodium chlorate (SC) are presented. A possible way out of the existing confusion in the size dependent crystal growth investigations is suggested. It is shown that the size independent growth exists if the crystals belonging to one growth rate distribution maximum are considered separately. The investigations suggest possible reason for the observed distribution maxima widths, and the high data scattering on the growth rate versus the crystal size dependence.

Crystallization behavior of Zr62Al8Ni13Cu17 Metallic Glass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jo Mi Sun

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The crystallization behavior has been studied in Zr62Al8Ni13Cu17 metallic glass alloy. The Zr62Al8Ni13Cu17 metallic glass crystallized through two steps. The fcc Zr2Ni phase transformed from the amorphous matrix during first crystallization and then the Zr2Ni and residual amorphous matrix transformed into a mixture of tetragonal Zr2Cu and hexagonal Zr6Al2Ni phases. Johnson-Mehl-Avrami analysis of isothermal transformation data suggested that the formation of crystalline phase is primary crystallization by diffusion-controlled growth.

Effects of crystallization on structural and dielectric properties of thin amorphous films of (1 - x)BaTiO3-xSrTiO3 (x=0-0.5, 1.0)

Science.gov (United States)

Kawano, H.; Morii, K.; Nakayama, Y.

1993-05-01

The possibilities for fabricating solid solutions of (Ba1-x,Srx)TiO3 (x≤0.5,1.0) by crystallization of amorphous films and for improving their dielectric properties by adjusting the Sr content were investigated. Thin amorphous films were prepared from powder targets consisting of mixtures of BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 by sputtering with a neutralized Ar-ion beam. The amorphous films crystallized into (Ba1-x, Srx)TiO3 solid solutions with a cubic perovskite-type structure after annealing in air at 923 K for more than 1 h. The Debye-type dielectric relaxation was observed for the amorphous films, whereas the crystallized films showed paraelectric behavior. The relative dielectric constants were of the order of 20 for the amorphous samples, but increased greatly after crystallization to about 60-200, depending on the composition; a larger increase in the dielectric constant was observed in the higher Sr content films, in the range x≤0.5, which could be correlated with an increase in the grain size of the crystallites. The crystallization processes responsible for the difference in the grain size are discussed based on the microstructural observations.

Beginner’s guide to flux crystal growth

CERN Document Server

Tachibana, Makoto

2017-01-01

This book introduces the principles and techniques of crystal growth by the flux method, which is arguably the most useful way to obtain millimeter- to centimeter-sized single crystals for physical research. As it is possible to find an appropriate solvent (“flux”) for nearly all inorganic materials, the flux method can be applied to the growth of many crystals ranging from transition metal oxides to intermetallic compounds. Both important principles and experimental procedures are described in a clear and accessible manner. Practical advice on various aspects of the experiment, which is not readily available in the literature, will assist the beginning graduate students in setting up the lab and conducting successful crystal growth. The mechanisms of crystal growth at an elementary level are also provided to better understand the techniques and to help in assessing the quality of the crystals. The book also contains many photographs of beautiful crystals with important physical properties of current inte...

Characterization of crystallization kinetics of a Ni- (Cr, Fe, Si, B, C, P) based amorphous brazing alloy by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raju, S.; Kumar, N.S. Arun; Jeyaganesh, B.; Mohandas, E.; Mudali, U. Kamachi

2007-01-01

The thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of a Ni- (Cr, Si, Fe, B, C, P) based amorphous brazing foil have been investigated by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry. The glass transition temperature T g , is found to be 720 ± 2 K. The amorphous alloy showed three distinct, yet considerably overlapping crystallization transformations with peak crystallization temperatures centered around 739, 778 and 853 ± 2 K, respectively. The solidus and liquidus temperatures are estimated to be 1250 and 1300 ± 2 K, respectively. The apparent activation energies for the three crystallization reactions have been determined using model free isoconversional methods. The typical values for the three crystallization reactions are: 334, 433 and 468 kJ mol -1 , respectively. The X-ray diffraction of the crystallized foil revealed the presence of following compounds Ni 3 B (Ni 4 B 3 ), CrB, B 2 Fe 15 Si 3 , CrSi 2 , and Ni 4.5 Si 2 B

Resistivity changes of some amorphous alloys undergoing nanocrystallization

Science.gov (United States)

Barandiarán, J. M.; Fernández Barquín, L.; Sal, J. C. Gómez; Gorría, P.; Hernando, A.

1993-10-01

The electrical resistivity of amorphous alloys with compositions: Fe 73.5Nb 3Cu 1Si 13.5B 9, Fe 86Zr 7Cu 1B 6 and Co 80Nb 8B 12 has been studied in the temperature range from 300 to 1100 K, where crystallization occurs. The products of crystallization and the grain size have been studied by X-ray diffraction. In a first step, all the alloys crystallize with small grains of a few nanometers in diameter (nanocrystalline state), and the resistivity behavior at this process accounts for the difference between the amorphous and nanocrystalline phases. The nanocrystalline phases are: α-Fe-Si, α-Fe and fcc Co for the three compounds studied respectively. A second process, at which grain growth and precipitation of intermetallic compounds and borides takes place, has been found for all the alloys. The resistivity is sensitive, not only to the total transformed sample amount, but to the topological distribution of the crystalline phases, and therefore shows a more complex behavior than other well established techniques, as differential scanning calorimetry. This supplementary information given by the resistivity is also discussed.

DKDP crystal growth controlled by cooling rate

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Xiaoyi; Qi, Hongji; Shao, Jianda

2017-08-01

The performance of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystal directly affects beam quality, energy and conversion efficiency in the Inertial Confinement Fusion（ICF）facility, which is related with the initial saturation temperature of solution and the real-time supersaturation during the crystal growth. However, traditional method to measure the saturation temperature is neither efficient nor accurate enough. Besides, the supersaturation is often controlled by experience, which yields the higher error and leads to the instability during the crystal growth. In this paper, DKDP solution with 78% deuteration concentration is crystallized in different temperatures. We study the relation between solubility and temperature of DKDP and fit a theoretical curve with a parabola model. With the model, the measurement of saturation temperature is simplified and the control precision of the cooling rate is improved during the crystal growth, which is beneficial for optimizing the crystal growth process.

Advances in the understanding of crystal growth mechanisms

CERN Document Server

Nishinaga, T; Harada, J; Sasaki, A; Takei, H

1997-01-01

This book contains the results of a research project entitled Crystal Growth Mechanisms on an Atomic Scale, which was carried out for 3 years by some 72 reseachers. Until recently in Japan, only the technological aspects of crystal growth have been emphasized and attention was paid only to its importance in industry. However the scientific aspects also need to be considered so that the technology of crystal growth can be developed even further. This project therefore aimed at understanding crystal growth and the emphasis was on finding growth mechanisms on an atomic scale.

Dendritic growth forms of borax crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takoo, R.K.; Patel, B.R.; Joshi, M.S.

1983-01-01

A variety of dendritic forms of borax grown from solutions by the film formation method is given. The changing growth morphology is followed as a function of concentration and temperature. The initial, intermediate and final growth morphologies are described and discussed. Influence of evaporation rate and supersaturation on the mechanism of growth is assessed. It is suggested that under all crystallization conditions, borax crystals have dendritic form in the initial stages of growth. (author)

Crystal growth from low-temperature solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sangwal, K.

1994-01-01

The state of the art in crystal growth from solutions at low-temperatures has been done. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters have been discussed in respect to different systems. The methods of crystal growth from water and organic solutions and different variants of their technical realizations have been reviewed. Also the growth by chemical reactions and gel growth have been described. The large number of examples have been shown. 21 refs, 30 figs, 3 tabs

High strength nanostructured Al-based alloys through optimized processing of rapidly quenched amorphous precursors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Song-Yi; Lee, Gwang-Yeob; Park, Gyu-Hyeon; Kim, Hyeon-Ah; Lee, A-Young; Scudino, Sergio; Prashanth, Konda Gokuldoss; Kim, Do-Hyang; Eckert, Jürgen; Lee, Min-Ha

2018-01-18

We report the methods increasing both strength and ductility of aluminum alloys transformed from amorphous precursor. The mechanical properties of bulk samples produced by spark-plasma sintering (SPS) of amorphous Al-Ni-Co-Dy powders at temperatures above 673 K are significantly enhanced by in-situ crystallization of nano-scale intermetallic compounds during the SPS process. The spark plasma sintered Al 84 Ni 7 Co 3 Dy 6 bulk specimens exhibit 1433 MPa compressive yield strength and 1773 MPa maximum strength together with 5.6% plastic strain, respectively. The addition of Dy enhances the thermal stability of primary fcc Al in the amorphous Al-TM -RE alloy. The precipitation of intermetallic phases by crystallization of the remaining amorphous matrix plays important role to restrict the growth of the fcc Al phase and contributes to the improvement of the mechanical properties. Such fully crystalline nano- or ultrafine-scale Al-Ni-Co-Dy systems are considered promising for industrial application because their superior mechanical properties in terms of a combination of very high room temperature strength combined with good ductility.

Evidence of eutectic crystallization and transient nucleation in Al89La6Ni5 amorphous alloy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhuang, Yanxin; Jiang, Jianzhong; Lin, Z. G.

2001-01-01

The phase evolution with the temperature and time in the process of crystallization of Al89La6Ni5 amorphous alloy has been investigated by in situ high-temperature and high-pressure x-ray powder diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Two crystalline phases, fcc-Al and a metastable bcc-(AlNi)(11...

Measurements of Protein Crystal Face Growth Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Gorti, S.

2014-01-01

Protein crystal growth rates will be determined for several hyperthermophile proteins.; The growth rates will be assessed using available theoretical models, including kinetic roughening.; If/when kinetic roughening supersaturations are established, determinations of protein crystal quality over a range of supersaturations will also be assessed.; The results of our ground based effort may well address the existence of a correlation between fundamental growth mechanisms and protein crystal quality.

Patterned solid state growth of barium titanate crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Ugorek, Michael Stephen

An understanding of microstructure evolution in ceramic materials, including single crystal development and abnormal/enhanced grain growth should enable more controlled final ceramic element structures. In this study, two different approaches were used to control single crystal development in a patterned array. These two methods are: (1) patterned solid state growth in BaTiO 3 ceramics, and (2) metal-mediated single crystal growth in BaTiO 3. With the patterned solid state growth technique, optical photolithography was used to pattern dopants as well as [001] and [110] BaTiO3 single crystal template arrays with a 1000 microm line pattern array with 1000 microm spacings. These patterns were subsequently used to control the matrix grain growth evolution and single crystal development in BaTiO3. It was shown that the growth kinetics can be controlled by a small initial grain size, atmosphere conditions, and the introduction of a dopant at selective areas/interfaces. By using a PO2 of 1x10-5 atm during high temperature heat treatment, the matrix coarsening has been limited (to roughly 2 times the initial grain size), while retaining single crystal boundary motion up to 0.5 mm during growth for dwell times up to 9 h at 1300°C. The longitudinal and lateral growth rates were optimized at 10--15 microm/h at 1300°C in a PO2 of 1x10 -5 atm for single crystal growth with limited matrix coarsening. Using these conditions, a patterned microstructure in BaTiO3 was obtained. With the metal-mediated single crystal growth technique, a novel approach for fabricating 2-2 single crystal/polymer composites with a kerf texture development were studied using both [001] and [110] BaTiO3 single crystals templates. By using a PO 2 of 1x10-11 atm during high temperature heat treatment, matrix coarsening was limited while enabling single crystal boundary motion up to 0.35 mm during growth between 1250°C and 1300°C with growth rates ˜ 3--4 microm/h for both single crystal orientations. By

CRYSTALLIZATION EXPERIMENTS ON AMORPHOUS MAGNESIUM SILICATE. II. EFFECT OF STACKING FAULTS ON INFRARED SPECTRA OF ENSTATITE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, K.; Chihara, H.; Koike, C.; Takakura, T.; Imai, Y.; Tsuchiyama, A.; Noguchi, T.

2009-01-01

We carried out experiments of low-temperature infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy of enstatite (MgSiO 3 ) synthesized by heating of amorphous magnesium silicate. There is a discrepancy between the infrared feature of enstatite obtained in this experiment and that of fine powdered single crystals. This reflects stacking disorder of enstatite. We show that circumstellar dust emission of enstatite is similar to the infrared feature measured in this experiment. This result strongly suggests that circumstellar enstatite has abundant stacking faults and is different from the single crystal.

Comparison of optical transients during the picosecond laser pulse-induced crystallization of GeSbTe and AgInSbTe phase-change thin films: Nucleation-driven versus growth-driven processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Guangfei [Key Laboratory of High Power Laser Materials, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Li, Simian [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technology, Department of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Huang, Huan [Key Laboratory of High Power Laser Materials, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Wang, Yang, E-mail: ywang@siom.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of High Power Laser Materials, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Lai, Tianshu, E-mail: stslts@mail.sysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technology, Department of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Wu, Yiqun [Key Laboratory of High Power Laser Materials, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China)

2013-09-01

Direct comparison of the real-time in-situ crystallization behavior of as-deposited amorphous Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} (GeSbTe) and Ag{sub 8}In{sub 14}Sb{sub 55}Te{sub 23} (AgInSbTe) phase-change thin films driven by picosecond laser pulses was performed by a time-resolved optical pump-probe technique with nanosecond resolution. Different optical transients showed various crystallization processes because of the dissimilar nucleation- and growth-dominated mechanisms of the two materials. The effects of laser pulse fluence, thermal conductive structure, and successive pulse irradiation on their crystallization dynamics were also discussed. A schematic was then established to describe the different crystallization processes beginning from the as-deposited amorphous state. The results may provide further insight into the phase-change mechanism under extra-non-equilibrium conditions and aid the development of ultrafast phase-change memory materials.

Effect of starting point formation on the crystallization of amorphous silicon films by flash lamp annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Daiki; Ohdaira, Keisuke

2018-04-01

We succeed in the crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films by flash lamp annealing (FLA) at a low fluence by intentionally creating starting points for the trigger of explosive crystallization (EC). We confirm that a partly thick a-Si part can induce the crystallization of a-Si films. A periodic wavy structure is observed on the surface of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) on and near the thick parts, which is a clear indication of the emergence of EC. Creating partly thick a-Si parts can thus be effective for the control of the starting point of crystallization by FLA and can realize the crystallization of a-Si with high reproducibility. We also compare the effects of creating thick parts at the center and along the edge of the substrates, and a thick part along the edge of the substrates leads to the initiation of crystallization at a lower fluence.

Method of fabricating patterned crystal structures

KAUST Repository

Yu, Liyang

2016-12-15

A method of manufacturing a patterned crystal structure for includes depositing an amorphous material. The amorphous material is modified such that a first portion of the amorphous thin-film layer has a first height/volume and a second portion of the amorphous thin-film layer has a second height/volume greater than the first portion. The amorphous material is annealed to induce crystallization, wherein crystallization is induced in the second portion first due to the greater height/volume of the second portion relative to the first portion to form patterned crystal structures.

Amorphization and recrystallization in MeV ion implanted InP crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong, F.; Nieh, C.W.; Jamieson, D.N.; Vreeland, T. Jr.; Tombrello, T.A.

1988-01-01

A comprehensive study of MeV- 15 N-ion-implanted InP by a variety of analytical techniques has revealed the physical processes involved in MeV ion implantation into III-V compound semiconductors as well as the influence of post-implantation annealing. It provides a coherent picture of implant distribution, structural transition, crystalline damage, and lattice strain in InP crystals induced by ion implantation and thermal annealing. The experimental results from the different measurements are summarized in this report. Mechanisms of amorphization by implantation and recrystallization through annealing in MeV-ion-implanted InP are proposed and discussed in light of the results obtained

On the growth of ammonium nitrate(III) crystals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vogels, L.J.P.; Marsman, H.A.M.; Verheijen, M.A.; Bennema, P.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

The growth rate of NH4NO3 phase III crystals is measured and interpreted using two models. The first is a standard crystal growth model based on a spiral growth mechanism, the second outlines the concept of kinetical roughening. As the crystal becomes rough a critical supersaturation can be

On the reproducibility of heterogeneous nucleation in amorphous Al{sub 85}Ni{sub 10}Ce{sub 5} alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, P. [Oxford Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Materials; Greer, A.L. [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom)

1997-06-15

Amorphous aluminium alloys can be successfully used as a matrix in which to study heterogeneous nucleation of {alpha}-Al on embedded conventional grain-refiner particles. The nucleation potency of a particle can be estimated from the extent of Al crystal growth on the particle during the glass-forming quench. The extent of growth is, of course, also dependent on the exact quenching conditions. However, the devitrification behaviour of the amorphous matrix can be used as an indicator of the quenching conditions, thereby permitting a comparative study of the nucleation potency. (orig.)

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of growth of Ge quantum dot multilayers with amorphous matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Endres, Jan, E-mail: endres.jan@gmail.com; Holý, Václav; Daniš, Stanislav [Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (Czech Republic); Buljan, Maja [Ruđer Bošković Institute (Croatia)

2017-04-15

Kinetic Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the growth of germanium quantum dot multilayers with amorphous matrix. We modified a model for self-assembled growth of quantum dots in crystalline matrix for the case of the amorphous one. The surface morphology given as hills above the buried dots is the main driving force for the ordering of the quantum dots. In the simulations, we observed a short-range self-ordering in the lateral direction. The ordering in lateral and vertical direction depends strongly on the surface morphology, mostly on the strength how the deposited material replicates previous surfaces.

Amorphization and crystallization of Zr{sub 66.7-x}Cu{sub 33.3}Nb{sub x} (x = 0, 2, 4) alloys during mechanical alloying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Yan [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, 73 Jingshi Road, Jinan 250061 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 106 Jiwei Road, Jinan 250022 (China); Chen Xiuxiu [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 106 Jiwei Road, Jinan 250022 (China); Geng Haoran [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 106 Jiwei Road, Jinan 250022 (China)], E-mail: mse_wangy@ujn.edu.cn; Yang Zhongxi [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong University, 73 Jingshi Road, Jinan 250061 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 106 Jiwei Road, Jinan 250022 (China)

2009-04-17

In the present paper, the effect of Nb and different rotation speeds on the amorphization and crystallization of Zr{sub 66.7-x}Cu{sub 33.3}Nb{sub x} (x = 0, 2, 4) alloys during mechanical alloying has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the minor addition of Nb can shorten the start time of the amorphization reaction, improve the glass forming ability of Zr-Cu alloys, but cannot promote the formation of a single amorphous phase at a lower rotation speed of 200 rpm. The glass forming ability of the Zr{sub 66.7-x}Cu{sub 33.3}Nb{sub x} (x = 0, 2, 4) alloys increases with increasing Nb additions. At a higher rotation speed of 350 rpm, a single amorphous phase of Zr{sub 66.7-x}Cu{sub 33.3}Nb{sub x} (x = 0, 2, 4) can be successfully fabricated. Moreover, the Nb addition into Zr-Cu alloys can accelerate the amorphization process and improve the stability of the amorphous phase against the mechanically induced crystallization. Furthermore, the amorphous Zr{sub 66.7}Cu{sub 33.3} phase gradually transforms into a metastable fcc-Zr{sub 2}Cu phase with increasing milling time.

Crystallization kinetics of the Cu50Zr50 metallic glass under isothermal conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Qian; Jian, Zengyun; Xu, Junfeng; Zhu, Man; Chang, Fange; Han, Amin

2016-01-01

Amorphous structure of the melt-spun Cu 50 Zr 50 amorphous alloy ribbons were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Isothermal crystallization kinetics of these alloy ribbons were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Besides, Arrhenius and Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) equations were utilized to obtain the isothermal crystallization kinetic parameters. As shown in the results, the local activation energy E α decreases by a large margin at the crystallized volume fraction α<0.1, which proves that crystallization process is increasingly easy. In addition, the local activation energy E α is basically constant at 0.1<α<0.9. Therefore, it turns out that the unchanged barrier is overcome in the crystallization process. Finally, E α rapidly decreases at 0.9<α<1, implying that crystallization becomes easier and easier to proceed. Nucleation activation energy E nucleation is greater than growth activation energy E growth , so nucleation is harder than growth in isothermal process. In terms of the local Avrami exponent n(α), it ranges 1.1–7.4, revealing that isothermal crystallization mechanism is interface-controlled one- two- or three-dimensional growth with different nucleation rates. - Graphical abstract: The local Avrami exponent n(α), it ranges 1.1–7.4, revealing that isothermal crystallization mechanism is interface-controlled one- two- or three-dimensional growth with different nucleation rates. - Highlights: • Isothermal crystallization kinetics of Cu 50 Zr 50 metallic glass was investigated. • The relationship between the local activation energy E α and the crystallized volume fraction α were determined. • The nucleation activation energy E nucleation and grain growth activation energy E growth were obtained. • The local Avrami exponent n(α) was calculated in isothermal model.

Amorphous inclusions during Ge and GeSn epitaxial growth via chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gencarelli, F., E-mail: federica.gencarelli@imec.be [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Dept. of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Shimura, Y. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Nuclear and Radiation Physics Section, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Kumar, A. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Nuclear and Radiation Physics Section, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Vincent, B.; Moussa, A.; Vanhaeren, D.; Richard, O.; Bender, H. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Vandervorst, W. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Nuclear and Radiation Physics Section, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Caymax, M.; Loo, R. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Heyns, M. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Dept. of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2015-09-01

In this work, we discuss the characteristics of particular island-type features with an amorphous core that are developed during the low temperature epitaxial growth of Ge and GeSn layers by means of chemical vapor deposition with Ge{sub 2}H{sub 6}. Although further investigations are needed to unambiguously identify the origin of these features, we suggest that they are originated by the formation of clusters of H and/or contaminants atoms during growth. These would initially cause the formation of pits with crystalline rough facets over them, resulting in ring-shaped islands. Then, when an excess surface energy is overcome, an amorphous phase would nucleate inside the pits and fill them. Reducing the pressure and/or increasing the growth temperature can be effective ways to prevent the formation of these features, likely due to a reduction of the surface passivation from H and/or contaminant atoms. - Highlights: • Island features with amorphous cores develop during low T Ge(Sn) CVD with Ge{sub 2}H{sub 6.} • These features are thoroughly characterized in order to understand their origin. • A model is proposed to describe the possible evolution of these features. • Lower pressures and/or higher temperatures avoid the formation of these features.

Neutron irradiation induced amorphization of silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, L.L.; Hay, J.C.

1998-01-01

This paper provides the first known observation of silicon carbide fully amorphized under neutron irradiation. Both high purity single crystal hcp and high purity, highly faulted (cubic) chemically vapor deposited (CVD) SiC were irradiated at approximately 60 C to a total fast neutron fluence of 2.6 x 10 25 n/m 2 . Amorphization was seen in both materials, as evidenced by TEM, electron diffraction, and x-ray diffraction techniques. Physical properties for the amorphized single crystal material are reported including large changes in density (-10.8%), elastic modulus as measured using a nanoindentation technique (-45%), hardness as measured by nanoindentation (-45%), and standard Vickers hardness (-24%). Similar property changes are observed for the critical temperature for amorphization at this neutron dose and flux, above which amorphization is not possible, is estimated to be greater than 130 C

Controlled growth of filamentary crystals and fabrication of single-crystal whisker probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Givargizov, E. I.

2006-01-01

The growth of filamentary crystals (whiskers) on a single-crystal substrate through the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism is described. The possibility of fabricating oriented systems of whiskers on the basis of this mechanism of crystal growth is noted. A phenomenon that is important for nanotechnology is noted: the existence of a critical diameter of whiskers, below which they are not formed. The phenomenon of radial periodic instability, which is characteristic of nanowhiskers, is described and the ways of its elimination are shown. The possibility of transforming whiskers into single-crystal tips and the growth of crystalline diamond particles at their apices are noted as important for practice. Possible applications of systems of whiskers and tips are described briefly. Particular attention is paid to the latest direction in whisker technology-fabrication of single-crystal whisker probes for atomic force microscopy

Crystallization behavior of nanocomposites based on poly(L-lactide) and layered double hydroxides - Unbiased determination of the rigid amorphous phases due to the crystals and the nanofiller

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenhals, Andreas; Leng, Jing; Wurm, Andreas; Schick, Christoph

Semicrystalline polymers have to be described by a three phase model consisting of a mobile amorphous (MAF), a crystalline (CF), and a rigid amorphous fraction (RAF). For nanocomposites based on a semicrystalline polymer the RAF is due to both the crystallites (RAFcrystal) and the filler (RAFfiller) . In most cases a separation of both contributions is not possible without further assumptions. Here polymer nanocomposite based on poly(L-lactide) and layered double hydroxide nanofiller were prepared. Due to the low crystallization rate of PLA its crystallization can be suppressed by a high enough cooling rate, and the RAF is due only to the nanofiller. The MAF, CF, and RAF were estimated by Temperature Modulated DSC. For the first time CF, MAF, RAFcrystal, and RAFfiller could be estimated without any assumption. Two different systems with a different degree of exfoliation were prepared and discussed in detail.

Pressure-induced preferential growth of nanocrystals in amorphous Nd{sub 9}Fe{sub 85}B{sub 6}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Wei; Li Wei; Sun Hongyu; Li Hui; Zhang Xiangyi [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, 066004 Qinhuangdao (China); Li Xiaohong; Liu Baoting [College of Physics Science and Technology, Hebei University, 071002 Baoding (China)], E-mail: xyzh66@ysu.edu.cn

2008-07-16

Control over the growth and crystallographic orientation of nanocrystals in amorphous alloys is of particular importance for the development of advanced nanocrystalline materials. In the present study, Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B nanocrystals with a strong crystallographic texture along the [410] direction have been produced in Nd-lean amorphous Nd{sub 9}Fe{sub 85}B{sub 6} under a high pressure of 6 GPa at 923 K. This is attributed to the high pressure inducing the preferential growth of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B nanocrystals in the alloy. The present study demonstrates the potential application of high-pressure technology in controlling nanocrystalline orientation in amorphous alloys.

Irradiation-related amorphization and crystallization: In situ transmission electron microscope studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, C.W.

1994-01-01

Interfacing an ion accelerator to a transmission electron microscope (TEM) allows the analytical functions of TEM imaging and diffraction to be employed during ion-irradiation effects studies. At present there are twelve such installations in Japan, one in France and one in the US. This paper treats several aspects of in situ studies involving electron and ion beam induced and enhanced phase transformations and presents results of several in situ experiments to illustrate the dynamics of this approach in the materials science of irradiation effects. The paper describes the ion- and electron-induced amorphization of CuTi; the ion-irradiation-enhanced transformation of TiCr 2 ; and the ion- and electron-irradiation-enhanced crystallization of CoSi 2

Method of Promoting Single Crystal Growth During Melt Growth of Semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Ching-Hua (Inventor)

2013-01-01

The method of the invention promotes single crystal growth during fabrication of melt growth semiconductors. A growth ampoule and its tip have a semiconductor source material placed therein. The growth ampoule is placed in a first thermal environment that raises the temperature of the semiconductor source material to its liquidus temperature. The growth ampoule is then transitioned to a second thermal environment that causes the semiconductor source material in the growth ampoule's tip to attain a temperature that is below the semiconductor source material's solidus temperature. The growth ampoule so-transitioned is then mechanically perturbed to induce single crystal growth at the growth ampoule's tip.

Iron sulfide crystal growth: a literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewar, E.J.

1977-04-01

Iron pyrite (FeS 2 ) is often found on trays and in heat exchangers in Girdler-Sulfide (G.S.) plants used to extract D 2 O from fresh water. A critical review of the literature was made to find: (i) what is known about FeS 2 crystal growth; (ii) which techniques could be used to study FeS 2 crystal growth experimentally; (iii) potential chemical additives that could be used in trace amounts to poison FeS 2 crystals and reduce their growth rate in G.S. plants. (author)

Porosity and mechanical properties of amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Betekhtin, V.I.; Kadomtsev, A.G.; Amosova, O.V.

2003-01-01

The obtained experimental data on the effect of the inherent submicroporosity and its change under impact of high hydrostatic pressure or annealing on the strength, microdestruction, embrittlement temperature, the first crystallization stage and peculiarities of the surface crystallization of the amorphous alloys are analyzed. The conclusion is made on the basis of the studies on the peculiarities of the voluminous and surface crystallization of the Fe 56 Co 24 Si 5 B 15 , Fe 78 Ni 2 Si 8 B 12 , Fe 85 B 15 , Fe 58 Ni 20 Si 9 B 13 amorphous alloys that the increase in the inherent submicroporosity is one of the essential factors facilitating crystallization [ru

Crystal growth and computational materials science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayakumar, S.; Ravindran, P.; Arun Kumar, R.; Sudarshan, C.

2012-01-01

The proceedings of the international conference on advanced materials discusses the advances being made in the area of single crystals, their preparation and device development from these crystals and details of the progress that is taking place in the computational field relating to materials science. Computational materials science makes use of advanced simulation tools and computer interfaces to develop a virtual platform which can provide a model for real-time experiments. This book includes selected papers in topics of crystal growth and computational materials science. We are confident that the new concepts and results presented will stimulate and enhance progress of research on crystal growth and computational materials science. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Effects of growth conditions on thermal profiles during Czochralski silicon crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Choe, Kwang Su; Stefani, Jerry A.; Dettling, Theodore B.; Tien, John K.; Wallace, John P.

1991-01-01

An eddy current testing method was used to continuously monitor crystal growth process and investigate the effects of growth conditions on thermal profiles during Czochralski silicon crystal growth. The experimental concept was to monitor the intrinsic electrical conductivities of the growing crystal and deduce temperature values from them. In terms of the experiments, the effects of changes in growth parameters, which include the crystal and crucible rotation rates, crucible position, and pull rate, and hot-zone geometries were investigated. The results show that the crystal thermal profile could shift significantly as a function of crystal length if the closed-loop control fails to maintain a constant thermal condition. As a direct evidence to the effects of the melt flow on heat transfer processes, a thermal gradient minimum was observed when the crystal/crucible rotation combination was 20/-10 rpm cw. The thermal gradients in the crystal near the growth interface were reduced most by decreasing the pull rate or by reducing the radiant heat loss to the environment; a nearly constant axial thermal gradient was achieved when either the pull rate was decreased by half, the height of the exposed crucible wall was doubled, or a radiation shield was placed around the crystal. Under these conditions, the average axial thermal gradient along the surface of the crystal was about 4-5°C/mm. When compared to theoretical results found in literature, the axial profiles correlated well with the results of the models which included radiant interactions. However, the radial gradients estimated from three-frequency data were much higher than what were predicted by known theoretical models. This discrepancy seems to indicate that optical phenomenon within the crystal is significant and should be included in theoretical modeling.

Development and melt growth of novel scintillating halide crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshikawa, Akira; Yokota, Yuui; Shoji, Yasuhiro; Kral, Robert; Kamada, Kei; Kurosawa, Shunsuke; Ohashi, Yuji; Arakawa, Mototaka; Chani, Valery I.; Kochurikhin, Vladimir V.; Yamaji, Akihiro; Andrey, Medvedev; Nikl, Martin

2017-12-01

Melt growth of scintillating halide crystals is reviewed. The vertical Bridgman growth technique is still considered as very popular method that enables production of relatively large and commercially attractive crystals. On the other hand, the micro-pulling-down method is preferable when fabrication of small samples, sufficient for preliminary characterization of their optical and/or scintillation performance, is required. Moreover, bulk crystal growth is also available using the micro-pulling-down furnace. The examples of growths of various halide crystals by industrially friendly melt growth techniques including Czochralski and edge-defined film-fed growth methods are also discussed. Finally, traveling molten zone growth that in some degree corresponds to horizontal zone melting is briefly overviewed.

A crystallization study of amorphous Tex(Bi2Se3)1-x alloys with variation of the Se content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, Manish

2005-01-01

Alloys of the Te x (Bi 2 Se 3 ) 1-x glass system, obtained using rapid quenching technique, have been characterized by calorimetric measurements and differential thermal analysis for different heating rates in this work. A systematic investigation of crystallization kinetics is carried out for the composition range in which amorphous alloys exhibit a large glass-forming ability in Se-based systems, thermal stability including in the temperature range between the glass transition temperature, T g , and crystallization temperature, T c , and the effect of ΔT c (=T c - T g ) at different heating rates for the formation of an amorphous single phase is evaluated from thermal analytical data. The thermal stability of these glasses is found to provide good control for forming these glasses with ease. This analysis helps to find the suitability of an alloy for use in phase transition optical memories/switches

Czochralski growth of gallium indium antimonide alloy crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsaur, S.C.

1998-02-01

Attempts were made to grow alloy crystals of Ga{sub 1{minus}x}In{sub x}Sb by the conventional Czochralski process. A transparent furnace was used, with hydrogen purging through the chamber during crystal growth. Single crystal seeds up to about 2 to 5 mole% InSb were grown from seeds of 1 to 2 mole% InSb, which were grown from essentially pure GaSb seeds of the [111] direction. Single crystals were grown with InSb rising from about 2 to 6 mole% at the seed ends to about 14 to 23 mole% InSb at the finish ends. A floating-crucible technique that had been effective in reducing segregation in doped crystals, was used to reduce segregation in Czochralski growth of alloy crystals of Ga{sub 1{minus}x}In{sub x}Sb. Crystals close to the targeted composition of 1 mole% InSb were grown. However, difficulties were encountered in reaching higher targeted InSb concentrations. Crystals about 2 mole% were grown when 4 mole% was targeted. It was observed that mixing occurred between the melts rendering the compositions of the melts; and, hence, the resultant crystal unpredictable. The higher density of the growth melt than that of the replenishing melt could have triggered thermosolutal convection to cause such mixing. It was also observed that the floating crucible stuck to the outer crucible when the liquidus temperature of the replenishing melt was significantly higher than that of the growth melt. The homogeneous Ga{sub 1{minus}x}In{sub x}Sb single crystals were grown successfully by a pressure-differential technique. By separating a quartz tube into an upper chamber for crystal growth and a lower chamber for replenishing. The melts were connected by a capillary tube to suppress mixing between them. A constant pressure differential was maintained between the chambers to keep the growth melt up in the growth chamber. The method was first tested with a low temperature alloy Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x}. Single crystals of Ga{sub 1{minus}x}In{sub x}Sb were grown with uniform

Ion-beam-driven amorphization of Ca2La8(SiO4)6O2 single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, W.J.; Hess, N.J.; Wang, L.M.

1993-11-01

Single crystals of Ca 2 La 8 (SiO 4 ) 6 O 2 , with 1% Nd substituted for La, were irradiated with 0.8 MeV Ne + and 1.5 MeV Kr + ions from 15 to 773 K. The irradiations were carried out using the HVEM-Tandem Facility at Argonne National Laboratory. The structural changes and the ion fluence for complete amorphization were determined by in situ transmission electron microscopy. The ion fluence for complete amorphization increased with temperature in two stages associated with defect annealing processes. The critical temperature for amorphization increased from ∼360 K for 0.8 MeV Ne + to ∼710 K for 1.5 MeV Kr + . During in situ annealing studies, irradiation-enhanced recrystallization was observed at 923 K. Spatially-resolved fluorescence spectra of the Nd ion excited with 488.0 mn laser excitation showed marked line-broadening toward the center of the amorphous regions. Initial measurements indicate the subtle shifts of the 9 I 9/2 groundstate energy levels can be measured by pumping directly into the excited state 4 F 3/2 manifold suggesting that the line broadening observed originates from a distribution of geometrically distorted Nd sites

Method for solid state crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Nolas, George S.; Beekman, Matthew K.

2013-04-09

A novel method for high quality crystal growth of intermetallic clathrates is presented. The synthesis of high quality pure phase crystals has been complicated by the simultaneous formation of both clathrate type-I and clathrate type-II structures. It was found that selective, phase pure, single-crystal growth of type-I and type-II clathrates can be achieved by maintaining sufficient partial pressure of a chemical constituent during slow, controlled deprivation of the chemical constituent from the primary reactant. The chemical constituent is slowly removed from the primary reactant by the reaction of the chemical constituent vapor with a secondary reactant, spatially separated from the primary reactant, in a closed volume under uniaxial pressure and heat to form the single phase pure crystals.

Distortion of Local Atomic Structures in Amorphous Ge-Sb-Te Phase Change Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Hirata, A.; Ichitsubo, T.; Guan, P. F.; Fujita, T.; Chen, M. W.

2018-05-01

The local atomic structures of amorphous Ge-Sb-Te phase-change materials have yet to be clarified and the rapid crystal-amorphous phase change resulting in distinct optical contrast is not well understood. We report the direct observation of local atomic structures in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 using "local" reverse Monte Carlo modeling dedicated to an angstrom-beam electron diffraction analysis. The results corroborated the existence of local structures with rocksalt crystal-like topology that were greatly distorted compared to the crystal symmetry. This distortion resulted in the breaking of ideal octahedral atomic environments, thereby forming local disordered structures that basically satisfied the overall amorphous structure factor. The crystal-like distorted octahedral structures could be the main building blocks in the formation of the overall amorphous structure of Ge-Sb-Te.

Amorphous Cu-Ag films with high stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reda, I.M.; Hafner, J.; Pongratz, P.; Wagendristel, A.; Bangert, H.; Bhat, P.K.

1982-06-01

Films produced by quenching Cu-Ag vapour onto cooled substrates at liquid nitrogen temperature have been investigated using electron microscopy, electron diffraction and electrical resistivity measurements. In the composition range from 30 to 70 at% Cu the as quenched films are amorphous, and within the range of 35 to 63 at% Cu the amorphous phase is stable above room temperature with a maximum crystallization temperature Tsub(c)=381 K at 47.5 at% Cu. Crystallization results in the formation of a supersaturated fcc solid solution which decomposes in a second crystallization step. The effect of deposition rate, film thickness, temperature and surface of the substrate, and most importantly of the composition on the transition temperatures has been investigated. A comparative study of the formation of amorphous phases in a wide variety of Cu-based alloys is presented. (author)

Growth of the (001) face of borax crystals

OpenAIRE

Suharso, Suharso

2010-01-01

he growth rates of borax crystals from aqueous solutions in the (001) direction at various relative supersaturations were measured using in situ cell optical microscopy method. The result shows that the growth mechanism of the (001) face of borax crystal at temperature of 20 °C is spiral growth mechanism.   Keywords: Growth mechanism, borax.

Peculiarities of Vibration Characteristics of Amorphous Ices

Science.gov (United States)

Gets, Kirill V.; Subbotin, Oleg S.; Belosludov, Vladimir R.

2012-03-01

Dynamic properties of low (LDA), high (HDA) and very high (VHDA) density amorphous ices were investigated within the approach based on Lattice Dynamics simulations. In this approach, we assume that the short-range molecular order mainly determines the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of amorphous ices. Simulation cell of 512 water molecules with periodical boundary conditions and disordering allows us to study dynamical properties and dispersion curves in the Brillouin zone of pseudo-crystal. Existence of collective phenomena in amorphous ices which is usual for crystals but anomalous for disordered phase was confirmed in our simulations. Molecule amplitudes of delocalized (collective) as well as localized vibrations have been considered.

ZnTe Amorphous Semiconductor Nanowires Array Electrodeposited into Polycarbonate Membrane Thin Films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohgai, T; Ikeda, T; Ohta, J

2013-01-01

ZnTe amorphous semiconductor nanowires array was electrodeposited into the nanochannels of ion-track etched polycarbonate membrane thin films from acidic aqueous solution at 313 K. ZnTe electrodeposits with Zn-rich composition was obtained over the wide range of cathode potential from −0.8 V to −1.1 V and the growth rate of ZnTe amorphous nanowires was around 3 nm.sec −1 at the cathode potential of −0.8 V. Cylindrical shape of the nanowires was precisely transferred from the nanochannels and the aspect ratio reached up to ca. 40. ZnTe amorphous phase electrodeposited at 313 K was crystallized by annealing at 683 K and the band gap energy of ZnTe crystalline phase reached up to ca. 2.13 eV.

Enhanced Physical Stability of Amorphous Drug Formulations via Dry Polymer Coating.

Science.gov (United States)

Capece, Maxx; Davé, Rajesh

2015-06-01

Although amorphous solid drug formulations may be advantageous for enhancing the bioavailability of poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients, they exhibit poor physical stability and undergo recrystallization. To address this limitation, this study investigates stability issues associated with amorphous solids through analysis of the crystallization behavior for acetaminophen (APAP), known as a fast crystallizer, using a modified form of the Avrami equation that kinetically models both surface and bulk crystallization. It is found that surface-enhanced crystallization, occurring faster at the free surface than in the bulk, is the major impediment to the stability of amorphous APAP. It is hypothesized that a novel use of a dry-polymer-coating process referred to as mechanical-dry-polymer-coating may be used to inhibit surface crystallization and enhance stability. The proposed process, which is examined, simultaneously mills and coats amorphous solids with polymer, while avoiding solvents or solutions, which may otherwise cause stability or crystallization issues during coating. It is shown that solid dispersions of APAP (64% loading) with a small particle size (28 μm) could be prepared and coated with the polymer, carnauba wax, in a vibratory ball mill. The resulting amorphous solid was found to have excellent stability as a result of inhibition of surface crystallization. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Photographic appraisal of crystal lattice growth technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapoor D

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Concept of creating mechanical retention for bonding through crystal growth has been successfully achieved in the present study. By using polyacrylic acid, sulphated with sulphuric acid as etchant, abundant crystal growth was demonstrated. Keeping in view the obvious benefits of crystal growth technique, the present SEM study was aimed to observe and compare the changes brought about by different etching agents (phosphoric acid, polyacrylic acid and polyacrylic acid sulphated and to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages in an attempt to reduce iatrogenic trauma caused due to surface enamel alteration. Control and experimental groups were made of 24 and 30 premolars, respectively, for scanning electron microscopic appraisal of normal unetched and etched enamel surface and fracture site and finished surface evaluation. When compared with conventional phosphoric acid and weaker polyacrylic acid, investigations indicated that crystal growth treatment on enamel surface caused minimal iatrogenic trauma and surface alteration were restored to the original untreated condition to a large extent.

Study on the substrate-induced crystallisation of amorphous SiC-precursor ceramics. TIB/A; Untersuchungen zur substratinduzierten Kristallisation amorpher SiC-Precursorkeramiken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, C.

2000-12-01

In the present thesis the crystallization behaviour of amorphous silicon-carbon materials (SiC{sub x}) was studied. The main topic of the experimental studies formed thereby the epitactical crystallization of thin silicon carbide layers on monocrystalline substrates of silicon carbides or silicon. Furthermore by thermolysis of the polymer amorphous SiC{sub x}-powder was obtained.

Investigation of the milling-induced thermal behavior of crystalline and amorphous griseofulvin.

Science.gov (United States)

Trasi, Niraj S; Boerrigter, Stephan X M; Byrn, Stephen Robert

2010-07-01

To gain a better understanding of the physical state and the unusual thermal behavior of milled griseofulvin. Griseofulvin crystals and amorphous melt quench samples were milled in a vibrating ball mill for different times and then analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Modulated DSC (mDSC) and annealing studies were done for the milled amorphous samples to further probe the effects of milling. Milling of griseofulvin crystals results in decrease in crystallinity and amorphization of the compound. A double peak is seen for crystallization in the DSC, which is also seen for the milled melt quench sample. Both enthalpy and temperature of crystallization decrease for the milled melt quenched sample. Tg is visible under the first peak with the mDSC, and annealing shows that increasing milling time results in faster crystallization upon storage. Milling of griseofulvin results in the formation of an amorphous form and not a mesophase. It increases the amount of surface created and the overall energy of the amorphous griseofulvin, which leads to a decreased temperature of crystallization. The two exotherms in the DSC are due to some particles having nuclei on the surface.

High-density amorphous ice: nucleation of nanosized low-density amorphous ice

Science.gov (United States)

Tonauer, Christina M.; Seidl-Nigsch, Markus; Loerting, Thomas

2018-01-01

The pressure dependence of the crystallization temperature of different forms of expanded high-density amorphous ice (eHDA) was scrutinized. Crystallization at pressures 0.05-0.30 GPa was followed using volumetry and powder x-ray diffraction. eHDA samples were prepared via isothermal decompression of very high-density amorphous ice at 140 K to different end pressures between 0.07-0.30 GPa (eHDA0.07-0.3). At 0.05-0.17 GPa the crystallization line T x (p) of all eHDA variants is the same. At pressures  >0.17 GPa, all eHDA samples decompressed to pressures  <0.20 GPa exhibit significantly lower T x values than eHDA0.2 and eHDA0.3. We rationalize our findings with the presence of nanoscaled low-density amorphous ice (LDA) seeds that nucleate in eHDA when it is decompressed to pressures  <0.20 GPa at 140 K. Below ~0.17 GPa, these nanosized LDA domains are latent within the HDA matrix, exhibiting no effect on T x of eHDA<0.2. Upon heating at pressures  ⩾0.17 GPa, these nanosized LDA nuclei transform to ice IX nuclei. They are favored sites for crystallization and, hence, lower T x . By comparing crystallization experiments of bulk LDA with the ones involving nanosized LDA we are able to estimate the Laplace pressure and radius of ~0.3-0.8 nm for the nanodomains of LDA. The nucleation of LDA in eHDA revealed here is evidence for the first-order-like nature of the HDA  →  LDA transition, supporting water’s liquid-liquid transition scenarios.

Fiber Optic Excitation of Silicon Microspheres in Amorphous and Crystalline Fluids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yilmaz, H.; Murib, M.S.; Serpenguzel, A.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the optical resonance spectra of free-standing monolithic single crystal silicon microspheres immersed in various amorphous fluids, such as air, water, ethylene glycol, and 4-Cyano-4’-pentylbiphenyl nematic liquid crystal. For the various amorphous fluids,

Structural characterization of amorphous Fe-Si and its recrystallized layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, Muneyuki; Ishimaru, Manabu; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko; Valdez, James A.; Sickafus, Kurt E.

2006-01-01

We have synthesized amorphous Fe-Si thin layers and investigated their microstructure using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Si single crystals with (1 1 1) orientation were irradiated with 120 keV Fe + ions to a fluence of 4.0 x 10 17 cm -2 at cryogenic temperature (120 K), followed by thermal annealing at 1073 K for 2 h. A continuous amorphous layer with a bilayered structure was formed on the topmost layer of the Si substrate in the as-implanted specimen: the upper layer was an amorphous Fe-Si, while the lower one was an amorphous Si. After annealing, the amorphous bilayer crystallized into a continuous β-FeSi 2 thin layer

Role of thermodynamic, kinetic and structural factors in the recrystallization behavior of amorphous erythromycin salts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanakwani, Kapil; Modi, Sameer R.; Kumar, Lokesh; Bansal, Arvind K., E-mail: akbansal@niper.ac.in

2014-04-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Crystallization kinetics of amorphous erythromycin salts was assessed. • Contribution of thermodynamic, kinetic and structural factors was evaluated. • Role of counterions on physical stability of amorphous salts was investigated. • Implications of the study: In rationalizing stabilization approach for amorphous form. - Abstract: Amorphous form has become an important drug delivery strategy for poorly water soluble drugs. However, amorphous form has inherent physical instability due to its tendency to recrystallize to stable crystalline form. In the present study, amorphous forms of erythromycin free base (ED) and its salts namely, stearate (ES), phosphate (EP) and thiocyanate (ET) were generated by in situ melt quenching and evaluated for their crystallization tendency. Salts were characterized for kinetic, thermodynamic and structural factors to understand crystallization behavior. Kinetics of crystallization followed the order as ES > EP > ET > ED. Fragility and molecular mobility does not completely explain these findings. However, configurational entropy (S{sub conf}), indicative of entropic barrier to crystallization, followed the order as ET > EP > ES > ED. Lower crystallization tendency of ED can be explained by its lower thermodynamic driving force for crystallization (H{sub conf}). This correlated well with different structural parameters for the counter ions.

Crystal growth and physical properties of Ferro-pnictides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aswartham, Saicharan

2012-11-08

The thesis work presented here emphasizes important aspects of crystal growth and the influence of chemical substitution in Fe-As superconductors. High temperature solution growth technique is one of most powerful and widely used technique to grow single crystals of various materials. The biggest advantage of high temperature solution growth technique is the, possibility of growing single crystals from both congruently and incongruently melting materials. Solution growth technique has the potential to control high vapour pressures, given the fact that, in Fe-based superconductors elements with high vapour pressure like As, K, Li and Na have to be handled during the crystal growth procedure. In this scenario high temperature solution growth is the best suitable growth technique to synthesize sizable homogeneous single crystals. Using self-flux high temperature solution growth technique, large centimeter-sized high quality single crystals of BaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} were grown. This pristine compound BaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} undergoes structural and magnetic transition at T{sub S/N} = 137 K. By suppressing this magnetic transition and stabilizing tetragonal phase with chemical substitution, like Co-doping and Na-doping, bulk superconductivity is achieved. Superconducting transitions of as high as T{sub c} = 34 K with Na substitution and T{sub c} = 25 K with Co-doping were obtained. A combined electronic phase diagram has been achieved for both electron doping with Co and hole doping with Na in BaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2}. Single crystals of LiFe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}As with x = 0, 0.025, 0.05 and 0.075 were grown by a self-flux high temperature solution growth technique. The charge doping in LiFeAs is achieved with the Co-doping in Fe atoms. The superconducting properties investigated by means of temperature dependent magnetization and resistivity revealed that superconductivity is shifted to lower temperatures and with higher amount of charge carriers superconductivity is killed

Crystal growth and doping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paorici, C.

1980-01-01

Section 1 contains a self-consistent review of the basic growth features. After a short introduction concerning the driving force acting in a crystallization process, three main topics are broadly discussed: (i) interface kinetics; (ii) transport kinetics, and (iii) growth stability conditions. On point (i), after definition of the nature of interface, using Temkin's model, the growth mechanisms predicted by Burton, Cabrera and Frank (BCF) and bidimensional nucleation theories are fully developed. On points (ii) and (iii), the differential equations of the constitutional (concentration) and thermal fields are presented and discussed in terms of relevant approximations, suitable boundary conditions and limit values expected in order to have growth stability. Section 2 reports various experimental procedures for growing bulk crystals from the melt, from solutions and from the vapour phase. The basic concepts of Section 1 are amply employed for a critical discussion of possibilities, advantages and drawbacks of the methods described. Along the same lines, in Section 3 the principal epitaxial deposition procedures are highlighted. Section 4 contains a brief account of doping and of stoichiometry-defect control procedures. There is a long, carefully chosen list of bibliographical references. (author)

Amorphous drugs and dosage forms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grohganz, Holger; Löbmann, K.; Priemel, P.

2013-01-01

The transformation to an amorphous form is one of the most promising approaches to address the low solubility of drug compounds, the latter being an increasing challenge in the development of new drug candidates. However, amorphous forms are high energy solids and tend to recry stallize. New...... formulation principles are needed to ensure the stability of amorphous drug forms. The formation of solid dispersions is still the most investigated approach, but additional approaches are desirable to overcome the shortcomings of solid dispersions. Spatial separation by either coating or the use of micro-containers...... before single molecules are available for the formation of crystal nuclei, thus stabilizing the amorphous form....

Growth of Ga2O3 single crystal

OpenAIRE

龍見, 雅美; 小池, 裕之; 市木, 伸明; Tatsumi, Masami; Koike, Hiroyuki; Ichiki, Nobuaki

2010-01-01

Single crystals of β-Ga2O3 for substrates of GaN LED were grown by Floating Zone(FZ) method. The transparent single crystals of 5-6 mm in diameter were reproducibly obtained by applying necking procedure and the preferential growth direction was . Many cracks were induced along the cleavage plane of (100) in slicing process, which is related to thermal stress and the growth direction. However, this preliminary growth experiments suggested that β-Ga2O3 single crystal is promising as a substrat...

Effects of Humidity and Surfaces on the Melt Crystallization of Ibuprofen

OpenAIRE

Lee, Dong-Joo; Lee, Suyang; Kim, Il Won

2012-01-01

Melt crystallization of ibuprofen was studied to understand the effects of humidity and surfaces. The molecular self-assembly during the amorphous-to-crystal transformation was examined in terms of the nucleation and growth of the crystals. The crystallization was on Al, Au, and self-assembled monolayers with –CH₃, –OH, and –COOH functional groups. Effects of the humidity were studied at room temperature (18–20 °C) with relative humidity 33%, 75%, and 100%. Effects of t...

Growth and Characterization of Tetraphenylphosphonium Bromide Crystal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangqiang Wang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Multiple-phenyl phosphorous compounds are a group of chemical materials that have been used as reactants, pharmaceutical intermediates, extractants, and catalysts in organic synthetic reactions. However, the crystal growth of bulk crystals of multiple-phenyl phosphorous compounds, which may expand their applications in photonics technology, have been largely overlooked. In this article, the crystal growth of tetraphenylphosphonium bromide (TPPB has been studied in organic solvents and water. The crystal structures and crystallization features are analyzed by X-ray diffraction data. By a slow temperature-lowering method, a single-crystal of TPPB (2H2O with the size of 27 × 20 × 20 mm3 has been obtained in water. The basic thermal and optical properties were characterized. We find that the TPPB (2H2O crystal shows excellent transparent property in the near-IR region. Large Raman shifts and strong Raman scattering intensity indicate that TPPB is a potential candidate in Raman-scattering-based nonlinearity applications.

Tungsten oxide nanowires grown on amorphous-like tungsten films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dellasega, D; Pezzoli, A; Russo, V; Passoni, M; Pietralunga, S M; Nasi, L; Conti, C; Vahid, M J; Tagliaferri, A

2015-01-01

Tungsten oxide nanowires have been synthesized by vacuum annealing in the range 500–710 °C from amorphous-like tungsten films, deposited on a Si(100) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in the presence of a He background pressure. The oxygen required for the nanowires formation is already adsorbed in the W matrix before annealing, its amount depending on deposition parameters. Nanowire crystalline phase and stoichiometry depend on annealing temperature, ranging from W_1_8O_4_9-Magneli phase to monoclinic WO_3. Sufficiently long annealing induces the formation of micrometer-long nanowires, up to 3.6 μm with an aspect ratio up to 90. Oxide nanowire growth appears to be triggered by the crystallization of the underlying amorphous W film, promoting their synthesis at low temperatures. (paper)

Inhibition effects of protein-conjugated amorphous zinc sulfide nanoparticles on tumor cells growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Ying; Wang Huajie; Cao Cui; Sun Yuanyuan; Yang Lin; Wang Baoqing; Zhou Jianguo

2011-01-01

In this article, a facile and environmentally friendly method was applied to fabricate BSA-conjugated amorphous zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the matrix. Transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated that the stable and well-dispersed nanoparticles with the diameter of 15.9 ± 2.1 nm were successfully prepared. The energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrograph, high resolution transmission electron microscope, and selected area electron diffraction measurements showed that the obtained nanoparticles had the amorphous structure and the coordination occurred between zinc sulfide surfaces and BSA in the nanoparticles. In addition, the inhibition effects of BSA-conjugated amorphous zinc sulfide nanoparticles on tumor cells growth were described in detail by cell viability analysis, optical and electron microscopy methods. The results showed that BSA-conjugated amorphous zinc sulfide nanoparticles could inhibit the metabolism and proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and the inhibition was dose dependent. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.36 mg/mL. Overall, this study suggested that BSA-conjugated amorphous zinc sulfide nanoparticles had the application potential as cytostatic agents and BSA in the nanoparticles could provide the modifiable site for the nanoparticles to improve their bioactivity or to endow them with the target function.

Growth morphologies of crystal surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Rong-Fu; Alexander, J. Iwan D.; Rosenberger, Franz

1991-03-01

We have expanded our earlier Monte Carlo model [Phys. Rev. A 38, 2447 (1988); J. Crystal Growth 100, 313 (1990)] to three dimensions and included reevaporation after accommodation and growth on dislocation-induced steps. We found again that, for a given set of growth parameters, the critical size, beyond which a crystal cannot retain its macroscopically faceted shape, scales linearly with the mean free path in the vapor. However, the three-dimensional (3D) the systems show increased shape stability compared to corresponding 2D cases. Extrapolation of the model results to mean-free-path conditions used in morphological stability experiments leads to order-of-magnitude agreement of the predicted critical size with experimental findings. The stability region for macroscopically smooth (faceted) surfaces in the parameter space of temperature and supersaturation depends on both the surface and bulk diffusion. While surface diffusion is seen to smooth the growth morphology on the scale of the surface diffusion length, bulk diffusion is always destabilizing. The atomic surface roughness increases with increase in growth temperature and supersaturation. That is, the tendency of surface kinetics anisotropies to stabilize the growth shape is reduced through thermal and kinetic roughening. It is also found that the solid-on-solid assumption, which can be advantageously used at low temperatures and supersaturations, is insufficient to describe the growth dynamics of atomically rough interfaces where bulk diffusion governs the process. For surfaces with an emerging screw dislocation, we find that the spiral growth mechanism dominates at low temperatures and supersaturations. The polygonization of a growth spiral decreases with increasing temperature or supersaturation. When the mean free path in the nutrient is comparable to the lattice constant, the combined effect of bulk and surface diffusion reduces the terrace width of a growth spiral in its center region. At elevated

Effects of humidity and surfaces on the melt crystallization of ibuprofen.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dong-Joo; Lee, Suyang; Kim, Il Won

2012-01-01

Melt crystallization of ibuprofen was studied to understand the effects of humidity and surfaces. The molecular self-assembly during the amorphous-to-crystal transformation was examined in terms of the nucleation and growth of the crystals. The crystallization was on Al, Au, and self-assembled monolayers with -CH(3), -OH, and -COOH functional groups. Effects of the humidity were studied at room temperature (18-20 °C) with relative humidity 33%, 75%, and 100%. Effects of the surfaces were observed at -20 °C (relative humidity 36%) to enable close monitoring with slower crystal growth. The nucleation time of ibuprofen was faster at high humidity conditions probably due to the local formation of the unfavorable ibuprofen melt/water interface. The crystal morphologies of ibuprofen were governed by the nature of the surfaces, and they could be associated with the growth kinetics by the Avrami equation. The current study demonstrated the effective control of the melt crystallization of ibuprofen through the melt/atmosphere and melt/surface interfaces.

Achievement report for fiscal 1984 on Sunshine Program-entrusted research and development. Research and development of amorphous solar cells (Theoretical research on amorphous silicon electronic states by computer-aided simulation); 1984 nendo amorphous taiyo denchi no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Keisanki simulation ni yoru amorphous silicon no denshi jotai no rironteki kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1985-04-01

Research on the basic physical properties of amorphous silicon materials and for the development of materials for thermally stable amorphous silicon is conducted through theoretical reasoning and computer-aided simulation. In the effort at achieving a high conversion efficiency using an amorphous silicon alloy, a process of realizing desired photoabsorption becomes possible when the correlation between the atomic structure and the photoabsorption coefficient is clearly established and the atomic structure is manipulated. In this connection, analytical studies are conducted to determine how microscopic structures are reflected on macroscopic absorption coefficients. In the computer-aided simulation, various liquid structures and amorphous structures are worked out, which is for the atom-level characterization of structures with topological disturbances, such as amorphous structures. Glass transition is simulated using a molecular kinetic method, in particular, and the melting of crystals, crystallization of liquids, and vitrification (conversion into the amorphous state) are successfully realized, though in a computer-aided simulation, for the first time in the world. (NEDO)

Macromolecular Crystal Growth by Means of Microfluidics

Science.gov (United States)

vanderWoerd, Mark; Ferree, Darren; Spearing, Scott; Monaco, Lisa; Molho, Josh; Spaid, Michael; Brasseur, Mike; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We have performed a feasibility study in which we show that chip-based, microfluidic (LabChip(TM)) technology is suitable for protein crystal growth. This technology allows for accurate and reliable dispensing and mixing of very small volumes while minimizing bubble formation in the crystallization mixture. The amount of (protein) solution remaining after completion of an experiment is minimal, which makes this technique efficient and attractive for use with proteins, which are difficult or expensive to obtain. The nature of LabChip(TM) technology renders it highly amenable to automation. Protein crystals obtained in our initial feasibility studies were of excellent quality as determined by X-ray diffraction. Subsequent to the feasibility study, we designed and produced the first LabChip(TM) device specifically for protein crystallization in batch mode. It can reliably dispense and mix from a range of solution constituents into two independent growth wells. We are currently testing this design to prove its efficacy for protein crystallization optimization experiments. In the near future we will expand our design to incorporate up to 10 growth wells per LabChip(TM) device. Upon completion, additional crystallization techniques such as vapor diffusion and liquid-liquid diffusion will be accommodated. Macromolecular crystallization using microfluidic technology is envisioned as a fully automated system, which will use the 'tele-science' concept of remote operation and will be developed into a research facility for the International Space Station as well as on the ground.

Nano-crystal growth in cordierite glass ceramics studied with X-ray scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bras, Wim; Clark, Simon M.; Greaves, G. N.; Kunz, Martin; van Beek, W.; Radmilovic, V.

2009-01-16

The development of monodisperse crystalline particles in cordierite glass doped with Cr3+ after a two-step heat treatment is elucidated by a combination of time-resolved small and wide angle x-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) experiments with electron microscopy. The effects of bulk and surface crystallization can clearly be distinguished, and the crystallization kinetics of the bulk phase is characterized. The internal pressure due to structural differences between the crystalline and amorphous phase is measured but the physical cause of this pressure can not unambiguously be attributed. The combined measurements comprise a nearly full characterization of the crystallization processes and the resulting sample morphology.

A continuous Czochralski silicon crystal growth system

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C.; Zhang, H.; Wang, T. H.; Ciszek, T. F.

2003-03-01

Demand for large silicon wafers has driven the growth of silicon crystals from 200 to 300 mm in diameter. With the increasing silicon ingot sizes, melt volume has grown dramatically. Melt flow becomes more turbulent as melt height and volume increase. To suppress turbulent flow in a large silicon melt, a new Czochralski (CZ) growth furnace has been designed that has a shallow melt. In this new design, a crucible consists of a shallow growth compartment in the center and a deep feeding compartment around the periphery. Two compartments are connected with a narrow annular channel. A long crystal may be continuously grown by feeding silicon pellets into the dedicated feeding compartment. We use our numerical model to simulate temperature distribution and velocity field in a conventional 200-mm CZ crystal growth system and also in the new shallow crucible CZ system. By comparison, advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system are observed, operating conditions are determined, and the new system is improved.

Stability of an amorphous alloy of the Mm-Al-Ni-Cu system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Triveño Rios

2012-10-01

Full Text Available An investigation was made of the stability of melt-spun ribbons of Mm55Al25Ni10Cu10 (Mm = Mischmetal amorphous alloy. The structural transformations that occurred during heating were studied using a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC. Crystallization took place through a multi-stage process. The first stage of transformation corresponded to the formation of a metastable phase followed by cfc-Al precipitation, while in the second stage, exothermic transformations led to the formation of complex and unidentified Mm(Cu, Ni and MmAl(Cu, Ni phases. The transformation curves recorded from isothermal treatments at 226 °C and 232 °C indicated that crystallization occurred through nucleation and growth, with diffusion-controlled growth occurring in the first crystallization stage. The supercooled liquid region, ∆Tx, at 40 K/min was ~80 K. This value was obtained by the substitution of Mm (=Ce + La + Nd + Pr for La or Ce, saving chemical element-related costs.

Nature of metastable amorphous-to-crystalline reversible phase transformations in GaSb

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalkan, B. [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California 20015 (United States); Edwards, T. G.; Sen, S. [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Raoux, S. [IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States)

2013-08-28

The structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic aspects of the transformations between the metastable amorphous and crystalline phases of GaSb are investigated as a function of pressure at ambient temperature using synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments in a diamond anvil cell. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the pressure induced crystallization of amorphous GaSb into the β-Sn crystal structure near ∼5 GPa is possibly a manifestation of an underlying polyamorphic phase transition between a semiconducting, low density and a metallic, high density amorphous (LDA and HDA, respectively) phases. In this scenario, the large differences in the thermal crystallization kinetics between amorphous GaSb deposited in thin film form by sputtering and that prepared by laser melt quenching may be related to the relative location of the glass transition temperature of the latter in the pressure-temperature (P-T) space with respect to the location of the critical point that terminate the LDA ↔ HDA transition. The amorphous →β-Sn phase transition is found to be hysteretically reversible as the β-Sn phase undergoes decompressive amorphization near ∼2 GPa due to the lattice instabilities that give rise to density fluctuations in the crystal upon decompression.

Nature of metastable amorphous-to-crystalline reversible phase transformations in GaSb

Science.gov (United States)

Kalkan, B.; Edwards, T. G.; Raoux, S.; Sen, S.

2013-08-01

The structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic aspects of the transformations between the metastable amorphous and crystalline phases of GaSb are investigated as a function of pressure at ambient temperature using synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments in a diamond anvil cell. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the pressure induced crystallization of amorphous GaSb into the β-Sn crystal structure near ˜5 GPa is possibly a manifestation of an underlying polyamorphic phase transition between a semiconducting, low density and a metallic, high density amorphous (LDA and HDA, respectively) phases. In this scenario, the large differences in the thermal crystallization kinetics between amorphous GaSb deposited in thin film form by sputtering and that prepared by laser melt quenching may be related to the relative location of the glass transition temperature of the latter in the pressure-temperature (P-T) space with respect to the location of the critical point that terminate the LDA ↔ HDA transition. The amorphous → β-Sn phase transition is found to be hysteretically reversible as the β-Sn phase undergoes decompressive amorphization near ˜2 GPa due to the lattice instabilities that give rise to density fluctuations in the crystal upon decompression.

Nature of metastable amorphous-to-crystalline reversible phase transformations in GaSb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalkan, B.; Edwards, T. G.; Sen, S.; Raoux, S.

2013-01-01

The structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic aspects of the transformations between the metastable amorphous and crystalline phases of GaSb are investigated as a function of pressure at ambient temperature using synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments in a diamond anvil cell. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the pressure induced crystallization of amorphous GaSb into the β-Sn crystal structure near ∼5 GPa is possibly a manifestation of an underlying polyamorphic phase transition between a semiconducting, low density and a metallic, high density amorphous (LDA and HDA, respectively) phases. In this scenario, the large differences in the thermal crystallization kinetics between amorphous GaSb deposited in thin film form by sputtering and that prepared by laser melt quenching may be related to the relative location of the glass transition temperature of the latter in the pressure-temperature (P-T) space with respect to the location of the critical point that terminate the LDA ↔ HDA transition. The amorphous →β-Sn phase transition is found to be hysteretically reversible as the β-Sn phase undergoes decompressive amorphization near ∼2 GPa due to the lattice instabilities that give rise to density fluctuations in the crystal upon decompression

Growth and characterization of heavily doped silicon crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scala, R.; Porrini, M. [MEMC Electronic Materials SpA, via Nazionale 59, 39012 Merano (Italy); Borionetti, G. [MEMC Electronic Materials SpA, viale Gherzi 31, Novara (Italy)

2011-08-15

Silicon crystals grown with the Czochralski method are still the most common material used for the production of electronic devices. In recent years, a growing need of large diameter crystals with increasingly higher doping levels is observed, especially to support the expanding market of discrete devices and its trend towards lower and lower resistivity levels for the silicon substrate. The growth of such heavily doped, large-diameter crystals poses several new challenges to the crystal grower, and the presence of a high dopant concentration in the crystal affects significantly its main properties, requiring also the development of dedicated characterization techniques. This paper illustrates the recent advances in the growth and characterization of silicon crystals heavily doped with antimony, arsenic, phosphorus and boron. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Low-temperature growth of polycrystalline Ge thin film on glass by in situ deposition and ex situ solid-phase crystallization for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsao, Chao-Yang; Weber, Juergen W.; Campbell, Patrick; Widenborg, Per I.; Song, Dengyuan; Green, Martin A.

2009-01-01

Poly-crystalline germanium (poly-Ge) thin films have potential for lowering the manufacturing cost of photovoltaic devices especially in tandem solar cells, but high crystalline quality would be required. This work investigates the crystallinity of sputtered Ge thin films on glass prepared by in situ growth and ex situ solid-phase crystallization (SPC). Structural properties of the films were characterized by Raman, X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet-visible reflectance measurements. The results show the transition temperature from amorphous to polycrystalline is between 255 deg. C and 280 deg. C for in situ grown poly-Ge films, whereas the transition temperature is between 400 deg. C and 500 deg. C for films produced by SPC for a 20 h annealing time. The in situ growth in situ crystallized poly-Ge films at 450 deg. C exhibit significantly better crystalline quality than those formed by solid-phase crystallization at 600 deg. C. High crystalline quality at low substrate temperature obtained in this work suggests the poly-Ge films could be promising for use in thin film solar cells on glass.

The Growth of Protein Crystals Using McDUCK

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Felicia; Wilson, Lori; Nadarajah, Arunan; Pusey, Marc

1998-01-01

Most of the current microgravity crystal growth hardware is optimized to produce crystals within the limited time available on orbit. This often results in the actual nucleation and growth process being rushed or the system not coming to equilibrium within the limited time available. Longer duration hardware exists, but one cannot readily pick out crystals grown early versus those which nucleated and grew more slowly. We have devised a long duration apparatus, the Multi-chamber Dialysis Unit for Crystallization Kinetics, or McDUCK. This apparatus-is a series of protein chambers, stacked upon a precipitant reservoir chamber. All chambers are separated by a dialysis membrane, which serves to pass small molecules while retaining the protein. The volume of the Precipitant chamber is equal to the sum of the volumes of the protein chamber. In operation, the appropriate chambers are filled with precipitant solution or protein solution, and the McDUCK is placed standing upright, with the precipitant chamber on the bottom. The precipitant diffuses upwards over time, with the time to reach equilibration a function of the diffusivity of the precipitant and the overall length of the diffusion pathway. Typical equilibration times are approximately 2-4 months, and one can readily separate rapid from slow nucleation and growth crystals. An advantage on Earth is that the vertical precipitant concentration gradient dominates that of the solute, thus dampening out solute density gradient driven convective flows. However, large Earth-grown crystals have so far tended to be more two dimensional. Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of lysozyme crystals grown in McDUCK have indicated that the best, and largest, come from the middle chambers, suggesting that there is an optimal growth rate. Further, the improvements in diffraction resolution have been better signal to noise ratios in the low resolution data, not an increase in resolution overall. Due to the persistently large crystals

Observing the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition in Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} non-volatile memory materials from ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, T.H.; Elliott, S.R. [Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge (United Kingdom)

2012-10-15

Phase-change memory is a promising candidate for the next generation of non-volatile memory devices. This technology utilizes reversible phase transitions between amorphous and crystalline phases of a recording material, and has been successfully used in rewritable optical data storage, revealing its feasibility. In spite of the importance of understanding the nucleation and growth processes that play a critical role in the phase transition, this understanding is still incomplete. Here, we present observations of the early stages of crystallization in Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} materials through ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations. Planar structures, including fourfold rings and planes, play an important role in the formation and growth of crystalline clusters in the amorphous matrix. At the same time, vacancies facilitate crystallization by providing space at the glass-crystalline interface for atomic diffusion, which results in fast crystal growth, as observed in simulations and experiments. The microscopic mechanism of crystallization presented here may deepen our understanding of the phase transition occurring in real devices, providing an opportunity to optimize the memory performance of phase-change materials. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

PECVD deposition of device-quality intrinsic amorphous silicon at high growth rate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carabe, J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Gandia, J J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Gutierrez, M T [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

1993-11-01

The combined influence of RF-power density (RFP) and silane flow-rate ([Phi]) on the deposition rate of plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) intrinsic amorphous silicon has been investigated. The correlation of the results obtained from the characterisation of the material with the silane deposition efficiency, as deduced from mass spectrometry, has led to an interpretation allowing to deposit intrinsic amorphous-silicon films having an optical gap of 1.87 eV and a photoconductive ratio (ratio of ambient-temperature conductivities under 1 sun AM1 and in dark) of 6 orders of magnitude at growth rates up to 10 A/s, without any structural modification of the PECVD system used. Such results are considered of high relevance regarding industrial competitiveness. (orig.)

Advanced crystal growth techniques for thallium bromide semiconductor radiation detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Datta, Amlan; Becla, Piotr; Guguschev, Christo; Motakef, Shariar

2018-02-01

Thallium Bromide (TlBr) is a promising room-temperature radiation detector candidate with excellent charge transport properties. Currently, Travelling Molten Zone (TMZ) technique is widely used for growth of semiconductor-grade TlBr crystals. However, there are several challenges associated with this type of crystal growth process including lower yield, high thermal stress, and low crystal uniformity. To overcome these shortcomings of the current technique, several different crystal growth techniques have been implemented in this study. These include: Vertical Bridgman (VB), Physical Vapor Transport (PVT), Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG), and Czochralski Growth (Cz). Techniques based on melt pulling (EFG and Cz) were demonstrated for the first time for semiconductor grade TlBr material. The viability of each process along with the associated challenges for TlBr growth has been discussed. The purity of the TlBr crystals along with its crystalline and electronic properties were analyzed and correlated with the growth techniques. Uncorrected 662 keV energy resolutions around 2% were obtained from 5 mm x 5 mm x 10 mm TlBr devices with virtual Frisch-grid configuration.

Growth of large detector crystals. CRADA final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boatner, L.A.; Samuelson, S.

1997-01-01

In the course of a collaborative research effort between L.A. Boatner of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Prof. Alex Lempicki of the Department of Chemistry of Boston University, a new highly efficient and very fast scintillator for the detection of gamma-rays was discovered. This new scintillator consists of a single crystal of lutetium orthophosphate (LuPO 4 ) to which a small percentage of trivalent cerium is added as an activator ion. The new lutetium orthophosphate-cerium scintillator was found to be superior in performance to bismuth germanium oxide--a material that is currently widely used as a gamma-ray detector in a variety of medical, scientific, and technical applications. Single crystals of LuPO 4 and related rare-earth orthophosphates had been grown for a number of years in the ORNL Solid State Division prior to the discovery of the efficient gamma-ray-scintillation response of LuPO 4 :Ce. The high-temperature-solvent (flux-growth) method used for the growth of these crystals was capable of producing crystals in sizes that were adequate for research purposes but that were inadequate for commercial-scale production and widespread application. The CRADA between ORNL and Deltronic Crystal Industries of Dover, NJ was undertaken for the purpose of investigating alternate approaches, such as top-seeded-solution growth, to the growth of LuPO 4 :Ce scintillator crystals in sizes significantly larger than those obtainable through the application of standard flux-growth methods and, therefore, suitable for commercial sales and applications

Production of amorphous nanoparticles by supersonic spray-drying with a microfluidic nebulator

Science.gov (United States)

Amstad, Esther; Gopinadhan, Manesh; Holtze, Christian; Osuji, Chinedum O.; Brenner, Michael P.; Spaepen, Frans; Weitz, David A.

2015-08-01

Amorphous nanoparticles (a-NPs) have physicochemical properties distinctly different from those of the corresponding bulk crystals; for example, their solubility is much higher. However, many materials have a high propensity to crystallize and are difficult to formulate in an amorphous structure without stabilizers. We fabricated a microfluidic nebulator that can produce amorphous NPs from a wide range of materials, even including pure table salt (NaCl). By using supersonic air flow, the nebulator produces drops that are so small that they dry before crystal nuclei can form. The small size of the resulting spray-dried a-NPs limits the probability of crystal nucleation in any given particle during storage. The kinetic stability of the a-NPs—on the order of months—is advantageous for hydrophobic drug molecules.

Growth of optical grade germanium crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waris, M.; Akhtar, M.J.; Mehmood, N.; Ashraf, M.; Siddique, M.

2011-01-01

A novel design of Czochralski( CZ ) growth station in a low frequency induction furnace is described and growth of optical grade Ge crystal as a test material is performed achieving a flat solid-liquid interface shape. Grown Ge crystals are annealed in air at 450 -500 deg. C for 4 hrs and then characterized by determination of crystallographic orientation by Laue (back-reflection of X-rays) method, dislocation density studies by etch-pits formation, measuring electrical resistivity by 4-probe technique, conductivity type determination by hot probe method, measurement of hardness on Moh's scale and optical transmission measurement in IR region. The results obtained are compared to those reported in the literature. The use of this growth station for other materials is suggested. (author)

A Cannibalistic Approach to Grand Canonical Crystal Growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Karmakar, Tarak; Piaggi, Pablo M; Perego, Claudio; Parrinello, Michele

2018-04-04

Canonical molecular dynamics simulations of crystal growth from solution suffer from severe finite-size effects. As the crystal grows, the solute molecules are drawn from the solution to the crystal, leading to a continuous drop in the solution concentration. This is in contrast to experiments in which the crystal grows at an approximately constant supersaturation of a bulk solution. Recently, Perego et al. [ J. Chem. Phys. 2015, 142, 144113] showed that in a periodic setup in which the crystal is represented as a slab, the concentration in the vicinity of the two surfaces can be kept constant while the molecules are drawn from a part of the solution that acts as a molecular reservoir. This method is quite effective in studying crystallization under controlled supersaturation conditions. However, once the reservoir is depleted, the constant supersaturation conditions cannot be maintained. We propose a variant of this method to tackle this depletion problem by simultaneously dissolving one side of the crystal while letting the other side grow. A continuous supply of particles to the solution due to the crystal dissolution maintains a steady solution concentration and avoids reservoir depletion. In this way, a constant supersaturation condition can be maintained for as long as necessary. We have applied this method to study the growth and dissolution of urea crystal from water solution under constant supersaturation and undersaturation conditions, respectively. The computed growth and dissolution rates are in good agreement with those obtained in previous studies.

EBSD analysis of polysilicon films formed by aluminium induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuezuen, O. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France)], E-mail: Ozge.Tuzun@iness.c-strasbourg.fr; Auger, J.M. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); SMS Centre, UMR CNRS 5146, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, 158 Cours Fauriel, 42023 Saint Etienne Cedex 2 (France); Gordon, I. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Focsa, A.; Montgomery, P.C. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); Maurice, C. [SMS Centre, UMR CNRS 5146, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, 158 Cours Fauriel, 42023 Saint Etienne Cedex 2 (France); Slaoui, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); Beaucarne, G.; Poortmans, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2008-08-30

Among the methods for enlarging the grain size of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films, aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon is considered to be a very promising approach. In the AIC process, a thin a-Si layer on top of an aluminium layer crystallizes at temperatures well below the eutectic temperature of the Al/Si system (T{sub eu} = 577 deg. C). By means of electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), we have mainly studied the effect of the aluminium layer quality varying the deposition system on the grain size, the defects and the preferential crystallographic orientation. We have found a strong correlation between the mean grain size and the size distribution with the Al deposition system and the surface quality. Furthermore, we show for the first time that more than 50% of the surface of the AIC films grown on alumina substrates are (103) preferentially oriented, instead of the commonly observed (100) preferential orientation. This may have important consequences for epitaxial thickening of the AIC layer into polysilicon absorber layers for solar cells.

Thermal annealing of amorphous Ti-Si-O thin films

OpenAIRE

Hodroj , Abbas; Chaix-Pluchery , Odette; Audier , Marc; Gottlieb , Ulrich; Deschanvres , Jean-Luc

2008-01-01

International audience; Ti-Si-O thin films were deposited using an aerosol chemical vapor deposition process at atmospheric pressure. The film structure and microstructure were analysed using several techniques before and after thermal annealing. Diffraction results indicate that the films remain X-ray amorphous after annealing whereas Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy gives evidence of a phase segregation between amorphous SiO2 and well crystallized anatase TiO2. Crystallization of ana...

Fluid Physics and Macromolecular Crystal Growth in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Helliwell, John R.; Snell, Edward H.; Chayen, Naomi E.; Judge, Russell A.; Boggon, Titus J.; Pusey, M. L.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The first protein crystallization experiment in microgravity was launched in April, 1981 and used Germany's Technologische Experimente unter Schwerelosigkeit (TEXUS 3) sounding rocket. The protein P-galactosidase (molecular weight 465Kda) was chosen as the sample with a liquid-liquid diffusion growth method. A sliding device brought the protein, buffer and salt solution into contact when microgravity was reached. The sounding rocket gave six minutes of microgravity time with a cine camera and schlieren optics used to monitor the experiment, a single growth cell. In microgravity a strictly laminar diffusion process was observed in contrast to the turbulent convection seen on the ground. Several single crystals, approx 100micron in length, were formed in the flight which were of inferior but of comparable visual quality to those grown on the ground over several days. A second experiment using the same protocol but with solutions cooled to -8C (kept liquid with glycerol antifreeze) again showed laminar diffusion. The science of macromolecular structural crystallography involves crystallization of the macromolecule followed by use of the crystal for X-ray diffraction experiments to determine the three dimensional structure of the macromolecule. Neutron protein crystallography is employed for elucidation of H/D exchange and for improved definition of the bound solvent (D20). The structural information enables an understanding of how the molecule functions with important potential for rational drug design, improved efficiency of industrial enzymes and agricultural chemical development. The removal of turbulent convection and sedimentation in microgravity, and the assumption that higher quality crystals will be produced, has given rise to the growing number of crystallization experiments now flown. Many experiments can be flown in a small volume with simple, largely automated, equipment - an ideal combination for a microgravity experiment. The term "protein crystal growth

Economic analysis of crystal growth in space

Science.gov (United States)

Ulrich, D. R.; Chung, A. M.; Yan, C. S.; Mccreight, L. R.

1972-01-01

Many advanced electronic technologies and devices for the 1980's are based on sophisticated compound single crystals, i.e. ceramic oxides and compound semiconductors. Space processing of these electronic crystals with maximum perfection, purity, and size is suggested. No ecomonic or technical justification was found for the growth of silicon single crystals for solid state electronic devices in space.

A high compression crystal growth system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieman, H.F.; Walton, A.A.; Powell, B.M.; Dolling, G.

1980-01-01

This report describes the construction and operating procedure for a high compression crystal growth system, capable of growing single crystals from the fluid phase over the temperature range of 4.2 K to 300 K, at pressures up to 900 MPa. Some experimental results obtained with the system are given for solid β-nitrogen. (auth)

Electron irradiation effects in amorphous antimony thin films obtained by cluster-beam deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuchs, G.; Treilleux, M.; Santos Aires, F.; Cabaud, B.; Melinon, P.; Hoareau, A. (Lyon-1 Univ., 69 - Villeurbanne (France))

1991-03-01

In order to understand the differences existing between films obtained with a classical molecular beam deposition (MBD) and the new low-energy cluster beam deposition (LECBD), transmission electron microscopy has been used to characterize the first stages of antimony LECBD. Antimony deposits are discontinuous and amorphous up to 2 nm in thickness. They are formed with isolated amorphous antimony particles surrounded by an amorphous antimony oxide shell. Moreover, under electron beam exposure in the microscope, an amorphous-crystal transformation has been observed in the oxide shell. Electron irradiation induces the formation of a crystallized antimony oxide (Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}) around the amorphous antimony core. (author).

Amorphous nanoparticles — Experiments and computer simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoang, Vo Van; Ganguli, Dibyendu

2012-01-01

The data obtained by both experiments and computer simulations concerning the amorphous nanoparticles for decades including methods of synthesis, characterization, structural properties, atomic mechanism of a glass formation in nanoparticles, crystallization of the amorphous nanoparticles, physico-chemical properties (i.e. catalytic, optical, thermodynamic, magnetic, bioactivity and other properties) and various applications in science and technology have been reviewed. Amorphous nanoparticles coated with different surfactants are also reviewed as an extension in this direction. Much attention is paid to the pressure-induced polyamorphism of the amorphous nanoparticles or amorphization of the nanocrystalline counterparts. We also introduce here nanocomposites and nanofluids containing amorphous nanoparticles. Overall, amorphous nanoparticles exhibit a disordered structure different from that of corresponding bulks or from that of the nanocrystalline counterparts. Therefore, amorphous nanoparticles can have unique physico-chemical properties differed from those of the crystalline counterparts leading to their potential applications in science and technology.

Growth and characterisation of lead iodide single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tonn, Justus

2012-01-01

The work in hand deals with the growth and characterisation of lead iodide (PbI 2 ) single crystals. PbI 2 is regarded as a promising candidate for low-noise X- and gamma ray detection at room temperature. Its benefits if compared to conventional materials like HgI 2 , CdTe, Si, or GaAs lie in a band gap energy of 2.32 eV, an excellent ability to absorb radiation, and a high electrical resistivity. For an application of PbI 2 as detector material the growth and characterisation of crystals with high chemical and structural quality is extremely challenging. In light of this, the effectiveness of zone purification of the PbI 2 used for crystal growth was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis. Furthermore, technological aspects during processing of purified PbI 2 were investigated. With the help of thermal analysis, a correlation was found between the degree of exposing the source material to oxygen from the air and the structural quality of the resulting crystals. A hydrogen treatment was applied to PbI 2 as an effective method for the removal of oxidic pollutions, which resulted in a significant reduction of structural defects like polytypic growth and stress-induced cracking. The growth of PbI 2 single crystals was, among others, carried out by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method. In this context, much effort was put on the investigation of influences resulting from the design and preparation of ampoules. For the first time, crystal growth of PbI 2 was also carried out by the Czochralski method. If compared to the Bridgman-Stockbarger method, the Czochralski technique allowed a significantly faster growth of nearly crack-free crystals with a reproducible predetermination of crystallographic orientation. By an optimised sample preparation of PbI 2 , surface orientations perpendicular to the usually cleaved (0001) plane were realised. It is now possible to determine the material properties along directions which were so far not accessible. Thus, for example, the ratio of

Shallow Melt Apparatus for Semicontinuous Czochralski Crystal Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, T.; Ciszek, T. F.

2006-01-10

In a single crystal pulling apparatus for providing a Czochralski crystal growth process, the improvement of a shallow melt crucible (20) to eliminate the necessity supplying a large quantity of feed stock materials that had to be preloaded in a deep crucible to grow a large ingot, comprising a gas tight container a crucible with a deepened periphery (25) to prevent snapping of a shallow melt and reduce turbulent melt convection; source supply means for adding source material to the semiconductor melt; a double barrier (23) to minimize heat transfer between the deepened periphery (25) and the shallow melt in the growth compartment; offset holes (24) in the double barrier (23) to increase melt travel length between the deepened periphery (25) and the shallow growth compartment; and the interface heater/heat sink (22) to control the interface shape and crystal growth rate.

Optical Investigation of Nanoconfined Crystal Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, F.; Dysthe, D. K.

2015-12-01

Crystals growing in a confined space exert forces on their surroundings. This crystallization force causes deformation of solids and is therefore particularly relevant for the comprehension of geological processes such as replacement and weathering [1]. In addition, these forces are relevant for the understanding of damages in porous building materials caused by crystallization, which is of great economical importance and fundamental for methods that can help to preserve our cultural heritage [2,3]. However, the exact behavior of the growth and the dissolution process in close contact to an interface are still not known in detail. The crystallization, the dissolution and the transport of material is mediated by a nanoconfined water film. We observe brittle NaClO3 crystals growing against a glass surface by optical methods such as reflective interference contrast microscopy (RICM) [4]. In order to carefully control the supersaturation of the fluid close to the crystal interface, a temperature regulated microfluidic system is used (fig. A). The interference based precision of RICM enables to resolve distance variations down to the sub nanometer range without any unwanted disturbances by the measuring method. The combination of RICM with a sensitive camera allows us to observe phenomena such as periodic, wavelike growth of atomic layers. These waves are particularly obvious when observing the difference between two consecutive images (fig. B). In contradiction to some theoretical results, which predict a smooth interface, some recent experiments have shown that the nanoconfined growth surfaces are rough. In combination with theoretical studies and Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations we aim at providing more realistic descriptions of surface energies and energy barriers which are able to explain the discrepancies between experiments and current theory. References:[1] Maliva, Diagenetic replacement controlled by force of crystallization, Geology, August (1988), v. 16 [2] G

A unified description of crystalline-to-amorphous transitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lam, N.Q.; Okamoto, P.R. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Devanathan, R. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)]|[Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Meshii, M. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

1993-07-01

Amorphous metallic alloys can now be synthesized by a variety of solid-state processes demonstrating the need for a more general approach to crystalline-to-amorphous (c-a) transitions. By focusing on static atomic displacements as a measure of chemical and topological disorder, we show that a unified description of c-a transformations can be based on a generalization of the phenomenological melting criterion proposed by Lindemann. The generalized version assumes that melting of a defective crystal occurs whenever the sum of thermal and static mean-square displacements exceeds a critical value identical to that for melting of the defect-free crystal. This implies that chemical or topological disorder measured by static displacements is thermodynamically equivalent to heating, and therefore that the melting temperature of the defective crystal will decrease with increasing amount of disorder. This in turn implies the existence of a critical state of disorder where the melting temperature becomes equal to a glass-transition temperature below which the metastable crystal melts to a glass. The generalized Lindemann melting criterion leads naturally to an interpretation of c-a transformations as defect-induced, low-temperature melting of critically disordered crystals. Confirmation of this criterion is provided by molecular-dynamics simulations of heat-induced melting and of defect-induced amorphization of intermetallic compounds caused either by the production of Frenkel pairs or anti-site defects. The thermodynamic equivalence between static atomic disorder and heating is reflected in the identical softening effects which they have on elastic properties and also in the diffraction analysis of diffuse scattering from disordered crystals, where the effect of static displacements appears as an artificially-enlarged thermal Debye-Waller factor. Predictions of this new, unified approach to melting and amorphization are compared with available experimental information.

Effects of Humidity and Surfaces on the Melt Crystallization of Ibuprofen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Il Won Kim

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Melt crystallization of ibuprofen was studied to understand the effects of humidity and surfaces. The molecular self-assembly during the amorphous-to-crystal transformation was examined in terms of the nucleation and growth of the crystals. The crystallization was on Al, Au, and self-assembled monolayers with –CH₃, –OH, and –COOH functional groups. Effects of the humidity were studied at room temperature (18–20 °C with relative humidity 33%, 75%, and 100%. Effects of the surfaces were observed at −20 °C (relative humidity 36% to enable close monitoring with slower crystal growth. The nucleation time of ibuprofen was faster at high humidity conditions probably due to the local formation of the unfavorable ibuprofen melt/water interface. The crystal morphologies of ibuprofen were governed by the nature of the surfaces, and they could be associated with the growth kinetics by the Avrami equation. The current study demonstrated the effective control of the melt crystallization of ibuprofen through the melt/atmosphere and melt/surface interfaces.

A Study of Biomolecules as Growth Modifiers of Calcium Oxalate Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Junha John

Crystallization processes are ubiquitous in nature, science, and technology. Controlling crystal growth is pivotal in many industries as material properties and functions can be tailored by tuning crystal habits (e.g. size, shape, phase). In biomineralization, organisms exert excellent control over bottom-up synthesis and assembly of inorganic-organic structures (e.g. bones, teeth, exoskeletons). This is made possible by growth modifiers that range from small molecules to macromolecules, such as proteins. Molecular recognition of the mineral phase allows proteins to function as nucleation templates, matrices, and growth inhibitors or promoters. We are interested in taking a biomimetic approach to control crystallization via biomolecular growth modifiers. We investigated calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), found in plants and kidney stones, as a model system of crystallization. We studied the effects of four common proteins on COM crystallization: bovine serum albumin (BSA), transferrin, lactoferrin, and lysozyme. Through kinetic studies of COM crystallization, we classified BSA and lysozyme as COM growth inhibitor and promoter respectively. Their inhibition and promotion effects were also evident in the macroscopic crystal habit. Through adsorption and microscopy experiments, we showed that BSA exhibits binding specificity for the apical surfaces of macroscopic COM crystals. Lysozyme, on the other, functions via a non-binding mechanism at the surface to accelerate the growth of the apical surfaces. We also synthesized and studied peptides derived from the protein primary sequences to identify putative domains responsible for these inhibition and promotion effects. Collectively, our study of physiologically relevant biomolecules suggests potential roles of COM modifiers in pathological crystallization and helps to develop guidelines for rational design of biomolecular growth modifiers for applications in crystal engineering.

Amorphization of ceramics by ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHargue, C.J.; Farlow, G.C.; White, C.W.; Williams, J.M.; Appleton, B.R.; Naramoto, H.

1984-01-01

The influence of the implantation parameters fluence, substrate temperature, and chemical species on the formation of amorphous phases in Al 2 O 3 and α-SiC was studied. At 300 0 K, fluences in excess of 10 17 ions.cm -2 were generally required to amorphize Al 2 O 3 ; however, implantation of zirconium formed the amorphous phase at a fluence of 4 x 10 16 Zr.cm -2 . At 77 0 K, the threshold fluence was lowered to about 2 x 10 15 Cr.cm -2 . Single crystals of α-SiC were amorphized at 300 0 K by a fluence of 2 x 10 14 Cr.cm -2 or 1 x 10 15 N.cm -2 . Implantation at 1023 0 K did not produce the amorphous phase in SiC. The micro-indentation hardness of the amorphous material was about 60% of that of the crystalline counterpart

Growth of emerald single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukin, G.V.; Godovikov, A.A.; Klyakin, V.A.; Sobolev, V.S.

1986-01-01

In addition to its use for jewelry, emerald can also be used in low-noise microwave amplifiers. The authors discuss flux crystallization of emerald and note that when emerald is grown by this method, it is desirable to use solvents which dissolve emerald with minimum deviations from congruence but at the same time with sufficient high efficiency. Emerald synthesis and crystal growth from slowly cooled solutions is discussed as another possibility. The techniques are examined. Vapor synthesis and growht of beryl crystals re reviewed and the authors experimentally study the seeded CVD crystallization of beryl from BeO, Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 oxides, by using complex compounds as carrier agents. The color of crystals of emerald and other varieties of beryl is detemined by slelective light absorption in teh visible part of the spectrum and depends on the density and structural positions of chromphore ions: chromium, iron, vanadium, nickel, manganese and cobalt

Inelastic neutron scattering of amorphous ice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukazawa, Hiroshi; Ikeda, Susumu; Suzuki, Yoshiharu

2001-01-01

We measured the inelastic neutron scattering from high-density amorphous (HDA) and low-density amorphous (LDA) ice produced by pressurizing and releasing the pressure. We found a clear difference between the intermolecular vibrations in HDA and those in LDA ice: LDA ice has peaks at 22 and 33 meV, which are also seen in the spectrum of lattice vibrations in ice crystal, but the spectrum of HDA ice does not have these peaks. The excitation energy of librational vibrations in HDA ice is 10 meV lower than that in LDA ice. These results imply that HDA ice includes 2- and 5-coordinated hydrogen bonds that are created by breakage of hydrogen bonds and migration of water molecules into the interstitial site, while LDA ice contains mainly 4-coordinated hydrogen bonds and large cavities. Furthermore, we report the dynamical structure factor in the amorphous ice and show that LDA ice is more closely related to the ice crystal structure than to HDA ice. (author)

Modeling and simulation of Si crystal growth from melt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Lijun; Liu, Xin; Li, Zaoyang [National Engineering Research Center for Fluid Machinery and Compressors, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Miyazawa, Hiroaki; Nakano, Satoshi; Kakimoto, Koichi [Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580 (Japan)

2009-07-01

A numerical simulator was developed with a global model of heat transfer for any crystal growth taking place at high temperature. Convective, conductive and radiative heat transfers in the furnace are solved together in a conjugated way by a finite volume method. A three-dimensional (3D) global model was especially developed for simulation of heat transfer in any crystal growth with 3D features. The model enables 3D global simulation be conducted with moderate requirement of computer resources. The application of this numerical simulator to a CZ growth and a directional solidification process for Si crystals, the two major production methods for crystalline Si for solar cells, was introduced. Some typical results were presented, showing the importance and effectiveness of numerical simulation in analyzing and improving these kinds of Si crystal growth processes from melt. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

High-pressure growth of NaMn7O12 crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilioli, Edi; Calestani, Gianluca; Licci, Francesca; Paorici, Carlo; Gauzzi, Andrea; Bolzoni, Fulvio; Prodi, Andrea

2006-01-01

With the aim of producing large crystals of metastable NaMn 7 O 12 manganite, suitable for physical measurements (i.e.: RXS, Raman, EPR, STS, single-crystal neutron diffraction), we carried out a systematic investigation of the parameters controlling the growth of crystals, including the thermodynamic variables (T, P, and reagent composition) and the kinetic factors, such as reaction time and heating/cooling rate. By varying each parameter while maintaining constant the other ones, we found the thermodynamic conditions under which an optimum equilibrium is reached between the competing nucleation and growth rates. They were found to range between 400 and 700 o C (T) and between 20 and 60 Kbars (P), respectively. Under these conditions, we further optimized the growth process, by establishing the most appropriate growth duration (several hours), reagent type (pre-reacted precursor) and composition (presence of 0.4 mole% water and of 5% Na excess with respect to the stoichiometric composition). Typical crystals having several hundreds μm in linear sizes were reproducibly obtained, while the largest sample was about 800 μm. A description of the crystal growth mechanism, based on the experimental results, is also presented and discussed. It assumes that two different mechanisms control the crystal growth, depending on whether the crystallization is taking place outside the stability field, i.e. in presence of native reagents, or inside it, i.e. in a polycrystalline NaMn 7 O 12 phase matrix. In the first case, large crystal growth occurs thanks to the low nucleation and high diffusion rates, while in the second one the crystallization is due to the solid-state mechanism based on the free energy reduction caused by grain boundary migration. - Graphical abstract: Optical (a) and SEM images (b) of NaMn 7 O 12 crystals. Note the markers: 300 μm, top-right corner (a) and 40 μm, bottom left (b)

Solid-melt interface structure and growth of Cu alloy single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomimitsu, Hiroshi; Kamada, Kohji.

1983-01-01

Crystal-melt interface behavior during the growth of Cu-base solid solutions by the Bridgman method is discussed on the basis of experimental evidence obtained by neutron diffraction topography. Advantages of neutron diffraction topography for the characterization of large single crystals, such as dealt with in this paper, are emphasized. Evidence was odserved of extremely regular crystal growth along directions, irrespective of the macroscopic growth direction. This contrasts with the previously believed (110) normal growth which is a conclusion of growth theory based on molecular kinetics at the solid-melt interface. In consequence, we believe that the kinetics at the interface is a minor factor in the meltgrowth of metal single crystals. Revised melt-growth theory should include both the growth and the formation of the regular structure as evidenced by neutron diffraction topography. (author)

Crystal growth of Li10B3O5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Akira; Gallagher, Hugh G.; Han, Thomas P.J.

1999-09-01

The growth of boron 10 isotope enriched L 10 BO (Li 10 B 3 O 5 ) optical crystal has been developed from Top-Seeded-Solution-Growth using a resistance furnace. In the preparation for growth materials, we have made further improvement on a charge loading technique to a crucible and succeeded in forming suitable high temperature flux for producing crystals. Adequate temperature gradient of 1K/cm inside the crucible was achieved from searching for a combination of setting temperatures in the vertical three-zone furnace and installing a ceramic ring under the crucible. We have also optimized seed holder configuration and established growth conditions by several attempts. As a result, two good quality L 10 BO crystals were produced with sizes of 14 x 25 x 22 mm and 13 x 10 x 12 mm from oriented seed crystals. Although these sizes were limited by the size of the crucible used, appropriate oriented samples were extracted for detailed studies in optical measurements. (author)

Crystal growth under external electric fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uda, Satoshi; Koizumi, Haruhiko; Nozawa, Jun; Fujiwara, Kozo

2014-01-01

This is a review article concerning the crystal growth under external electric fields that has been studied in our lab for the past 10 years. An external field is applied electrostatically either through an electrically insulating phase or a direct injection of an electric current to the solid-interface-liquid. The former changes the chemical potential of both solid and liquid and controls the phase relationship while the latter modifies the transport and partitioning of ionic solutes in the oxide melt during crystallization and changes the solute distribution in the crystal

Crystal growth under external electric fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uda, Satoshi; Koizumi, Haruhiko; Nozawa, Jun; Fujiwara, Kozo [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan)

2014-10-06

This is a review article concerning the crystal growth under external electric fields that has been studied in our lab for the past 10 years. An external field is applied electrostatically either through an electrically insulating phase or a direct injection of an electric current to the solid-interface-liquid. The former changes the chemical potential of both solid and liquid and controls the phase relationship while the latter modifies the transport and partitioning of ionic solutes in the oxide melt during crystallization and changes the solute distribution in the crystal.

Creep of FINEMET alloy at amorphous to nanocrystalline transition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Csach, K.; Miškuf, J.; Juríková, A.; Ocelík, V.

2009-01-01

The application of FINEMET-type materials with specific magnetic properties prepared by the crystallization of amorphous alloys is often limited by their brittleness. The structure of these materials consists of nanosized Fe-based grains surrounded with amorphous phase. Then the final macroscopic

Crystallization peculiarities in metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serebryakov, A.V.; Abrosimova, G.E.; Aronin, A.S.

1985-01-01

Methods of X-ray electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were used to investigate the peculiarities of crystallization of amorphous metallic Fe-B and Fe-Si-B alloys related to sufficient change of volume when passing from amorphous to crystalline state and the effect of sample prehistory on its thermal stability and crystallization kinetics. The dependence of morphology of crystalline phases formed during crystallization of amorphous Fe-B alloys on sample thickness was revealed and investigated. The model explaining this dependence was suggested. The observed differences are related, according to the model, with different diffusion ways of ''poles'' - elementary carriers of empty volume to their sinks

Cross-twinning model of fcc crystal growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Waal, B.W.

1995-01-01

The theory developed in 1960 by Wagner, Hamilton and Seidensticker (WHS-theory) to explain observed crystal growth phenomena in Ge is critically reviewed and shown to be capable of explaining preservation of ABC stacking order in two dimensions in fcc crystals of effectively spherical closed shell

Crystallization kinetics in antimony and tellurium alloys used for phase change recording

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalb, J.A.

2006-01-01

This thesis makes a contribution to a fundamental understanding of the crystallization kinetics of amorphous and liquid phase change materials. In one project of this study, ex situ atomic force microscopy in combination with a high-precision furnace was identified as a powerful and accurate tool to determine isothermal crystallization parameters in thin films as a function of time and temperature. This method was employed for a systematic study of crystallization kinetics in sputtered amorphous Ag 0.055 In 0.065 Sb 0.59 Te 0.29 (hereafter: AgIn-SbTe), Ge 4 Sb 1 Te 5 , and Ge 1 Sb 2 Te 4 thin films used for phase change recording. The temperature dependence of the crystal nucleation rate and the crystal growth velocity were determined between 90 and 190 C by direct observation of crystals. The time dependence of the nucleation rate was also investigated. Ex situ transmission electron microscopy was used to study the crystal morphology in these alloys. In a second project, sputtered amorphous films in the compositions mentioned above were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. In a third project, droplets of molten alloys of composition Ge 12 Sb 88 , AgIn-Sb 2 Te, Ge 4 Sb 1 Te 5 and Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 , surrounded by a molten dehydrated B 2 O 3 flux, were undercooled to 40-80 K below their liquidus temperature in a differential thermal analyzer. The crystal-melt interfacial energy was determined from the nucleation temperature using the classical nucleation theory. (Orig.)

Approach for growth of high-quality and large protein crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumura, Hiroyoshi, E-mail: matsumura@chem.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Sugiyama, Shigeru; Hirose, Mika; Kakinouchi, Keisuke; Maruyama, Mihoko; Murai, Ryota [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); Adachi, Hiroaki; Takano, Kazufumi [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Murakami, Satoshi [JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501 (Japan); Mori, Yusuke; Inoue, Tsuyoshi [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan)

2011-01-01

Three crystallization methods, including crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel, top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and a large-scale hanging-drop method, have previously been presented. In this study, crystallization has been further evaluated in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel by crystallizing additional proteins. A novel crystallization method combining TSSG and the large-scale hanging-drop method has also been developed. Three crystallization methods for growing large high-quality protein crystals, i.e. crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel, top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and a large-scale hanging-drop method, have previously been presented. In this study the effectiveness of crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel has been further evaluated by crystallizing additional proteins in the presence of 2.0% (w/v) agarose gel, resulting in complete gelification with high mechanical strength. In TSSG the seed crystals are hung by a seed holder protruding from the top of the growth vessel to prevent polycrystallization. In the large-scale hanging-drop method, a cut pipette tip was used to maintain large-scale droplets consisting of protein–precipitant solution. Here a novel crystallization method that combines TSSG and the large-scale hanging-drop method is reported. A large and single crystal of lysozyme was obtained by this method.

Structural investigation of Fe(Cu)ZrB amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duhaj, P.; Janickovic, D.

1996-01-01

The crystallization process in Fe 86 (Cu 1 )Zr 7 B 6 and Fe 87 Zr 7 B 6 is investigated using the methods of transmission electron microscopy, electron and X-ray diffraction and resistometry. Two crystallization reactions take place during thermal annealing of amorphous Fe 86 (Cu 1 )Zr 7 B 6 and Fe 87 Zr 7 B 6 alloys. In both alloys the first crystallization begins with the formation of nanocrystalline α-Fe at temperature to approximately 800 K. The second crystallization starts above 1000 K; the nanocrystalline phase dissolves and together with the remaining amorphous matrix form rough grains of α-Fe and dispersed Fe 23 Zr 6 phases. From Moessbauer spectroscopy it seems that there exist two neighbourhoods of Fe atoms in the amorphous structure. One of them is characterized by low Zr content and is responsible for the high-field component of the hyperfine field distribution p(H). The second one is rich in Zr and B and is responsible for the low-field component of p(H). This is in accord with the observation of two crystallization steps separated by a large interval of temperatures due to the existence of two chemically different regions or clusters. (orig.)

Accelerated Physical Stability Testing of Amorphous Dispersions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Mehak; Suryanarayanan, Raj

2016-08-01

The goal was to develop an accelerated physical stability testing method of amorphous dispersions. Water sorption is known to cause plasticization and may accelerate drug crystallization. In an earlier investigation, it was observed that both the increase in mobility and decrease in stability in amorphous dispersions was explained by the "plasticization" effect of water (Mehta et al. Mol. Pharmaceutics 2016, 13 (4), 1339-1346). In this work, the influence of water concentration (up to 1.8% w/w) on the correlation between mobility and crystallization in felodipine dispersions was investigated. With an increase in water content, the α-relaxation time as well as the time for 1% w/w felodipine crystallization decreased. The relaxation times of the systems, obtained with different water concentration, overlapped when the temperature was scaled (Tg/T). The temperature dependencies of the α-relaxation time as well as the crystallization time were unaffected by the water concentration. Thus, the value of the coupling coefficient, up to a water concentration of 1.8% w/w, was approximately constant. Based on these findings, the use of "water sorption" is proposed to build predictive models for crystallization in slow crystallizing dispersions.

Growth and time dependent alignment of KCl crystals in Hemoglobin LB monolayer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahato, Mrityunjoy; Pal, Prabir; Tah, Bidisha; Kamilya, Tapanendu; Talapatra, G.B.

2012-01-01

Nature and organism often use the biomineralization technique to build up various highly regular structures such as bone, teeth, kidney stone etc., and recently this becomes the strategy to design and synthesis of novel biocomposite materials. We report here the controlled crystallization of KCl in Langmuir and Langmuir Blodgett (LB) monolayer of Hemoglobin (Hb) at ambient condition. The nucleation and growth of KCl crystals in Hb monolayer has temporal and KCl concentration dependency. The growth of KCl crystals in LB film of Hb has distinct behavior in the alignment of crystals from linear to fractal like structures depending on growth time. The crystallographic identity of the biomineralized KCl crystal is confirmed from HR-TEM, XRD, and from powder diffraction simulation. Our results substantiated that the template of Langmuir monolayer of proteins plays a crucial role in biomineralization as well as in designing and synthesizing of novel biocomposite materials. Highlights: ► Biomineralization of KCl crystal has been studied in Hemoglobin LB film. ► KCl crystal growth is time and concentration of KCl dependent. ► The alignment of KCl crystal growth is fractal nature with time. ► The unfolding of Hb and evaporation factor has some role in crystallization and fractal growth.

Amorphization reaction in thin films of elemental Cu and Y

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, R. W.; Ahn, C. C.; Ratner, E. R.

1989-10-01

Compositionally modulated thin films of Cu and Y were prepared in an ultrahigh-vacuum dc ion-beam deposition chamber. The amorphization reaction was monitored by in situ x-ray-diffraction measurements. Growth of amorphous Cu1-xYx is observed at room temperature with the initial formation of a Cu-rich amorphous phase. Further annealing in the presence of unreacted Y leads to Y enrichment of the amorphous phase. Growth of crystalline CuY is observed for T=469 K. Transmission-electron-microscopy measurements provide real-space imaging of the amorphous interlayer and growth morphology. Models are developed, incorporating metastable interfacial and bulk free-energy diagrams, for the early stage of the amorphization reaction.

Silicon Crystal Growth by the Electromagnetic Czochralski (EMCZ) Method

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Masahito; Eguchi, Minoru; Hibiya, Taketoshi

1999-01-01

A new method for growing silicon crystals by using electromagnetic force to rotate the melt without crucible rotation has been developed. We call it electromagnetic Czochralski (EMCZ) growth. An electromagnetic force in the azimuthal direction is generated in the melt by the interaction between an electric current (I) through the melt in the radial direction and a vertical magnetic field (B). The rotation rate (ωm) of the silicon melt is continuously changed from 0 to over 105 rpm under I = 0 to 8 A and B = 0 to 0.1 T. Thirty-mm-diameter silicon single crystals free of dislocations could be grown under two conditions: I = 2.0 A and B = 0.05 T (ωm = 105 rpm); and I =0.2 A and B = 0.1 T (ωm = 15 rpm). The oxygen concentration in the crystals was 8 ×1017 atoms/cm3 for the high rotation rate and 1×1017 atoms/cm3 for the low rotation rate. The oxygen-concentration distributions in the radial direction in both crystals were more homogeneous than those in the crystals grown by conventional CZ and/or MCZ growth. This new crystal-growth method can be easily adopted for growing large-diameter silicon crystals.

Inclusion free cadmium zinc tellurium and cadmium tellurium crystals and associated growth method

Science.gov (United States)

Bolotnikov, Aleskey E [South Setauket, NY; James, Ralph B [Ridge, NY

2010-07-20

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for crystal growth of cadmium zinc tellurium (CZT) and cadmium tellurium (CdTe) crystals with an inverted growth reactor chamber. The inverted growth reactor chamber enables growth of single, large, high purity CZT and CdTe crystals that can be used, for example, in X-ray and gamma detection, substrates for infrared detectors, or the like. The inverted growth reactor chamber enables reductions in the presence of Te inclusions, which are recognized as an important limiting factor in using CZT or CdTe as radiation detectors. The inverted growth reactor chamber can be utilized with existing crystal growth techniques such as the Bridgman crystal growth mechanism and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the inverted growth reactor chamber is a U-shaped ampoule.

Influence of amorphous layers on the thermal conductivity of phononic crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Verdier, Maxime; Lacroix, David; Didenko, Stanislav; Robillard, Jean-François; Lampin, Evelyne; Bah, Thierno-Moussa; Termentzidis, Konstantinos

2018-03-01

The impact of amorphous phases around the holes and at the upper and lower free surfaces on thermal transport in silicon phononic membranes is studied. By means of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations, we explore the impact of the amorphous phase (oxidation and amorphous silicon), surfaces roughness, and a series of geometric parameters on thermal transport. We show that the crystalline phase drives the phenomena; the two main parameters are (i) the crystalline fraction between two holes and (ii) the crystalline thickness of the membranes. We reveal the hierarchical impact of nanostructurations on the thermal conductivity, namely, from the most resistive to the less resistive: the creation of holes, the amorphous phase around them, and the amorphization of the membranes edges. The surfaces or interfaces perpendicular to the heat flow hinder the thermal conductivity to a much greater extent than those parallel to the heat flow.

Growth and fabrication of large size sodium iodide crystal scintillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabharwal, S.C.; Karandikar, S.C.; Mirza, T.; Ghosh, B.; Deshpande, R.Y.

1979-01-01

The growth of 80 - 135 mm dia. Sodium iodide crystals activated with thallium is described in the present report. The growth is effected in a glazed porcelain crucible in a protective ambient of dry nitrogen. The technical details of the equipment developed have been fully described. The results of measurements on the rate of growth of crystal and the optimization of different growth parameters are reported. The dependence of various factors upon the performance characteristics of the scintillator detectors made using these crystals is also discussed. The energy resolution obtained for a typical detector of dimensions 76 mm dia x 76 mm ht. is 10 percent. (auth.)

Ultra-large single crystals by abnormal grain growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusama, Tomoe; Omori, Toshihiro; Saito, Takashi; Kise, Sumio; Tanaka, Toyonobu; Araki, Yoshikazu; Kainuma, Ryosuke

2017-08-25

Producing a single crystal is expensive because of low mass productivity. Therefore, many metallic materials are being used in polycrystalline form, even though material properties are superior in a single crystal. Here we show that an extraordinarily large Cu-Al-Mn single crystal can be obtained by abnormal grain growth (AGG) induced by simple heat treatment with high mass productivity. In AGG, the sub-boundary energy introduced by cyclic heat treatment (CHT) is dominant in the driving pressure, and the grain boundary migration rate is accelerated by repeating the low-temperature CHT due to the increase of the sub-boundary energy. With such treatment, fabrication of single crystal bars 70 cm in length is achieved. This result ensures that the range of applications of shape memory alloys will spread beyond small-sized devices to large-scale components and may enable new applications of single crystals in other metallic and ceramics materials having similar microstructural features.Growing large single crystals cheaply and reliably for structural applications remains challenging. Here, the authors combine accelerated abnormal grain growth and cyclic heat treatments to grow a superelastic shape memory alloy single crystal to 70 cm.

Crystal phases of a glass-forming Lennard-Jones mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, Julian R.; Harrowell, Peter

2003-01-01

We compare the potential energy at zero temperature of a range of crystal structures for a glass-forming binary mixture of Lennard-Jones particles. The lowest-energy ordered state consists of coexisting phases of a single component face centered cubic structure and an equimolar cesium chloride structure. An infinite number of layered crystal structures are identified with energies close to this ground state. We demonstrate that the finite size increase of the energy of the coexisting crystal with incoherent interfaces is sufficient to destabilize this ordered phase in simulations of typical size. Two specific local coordination structures are identified as of possible structural significance in the amorphous state. We observe rapid crystal growth in the equimolar mixture

Structural and phase transformations in the low-temperature annealed amorphous “finemet”-type microwires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tcherdyntsev, V.V., E-mail: vvch08@yandex.ru [National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow 119049 (Russian Federation); Aleev, A.A. [SSC RF Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow 117218 (Russian Federation); Churyukanova, M.N.; Kaloshkin, S.D. [National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow 119049 (Russian Federation); Medvedeva, E.V. [Institute of Electrophysics, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg 620016 (Russian Federation); Korchuganova, O.A. [SSC RF Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow 117218 (Russian Federation); Zhukova, V. [Dpto. de Fns. Mater., UPV/EHU, San Sebastian 20018 (Spain); Zhukov, A.P. [Dpto. de Fns. Mater., UPV/EHU, San Sebastian 20018 (Spain); IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao (Spain)

2014-02-15

Highlights: • Structure and magnetic properties evolution at heating of amorphous microwires was studied. • Relaxation processes in the amorphous phase correlate with an increase in Curie temperature. • Curie temperature change can not be stabilized by a prolonged exposure at pre-crystallization temperatures. • Tomographic atom probe microscopy supports the formation of α-Fe phase precipitations enriched in Si. -- Abstract: Finemet-type glass-coated microwires with amorphous and nanocrystalline structure have been investigated. The relaxation and crystallization processes at heating of amorphous alloy have been studied by DSC method. We observed that the relaxation processes in the amorphous phase correlate with an increasing of the Curie temperature. Additionally a prolonged exposure of the samples below the crystallization temperatures does not stabilize the Curie temperature change. An investigation by the tomographic atom probe microscopy supports the formation of precipitations, probably α-Fe phase, as a result of low-temperature annealing (400 °C, 5 min). We found that the observed nano-sized areas were enriched in silicon.

Structural and phase transformations in the low-temperature annealed amorphous “finemet”-type microwires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tcherdyntsev, V.V.; Aleev, A.A.; Churyukanova, M.N.; Kaloshkin, S.D.; Medvedeva, E.V.; Korchuganova, O.A.; Zhukova, V.; Zhukov, A.P.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Structure and magnetic properties evolution at heating of amorphous microwires was studied. • Relaxation processes in the amorphous phase correlate with an increase in Curie temperature. • Curie temperature change can not be stabilized by a prolonged exposure at pre-crystallization temperatures. • Tomographic atom probe microscopy supports the formation of α-Fe phase precipitations enriched in Si. -- Abstract: Finemet-type glass-coated microwires with amorphous and nanocrystalline structure have been investigated. The relaxation and crystallization processes at heating of amorphous alloy have been studied by DSC method. We observed that the relaxation processes in the amorphous phase correlate with an increasing of the Curie temperature. Additionally a prolonged exposure of the samples below the crystallization temperatures does not stabilize the Curie temperature change. An investigation by the tomographic atom probe microscopy supports the formation of precipitations, probably α-Fe phase, as a result of low-temperature annealing (400 °C, 5 min). We found that the observed nano-sized areas were enriched in silicon

Development of n- and p-type Doped Perovskite Single Crystals Using Solid-State Single Crystal Growth (SSCG) Technique

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-09

for AGG should be minimal. For this purpose, the seeds for AGG may also be provided externally. This process is called the solid-state single...bonding process . Figure 31 shows (a) the growth of one large single crystal from one small single crystal seed as well as (b) the growth of one...one bi-crystal seed : One large bi-crystal can be grown from one small bi-crystal by SSCG process . Fig. 32. Diffusion bonding process for

Influence of silver concentration in Ag-x(Sb0.40S0.60)(100-x) thin amorphous films on photoinduced crystallization

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gutwirth, J.; Wágner, T.; Bezdička, Petr; Kotulanová, Eva; Vlček, Milan; Kasap, S. O.; Frumar, M.

2007-01-01

Roč. 9, č. 10 (2007), s. 3064-3071 ISSN 1454-4164 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC523; GA ČR GA203/06/1368 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40320502; CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : Ag-Sb-S films * amorphous * photoinduced crystallization Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 0.827, year: 2007

Optimized Pyroelectric Vidicon Thermal Imager. Volume II. Improper Ferroelectric Crystal Growth.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-09-01

4.2.1 Apparatus .......................... 77 4.2.2 Growth from Acidic Media .................o 78 4.2.3 Hydrothermal Growth in Basic Media ...... 99...method of hydrothermal growth was examined using both acidic and basic solvents. (1) Standard Composition Our standard composition was derived from... Acid 10 Good, well formed crystals. Acrylic Acid 10 Very good, clear crystals. Glycine 10 Poor crystals. Oxalic Acid 10 Precipitation of calcium and

Monte Carlo simulation of continuous-space crystal growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodson, B.W.; Taylor, P.A.

1986-01-01

We describe a method, based on Monte Carlo techniques, of simulating the atomic growth of crystals without the discrete lattice space assumed by conventional Monte Carlo growth simulations. Since no lattice space is assumed, problems involving epitaxial growth, heteroepitaxy, phonon-driven mechanisms, surface reconstruction, and many other phenomena incompatible with the lattice-space approximation can be studied. Also, use of the Monte Carlo method circumvents to some extent the extreme limitations on simulated timescale inherent in crystal-growth techniques which might be proposed using molecular dynamics. The implementation of the new method is illustrated by studying the growth of strained-layer superlattice (SLS) interfaces in two-dimensional Lennard-Jones atomic systems. Despite the extreme simplicity of such systems, the qualitative features of SLS growth seen here are similar to those observed experimentally in real semiconductor systems

Crystal Growth of Ternary Compound Semiconductors in Low Gravity Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Ching-Hua

2014-01-01

A low gravity material experiment will be performed in the Material Science Research Rack (MSRR) on International Space Station (ISS). There are two sections of the flight experiment: (I) crystal growth of ZnSe and related ternary compounds, such as ZnSeS and ZnSeTe, by physical vapor transport (PVT) and (II) melt growth of CdZnTe by directional solidification. The main objective of the project is to determine the relative contributions of gravity-driven fluid flows to the compositional distribution, incorporation of impurities and defects, and deviation from stoichiometry observed in the grown crystals as results of buoyancy-driven convection and growth interface fluctuations caused by irregular fluid-flows on Earth. The investigation consists of extensive ground-based experimental and theoretical research efforts and concurrent flight experimentation. This talk will focus on the ground-based studies on the PVT crystal growth of ZnSe and related ternary compounds. The objectives of the ground-based studies are (1) obtain the experimental data and conduct the analyses required to define the optimum growth parameters for the flight experiments, (2) perfect various characterization techniques to establish the standard procedure for material characterization, (3) quantitatively establish the characteristics of the crystals grown on Earth as a basis for subsequent comparative evaluations of the crystals grown in a low-gravity environment and (4) develop theoretical and analytical methods required for such evaluations. ZnSe and related ternary compounds have been grown by vapor transport technique with real time in-situ non-invasive monitoring techniques. The grown crystals have been characterized extensively by various techniques to correlate the grown crystal properties with the growth conditions.

Crystallization and growth of Ni-Si alloy thin films on inert and on silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Grimberg, I.; Weiss, B. Z.

1995-04-01

The crystallization kinetics and thermal stability of NiSi2±0.2 alloy thin films coevaporated on two different substrates were studied. The substrates were: silicon single crystal [Si(100)] and thermally oxidized silicon single crystal. In situ resistance measurements, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used. The postdeposition microstructure consisted of a mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases. The amorphous phase, independent of the composition, crystallizes homogeneously to NiSi2 at temperatures lower than 200 °C. The activation energy, determined in the range of 1.4-2.54 eV, depends on the type of the substrate and on the composition of the alloyed films. The activation energy for the alloys deposited on the inert substrate was found to be lower than for the alloys deposited on silicon single crystal. The lowest activation energy was obtained for nonstoichiometric NiSi2.2, the highest for NiSi2—on both substrates. The crystallization mode depends on the structure of the as-deposited films, especially the density of the existing crystalline nuclei. Substantial differences were observed in the thermal stability of the NiSi2 compound on both substrates. With the alloy films deposited on the Si substrate, only the NiSi2 phase was identified after annealing to temperatures up to 800 °C. In the films deposited on the inert substrate, NiSi and NiSi2 phases were identified when the Ni content in the alloy exceeded 33 at. %. The effects of composition and the type of substrate on the crystallization kinetics and thermal stability are discussed.

Crystal growth of various ruthenates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kunkemoeller, Stefan; Braden, Markus [II. Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet zu Koeln (Germany); Nugroho, Agung [Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia)

2013-07-01

Ruthenates of the Ruddlesdon-Popper series exhibit a variety of interesting phenomena ranging from unconventional superconductivity to orbitally polarized Mott insulators. Unfortunately the crystal growth of most of these ruthenates is extremely difficult partially due to the high evaporation of ruthenium; this strongly limits the research on these fascinating materials. We have started to grow single crystals of layered and perovskite ruthenates by the travelling floating-zone method using a Canon SC1-MDH mirror furnace. For the layered Ca{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}RuO{sub 4} series we focused first on the range of concentration where recent My-SR experiments reveal spin-density wave ordering to occur at relatively high temperature and with a sizeable ordered moment. Good quality crystals of Ca{sub 1.5}Sr{sub 0.5}RuO{sub 4} can be obtained, when an excess of 15 percent of ruthenium is added to the initial preparation of the rod and when a high growth speed up to 40mm/h is used. Even slight modifications of the growing conditions result in large amounts of (Sr/Ca)RuO{sub 3} and (Sr/Ca){sub 3}Ru{sub 2}O{sub 7} intergrowth phases. First attempts to grow perovskite and double-layered ruthenates are discussed as well.

Amorphous diamond-structured photonic crystal in the feather barbs of the scarlet macaw.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Haiwei; Dong, Biqin; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhan, Tianrong; Shi, Lei; Zi, Jian; Yablonovitch, Eli

2012-07-03

Noniridescent coloration by the spongy keratin in parrot feather barbs has fascinated scientists. Nonetheless, its ultimate origin remains as yet unanswered, and a quantitative structural and optical description is still lacking. Here we report on structural and optical characterizations and numerical simulations of the blue feather barbs of the scarlet macaw. We found that the sponge in the feather barbs is an amorphous diamond-structured photonic crystal with only short-range order. It possesses an isotropic photonic pseudogap that is ultimately responsible for the brilliant noniridescent coloration. We further unravel an ingenious structural optimization for attaining maximum coloration apparently resulting from natural evolution. Upon increasing the material refractive index above the level provided by nature, there is an interesting transition from a photonic pseudogap to a complete bandgap.

Amorphous diamond-structured photonic crystal in the feather barbs of the scarlet macaw

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Haiwei; Dong, Biqin; Liu, Xiaohan; Zhan, Tianrong; Shi, Lei; Zi, Jian; Yablonovitch, Eli

2012-01-01

Noniridescent coloration by the spongy keratin in parrot feather barbs has fascinated scientists. Nonetheless, its ultimate origin remains as yet unanswered, and a quantitative structural and optical description is still lacking. Here we report on structural and optical characterizations and numerical simulations of the blue feather barbs of the scarlet macaw. We found that the sponge in the feather barbs is an amorphous diamond-structured photonic crystal with only short-range order. It possesses an isotropic photonic pseudogap that is ultimately responsible for the brilliant noniridescent coloration. We further unravel an ingenious structural optimization for attaining maximum coloration apparently resulting from natural evolution. Upon increasing the material refractive index above the level provided by nature, there is an interesting transition from a photonic pseudogap to a complete bandgap. PMID:22615350

Homogeneous SiGe crystal growth in microgravity by the travelling liquidus-zone method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinoshita, K; Arai, Y; Inatomi, Y; Sakata, K; Takayanagi, M; Yoda, S; Miyata, H; Tanaka, R; Sone, T; Yoshikawa, J; Kihara, T; Shibayama, H; Kubota, Y; Shimaoka, T; Warashina, Y

2011-01-01

Homogeneous SiGe crystal growth experiments will be performed on board the ISS 'Kibo' using a gradient heating furnace (GHF). A new crystal growth method invented for growing homogeneous mixed crystals named 'travelling liquidus-zone (TLZ) method' is evaluated by the growth of Si 0.5 Ge 0.5 crystals in space. We have already succeeded in growing homogeneous 2mm diameter Si 0.5 Ge 0.5 crystals on the ground but large diameter homogeneous crystals are difficult to be grown due to convection in a melt. In microgravity, larger diameter crystals can be grown with suppressing convection. Radial concentration profiles as well as axial profiles in microgravity grown crystals will be measured and will be compared with our two-dimensional TLZ growth model equation and compositional variation is analyzed. Results are beneficial for growing large diameter mixed crystals by the TLZ method on the ground. Here, we report on the principle of the TLZ method for homogeneous crystal growth, results of preparatory experiments on the ground and plan for microgravity experiments.

Analysis and simulation of phase transformation kinetics of zeolite A from amorphous phases

CERN Document Server

Marui, Y; Uchida, H; Takiyama, H

2003-01-01

Experiments on transformation rates of zeolite A from amorphous phases at different feed rates to alter the particle size of the amorphous phases were carried out to analyze the kinetics of the transformation, and were analyzed by performing simulation of the transformation. A clear dependence of the induction time for nucleation of zeolite A crystals on the surface area of the amorphous phase was recognized, indicating that the nucleation of zeolite A was heterogeneous and the nucleation rate was almost proportional to the size of the amorphous particles. From the simulation, the mechanism of the transformation was found to be heterogeneous nucleation of zeolite A crystals on the surface of amorphous particles followed by solution mediated phase transformation, and the transformation kinetics were well reproduced at different feed rates. (author)

Formation and growth mechanism of TiC crystal in TiCp/Ti composites

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

金云学; 王宏伟; 曾松岩; 张二林

2002-01-01

Ti-C and Ti-Al-C alloys were prepared using gravity and directional solidification processes. Morphologies of TiC crystal were investigated by using SEM, XRD and EDX. Also, the formation and growth mechanism of TiC crystal have been analyzed on the basis of coordination polyhedron growth unit theory. During solidification of titanium alloys, the coordination polyhedron growth unit is TiC6. TiC6 growth units stack in a linking mode of edge to edge and form octahedral TiC crystal with {111} planes as present faces. Although the growing geometry of TiC crystal is decided by its lattice structure, the final morphology of TiC crystal depends on the effects of its growth environment. In solute concentration distribution, the super-saturation of C or TiC6 at the corners of octahedral TiC crystal is much higher than that of edges and faces of octahedral TiC crystal. At these corners the driving force for crystal growth is greater and the interface is instable which contribute to quick stacking rate of growth units at these corners and result in secondary dendrite arms along TiC crystallographic 〈100〉 directions. TiC crystal finally grows to be dendrites.

Hydrothermal growth of PbSO4 (Anglesite) single crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuta, Ko-ichi; Yoneta, Yasuhito; Yogo, Toshinobu; Hirano, Shin-ichi

1994-01-01

Hydrothermal growth of single crystals of PbSO 4 , which is known as a natural mineral called anglesite, was investigated. Lead nitrate and nitric acid solutions were found to be useful for the growth of angle-site on the basis of the experimental results on the dissolution behavior. Relatively large euhedral single crystals bound by {210} and {101} planes were successfully grown in 1.5 mol/kg Pb(NO 3 ) 2 at 400degC and 100 MPa. Optical characterization revealed that the grown anglesite crystals can be useful for scintillators material. (author)

Plasticity induced phase transformation in molecular crystals

OpenAIRE

Koslowski, Marisol

2014-01-01

Solid state amorphization (SSA) can be achieved in crystalline materials including metal alloys, intermetallics, semiconductors, minerals and molecular crystals. Even though the mechanisms may differ in different materials, the crystalline to amorphous transformation occurs when the crystal reaches a metastable state in which its free energy is higher than that of the amorphous phase. SSA is observed in metal alloys because of interdiffusion of the crystalline elements during mechanical milli...

Amorphous Dielectric Thin Films with Extremely Low Mechanical Loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu X.

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitous low-energy excitations are one of the universal phenomena of amorphous solids. These excitations dominate the acoustic, dielectric, and thermal properties of structurally disordered solids. One exception has been a type of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H with 1 at.% H. Using low temperature elastic and thermal measurements of electron-beam evap-orated amorphous silicon (a-Si, we show that TLS can be eliminated in this system as the films become denser and more structurally ordered under certain deposition conditions. Our results demonstrate that TLS are not intrinsic to the glassy state but instead reside in low density regions of the amorphous network. This work obviates the role hydrogen was previously thought to play in removing TLS in a-Si:H and favors an ideal four-fold covalently bonded amorphous structure as the cause for the disappearance of TLS. Our result supports the notion that a-Si can be made a “perfect glass” with “crystal-like” properties, thus offering an encouraging opportunity to use it as a simple crystal dielectric alternative in applications, such as in modern quantum devices where TLS are the source of dissipation, decoherence and 1/f noise.

Structural investigation of Fe(Cu)ZrB amorphous alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duhaj, P. [Slovenska Akademia Vied, Bratislava (Slovakia). Fyzikalny Ustav; Matko, I. [Slovenska Akademia Vied, Bratislava (Slovakia). Fyzikalny Ustav; Svec, P. [Slovenska Akademia Vied, Bratislava (Slovakia). Fyzikalny Ustav; Sitek, J. [Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Slovak Technical University, 81219 Bratislava (Slovakia); Janickovic, D. [Slovenska Akademia Vied, Bratislava (Slovakia). Fyzikalny Ustav

1996-07-01

The crystallization process in Fe{sub 86}(Cu{sub 1})Zr{sub 7}B{sub 6} and Fe{sub 87}Zr{sub 7}B{sub 6} is investigated using the methods of transmission electron microscopy, electron and X-ray diffraction and resistometry. Two crystallization reactions take place during thermal annealing of amorphous Fe{sub 86}(Cu{sub 1})Zr{sub 7}B{sub 6} and Fe{sub 87}Zr{sub 7}B{sub 6} alloys. In both alloys the first crystallization begins with the formation of nanocrystalline {alpha}-Fe at temperature to approximately 800 K. The second crystallization starts above 1000 K; the nanocrystalline phase dissolves and together with the remaining amorphous matrix form rough grains of {alpha}-Fe and dispersed Fe{sub 23}Zr{sub 6} phases. From Moessbauer spectroscopy it seems that there exist two neighbourhoods of Fe atoms in the amorphous structure. One of them is characterized by low Zr content and is responsible for the high-field component of the hyperfine field distribution p(H). The second one is rich in Zr and B and is responsible for the low-field component of p(H). This is in accord with the observation of two crystallization steps separated by a large interval of temperatures due to the existence of two chemically different regions or clusters. (orig.)

Face-specific Replacement of Calcite by Amorphous Silica Nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Liesegang, M.; Milke, R.; Neusser, G.; Mizaikoff, B.

2016-12-01

Amorphous silica, composed of nanoscale spheres, is an important biomineral, alteration product of silicate rocks on the Earth's surface, and precursor material for stable silicate minerals. Despite constant progress in silica sphere synthesis, fundamental knowledge of natural silica particle interaction and ordering processes leading to colloidal crystals is absent so far. To understand the formation pathways of silica spheres in a geologic environment, we investigated silicified Cretaceous mollusk shell pseudomorphs from Coober Pedy (South Australia) using focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM tomography, petrographic microscopy, µ-XRD, and EMPA. The shells consist of replaced calcite crystals (ionic strength remain constant throughout the replacement process, permitting continuous silica nanoparticle formation and diffusion-limited colloid aggregation. Our study provides a natural example of the transformation of an atomic crystal to an amorphous, mesoscale ordered material; thus, links the research fields of natural colloidal crystal formation, carbonate-silica replacement, and crystallization by oriented particle aggregation (CPA).

Growth, morphology, spectral and thermal studies of gel grown diclofenac acid crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, E.; Ramukutty, S.

2014-03-01

The crystal growth of diclofenac acid in silica gel is the first to be reported in literature. The growth parameters were varied to optimize the suitable growth condition. Single crystal X-ray diffraction method was used for the conformation of the crystal structure. Morphology studies showed that the growth is prominent along the b-axis and the prominent face is {002}. Fourier transform infrared spectral study was performed to identify the functional groups present in the crystal. Thermal stability and decomposition of the material were analyzed using thermo calorimetry in the temperature range 30-500 °C.

Nanoscale nuclei in phase change materials: Origin of different crystallization mechanisms of Ge2Sb2Te5 and AgInSbTe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Bong-Sub; Bogle, Stephanie N.; Darmawikarta, Kristof; Abelson, John R.; Shelby, Robert M.; Retter, Charles T.; Burr, Geoffrey W.; Raoux, Simone; Bishop, Stephen G.

2014-01-01

Phase change memory devices are based on the rapid and reversible amorphous-to-crystalline transformations of phase change materials, such as Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 and AgInSbTe. Since the maximum switching speed of these devices is typically limited by crystallization speed, understanding the crystallization process is of crucial importance. While Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 and AgInSbTe show very different crystallization mechanisms from their melt-quenched states, the nanostructural origin of this difference has not been clearly demonstrated. Here, we show that an amorphous state includes different sizes and number of nanoscale nuclei, after thermal treatment such as melt-quenching or furnace annealing is performed. We employ fluctuation transmission electron microscopy to detect nanoscale nuclei embedded in amorphous materials, and use a pump-probe laser technique and atomic force microscopy to study the kinetics of nucleation and growth. We confirm that melt-quenched amorphous Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 includes considerably larger and more quenched-in nuclei than its as-deposited state, while melt-quenched AgInSbTe does not, and explain this contrast by the different ratio between quenching time and nucleation time in these materials. In addition to providing insights to the crystallization process in these technologically important devices, this study presents experimental illustrations of temperature-dependence of nucleation rate and growth speed, which was predicted by theory of phase transformation but rarely demonstrated

Inhibition of ice crystal growth in ice cream mix by gelatin hydrolysate.

Science.gov (United States)

Damodaran, Srinivasan

2007-12-26

The inhibition of ice crystal growth in ice cream mix by gelatin hydrolysate produced by papain action was studied. The ice crystal growth was monitored by thermal cycling between -14 and -12 degrees C at a rate of one cycle per 3 min. It is shown that the hydrolysate fraction containing peptides in the molecular weight range of about 2000-5000 Da exhibited the highest inhibitory activity on ice crystal growth in ice cream mix, whereas fractions containing peptides greater than 7000 Da did not inhibit ice crystal growth. The size distribution of gelatin peptides formed in the hydrolysate was influenced by the pH of hydrolysis. The optimum hydrolysis conditions for producing peptides with maximum ice crystal growth inhibitory activity was pH 7 at 37 degrees C for 10 min at a papain to gelatin ratio of 1:100. However, this may depend on the type and source of gelatin. The possible mechanism of ice crystal growth inhibition by peptides from gelatin is discussed. Molecular modeling of model gelatin peptides revealed that they form an oxygen triad plane at the C-terminus with oxygen-oxygen distances similar to those found in ice nuclei. Binding of this oxygen triad plane to the prism face of ice nuclei via hydrogen bonding appears to be the mechanism by which gelatin hydrolysate might be inhibiting ice crystal growth in ice cream mix.

Monitoring the recrystallisation of amorphous xylitol using Raman spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Palomäki, Emmi; Ahvenainen, Patrik; Ehlers, Henrik; Svedström, Kirsi; Huotari, Simo; Yliruusi, Jouko

2016-07-11

In this paper we present a fast model system for monitoring the recrystallization of quench-cooled amorphous xylitol using Raman spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray scattering. The use of these two methods enables comparison between surface and bulk crystallization. Non-ordered mesoporous silica micro-particles were added to the system in order to alter the rate of crystallization of the amorphous xylitol. Raman measurements showed that adding silica to the system increased the rate of surface crystallization, while X-ray measurements showed that the rate of bulk crystallization decreased. Using this model system it is possible to measure fast changes, which occur in minutes or within a few hours. Raman-spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray scattering were found to be complementary techniques when assessing surface and bulk crystallization of amorphous xylitol. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Silicon crystal growth using a liquid-feeding Czochralski method

Science.gov (United States)

Shiraishi, Yutaka; Kurosaka, Shoei; Imai, Masato

1996-09-01

Silicon single crystals with uniformity along the growth direction were grown using a new continuous Czochralski (CCZ) method. Polycrystalline silicon rods used as charge materials are melted by carbon heaters over a crucible without contact between the raw material and other substances. Using this method, silicon crystals with diameters as large as 6 or 8 inch and good uniformity along the growth direction were grown.

Potassium-cobalt sulphate crystal growth assisted by low frequency vibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Sadovsky, A.; Ermochenkov, I.; Dubovenko, E.; Sukhanova, E.; Bebyakin, M.; Dubov, V.; Avetissov, I.

2018-02-01

Single crystals of K2Co(SO4)2·6H2O were grown from solution using the temperature reduction method enhanced by the axial low frequency vibration control technique (AVC-technique). Physical modeling of heat-mass transfer in solution under the AVC action was performed. The growth rate of the AVC grown crystal was found to be twice that of the crystal grown under natural convection conditions. Analysis of spectral characteristics (absorption and Raman spectra) as well as structural properties (dislocation density and microhardness) of the grown crystals showed the significant superiority of the AVC technique for the growth of K2Co(SO4)2·6H2O crystals.

Needle-shaped and platelet growth of borax crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takoo, R.K.; Patel, B.R.; Joshi, M.S.

1983-01-01

Needle-shaped and platelet growth of borax crystals from solutions is reported. Results of microtopographical studies on both the varieties are discussed. It is suggested that a slow rate of evaporation favours needle growth and a faster rate is conducive to the growth of platelets. (author)

Synthesis, crystallization behavior and surface modification of Ni-Cr-Si-Fe amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, M.; Akhter, J.I.; Rajput, M.U.; Mahmood, K.; Hussain, Z.; Hussain, S.; Rafiq, M.

2011-01-01

A quaternary Ni/sub 86/Cr/sub 7/Si/sub 4/Fe/sub 3/ amorphous alloy was synthesized by melt spinning technique. Surface modification was done by electron beam melting (EBM), neutron irradiation and gamma-rays. Microstructure of as cast, annealed and modified samples was examined by scanning electron microscope. Crystallization behavior was studied by annealing the samples in vacuum at different temperatures in the range 773-1073 K. Techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used for characterization. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was conducted at various heating rates in the range 10-40 K/min. Thermal parameters like glass transition temperature T/sub g/, crystallization temperature T/sub x/, supercooled liquid region delta T/sub x/ and reduced glass transition temperature T/sub rg/ were measured. The Ni/sub 86/Cr/sub 7/Si/sub 4/Fe/sub 3/ alloy exhibits wide supercooled liquid region of 60 K indicating good thermal stability. The activation energy was calculated to be 160 +- 4 kJ/mol using Kissinger and Ozawa equations respectively which indicates high resistance against crystallization. The XRD results of the samples annealed at 773 K, 923 K, 973 K and 1073 K/20 min show nucleation of Ni/sub 2/Cr/sub 3/ and NiCrFe crystalline phases. Vickers microhardness of the as cast ribbon was measured to be 680. About 30-50 % increase in hardness was achieved by applying EBM technique. (author)

Mechanism of abnormally slow crystal growth of CuZr alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, X. Q.; Lü, Y. J.

2015-01-01

Crystal growth of the glass-forming CuZr alloy is shown to be abnormally slow, which suggests a new method to identify the good glass-forming alloys. The crystal growth of elemental Cu, Pd and binary NiAl, CuZr alloys is systematically studied with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. The temperature dependence of the growth velocity indicates the different growth mechanisms between the elemental and the alloy systems. The high-speed growth featuring the elemental metals is dominated by the non-activated collision between liquid-like atoms and interface, and the low-speed growth for NiAl and CuZr is determined by the diffusion across the interface. We find that, in contrast to Cu, Pd, and NiAl, a strong stress layering arisen from the density and the local order layering forms in front of the liquid-crystal interface of CuZr alloy, which causes a slow diffusion zone. The formation of the slow diffusion zone suppresses the interface moving, resulting in much small growth velocity of CuZr alloy. We provide a direct evidence of this explanation by applying the compressive stress normal to the interface. The compression is shown to boost the stress layering in CuZr significantly, correspondingly enhancing the slow diffusion zone, and eventually slowing down the crystal growth of CuZr alloy immediately. In contrast, the growth of Cu, Pd, and NiAl is increased by the compression because the low diffusion zones in them are never well developed

Solid phase epitaxy of amorphous silicon carbide: Ion fluence dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, I.-T.; Ishimaru, Manabu; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko; Sickafus, Kurt E.

2004-01-01

We have investigated the effect of radiation damage and impurity concentration on solid phase epitaxial growth of amorphous silicon carbide (SiC) as well as microstructures of recrystallized layer using transmission electron microscopy. Single crystals of 6H-SiC with (0001) orientation were irradiated with 150 keV Xe ions to fluences of 10 15 and 10 16 /cm 2 , followed by annealing at 890 deg. C. Full epitaxial recrystallization took place in a specimen implanted with 10 15 Xe ions, while retardation of recrystallization was observed in a specimen implanted with 10 16 /cm 2 Xe ions. Atomic pair-distribution function analyses and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy results suggested that the retardation of recrystallization of the 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted sample is attributed to the difference in amorphous structures between the 10 15 and 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted samples, i.e., more chemically disordered atomistic structure and higher Xe impurity concentration in the 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted sample

Solid dispersions of Myricetin with enhanced solubility: Formulation, characterization and crystal structure of stability-impeding Myricetin monohydrate crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Mureşan-Pop, M.; Pop, M. M.; Borodi, G.; Todea, M.; Nagy-Simon, T.; Simon, S.

2017-08-01

Three solid dispersion forms of Myricetin combined with the Polyvinylpyrrolidone were successfully prepared by spray drying method, and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and optical microscopy. Zeta potential measurements provided indications on solid dispersions stability in aqueous suspension related to their storage at elevated temperature and relative humidity, which depends on the Myricetin load. By increase of Myricetin load, the stability of the solid dispersion is impeded due to growth of Myricetin monohydrate crystals. The amorphous dispersions with 10% and 50% Myricetin load are stable and, compared to pure Myricetin, their aqueous solubility is enhanced by a factor of 47 and 13, respectively. The dispersion with 80% Myricetin load is unstable on storage, and this behavior acts in conjunction with the development of Myricetin monohydrate crystals. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction results obtained for Myricetin monohydrate reveal a structure of an infinite 2D network of hydrogen-bonded molecules involving all six hydroxyl groups of Myricetin. The water molecules are positioned in between the infinite chains, and contribute via H-bonds to robust crystal packing. The calculated needle-like morphology of monohydrate form is in agreement with the optical microscopy results. The study shows that the solid amorphous dispersions with up to 50% Myricetin load are a viable option for achieving substantial solubility improvement of Myricetin, and supports their potential use in pharmaceutical applications.

Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Lu substituted CeBr.sub.3./sub. single crystals

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ito, T.; Yokota, Y.; Kurosawa, S.; Král, Robert; Kamada, K.; Pejchal, Jan; Ohashi, Y.; Yoshikawa, A.

2016-01-01

Roč. 452, Oct (2016), s. 65-68 ISSN 0022-0248. [American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy /20./ (ACCGE) / 17th Biennial Workshop on Organometallic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (OMVPE) / 2nd 2D Electronic Materials Symposium. Big Sky, MT, 02.08.2015-07.08.2015] Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : radiation * halides * scintillator materials * crystal growth Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.751, year: 2016

Time-Lapse, in Situ Imaging of Ice Crystal Growth Using Confocal Microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcellini, Moreno; Noirjean, Cecile; Dedovets, Dmytro; Maria, Juliette; Deville, Sylvain

2016-11-30

Ice crystals nucleate and grow when a water solution is cooled below its freezing point. The growth velocities and morphologies of the ice crystals depend on many parameters, such as the temperature of ice growth, the melting temperature, and the interactions of solutes with the growing crystals. Three types of morphologies may appear: dendritic, cellular (or fingerlike), or the faceted equilibrium form. Understanding and controlling which type of morphology is formed is essential in several domains, from biology to geophysics and materials science. Obtaining, in situ, three dimensional observations without introducing artifacts due to the experimental technique is nevertheless challenging. Here we show how we can use laser scanning confocal microscopy to follow in real-time the growth of smoothed and faceted ice crystals in zirconium acetate solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative observations can be made. In particular, we can precisely measure the lateral growth velocity of the crystals, a measure otherwise difficult to obtain. Such observations should help us understand the influence of the parameters that control the growth of ice crystals in various systems.

Ion-induced damage and amorphization in Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, O.W.; White, C.W.

1990-01-01

Ion-induced damage growth in high-energy, self-ion irradiated Si was studied using electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The results show that there is a marked variation in the rate of damage growth, as well as the damage morphology, along the path of the ion. Near the ion end-of-range (eor), damage increases monotonically with ion fluence until a buried amorphous layer is formed, while damage growth saturates at a low level in the region ahead. The morphology of the damage in the saturated region is shown to consist predominantly of simple defect clusters such as the divacancy. Damage growth remains saturated ahead of the eor until expansion of the buried amorphous layer encroaches into the region. A homogeneous growth model is presented which accounts for damage saturation, and accurately predicts the dose-rate dependence of the saturation level. Modifications of the model are discussed which are needed to account for the rapid growth in the eor region and near the interface of the buried amorphous layer. Two important factors contributing to rapid damage growth are identified. Spatial separation of the Frenkel defect pairs (i.e. interstitials and vacancies) due to the momentum of the interstitials is shown to greatly impact damage growth near the eor, while uniaxial strain in the interfacial region of the amorphous layer is identified as an important factor contributing to growth at that location. 20 refs., 10 figs

Crystallization of an amorphous B-C-N precursor with a Li-B-N catalyst at high pressures and temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Dongxu; Yu Dongli; Wang Peng; Li Yingmei; He Julong; Xu Bo; Liu Zhongyuan [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei Province (China); Tian Yongjun, E-mail: fhcl@ysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei Province (China)

2009-11-15

An orthorhombic B-C-N compound was synthesized using an amorphous B-C-N precursor and a Li-B-N catalyst at 6 GPa and 1773 K. The results of energy dispersive spectrometry and electronic energy loss spectrometry suggest a stoichiometry of B:C:N = 1:3.3:1. In addition, the Li-B-N catalyst improves the crystallizations of the B-C-N compound, graphite and BN and therefore might be a profitable catalyst in ultrahigh pressure experiments.

Crystallization of an amorphous B-C-N precursor with a Li-B-N catalyst at high pressures and temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Dongxu; Yu Dongli; Wang Peng; Li Yingmei; He Julong; Xu Bo; Liu Zhongyuan; Tian Yongjun

2009-01-01

An orthorhombic B-C-N compound was synthesized using an amorphous B-C-N precursor and a Li-B-N catalyst at 6 GPa and 1773 K. The results of energy dispersive spectrometry and electronic energy loss spectrometry suggest a stoichiometry of B:C:N = 1:3.3:1. In addition, the Li-B-N catalyst improves the crystallizations of the B-C-N compound, graphite and BN and therefore might be a profitable catalyst in ultrahigh pressure experiments.

Growth and characterization of high-purity SiC single crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Augustine, G.; Balakrishna, V.; Brandt, C. D.

2000-04-01

High-purity SiC single crystals with diameter up to 50 mm have been grown by the physical vapor transport method. Finite element analysis was used for thermal modeling of the crystal growth cavity in order to reduce stress in the grown crystal. Crystals are grown in high-purity growth ambient using purified graphite furniture and high-purity SiC sublimation sources. Undoped crystals up to 50 mm in diameter with micropipe density less than 100 cm -2 have been grown using this method. These undoped crystals exhibit resistivities in the 10 3 Ω cm range and are p-type due to the presence of residual acceptor impurities, mainly boron. Semi-insulating SiC material is obtained by doping the crystal with vanadium. Vanadium has a deep donor level located near the middle of the band gap, which compensates the residual acceptor resulting in semi-insulating behavior.

Femtosecond laser induced crystallization and permanent relief grating structures in amorphous inorganic (In2O3+1 wt % TiO2) films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katayama, Shigeru; Tsutsumi, Naoto; Nakamura, Toshitaka; Horiike, Mika; Hirao, Kazuyuki

2002-01-01

This letter presents an investigation of crystalline relief grating structures induced by irradiation of near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses on an amorphous inorganic (In 2 O 3 +1 wt % TiO 2 ) film. The shapes of crystallized relief structures were sensitive to the scanning rate and the focused point height of irradiation, and the optimized irradiation condition gave cone-shaped cross section structures. Selective wet etching on unirradiated amorphous regions using a 3% hydrochloric acid solution could make sharper relief grating structures of crystalline regions. Diffraction efficiency of the relief grating structures with Au coating was measured, and it was confirmed that first-order diffraction, efficiencies were approximately 40% and 20% for etched and nonetched samples, respectively

Epitaxial crystal growth by sputter deposition: Applications to semiconductors. Part 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, J.E.

1984-01-01

The understanding of the physics of ion-surface interactions has progressed sufficiently to allow sputter depositinn to be used as a crystal growth technique for depositing a wide variety of single crystal elemental, compound, alloy, and superlattice semiconductors. In many cases, films with essentially bulk values of carrier concentrations and mobilities have been obtained. The controlled use of low energy particle bombardment of the growing film during sputter deposition has been shown to affect all stages of crystal growth ranging from adatom mobilities and nucleation kinetics to elemental incorporation probabilities. Such effects provide inherent advantages for sputter deposition over other vapor phase techniques for the low temperature growth of compound and alloy semiconductors and are essential in allowing the growth of new and unique single crystal metastable semiconductors. Part 1 of this review includes sections on experimental techniques, the physics of ion-surface interactions, and ion bombardment effects on film nucleation and growth, while Part 2 presents a discussion of recent results in the growth of elemental, III-V, II-VI, IV-VI, metastable, and other compound semiconductors

Protein crystal growth results from the United States Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission

Science.gov (United States)

Delucas, Lawrence J.; Moore, K. M.; Vanderwoerd, M.; Bray, T. L.; Smith, C.; Carson, M.; Narayana, S. V. L.; Rosenblum, W. M.; Carter, D.; Clark, A. D, Jr.

1994-01-01

Protein crystal growth experiments have been performed by this laboratory on 18 Space Shuttle missions since April, 1985. In addition, a number of microgravity experiments also have been performed and reported by other investigators. These Space Shuttle missions have been used to grow crystals of a variety of proteins using vapor diffusion, liquid diffusion, and temperature-induced crystallization techniques. The United States Microgravity Laboratory - 1 mission (USML-1, June 25 - July 9, 1992) was a Spacelab mission dedicated to experiments involved in materials processing. New protein crystal growth hardware was developed to allow in orbit examination of initial crystal growth results, the knowledge from which was used on subsequent days to prepare new crystal growth experiments. In addition, new seeding hardware and techniques were tested as well as techniques that would prepare crystals for analysis by x-ray diffraction, a capability projected for the planned Space Station. Hardware that was specifically developed for the USML-1 mission will be discussed along with the experimental results from this mission.

New developments on size-dependent growth applied to the crystallization of sucrose

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, P. M.; Rocha, F.

2007-12-01

The effect of crystal size on the growth rate of sucrose (C 12H 22O 11) at 40 °C is investigated from a theoretical and an experimental point of view. Based on new perspectives resulting from the recently introduced spiral nucleation model [P.M. Martins, F. Rocha, Surf. Sci. 601 (2007) 3400], crystal growth rates are expressed in terms of mass deposition per time and crystal volume units. This alternative definition is demonstrated to be size-independent over the considered supersaturation range. The conventional overall growth rate expressed per surface area units is found to be linearly dependent on crystal size. The advantages of the "volumetric" growth rate concept are discussed. Sucrose dissolution rates were measured under reciprocal conditions of the growth experiments in order to investigate the two-way effect of crystal size on mass transfer rates and on the integration kinetics. Both effects are adequately described by combining a well-established diffusion-integration model and the spiral nucleation mechanism.

Effect of crystallization condition on the Microwave properties of Fe-based amorphous alloy flakes and polymer composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Byoung-Gi [Department of Advanced Metallic Materials, Korea Institute of Materials Science, 531 Changwondaero, Changwon, Kyungnam (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Soon-Ho; Sohn, Keun Yong; Park, Won-Wook [School of Nano Engineering, Inje University, 607 Obang-dong, Kimhae, Kyungnam (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, Sang-Kyun; Song, Yong-Sul [Amosense Co., 185-1 Sucham-ri, Tongjin-myun, Gimposi, Kyungkido (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Taek-Dong, E-mail: bgmoon@kims.re.k [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Insititute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2009-01-01

The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties with a variation of crystallization temperature have been investigated in a sheet-type absorber made of the amorphous Fe{sub 73}Si{sub 16}B{sub 7}Nb{sub 3}Cu{sub 1}Finemet powder. With the variation of the annealing temperature, the magnetic and dielectric properties of the crystallized Fe-based absorber with a nano-structure were changed. The complex permittivity increased with increasing the annealing temperature, whereas the complex permeability was maximized after annealing at 530 deg. C for 1 hour. The absolute value of the reflection parameter, |S{sub 11}|, increased with increasing annealing temperature of the nanocrystalline alloy powder. On the contrary, the transmission one, |S{sub 21}|, showed the highest value after annealing at 530 deg. C for 1 hour, which is regarded as the optimum temperature for the improvement of EM wave absorption properties.

Superconducting and normal properties of metallic amorphous systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esquinazi, P.D.

1983-02-01

The superconducting and transport properties (superconducing critical temperature, superconducting critical currents, electric resistivity and thermal conductivity) of the amorphous alloys La 70 Cu 30 and Zr 70 Cu 30 prepared by melt spinning have been investigated. The modification of these properties when, the initial amorphous metals relax to other metastable state under thermal treatment at below crystallization temperatures, have also been studied. (M.E.L.) [es

New amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys based on the Ni-Si-B system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battezzati, L.; Rizzi, P.; Romussi, S. [Turin Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Chimica

1998-08-01

The glass formation and crystallization of a Ni{sub 36}Fe{sub 32}Ta{sub 7}Si{sub 8}B{sub 17} alloy is reported. In its equilibrium state it has a complex constitution made of at least four phases. It starts melting at 1227 K and displays a liquidus at 1460 K, but it shows a tendency to undercool even on cooling at 10 K/min in a HTDSC cell. Amorphous ribbons were produced by melt spinning. In DSC experiments the crystallization of the amorphous alloy occurs with a primary reaction giving a peak skewed on the high temperature side with onset at 836 K using an heating rate of 40 K/min. XRD analysis and TEM observations demonstrate that crystals with size below 10 nm and lattice parameter close to that of Ni are formed during this transformation. The mechanism of crystallization is very sensitive to changes in composition. In fact, nanocrystals are not found in alloys easily amorphized as the present one but containing a different ratio of metallic elements. (orig.) 16 refs.

Surface growth mechanisms and structural faulting in the growth of large single and spherulitic titanosilicate ETS-4 crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Miraglia, Peter Q.; Yilmaz, Bilge; Warzywoda, Juliusz; Sacco, Albert

2004-10-01

Morphological, surface and crystallographic analyses of titanosilicate ETS-4 products, with diverse habits ranging from spherulitic particles composed of submicron crystallites to large single crystals, are presented. Pole figures revealed that crystal surfaces with a-, b- and c- axes corresponded to , and directions, respectively. Thus, technologically important 8-membered ring pores and titania chains in ETS-4 run along the b-axis of single crystals and terminate at the smallest crystal face. Height of the spiral growth steps observed on {1 0 0} and {0 0 1} surfaces corresponded to the interplanar spacings associated with their crystallographic orientation, and is equivalent to the thickness of building units that form the ETS-4 framework. Data suggest that the more viscous synthesis mixtures, with a large driving force for growth, increased the two- and three-dimensional nucleation, while limiting the transport of nutrients to the growth surface. These conditions increase the tendency for stacking fault formation on {1 0 0} surfaces and small angle branching, which eventually results in spherulitic growth. The growth of high quality ETS-4 single crystals (from less viscous synthesis mixtures) occurred at lower surface nucleation rates. Data suggest that these high quality, large crystals grew due to one-dimensional nucleation at spiral hillocks, and indicate that under these conditions un-faulted growth is preferred.

Low hydrogen containing amorphous carbon films - Growth and electrochemical properties as lithium battery anodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Subramanian, V.; Masarapu, Charan; Wei, Bingqing [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, 130 Academy Street, Newark, DE 19716 (United States); Karabacak, Tansel [Department of Applied Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 South University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204 (United States); Teki, Ranganath [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States); Lu, Toh-Ming [Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States)

2010-04-02

Amorphous carbon films were deposited successfully on Cu foils by DC magnetron sputtering technique. Electrochemical performance of the film as lithium battery anode was evaluated across Li metal at 0.2 C rate in a non-aqueous electrolyte. The discharge curves showed unusually low irreversible capacity in the first cycle with a reversible capacity of {proportional_to}810 mAh g{sup -1}, which is at least 2 times higher than that of graphitic carbon. For the first time we report here an amorphous carbon showing such a high reversibility in the first cycle, which is very much limited to the graphitic carbon. The deposited films were extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and step profilometer for the structural and surface properties. The hydrogen content of the synthesized films was studied using residual gas analysis (RGA). The low hydrogen content and the low specific surface area of the synthesized amorphous carbon film are considered responsible for such a high first cycle columbic efficiency. The growth mechanism and the reasons for enhanced electrochemical performance of the carbon films are discussed. (author)

Low hydrogen containing amorphous carbon films-Growth and electrochemical properties as lithium battery anodes

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanian, V.; Karabacak, Tansel; Masarapu, Charan; Teki, Ranganath; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wei, Bingqing

Amorphous carbon films were deposited successfully on Cu foils by DC magnetron sputtering technique. Electrochemical performance of the film as lithium battery anode was evaluated across Li metal at 0.2 C rate in a non-aqueous electrolyte. The discharge curves showed unusually low irreversible capacity in the first cycle with a reversible capacity of ∼810 mAh g -1, which is at least 2 times higher than that of graphitic carbon. For the first time we report here an amorphous carbon showing such a high reversibility in the first cycle, which is very much limited to the graphitic carbon. The deposited films were extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and step profilometer for the structural and surface properties. The hydrogen content of the synthesized films was studied using residual gas analysis (RGA). The low hydrogen content and the low specific surface area of the synthesized amorphous carbon film are considered responsible for such a high first cycle columbic efficiency. The growth mechanism and the reasons for enhanced electrochemical performance of the carbon films are discussed.

Study on excimer laser irradiation for controlled dehydrogenation and crystallization of boron doped hydrogenated amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gontad, F.; Conde, J.C.; Filonovich, S.; Cerqueira, M.F.; Alpuim, P.; Chiussi, S.

2013-01-01

We report on the excimer laser annealing (ELA) induced temperature gradients, allowing controlled crystallization and dehydrogenation of boron-doped a-Si:H/nc-Si:H multilayers. Depth of the dehydrogenation and crystallization process has been studied numerically and experimentally, showing that temperatures below the monohydride decomposition can be used and that significant changes of the doping profile can be avoided. Calculation of temperature profiles has been achieved through numerical modeling of the heat conduction differential equation. Increase in the amount of nano-crystals, but not in their size, has been demonstrated by Raman spectroscopy. Effective dehydrogenation and shape of the boron profile have been studied by time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The relatively low temperature threshold for dehydrogenation, below the monohydride decomposition temperature, has been attributed to both, the large hydrogen content of the original films and the partial crystallization during the ELA process. The results of this study show that UV-laser irradiation is an effective tool to improve crystallinity and dopant activation in p + -nc-Si:H films without damaging the substrate. - Highlights: • An efficient dehydrogenation is possible through excimer laser annealing. • 140 mJ/cm 2 is enough for dehydrogenation without significant changes in doping profile. • Fluences up to 300 mJ/cm 2 promote partial crystallization of the amorphous structures

Study on excimer laser irradiation for controlled dehydrogenation and crystallization of boron doped hydrogenated amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gontad, F., E-mail: fran_gontad@yahoo.es [Applied Physics Department, University of Vigo, E.I. Industrial, Campus de As Lagoas, Marcosende, E-36310, Vigo (Spain); Conde, J.C. [Applied Physics Department, University of Vigo, E.I. Industrial, Campus de As Lagoas, Marcosende, E-36310, Vigo (Spain); Filonovich, S.; Cerqueira, M.F.; Alpuim, P. [Department of Physics, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães (Portugal); Chiussi, S. [Applied Physics Department, University of Vigo, E.I. Industrial, Campus de As Lagoas, Marcosende, E-36310, Vigo (Spain)

2013-06-01

We report on the excimer laser annealing (ELA) induced temperature gradients, allowing controlled crystallization and dehydrogenation of boron-doped a-Si:H/nc-Si:H multilayers. Depth of the dehydrogenation and crystallization process has been studied numerically and experimentally, showing that temperatures below the monohydride decomposition can be used and that significant changes of the doping profile can be avoided. Calculation of temperature profiles has been achieved through numerical modeling of the heat conduction differential equation. Increase in the amount of nano-crystals, but not in their size, has been demonstrated by Raman spectroscopy. Effective dehydrogenation and shape of the boron profile have been studied by time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The relatively low temperature threshold for dehydrogenation, below the monohydride decomposition temperature, has been attributed to both, the large hydrogen content of the original films and the partial crystallization during the ELA process. The results of this study show that UV-laser irradiation is an effective tool to improve crystallinity and dopant activation in p{sup +}-nc-Si:H films without damaging the substrate. - Highlights: • An efficient dehydrogenation is possible through excimer laser annealing. • 140 mJ/cm{sup 2} is enough for dehydrogenation without significant changes in doping profile. • Fluences up to 300 mJ/cm{sup 2} promote partial crystallization of the amorphous structures.

The 1993 annual conference of the Israeli Association for Crystal Growth. Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-11-01

Papers presented in oral and poster sessions of one day conference, organized by Israeli Association for Crystal Growth, are compiled in this document. Main topics covered in this document can be classified as: (i) Fundamental and numerical analysis of crystal growth. (ii) Techniques of crystal growth and structural analysis. (iii) Thin film growth and characterization

Microstructure and initial growth characteristics of the low temperature microcrystalline silicon films on silicon nitride surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Young-Bae; Rhee, Shi-Woo

2001-01-01

Microstructure and initial growth characteristics of the hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (μc-Si:H) films grown on hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiN x :H) surface at low temperature were investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscope and micro-Raman spectroscopy. With increasing the Si and Si - H contents in the SiN x :H surfaces, μc-Si crystallites, a few nanometers in size, were directly grown on amorphous nitride surfaces. It is believed that the crystallites were grown through the nucleation and phase transition from amorphous to crystal in a hydrogen-rich ambient of gas phase and growing surface. The crystallite growth characteristics on the dielectric surface were dependent on the stoichiometric (x=N/Si) ratio corresponding hydrogen bond configuration of the SiN x :H surface. Surface facetting and anisotropic growth of the Si crystallites resulted from the different growth rate on the different lattice planes of Si. No twins and stacking faults were observed in the (111) lattice planes of the Si crystallites surrounding the a-Si matrix. This atomic-scale structure was considered to be the characteristic of the low temperature crystallization of the μc-Si:H by the strain relaxation of crystallites in the a-Si:H matrix. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

Synthesis, characterization, and in-vitro cytocompatibility of amorphous β-tri-calcium magnesium phosphate ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Satish S., E-mail: sss42@pitt.edu [Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Roy, Abhijit, E-mail: abr20@pitt.edu [Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Lee, Boeun, E-mail: bol11@pitt.edu [Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Banerjee, Ipsita [Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Kumta, Prashant N., E-mail: pkumta@pitt.edu [Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States)

2016-10-01

Biphasic mixtures of crystalline β-tricalcium magnesium phosphate (β-TCMP) and an amorphous calcium magnesium phosphate have been synthesized and reported to support enhanced hMSC differentiation in comparison to β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) due to the release of increased amounts of bioactive ions. In the current study, completely amorphous β-TCMP has been synthesized which is capable of releasing increased amounts of Mg{sup 2+} and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} ions, rather than a biphasic mixture as earlier reported. The amorphous phase formed was observed to crystallize between temperatures of 400–600 °C. The scaffolds prepared with amorphous β-TCMP were capable of supporting enhanced hMSC proliferation and differentiation in comparison to commercially available β-TCP. However, a similar gene expression of mature osteoblast markers, OCN and COL-1, in comparison to biphasic β-TCMP was observed. To further study the role of Mg{sup 2+} and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} ions in regulating hMSC osteogenic differentiation, the capability of hMSCs to mineralize in growth media supplemented with Mg{sup 2+} and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} ions was studied. Interestingly, 5 mM PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} supported mineralization while the addition of 5 mM Mg{sup 2+} to 5 mM PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} inhibited mineralization. It was therefore concluded that the release of Ca{sup 2+} ions from β-TCMP scaffolds also plays a role in regulating osteogenic differentiation on these scaffolds and it is noted that further work is required to more accurately determine the exact role of Mg{sup 2+} in regulating hMSC osteogenic differentiation. - Highlights: • Synthesis of amorphous Mg containing beta tricalcium phosphate ceramics • Amorphous beta TCMP supports enhanced hMSC proliferation and differentiation. • Amorphous beta TCMP shows comparable OCN and COL-1 expression to biphasic TCMP. • Presence of 5 mM Mg{sup 2+} and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} ions in growth media inhibits hMSC mineralization.

Kinetics and formation mechanism of amorphous Fe52Nb48 alloy powder fabricated by mechanical alloying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Eskandarany, S.

1999-01-01

A single phase amorphous Fe 52 Nb 48 alloy has been synthesized through a solid state interdiffusion of pure polycrystalline Fe and Nb powders at room temperature, using a high-energy ball-milling technique. The mechanisms of metallic glass formation and competing crystallization processes in the mechanically deformed composite powders have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, Moessbauer spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The numerous intimate layered composite particles of the diffusion couples that formed during the first and intermediate stages of milling time (0-56 ks), are intermixed to form amorphous phase(s) upon heating to about 625 K by so-called thermally assisted solid state amorphization, TASSA. The amorphization heat of formation for binary system via the TASSA, ΔH a , was measured directly as a function of the milling time. Comparable with the TASSA, homogeneous amorphous alloys were fabricated directly without heating the composite multilayered particles upon milling these particles for longer milling time (86 ks-144 ks). The amorphization reaction here is attributed to the mechanical driven solid state amorphization. This single amorphous phase transforms into an order phase (μ phase) upon heating at 1088 K (crystallization temperature, T x ) with enthalpy change of crystallization, ΔH x , of -8.3 kJmol -1 . (orig.)

Amorphous and Crystalline Particulates: Challenges and Perspectives in Drug Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Obaidi, Hisham; Majumder, Mridul; Bari, Fiza

2017-01-01

Crystalline and amorphous dispersions have been the focus of academic and industrial research due to their potential role in formulating poorly water-soluble drugs. This review looks at the progress made starting with crystalline carriers in the form of eutectics moving towards more complex crystalline mixtures. It also covers using glassy polymers to maintain the drug as amorphous exhibiting higher energy and entropy. However, the amorphous form tends to recrystallize on storage, which limits the benefits of this approach. Specific interactions between the drug and the polymer may retard this spontaneous conversion of the amorphous drug. Some studies have shown that it is possible to maintain the drug in the amorphous form for extended periods of time. For the drug and the polymer to form a stable mixture they have to be miscible on a molecular basis. Another form of solid dispersions is pharmaceutical co-crystals, for which research has focused on understanding the chemistry, crystal engineering and physico-chemical properties. USFDA has issued a guidance in April 2013 suggesting that the co-crystals as a pharmaceutical product may be a reality; but just not yet! While some of the research is still oriented towards application of these carriers, understanding the mechanism by which drug-carrier miscibility occurs is also covered. Within this context is the use of thermodynamic models such as Flory-Huggins model with some examples of studies used to predict miscibility. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

The influence of heterogeneous nucleation on the surface crystallization of guaifenesin from melt extrudates containing Eudragit L10055 or Acryl-EZE.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Caroline D; Fegely, Kurt A; Rajabi-Siahboomi, Ali R; McGinity, James W

2010-05-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of talc and humidity conditions during storage on the crystal growth of guaifenesin on the surface of melt-extruded matrix tablets. Tablets consisted of the model drug guaifenesin in a matrix of either Acryl-EZE(R) or Eudragit(R) L10055 and either no talc, 25% or 50% talc. After processing, the hot-melt-extruded matrix tablets were supersaturated with amorphous guaifenesin, which resulted in the development of guaifenesin drug crystals on exposed surfaces of the tablet during storage (all tablets were stored at 24 degrees C). A previously developed, quantitative test was used to assay for surface guaifenesin. In tablets with a drug-to-polymer ratio of 19:81, talc-containing tablets exhibited an earlier onset of crystal growth (storage at 17% relative humidity). The presence of talc also increased the amount of surface crystallization and was independent of the talc concentration, since the talc levels used in this study exceeded the critical nucleant concentration. Additional non-melting components did not have an additive effect on surface crystal growth. High humidity during storage (78%) increased guaifenesin crystallization, but moisture uptake of tablets did not correlate with increased drug recrystallization. When storage at 17% relative humidity was interrupted for 3days by storage at 78% relative humidity before the tablets were returned to their previous low RH storage conditions, crystal growth quickly increased during the high RH interval and remained at an elevated level throughout the remaining storage period. A similar intermediate period of low, 17% relative humidity in tablets stored before and after that time at 78% RH did not affect surface crystallization levels. The effects of humidity and talc on the crystallization of guaifenesin from melt-extruded dosage forms supersaturated with amorphous drug were ascribed to heterogeneous nucleation.

Growth features of ammonium hydrogen d-tartrate single crystals

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

Abstract. Ammonium hydrogen d-tartrate (d-AHT) single crystals were grown in silica gel. The growth fea- ... solution (specific gravity, 1⋅04 g/cc) with d-tartaric acid solution having ... resulting in the production of crystal nuclei. The interface.

Crystal growth of CVD diamond and some of its peculiarities

CERN Document Server

Piekarczyk, W

1999-01-01

Experiments demonstrate that CVD diamond can form in gas environments that are carbon undersaturated with respect to diamond. This fact is, among others, the most serious violation of principles of chemical thermodynamics. In this $9 paper it is shown that none of the principles is broken when CVD diamond formation is considered not a physical process consisting in growth of crystals but a chemical process consisting in accretion of macro-molecules of polycyclic $9 saturated hydrocarbons belonging to the family of organic compounds the smallest representatives of which are adamantane, diamantane, triamantane and so forth. Since the polymantane macro-molecules are in every respect identical with $9 diamond single crystals with hydrogen-terminated surfaces, the accretion of polymantane macro- molecules is a process completely equivalent to the growth of diamond crystals. However, the accretion of macro-molecules must be $9 described in a way different from that used to describe the growth of crystals because so...

Face-selective crystal growth behavior of L-aspartic acid in the presence of L-asparagine

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Hiroyasu; Doki, Norihito; Yoshida, Saki; Yokota, Masaaki; Shimizu, Kenji

2016-02-01

The kinetic mechanism of L-asparagine (L-Asn) action on L-aspartic acid (L-Asp) crystal growth, namely the face-selective effect of L-Asn on the L-Asp crystal growth rate in each direction, was examined. In the a-axis direction, the effect of L-Asn on the L-Asp crystal growth rate was small. Enhancement and inhibition of L-Asp crystal growth, and interestingly the dissolution of the L-Asp crystal face, were observed in the b-axis direction, depending on the amount of L-Asn added. In the c-axis direction, the L-Asp crystal growth rate decreased with the increase in the amount of L-Asn added, and the experimental results were well fitted with a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The study showed that there were crystal growth conditions where enhancement and inhibition, as well as inhibition and dissolution, coexisted in the presence of an additive with a structure similar to the growing crystal.

Meniscus Imaging for Crystal-Growth Control

Science.gov (United States)

Sachs, E. M.

1983-01-01

Silicon crystal growth monitored by new video system reduces operator stress and improves conditions for observation and control of growing process. System optics produce greater magnification vertically than horizontally, so entire meniscus and melt is viewed with high resolution in both width and height dimensions.

Technique for determination of elastic limit of micron band-thick amorphous

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakharov, E.K.; Pol'dyaeva, G.P.; Tret'yakov, B.N.

1984-01-01

A method is suggested to determine the elastic limit of micron-thick amorphous band under bending. The elastic limit is determined by bending an amorphous band sample around a series of cylindrical mandrels of gradually decreasing radius. Experimental data on measuring the elastic limit of some amorphous iron base alloys according to the suggested technique are presented. The elastic limit of amorphous alloys is shown to lie in the 3140-4110 MPa range depending on chemical composition, which is about 2-2.5 times higher as compared to high-strength crystal alloys

Insights into crystal growth rates from a study of orbicular granitoids from western Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J.; Lee, C. T.

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study is to develop new tools for constraining crystal growth rate in geologic systems. Of interest is the growth of crystals in magmatic systems because crystallization changes the rheology of a magma as well as provides surfaces on which bubbles can nucleate. To explore crystal growth in more detail, we conducted a case study of orbicular granitoids from western Australia. The orbicules occur as spheroids dispersed in a granitic matrix. Most orbicules have at least two to three concentric bands, composed of elongate and radially oriented hornblende surrounded by interstitial plagioclase. We show that mineral modes and hence bulk composition at the scale of the band is homogeneous from rim to core. Crystal number density decreases and crystal size increases from rim to core. These observations suggest that the orbicules crystallized rapidly from rim to core. We hypothesize that the orbicules are blobs of hot dioritic liquid injected into a cold granitic magma and subsequently cooled and solidified. Crystals stop growing when the mass transport rate tends to zero due to the low temperature. We estimated cooling timescales based on conductive cooling models, constraining crystal growth rates to be 10-6 to 10-5 m/s. We also show that the oscillatory banding is controlled by disequilibrium crystallization, wherein hornblende preferentially crystallizes, resulting in the diffusive growth of a chemical boundary layer enriched in plagioclase component, which in turns results in crystallization of plagioclase. We show that the correlation between the width of each crystallization couplet (band) with distance from orbicule rim is linear, with the slope corresponding to the square root of the ratio between chemical diffusivity in the growth medium and thermal diffusivity. We estimate chemical diffusivity of 2*10-7 m2/s, which is remarkably fast for silicate liquids but reasonable for diffusion in hot aqueous fluids, suggesting that crystallization

Crystal growth and mechanical hardness of In{sub 2}Se{sub 2.7}Sb{sub 0.3} single crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, Piyush, E-mail: piyush-patel130@yahoo.com; Vyas, S. M., E-mail: s-m-vyas-gu@hotmail.com; Patel, Vimal; Pavagadhi, Himanshu [Department of Physics, School of Science, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India-380009 (India); Solanki, Mitesh [panditdindayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar. Gujarat (India); Jani, Maunik P. [BITS Edu Campus, Varnama, Vadodara, Gujarat (India)

2015-08-28

The III-VI compound semiconductors is important for the fabrication of ionizing radiation detectors, solid-state electrodes, and photosensitive heterostructures, solar cell and ionic batteries. In this paper, In{sub 2}Se{sub 2.7} Sb{sub 0.3} single crystals were grown by the Bridgman method with temperature gradient of 60 °C/cm and the growth velocity 0.5cm/hr. The as-grown crystals were examined under the optical microscope for surface study, a various growth features observed on top free surface of the single crystal which is predominant of layers growth mechanism. The lattice parameters of as-grown crystal was determined by the XRD analysis. A Vickers’ projection microscope were used for the study of microhardness on the as-cleaved, cold-worked and annealed samples of the crystals, the results were discussed, and reported in detail.

Effect of Nano-Ni Catalyst on the Growth and Characterization of Diamond Films by HFCVD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Chung Teng

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Four different catalysts, nanodiamond seed, nano-Ni, diamond powder, and mixture of nano-Ni/diamond powder, were used to activate Si wafers for diamond film growth by hot-filament CVD (HFCVD. Diamond crystals were shown to grow directly on both large diamond powder and small nanodiamond seed, but a better crystallinity of diamond film was observed on the ultrasonicated nanodiamond seeded Si substrate. On the other hand, nano-Ni nanocatalysts seem to promote the formation of amorphous carbon but suppress transpolyacetylene (t-PA phases at the initial growth of diamond films. The subsequent nucleation and growth of diamond crystals on the amorphous carbon layer leads to generation of the spherical diamond particles and clusters prior to coalescence into continuous diamond films based on the CH3 addition mechanism as characterized by XRD, Raman, ATR/FT-IR, XPS, TEM, SEM, and AFM techniques. Moreover, a 36% reduction in surface roughness of diamond film assisted by nano-Ni catalyst is quite significant.

70 °C synthesis of high-Sn content (25%) GeSn on insulator by Sn-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Toko, K., E-mail: toko@bk.tsukuba.ac.jp; Oya, N.; Suemasu, T. [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Saitoh, N.; Yoshizawa, N. [Electron Microscope Facility, TIA, AIST, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569 (Japan)

2015-02-23

Polycrystalline GeSn thin films are fabricated on insulating substrates at low temperatures by using Sn-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge (a-Ge). The Sn layer stacked on the a-Ge layer (100-nm thickness each) had two roles: lowering the crystallization temperature of a-Ge and composing GeSn. Slow annealing at an extremely low temperature of 70 °C allowed for a large-grained (350 nm) GeSn layer with a lattice constant of 0.590 nm, corresponding to a Sn composition exceeding 25%. The present investigation paves the way for advanced electronic optical devices integrated on a flexible plastic substrate as well as on a Si platform.

Irradiation-induced amorphization of Cd2Nb2O7 pyrochlore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meldrum, A.; White, C. W.; Keppens, V.; Boatner, L. A.; Ewing, R. C.

2001-01-01

Several investigations have recently been undertaken in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the radiation-damage mechanisms in A 2 B 2 O 7 pyrochlore-structure compounds. The present work represents the first systematic study of the irradiation-induced amorphization of a pyrochlore with A- and B-site cation valences of +2 and +5, respectively. Relatively large single crystals of Cd 2 Nb 2 O 7 were grown for these experiments. In situ ion-irradiation experiments were carried out in a transmission electron microscope in conjunction with ex situ Rutherford backscattering measurements of ion-irradiated Cd 2 Nb 2 O 7 single crystals. Cd 2 Nb 2 O 7 can be amorphized in situ by Ne or Xe ions at temperatures up to 480 and 620 K, respectively. At room temperature, the amorphization fluence was 36 times higher for 280 keV Ne + than for 1200 keV Xe 2+ , corresponding to a displacement dose that was higher by a factor of 3. Disordering of Cd and Nb over the available cation sites occurs at intermediate ion doses prior to amorphization. The temperature dependence of the amorphization dose is modeled, and the results are compared to those of a previous model. The bulk-sample Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) results were generally consistent with the in situ TEM measurements. Effects of crystallographic orientation and ion charge state had relatively little effect on the damage accumulation in bulk crystals. The RBS data are consistent with a defect-accumulation, cascade-overlap model of amorphization of Cd 2 Nb 2 O 7 , as are the in situ TEM observations

Growth of methyl 2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)aminopropanoate single crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Perigaud, A.; Nicolau, Y. F.

1986-12-01

Methyl 2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)aminopropanoate single crystals, 1 cm in diameter and 7 cm in length have been grown by a travelling-heater-Bridgman method in polyethylene tubes introduced into glass ampoules, at a growth rate of 1.5-6 mm/day. The starting material was synthesised and purified by recrystallization from methanol and by vacuum evaporation to a purity of 99.994%. The period of growth, and hence the length of the crystal, is limited due to melt decomposition and polycondensation. The b-axis of the crystals is always oriented at about 72° to the ampoule axis. Good quality single crystals have been obtained giving a FWHM of the Cu Kα (040) rocking curve of about 1'.

Magnetic Control in Crystal Growth from a Melt

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yue

Control of bulk melt crystal growth techniques is desirable for producing semiconductors with the highest purity and ternary alloys with tunable electrical properties. Because these molten materials are electrically conducting, external magnetic fields are often employed to regulate the flow in the melt. However, complicated by the coupled flow, thermal, electromagnetic and chemical physics, such magnetic control is typically empirical or even an educated guess. Two magnetic flow control mechanisms: flow damping by steady magnetic fields, and flow stirring by alternating magnetic fields, are investigated numerically. Magnetic damping during optically-heated float-zone crystal growth is modeled using a spectral collocation method. The Marangoni convection at the free melt-gas interface is suppressed when exposed to a steady axial magnetic field, measured by the Hartmann number Ha. As a result, detrimental flow instabilities are suppressed, and an almost quiescent region forms in the interior, ideal for single crystal growth. Using normal mode linear stability analyses, dominant flow instabilities are determined in a range applicable to experiments (up to Ha = 300 for Pr = 0.02, and up to Ha = 500 for Pr = 0.001). The hydrodynamic nature of the instability for small Prandtl number Pr liquid bridges is confirmed by energy analyses. Magnetic stirring is modeled for melt crystal growth in an ampule exposed to a transverse rotating magnetic field. Decoupled from the flow field at small magnetic Reynolds number, the electromagnetic field is first solved via finite element analysis. The flow field is then solved using the spectral element method. At low to moderate AC frequencies (up to a few kHz), the electromagnetic body force is dominant in the azimuthal direction, which stirs a steady axisymmetric flow primarily in the azimuthal direction. A weaker secondary flow develops in the meridional plane. However, at high AC frequencies (on the order of 10 kHz and higher), only

ICCG-10: Tenth International Conference on Crystal Growth. Poster presentation abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

Poster presentation abstracts from the tenth International Conference on Crystal Growth (ICCG) (Aug. 16-21, 1992) are provided. Topics discussed at the conference include crystal growth mechanisms, superconductors, semiconductors, laser materials, optical materials, and biomaterials. Organizing committees, ICCG advisory board and officers, and sponsors of the conference are also included.

A versatile Czochralski crystal growth system with automatic diameter control

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, M. D.; Metzl, R.; Wang, W. S.; Choi, J.

1995-07-01

A versatile Czochralski crystal pulling system with automatic diameter control for the growth of nonlinear optical oxide crystals is discussed. Pure and doped bulk single crystals of bismuth silicon oxide (Bi12SiO20) have been successfully grown using this system. The system consists of a regular Czochralski type pulling system with provision for continuous weighing of the growing crystal to provide feedback for power control.

Erythritol: crystal growth from the melt.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes Jesus, A J; Nunes, Sandra C C; Ramos Silva, M; Matos Beja, A; Redinha, J S

2010-03-30

The structural changes occurring on erythritol as it is cooled from the melt to low temperature, and then heated up to the melting point have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light thermal microscopy (PLTM), X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). By DSC, it was possible to set up the conditions to obtain an amorphous solid, a crystalline solid, or a mixture of both materials in different proportions. Two crystalline forms have been identified: a stable and a metastable one with melting points of 117 and 104 degrees C, respectively. The fusion curve decomposition of the stable form revealed the existence of three conformational structures. The main paths of the crystallization from the melt were followed by PLTM. The texture and colour changes allowed the characterization of the different phases and transitions in which they are involved on cooling as well as on heating processes. The type of crystallization front and its velocity were also followed by microscopic observation. These observations, together with the data provided by PXRD, allowed elucidating the transition of the metastable form into the stable one. The structural changes occurring upon the cooling and subsequent heating processes, namely those arising from intermolecular hydrogen bonds, were also accompanied by infrared spectroscopy. Particular attention was given to the spectral changes occurring in the OH stretching region. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, growth, crystal structure, optical and third order nonlinear optical properties of quinolinium derivative single crystal: PNQI

Science.gov (United States)

Karthigha, S.; Krishnamoorthi, C.

2018-03-01

An organic quinolinium derivative nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, 1-ethyl-2-[2-(4-nitro-phenyl)-vinyl]-quinolinium iodide (PNQI) was synthesized and successfully grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Formation of a crystalline compound was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The quinolinium compound PNQI crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system with a centrosymmetric space group of P-1 symmetry. The molecular structure of PNQI was confirmed by 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectral studies. The thermal properties of the crystal have been investigated by thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. The optical characteristics obtained from UV-Vis-NIR spectral data were described and the cut-off wavelength observed at 506 nm. The etching study was performed to analyse the growth features of PNQI single crystal. The third order NLO properties such as nonlinear refractive index (n2), nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) and nonlinear susceptibility (χ (3)) of the crystal were investigated using Z-scan technique at 632.8 nm of Hesbnd Ne laser.

Crystal structure and crystal growth of the polar ferrimagnet CaBaFe4O7

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, R. S.; Kurebayashi, H.; Gibbs, A.; Gutmann, M. J.

2018-05-01

Magnetic materials are a cornerstone for developing spintronic devices for the transport of information via magnetic excitations. To date, relatively few materials have been investigated for the purpose of spin transport, mostly due to the paucity of suitable candidates as these materials are often chemically complex and difficult to synthesize. We present the crystal growth and a structure solution on the high-temperature crystal structure of the layered, polar ferrimagnet CaBaFe4O7 , which is a possible new contender for spintronics research. The space group is identified as P 3 by refinement of single crystal and powder neutron diffraction data. At 400 K, the trigonal lattice parameters are a =11.0114 (11 )Å and c =10.330 (3 )Å . The structure is similar to the low-temperature phase with alternating layers of triangular and Kagome-arranged Fe-O tetrahedra. We also present details of the crystal growth by traveling solvent method.

Supersaturation Control using Analytical Crystal Size Distribution Estimator for Temperature Dependent in Nucleation and Crystal Growth Phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Zahari, Zakirah Mohd; Zubaidah Adnan, Siti; Kanthasamy, Ramesh; Saleh, Suriyati; Samad, Noor Asma Fazli Abdul

2018-03-01

The specification of the crystal product is usually given in terms of crystal size distribution (CSD). To this end, optimal cooling strategy is necessary to achieve the CSD. The direct design control involving analytical CSD estimator is one of the approaches that can be used to generate the set-point. However, the effects of temperature on the crystal growth rate are neglected in the estimator. Thus, the temperature dependence on the crystal growth rate needs to be considered in order to provide an accurate set-point. The objective of this work is to extend the analytical CSD estimator where Arrhenius expression is employed to cover the effects of temperature on the growth rate. The application of this work is demonstrated through a potassium sulphate crystallisation process. Based on specified target CSD, the extended estimator is capable of generating the required set-point where a proposed controller successfully maintained the operation at the set-point to achieve the target CSD. Comparison with other cooling strategies shows a reduction up to 18.2% of the total number of undesirable crystals generated from secondary nucleation using linear cooling strategy is achieved.

Unidirectional growth and characterization of L-arginine monohydrochloride monohydrate single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sangeetha, K.; Babu, R. Ramesh; Bhagavannarayana, G.; Ramamurthi, K.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → L-Arginine monohydrochloride monohydrate (LAHCl) single crystal was grown successfully by unidirectional solution growth method for the first time. → High crystalline perfection was observed for UDS grown crystal compared to CS grown crystal. → The optical transparency and mechanical stability are high for UDS grown LAHCl single crystal. → Optical birefringence measurement on this material. → The piezoelectric resonance frequencies observation - first time observation on this material. - Abstract: L-Arginine monohydrochloride monohydrate (LAHCl) single crystals were grown successfully by conventional and unidirectional solution growth methods. The crystalline perfection of grown crystals was analyzed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction. The linear optical transmittance, mechanical stability of conventional and unidirectional grown LAHCl single crystals were analyzed and compared along (0 0 1) plane. The refractive index and birefringence of LAHCl single crystals were also measured using He-Ne laser source. From the dielectric studies, piezoelectric resonance frequencies were observed in kHz frequency range for both conventional and unidirectional grown LAHCl single crystals along (0 0 1) plane.

Crystal growth velocity in deeply undercooled Ni-Si alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Y. J.

2012-02-01

The crystal growth velocity of Ni95Si5 and Ni90Si10 alloys as a function of undercooling is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The modified imbedded atom method potential yields the equilibrium liquidus temperatures T L ≈ 1505 and 1387 K for Ni95Si5 and Ni90Si10 alloys, respectively. From the liquidus temperatures down to the deeply undercooled region, the crystal growth velocities of both the alloys rise to the maximum with increasing undercooling and then drop slowly, whereas the athermal growth process presented in elemental Ni is not observed in Ni-Si alloys. Instead, the undercooling dependence of the growth velocity can be well-described by the diffusion-limited model, furthermore, the activation energy associated with the diffusion from melt to interface increases as the concentration increases from 5 to 10 at.% Si, resulting in the remarkable decrease of growth velocity.

Role of the bond defect for structural transformations between crystalline and amorphous silicon: A molecular-dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stock, D. M.; Weber, B.; Gaertner, K.

2000-01-01

The relation between the bond defect, which is a topological defect, and structural transformations between crystalline and amorphous silicon, is studied by molecular-dynamics simulations. The investigation of 1-keV boron implantation into crystalline silicon proves that the bond defect can also be generated directly by collisional-induced bond switching in addition to its formation by incomplete recombination of primary defects. This supports the assumption that the bond defect may play an important role in the amorphization process of silicon by light ions. The analysis of the interface between (001) silicon and amorphous silicon shows that there are two typical defect configurations at the interface which result from two different orientations of the bond defect with respect to the interface. Thus the bond defect appears to be a characteristic structural feature of the interface. Moreover, annealing results indicate that the bond defect acts as a growth site for interface-mediated crystallization

The performance studies of DKDP crystals grown by a rapid horizontal growth method

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Xiaoyi; Qi, Hongji; Wang, Bin; Wang, Hu; Chen, Duanyang; Shao, Jianda

2018-04-01

A deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystal with about 70% deuterium level was grown by a rapid horizontal growth method with independent design equipment, which includes a continuous filtration system. The cooling program during crystal growth was designed according to a self-developed software to catch the size of growing crystal in real time. The crystal structure, optical performance and laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of this DKDP crystal were investigated in this paper. The deuterium concentration of the crystal was confirmed by the neutron diffraction technique, which was effective and available in determining a complete range of deuteration level. The dielectric property was measured to evaluate the perfection of the lattice. The transmittance and LIDT were carried out further to evaluate the optical and functional properties of this DKDP crystal grown in the rapid horizontal growth technique. All of the detailed characterization for DKDP figured out that the 70% deuterated KDP crystal grown in this way had relatively good qualities.

Nanoparticle-mediated nonclassical crystal growth of sodium fluorosilicate nanowires and nanoplates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongxia Li

2011-12-01

Full Text Available We observed nonclassical crystal growth of the sodium fluorosilicate nanowires, nanoplates, and hierarchical structures through self-assembly and aggregation of primary intermediate nanoparticles. Unlike traditional ion-by-ion crystallization, the primary nanoparticles formed first and their subsequent self-assembly, fusion, and crystallization generated various final crystals. These findings offer direct evidences for the aggregation-based crystallization mechanism.

Growth of sodium chlorate crystals in the presence of potassium sulphate

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, E. L.; Tsyganova, A. A.; Vorontsov, D. A.; Ovsetsina, T. I.; Katkova, M. R.; Lykov, V. A.; Portnov, V. N.

2015-09-01

In this work, we investigated the morphology and growth rates of NaClO3 crystals in solutions with K2SO4 additives. NaClO3 crystals were grown using the temperature gradient technique under concentration convection. We found that the crystal habitus changed from cubic to tetrahedral, and the growth of the cubic {100}, tetrahedral {111} and rhomb-dodecahedral {110} faces decelerated with an increase in the concentration of SO42- ions. The {110} face was the most and the {100} face was the least inhibited by sulphate ions. The mechanism of SO42- ions action is their adsorption on the crystal surface, which impedes attachment of the crystal's building units. We conclude that different atomic structure and charge state of various crystal faces determine their sensitivity to the action of the SO42- ions.

Protein crystal growth on board Shenzhou 3: a concerted effort improves crystal diffraction quality and facilitates structure determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Y.; Cang, H.-X.; Zhou, J.-X.; Wang, Y.-P.; Bi, R.-C.; Colelesage, J.; Delbaere, L.T.J.; Nahoum, V.; Shi, R.; Zhou, M.; Zhu, D.-W.; Lin, S.-X.

2004-01-01

The crystallization of 16 proteins was carried out using 60 wells on board Shenzhou 3 in 2002. Although the mission was only 7 days, careful and concerted planning at all stages made it possible to obtain crystals of improved quality compared to their ground controls for some of the proteins. Significantly improved resolutions were obtained from diffracted crystals of 4 proteins. A complete data set from a space crystal of the PEP carboxykinase yielded significantly higher resolution (1.46 A vs. 1.87 A), I/sigma (22.4 vs. 15.5), and a lower average temperature factor (29.2 A 2 vs. 42.9 A 2 ) than the best ground-based control crystal. The 3-D structure of the enzyme is well improved with significant ligand density. It has been postulated that the reduced convection and absence of macromolecule sedimentation under microgravity have advantages/benefits for protein crystal growth. Improvements in experimental design for protein crystal growth in microgravity are ongoing

Structural, optical and mechanical properties of amorphous and crystalline alumina thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nayar, Priyanka [Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005 (India); Khanna, Atul, E-mail: akphysics@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005 (India); Kabiraj, D.; Abhilash, S.R. [Inter University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067 (India); Beake, Ben D.; Losset, Yannick [Micro Materials Limited, Unit 3, Wrexham Technology Park, Wrexham LL13 7YP (United Kingdom); Chen, Banghao [Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306 (United States)

2014-10-01

Thin films of amorphous alumina of thickness 350 nm were deposited on fused silica substrates by electron beam evaporation. Amorphous films were annealed at several temperatures in the range: 400–1130 °C and changes in film crystallinity, short-range structure, optical and mechanical properties were studied. X-ray diffraction studies found that crystallization starts at 800 °C and produces γ and δ-alumina, the latter phase grows with heat treatment and the sample was mostly δ and θ-alumina after annealing at 1130 °C. The as-deposited amorphous alumina films have low hardness of 5 to 8 GPa, which increases to 11 to 12 GPa in crystalline sample. {sup 27}Al Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance was used to study the short-range order of amorphous and crystalline alumina films and it was found that amorphous alumina film contains AlO{sub 5} and AlO{sub 4} structural units in the ratio of 1:2. The concentration of AlO{sub 5} was significantly suppressed in crystalline film, which contains 48% of Al{sup 3+} ions in AlO{sub 6}, 7% in AlO{sub 5} and 45% in AlO{sub 4} units. - Highlights: • Structure–property correlations in alumina films grown by electron-beam evaporation • Amorphous films crystallize into γ and δ-alumina on annealing in air at 800 °C. • δ and θ-alumina films are stable up to 1130 °C and do not transform to α-phase. • Amorphous alumina films contain {sup [5]}Al and {sup [4]}Al structural units in the ratio of 1:2. • {sup [5]}Al decreases whereas {sup [6]}Al concentration increases on crystallization.

Tuning crystallization pathways through sequence engineering of biomimetic polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiang; Zhang, Shuai; Jiao, Fang; Newcomb, Christina J.; Zhang, Yuliang; Prakash, Arushi; Liao, Zhihao; Baer, Marcel D.; Mundy, Christopher J.; Pfaendtner, James; Noy, Aleksandr; Chen, Chun-Long; de Yoreo, James J.

2017-07-01

Two-step nucleation pathways in which disordered, amorphous, or dense liquid states precede the appearance of crystalline phases have been reported for a wide range of materials, but the dynamics of such pathways are poorly understood. Moreover, whether these pathways are general features of crystallizing systems or a consequence of system-specific structural details that select for direct versus two-step processes is unknown. Using atomic force microscopy to directly observe crystallization of sequence-defined polymers, we show that crystallization pathways are indeed sequence dependent. When a short hydrophobic region is added to a sequence that directly forms crystalline particles, crystallization instead follows a two-step pathway that begins with the creation of disordered clusters of 10-20 molecules and is characterized by highly non-linear crystallization kinetics in which clusters transform into ordered structures that then enter the growth phase. The results shed new light on non-classical crystallization mechanisms and have implications for the design of self-assembling polymer systems.

Tuning crystallization pathways through sequence engineering of biomimetic polymers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Xiang; Zhang, Shuai; Jiao, Fang; Newcomb, Christina J.; Zhang, Yuliang; Prakash, Arushi; Liao, Zhihao; Baer, Marcel D.; Mundy, Christopher J.; Pfaendtner, James; Noy, Aleksandr; Chen, Chun-Long; De Yoreo, James J.

2017-04-17

Two-step nucleation pathways in which disordered, amorphous, or dense liquid states precede appearance of crystalline phases have been reported for a wide range of materials, but the dynamics of such pathways are poorly understood. Moreover, whether these pathways are general features of crystallizing systems or a consequence of system-specific structural details that select for direct vs two-step processes is unknown. Using atomic force microscopy to directly observe crystallization of sequence-defined polymers, we show that crystallization pathways are indeed sequence dependent. When a short hydrophobic region is added to a sequence that directly forms crystalline particles, crystallization instead follows a two-step pathway that begins with creation of disordered clusters of 10-20 molecules and is characterized by highly non-linear crystallization kinetics in which clusters transform into ordered structures that then enter the growth phase. The results shed new light on non-classical crystallization mechanisms and have implications for design of self-assembling polymer systems.

First-principles study of nitrogen doping in cubic and amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5

Science.gov (United States)

Caravati, S.; Colleoni, D.; Mazzarello, R.; Kühne, T. D.; Krack, M.; Bernasconi, M.; Parrinello, M.

2011-07-01

We investigated the structural, electronic and vibrational properties of amorphous and cubic Ge2Sb2Te5 doped with N at 4.2 at.% by means of large scale ab initio simulations. Nitrogen can be incorporated in molecular form in both the crystalline and amorphous phases at a moderate energy cost. In contrast, insertion of N in the atomic form is very energetically costly in the crystalline phase, though it is still possible in the amorphous phase. These results support the suggestion that N segregates at the grain boundaries during the crystallization of the amorphous phase, resulting in a reduction in size of the crystalline grains and an increased crystallization temperature.

L-alanine distribution in the growth pyramids of TGS crystals and its influence on the growth, switching and domain structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brezina, B.; Havrankova, M.

1985-01-01

The full-faced crystals of triglycine sulphate (TGS) and deuterated homologs substituted by L-alanine (LATGS and LADTGS, resp.) were grown from growth solutions with various concentrations of the substituent. The distribution of L, alanine (L,al) in various growth pyramids of crystals was measured by the electrical switching method. The stability of domain structure of doped crystals was studied by the liquid crystal method. (author)

Electron structure of amorphous semi-conductor states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiid, D.H.; Lemmer, R.H.

1975-01-01

The electrical properties of amorphous materials are determined by their electron states. Since the electrons are much lighter than the massive ions, the energy levels of the electrons are extremely sensitive to changes in the states of the ions, e.g. a change in their positions. A method has been developed to approximate the positional disorder inthe crystal by a compositional disorder, i.e. the substitution, in a pure crystal, of ions by impurities. The advantage of this lies in the retention of the periodicity of the lattice. This model is linked with an investigation at present under way, in which the mobility, electrical resistance, etc. of a silicon crystal is determined as a function of its amorphous state. It is for instance possible to control the degree of disorder in the crystal, and the problem is to characterise the disorder by a specific parameter. For theoretical calculations such a parameter is essential and it is therefore also the biggest shortcoming in all the theories that, as far as is known, have been developed. It is possible to set up a general phenomenological theory for, for example, electrical resistance, but in view of its complex nature only rough approximations can be made [af

Crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformation in mechanically alloyed Fe50W50 powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherif El-Eskandarany, M.S.; Sumiyama, K.; Suzuki, K.

1997-01-01

A mechanical alloying process via a ball milling technique has been applied for preparing amorphous Fe 50 W 50 alloy powders. The results have shown that during the first and second stages of milling (0 to 360 ks) W atoms emigrate to Fe lattices to form nanocrystalline b.c.c. Fe-W solid solution, with a grain size of about 7 nm in diameter. After 720 ks of the milling time, this solid solution was transformed to an amorphous Fe-W alloy coexisting with the residual fraction of the unprocessed W powders. During the last stage of milling (720 to 1,440 ks) all of this residual W powder reacts with the amorphous phase to form a homogeneous Fe 50 W 50 amorphous alloy. The crystallization temperature and the enthalpy change of crystallization of amorphous Fe 50 W 50 powders milled for 1,440 ks were measured to be 860 K and -9kJ/mol, respectively. The amorphous Fe 50 W 50 powder produced is almost paramagnetic at room temperature. The powder comprises homogeneous and smooth spheres with an average size of about 0.5 microm in diameter

ELABORATION OF AMORPHOUS METALS AND GLASS TRANSITIONFORMATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AMORPHOUS METALS

OpenAIRE

Giessen , B.; Whang , S.

1980-01-01

This review deals with the definition of amorphous and glassy metals ; the principal methods for their preparation by atom-by-atom deposition, rapid liquid quenching and particle bombardment ; criteria for their formation, especially ready glass formation (RGF) and its alloy chemical foundations ; and their classification. This is followed by a discussion of their elastic and plastic properties (Young's modulus and microhardness) and thermal stability (glass transition and crystallization tem...

Properties of the Sodium Naproxen-Lactose-Tetrahydrate Co-Crystal upon Processing and Storage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sovago, Ioana; Wang, Wenbo; Qiu, Danwen

2016-01-01

naproxen-lactose-tetrahydrate co-crystal and the co-amorphous mixture of sodium, naproxen, and lactose was investigated. The structure of the co-crystal is described using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structural analysis revealed a monoclinic lattice, space group P21, with the asymmetric unit...... containing one molecule of lactose, one of naproxen, sodium, and four water molecules. Upon heating, it was observed that the co-crystal transforms into a co-amorphous system due to the loss of its crystalline bound water. Dehydration and co-amorphization were studied using synchrotron X-ray radiation...... and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Subsequently, different processing techniques (ball milling, spray drying, and dehydration) were used to prepare the co-amorphous mixture of sodium, naproxen, and lactose. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) revealed the amorphous nature of the mixtures after preparation. Differential...

THE IMPACT OF PARTIAL CRYSTALLIZATION ON THE PERMEATION PROPERTIES BULK AMORPHOUS GLASS HYDROGEN SEPARATION MEMBRANES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brinkman, K; Paul Korinko, P; Thad Adams, T; Elise Fox, E; Arthur Jurgensen, A

2008-11-25

It is recognized that hydrogen separation membranes are a key component of the emerging hydrogen economy. A potentially exciting material for membrane separations are bulk metallic glass materials due to their low cost, high elastic toughness and resistance to hydrogen 'embrittlement' as compared to crystalline Pd-based membrane systems. However, at elevated temperatures and extended operation times structural changes including partial crystallinity may appear in these amorphous metallic systems. A systematic evaluation of the impact of partial crystallinity/devitrification on the diffusion and solubility behavior in multi-component Metallic Glass materials would provide great insight into the potential of these materials for hydrogen applications. This study will report on the development of time and temperature crystallization mapping and their use for interpretation of 'in-situ' hydrogen permeation at elevated temperatures.

Irradiation-induced amorphization in split-dislocation cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ovid'ko, I.A.; Rejzis, A.B.

1999-01-01

The model describing special splitting of lattice and grain-boundary dislocations as one of the micromechanisms of solid-phase amorphization in irradiated crystals is proposed. Calculation of energy characteristics of the process of dislocations special splitting is carried out [ru

Numerical simulations of crystal growth in a transdermal drug delivery system

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Jianming; Jacob, Karl I.; Tikare, Veena

2004-02-01

Grain growth by precipitation and Ostwald ripening in an unstressed matrix of a dissolved crystallizable component was simulated using a kinetic Monte Carlo model. This model was used previously to study Ostwald ripening in the high crystallizable component regime and was shown to correctly simulate solution, diffusion and precipitation. In this study, the same model with modifications was applied to the low crystallizable regime of interest to the transdermal drug delivery system (TDS) community. We demonstrate the model's utility by simulating precipitation and grain growth during isothermal storage at different supersaturation conditions. The simulation results provide a first approximation for the crystallization occurring in TDS. It has been reported that for relatively higher temperature growth of drug crystals in TDS occurs only in the middle third of the polymer layer. The results from the simulations support these findings that crystal growth is limited to the middle third of the region, where the availability of crystallizable components is the highest, for cluster growth at relatively high temperature.

Growth of mercuric iodide single crystals from dimethylsulfoxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlston, R.C.

1976-01-01

Dimethylsulfoxide is used as a solvent for the growth of red mercuric iodide (HgI 2 ) crystals for use in radiation detectors. The hygroscopic property of the solvent allows controlled amounts of water to enter into the solvent phase and diminish the large solubility of HgI 2 so that the precipitating solid collects as well-defined euhedral crystals which grow into a volume of several cc

Direct observation of two-step crystallization in nanoparticle superlattice formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jungwon; Zheng, Haimei; Lee, Won Chul; Geissler, Phillip L.; Rabani, Eran; Alivisatos, A. Paul

2011-10-06

Direct imaging of nanoparticle solutions by liquid phase transmission electron microscopy has enabled unique in-situ studies of nanoparticle motion and growth. In the present work, we report on real-time formation of two-dimensional nanoparticle arrays in the very low diffusive limit, where nanoparticles are mainly driven by capillary forces and solvent fluctuations. We find that superlattice formation appears to be segregated into multiple regimes. Initially, the solvent front drags the nanoparticles, condensing them into an amorphous agglomerate. Subsequently, the nanoparticle crystallization into an array is driven by local fluctuations. Following the crystallization event, superlattice growth can also occur via the addition of individual nanoparticles drawn from outlying regions by different solvent fronts. The dragging mechanism is consistent with simulations based on a coarse-grained lattice gas model at the same limit.

Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Investigation of Growth Modifiers on Hydrate Crystal Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Thomas; Hutter, Jeffrey L.; Lin, M.; King, H. E., Jr.

1998-03-01

Hydrates are crystals consisting of small molecules enclathrated within an ice-like water cage. Suppression of their growth is important in the oil industry. The presence of small quantities of specific polymers during hydrate crystallization can induce a transition from an octahedral to planar growth habit. This symmetry breaking is surprising because of the suppression of two 111 planes relative to the other six crystallographically equivalent faces. To better understand the surface effects leading to this behavior, we have studied the surface adsorption of these growth-modifing polymers onto the hydrate crytals using SANS. The total hydrate surface area, as measured by Porod scattering, increases in the presence of the growth modifier, but, no significant increase in polymer concentration on the crystal surfaces is found. Implications for possible growth mechanisms will be discussed.

Microscopic Rate Constants of Crystal Growth from Molecular Dynamic Simulations Combined with Metadynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dániel Kozma

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Atomistic simulation of crystal growth can be decomposed into two steps: the determination of the microscopic rate constants and a mesoscopic kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. We proposed a method to determine kinetic rate constants of crystal growth. We performed classical molecular dynamics on the equilibrium liquid/crystal interface of argon. Metadynamics was used to explore the free energy surface of crystal growth. A crystalline atom was selected at the interface, and it was displaced to the liquid phase by adding repulsive Gaussian potentials. The activation free energy of this process was calculated as the maximal potential energy density of the Gaussian potentials. We calculated the rate constants at different interfacial structures using the transition state theory. In order to mimic real crystallization, we applied a temperature difference in the calculations of the two opposite rate constants, and they were applied in kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. The novelty of our technique is that it can be used for slow crystallization processes, while the simple following of trajectories can be applied only for fast reactions. Our method is a possibility for determination of elementary rate constants of crystal growth that seems to be necessary for the long-time goal of computer-aided crystal design.

Direct Growth of III-Nitride Nanowire-Based Yellow Light-Emitting Diode on Amorphous Quartz Using Thin Ti Interlayer

KAUST Repository

Prabaswara, Aditya

2018-02-06

Consumer electronics have increasingly relied on ultra-thin glass screen due to its transparency, scalability, and cost. In particular, display technology relies on integrating light-emitting diodes with display panel as a source for backlighting. In this study, we undertook the challenge of integrating light emitters onto amorphous quartz by demonstrating the direct growth and fabrication of a III-nitride nanowire-based light-emitting diode. The proof-of-concept device exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V, on an amorphous quartz substrate. We achieved ~ 40% transparency across the visible wavelength while maintaining electrical conductivity by employing a TiN/Ti interlayer on quartz as a translucent conducting layer. The nanowire-on-quartz LED emits a broad linewidth spectrum of light centered at true yellow color (~ 590 nm), an important wavelength bridging the green-gap in solid-state lighting technology, with significantly less strain and dislocations compared to conventional planar quantum well nitride structures. Our endeavor highlighted the feasibility of fabricating III-nitride optoelectronic device on a scalable amorphous substrate through facile growth and fabrication steps. For practical demonstration, we demonstrated tunable correlated color temperature white light, leveraging on the broadly tunable nanowire spectral characteristics across red-amber-yellow color regime.

Integrated Intelligent Modeling, Design and Control of Crystal Growth Processes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Prasad, V

2000-01-01

.... This MURI program took an integrated approach towards modeling, design and control of crystal growth processes and in conjunction with growth and characterization experiments developed much better...

Surface relief grating formation on a single crystal of 4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakano, Hideyuki; Tanino, Takahiro; Shirota, Yasuhiko

2005-01-01

Surface relief grating (SRG) formation on an organic single crystal by irradiation with two coherent laser beams has been demonstrated by using 4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene (DAAB). It was found that the SRG formation was greatly depending upon both the coordination of the crystal and the polarization of the writing beams. The dependence of the polarization of writing beams on the SRG formation using the single crystal was found to be quite different from that reported for amorphous polymers and photochromic amorphous molecular materials, suggesting that the mechanism of the SRG formation on the organic crystal is somewhat different from that on amorphous materials

Crystal nucleation and dendrite growth of metastable phases in undercooled melts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herlach, Dieter

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Homogenous nucleation. → Effects of convection on dendrite growth kinetics. → Description of disorder trapping validated by experiment. - Abstract: An undercooled melt possesses an enhanced free enthalpy that opens up the possibility to crystallize metastable crystalline solids in competition with their stable counterparts. Crystal nucleation selects the crystallographic phase whereas the growth dynamics controls microstructure evolution. We apply containerless processing techniques such as electromagnetic and electrostatic levitation to containerlesss undercool and solidify metallic melts. Owing to the complete avoidance of heterogeneous nucleation on container-walls a large undercooling range becomes accessible with the extra benefit that the freely suspended drop is direct accessible for in situ observation of crystallization far away from equilibrium. Results of investigations of maximum undercoolability on pure zirconium are presented showing the limit of maximum undercoolability set by the onset of homogeneous nucleation. Rapid dendrite growth is measured as a function of undercooling by a high-speed camera and analysed within extended theories of non-equilibrium solidification. In such both supersaturated solid solutions and disordered superlattice structure of intermetallics are formed at high growth velocities. A sharp interface theory of dendrite growth is capable to describe the non-equilibrium solidification phenomena during rapid crystallization of deeply undercooled melts. Eventually, anomalous growth behaviour of Al-rich Al-Ni alloys is presented, which may be caused by forced convection.

Advances in the Growth and Characterization of Relaxor-PT-Based Ferroelectric Single Crystals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Luo

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Compared to Pb(Zr1−xTixO3 (PZT polycrystalline ceramics, relaxor-PT single crystals offer significantly improved performance with extremely high electromechanical coupling and piezoelectric coefficients, making them promising materials for piezoelectric transducers, sensors and actuators. The recent advances in crystal growth and characterization of relaxor-PT-based ferroelectric single crystals are reviewed in this paper with emphases on the following topics: (1 the large crystal growth of binary and ternary relaxor-PT-based ferroelectric crystals for commercialization; (2 the composition segregation in the crystals grown from such a solid-solution system and possible solutions to reduce it; (3 the crystal growth from new binary and ternary compositions to expand the operating temperature and electric field; (4 the crystallographic orientation dependence and anisotropic behaviors of relaxor-PT-based ferroelectriccrystals; and (5 the characterization of the dielectric, elastic and piezoelectric properties of the relaxor-PT-based ferroelectriccrystals under small and large electric fields.

Growth of amorphous TeOx (2≤x≤3) thin film by radio frequency sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewan, Namrata; Gupta, Vinay; Sreenivas, K.; Katiyar, R. S.

2007-01-01

Thin films of Tellurium oxide TeO x over a wide range of x (2 to 3) were prepared by radio frequency diode sputtering at room temperature on corning glass and quartz substrate. The deposited films are amorphous in nature and IR spectroscopy reveals the formation of Te-O bond. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows the variation in the stoichiometry of TeO x film from x=2 to 3 with an increase in oxygen percentage (25 to 100%) in processing sputtering gas composition. Raman spectroscopy depicts the formation of TeO 3 trigonal pyramid besides TeO 4 disphenoid in the amorphous TeO x film with increase in the value of x. The varying stoichiometry of TeO x thin film (x=2 to 3) was found to influence the optical, electrical, and elastic properties. The optical band gap of film increases from 3.8 to 4.2 eV with increasing x and is attributed to the decrease in density. The elastic constants (C 11 and C 44 ) of the deposited films are lower than the corresponding value reported for TeO 2 single crystal

The production of UV Absorber amorphous cerium sulfide thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kariper, İshak Afşin, E-mail: akariper@gmail.com [Faculty of Education, Erciyes University, Kayseri (Turkey)

2017-10-15

This study investigates the production of cerium sulfide (CeSx) amorphous thin films on substrates (commercial glass) by chemical bath deposition at different pH levels. The transmittance, absorption, optical band gap and refractive index of the films are measured by UV/VIS Spectrum. According to XRD analysis, the films show amorphous structure in the baths with pH: 1 to 5. It has been observed that the optical and structural properties of the films depend on pH value of the bath. The optical band gap (2.08 eV to 3.16 eV) of the films changes with the film thickness (23 nm to 1144 nm). We show that the refractive index has a positive relationship with the film thickness, where the values of 1.93, 1.45, 1.42, 2.60 and 1.39 are obtained for the former, and 34, 560, 509, 23 and 1144 nm (at 550 nm wavelength) for the latter. We compare the optical properties of amorphous and crystal form of CeSx thin films. We show that the optical band gaps of the amorphous CeS{sub x} are lower than that of crystal CeS{sub x} . (author)

Crystallization behavior and the thermal properties of Zr63Al7.5Cu17.5Ni10B2 bulk amorphous alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, J.S.C.; Chang, L.J.; Jiang, Y.T.; Wong, P.W.

2003-01-01

The ribbons of amorphous Zr 63 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 B 2 alloys with 0.1 mm thickness were prepared by melt spinning method. The thermal properties and micro structural development during the annealing of amorphous alloy have been investigated by a combination of differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, high-temperature optical microscope, X-ray diffractometry and TEM. The glass transition temperature for the Zr 63 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 B 2 alloys are measured about 645 K (372 C). This alloy also obtains a large temperature interval ΔT x about 63 K. Meanwhile, the calculated T rg for Zr 63 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 B 2 alloy presents the value of 0.57. The activation energy of crystallization for the alloy Zr 63 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 B 2 was about 370± 10 kJ/mole as determined by the Kissinger and Avrami plot, respectively. These values are about 20% higher than the activation energy of crystallization for the Zr 65 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 alloy (314 kJ/mol.). This implies that the boron additions exhibit the effect of improving the thermal stability for the Zr-based alloy. The average value of the Avrami exponent n were calculated to be 1.75±0.15 for Zr 63 Al 7.5 Cu 17.5 Ni 10 B 2 alloy. This indicates that this alloy presents a crystallization process with decreasing nucleation rate. (orig.)

Femtosecond laser-induced phase transformations in amorphous Cu{sub 77}Ni{sub 6}Sn{sub 10}P{sub 7} alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Y.; Zou, G.; Wu, A.; Bai, H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Liu, L., E-mail: liulei@tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); The State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Chen, N. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Zhou, Y. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)

2015-01-14

In this study, the femtosecond laser-induced crystallization of CuNiSnP amorphous ribbons was investigated by utilizing an amplified Ti:sapphire laser system. X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscope were applied to examine the phase and morphology changes of the amorphous ribbons. Micromachining without crystallization, surface patterning, and selective crystallization were successfully achieved by changing laser parameters. Obvious crystallization occurred under the condition that the laser fluence was smaller than the ablation threshold, indicating that the structural evolution of the material depends strongly on the laser parameters. Back cooling method was used to inhibit heat accumulation; a reversible transformation between the disordered amorphous and crystalline phases can be achieved by using this method.

Stacking fault growth of FCC crystal: The Monte-Carlo simulation approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jian Jianmin; Ming Naiben

1988-03-01

The Monte-Carlo method has been used to simulate the growth of the FCC (111) crystal surface, on which is presented the outcrop of a stacking fault. The comparison of the growth rates has been made between the stacking fault containing surface and the perfect surface. The successive growth stages have been simulated. It is concluded that the outcrop of stacking fault on the crystal surface can act as a self-perpetuating step generating source. (author). 7 refs, 3 figs

Three-dimensional modelling of thermal stress in floating zone silicon crystal growth

Science.gov (United States)

Plate, Matiss; Krauze, Armands; Virbulis, Jānis

2018-05-01

During the growth of large diameter silicon single crystals with the industrial floating zone method, undesirable level of thermal stress in the crystal is easily reached due to the inhomogeneous expansion as the crystal cools down. Shapes of the phase boundaries, temperature field and elastic material properties determine the thermal stress distribution in the solid mono crystalline silicon during cylindrical growth. Excessive stress can lead to fracture, generation of dislocations and altered distribution of intrinsic point defects. Although appearance of ridges on the crystal surface is the decisive factor of a dislocation-free growth, the influence of these ridges on the stress field is not completely clear. Here we present the results of thermal stress analysis for 4” and 5” diameter crystals using a quasi-stationary three dimensional mathematical model including the material anisotropy and the presence of experimentally observed ridges which cannot be addressed with axis-symmetric models. The ridge has a local but relatively strong influence on thermal stress therefore its relation to the origin of fracture is hypothesized. In addition, thermal stresses at the crystal rim are found to increase for a particular position of the crystal radiation reflector.

A Low-Cost System Based on Image Analysis for Monitoring the Crystal Growth Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Venâncio, Fabrício; Rosário, Francisca F do; Cajaiba, João

2017-05-31

Many techniques are used to monitor one or more of the phenomena involved in the crystallization process. One of the challenges in crystal growth monitoring is finding techniques that allow direct interpretation of the data. The present study used a low-cost system, composed of a commercial webcam and a simple white LED (Light Emitting Diode) illuminator, to follow the calcium carbonate crystal growth process. The experiments were followed with focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), a common technique for obtaining information about the formation and growth of crystals. The images obtained in real time were treated with the red, blue, and green (RGB) system. The results showed a qualitative response of the system to crystal formation and growth processes, as there was an observed decrease in the signal as the growth process occurred. Control of the crystal growth was managed by increasing the viscosity of the test solution with the addition of monoethylene glycol (MEG) at 30% and 70% in a mass to mass relationship, providing different profiles of the RGB average curves. The decrease in the average RGB value became slower as the concentration of MEG was increased; this reflected a lag in the growth process that was proven by the FBRM.

Post-treatment of Plasma-Sprayed Amorphous Ceramic Coatings by Spark Plasma Sintering

Science.gov (United States)

Chraska, T.; Pala, Z.; Mušálek, R.; Medřický, J.; Vilémová, M.

2015-04-01

Alumina-zirconia ceramic material has been plasma sprayed using a water-stabilized plasma torch to produce free standing coatings. The as-sprayed coatings have very low porosity and are mostly amorphous. The amorphous material crystallizes at temperatures above 900 °C. A spark plasma sintering apparatus has been used to heat the as-sprayed samples to temperatures above 900 °C to induce crystallization, while at the same time, a uniaxial pressure of 80 MPa has been applied to their surface. After such post-treatment, the ceramic samples are crystalline and have very low open porosity. The post-treated material exhibits high hardness and significantly increased flexural strength. The post-treated samples have a microstructure that is best described as nanocomposite with the very small crystallites embedded in an amorphous matrix.

Growth of strontium oxalate crystals in agar–agar gel

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Growth of strontium oxalate crystals in agar–agar gel. P V DALAL. ∗ and K B SARAF. Postgraduate Department of Physics, Pratap College, Amalner 425 401, India. MS received 16 March 2008; revised 5 April 2010. Abstract. Single crystals of strontium oxalate have been grown by using strontium chloride and oxalic acid in.

Screening and Crystallization Plates for Manual and High-throughput Protein Crystal Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Thorne, Robert E. (Inventor); Berejnov, Viatcheslav (Inventor); Kalinin, Yevgeniy (Inventor)

2010-01-01

In one embodiment, a crystallization and screening plate comprises a plurality of cells open at a top and a bottom, a frame that defines the cells in the plate, and at least two films. The first film seals a top of the plate and the second film seals a bottom of the plate. At least one of the films is patterned to strongly pin the contact lines of drops dispensed onto it, fixing their position and shape. The present invention also includes methods and other devices for manual and high-throughput protein crystal growth.

Crystallization and Growth of Colloidal Nanocrystals

CERN Document Server

Leite, Edson Roberto

2012-01-01

Since the size, shape, and microstructure of nanocrystalline materials strongly impact physical and chemical properties, the development of new synthetic routes to  nanocrystals with controlled composition and morphology is a key objective of the nanomaterials community. This objective is dependent on control of the nucleation and growth mechanisms that occur during the synthetic process, which in turn requires a fundamental understanding of both classical nucleation and growth and non-classical growth processes in nanostructured materials.  Recently, a novel growth process called Oriented Attachment (OA) was identified which appears to be a fundamental mechanism during the development of nanoscale  materials. OA is a special case of aggregation that provides an important route by which nanocrystals grow, defects are formed, and unique—often symmetry-defying—crystal morphologies can be produced. This growth mechanism involves reversible self-assembly of primary nanocrystals followed by reorientati...

Annealing behavior of high permeability amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabenberg, L.

1980-06-01

Effects of low temperature annealing on the magnetic properties of the amorphous alloy Co 71 4 Fe 4 6 Si 9 6 B 14 4 were investigated. Annealing this alloy below 400 0 C results in magnetic hardening; annealing above 400 0 C but below the crystallization temperature results in magnetic softening. Above the crystallization temperature the alloy hardens drastically and irreversibly. Conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to show that the magnetic property changes at low temperatures occur while the alloy is truly amorphous. By imaging the magnetic microstructures, Lorentz electron microscopy has been able to detect the presence of microscopic inhomogeneities in this alloy. The low temperature annealing behavior of this alloy has been explained in terms of atomic pair ordering in the presence of the internal molecular field. Lorentz electron microscopy has been used to confirm this explanation

Low-leakage superconducting tunnel junctions with a single-crystal Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} barrier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, S [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Cicak, K; Osborn, K D; Simmonds, R W; Pappas, D P [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); McDermott, R; Cooper, K B; Steffen, M; Martinis, J M [University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)

2005-10-01

We have developed a two-step growth scheme for single-crystal Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} tunnel barriers. The barriers are epitaxially grown on single-crystal rhenium (Re) base electrodes that are grown epitaxially on a sapphire substrate, while polycrystalline Al is used as the top electrode. We show that by first growing an amorphous aluminium (Al) oxide layer at room temperature and crystallizing it at a high temperature in oxygen environment, a morphologically intact single-crystal Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer is obtained. Tunnel junctions fabricated from these trilayers show very low subgap leakage current. This single-crystal Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} junction may open a new venue for coherent quantum devices.

Growth, spectral and thermal studies of ibuprofen crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramukutty, S.; Ramachandran, E. [Department of Physics, Thiruvalluvar College, Papanasam (India)

2012-01-15

RS -Ibuprofen was crystallized for the first time in silica gel under suitable pH conditions by reduction of solubility method. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and density measurement. The functional groups present in the crystal were identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Optical bandgap energy of ibuprofen was estimated as 3.19(3) eV from UV-Vis spectrum. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that ibuprofen is thermally stable upto 102.9 C and the initial loss of mass was due to evaporation only. Morphological study showed that the growth is prominent along b-axis and the prominent face is {l_brace}100{r_brace}. (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Impact of Heterogeneity and Lattice Bond Strength on DNA Triangle Crystal Growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Stahl, Evi; Praetorius, Florian; de Oliveira Mann, Carina C; Hopfner, Karl-Peter; Dietz, Hendrik

2016-09-07

One key goal of DNA nanotechnology is the bottom-up construction of macroscopic crystalline materials. Beyond applications in fields such as photonics or plasmonics, DNA-based crystal matrices could possibly facilitate the diffraction-based structural analysis of guest molecules. Seeman and co-workers reported in 2009 the first designed crystal matrices based on a 38 kDa DNA triangle that was composed of seven chains. The crystal lattice was stabilized, unprecedentedly, by Watson-Crick base pairing. However, 3D crystallization of larger designed DNA objects that include more chains such as DNA origami remains an unsolved problem. Larger objects would offer more degrees of freedom and design options with respect to tailoring lattice geometry and for positioning other objects within a crystal lattice. The greater rigidity of multilayer DNA origami could also positively influence the diffractive properties of crystals composed of such particles. Here, we rationally explore the role of heterogeneity and Watson-Crick interaction strengths in crystal growth using 40 variants of the original DNA triangle as model multichain objects. Crystal growth of the triangle was remarkably robust despite massive chemical, geometrical, and thermodynamical sample heterogeneity that we introduced, but the crystal growth sensitively depended on the sequences of base pairs next to the Watson-Crick sticky ends of the triangle. Our results point to weak lattice interactions and high concentrations as decisive factors for achieving productive crystallization, while sample heterogeneity and impurities played a minor role.

On the growth of calcium tartrate tetrahydrate single crystals

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

Abstract. Calcium tartrate single crystals were grown using silica gel as the growth medium. Calcium for- mate mixed with formic acid was taken as the supernatant solution. It was observed that the nucleation den- sity was reduced and the size of the crystals was improved to a large extent compared to the conventional way.

Anomalous magnetoresistance in amorphous metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuz'menko, V.M.; Vladychkin, A.N.; Mel'nikov, V.I.; Sudovtsev, A.I.

1984-01-01

The magnetoresistance of amorphous Bi, Ca, V and Yb films is investigated in fields up to 4 T at low temperatures. For all metals the magnetoresistance is positive, sharply decreases with growth of temperature and depends anomalously on the magnetic field strength. For amorphous superconductors the results agree satisfactorily with the theory of anomalous magnetoresistance in which allowance is made for scattering of electrons by the superconducting fluctuations

Diffusion in Coulomb crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughto, J; Schneider, A S; Horowitz, C J; Berry, D K

2011-07-01

Diffusion in Coulomb crystals can be important for the structure of neutron star crusts. We determine diffusion constants D from molecular dynamics simulations. We find that D for Coulomb crystals with relatively soft-core 1/r interactions may be larger than D for Lennard-Jones or other solids with harder-core interactions. Diffusion, for simulations of nearly perfect body-centered-cubic lattices, involves the exchange of ions in ringlike configurations. Here ions "hop" in unison without the formation of long lived vacancies. Diffusion, for imperfect crystals, involves the motion of defects. Finally, we find that diffusion, for an amorphous system rapidly quenched from Coulomb parameter Γ=175 to Coulomb parameters up to Γ=1750, is fast enough that the system starts to crystalize during long simulation runs. These results strongly suggest that Coulomb solids in cold white dwarf stars, and the crust of neutron stars, will be crystalline and not amorphous.

Investigation of grain competitive growth during directional solidification of single-crystal nickel-based superalloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Xinbao [National Energy R and D Center of Clean and High-Efficiency Fossil-Fired Power Generation Technology, Xi' an Thermal Power Research Institute Co. Ltd., Xi' an (China); Northwestern Polytechnical University, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Xi' an (China); Liu, Lin; Zhang, Jun [Northwestern Polytechnical University, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Xi' an (China)

2015-08-15

Grain competitive growth of nickel-based single-crystal superalloys during directional solidification was investigated. A detailed characterization of bi-crystals' competitive growth was performed to explore the competitive grain evolution. It was found that high withdrawal rate improved the efficiency of grain competitive growth. The overgrowth rate was increased when the misorientation increased. Four patterns of grain competitive growth with differently oriented dispositions were characterized. The results indicated that the positive branching of the dendrites played a significant role in the competitive growth process. The effect of crystal orientation and heat flow on the competitive growth can be attributed to the blocking mechanism between the adjacent grains. (orig.)

Thermal stability study of crystalline and novel spray-dried amorphous nilotinib hydrochloride.

Science.gov (United States)

Herbrink, Maikel; Vromans, Herman; Schellens, Jan; Beijnen, Jos; Nuijen, Bastiaan

2018-01-30

The thermal characteristics and the thermal degradation of crystalline and amorphous nilotinib hydrochloride (NH) were studied. The spray drying technique was successfully utilized for the amorphization of NH and was evaluated by spectroscopic techniques and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The ethanolic spray drying process yielded amorphous NH with a glass transition temperature (T g ) of 147°C. Thermal characterization of the amorphous phase was performed by heat capacity measurements using modulated DSC (mDSC). Thermal degradation was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The derived thermodynamic properties of the amorphous NH indicate fragile behaviour and a low crystallization tendency. NH was found to be molecularly stable up to 193°C. After which, the thermal degradation displayed two phases. The values of the thermal degradation parameters were estimated using the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall and Friedman non-isothermal, model-free, isoconversional methods The results indicate the two phases to be single-step reactions. The examination of the physical stability of amorphous NH during storage and at elevated temperatures showed stability at 180°C for at least 5h and at 20-25°C/60% RH for at least 6 months. During these periods, no crystallization was observed. This study is the first to report the thermal characteristics of NH. Additionally, it is also the first to describe the full thermal analysis of a spray-dried amorphous drug. The thermal data may be used in the projection of future production processes and storage conditions of amorphous NH. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.