Chemical synthesis of hexagonal indium nitride nanocrystallines at low temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Liangbiao; Shen, Qianli; Zhao, Dejian; Lu, Juanjuan; Liu, Weiqiao; Zhang, Junhao; Bao, Keyan; Zhou, Quanfa

2017-08-01

In this study, hexagonal indium nitride nanocystallines with high crystallinity have been prepared by the reaction of InCl3·4H2O, sulfur and NaNH2 in an autoclave at 160 °C. The crystal structures and morphologies of the obtained InN sample are characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. As InCl3·4H2O is substituted by In(NO3)3·4.5H2O, InN nanocrystallines could also be obtained by using the similar method. The photoluminescence spectrum shows that the InN emits a broad peak positioned at 2.3 eV.

Structural and chemical analysis of annealed plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition aluminum nitride films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broas, Mikael, E-mail: mikael.broas@aalto.fi; Vuorinen, Vesa [Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Aalto University, P.O. Box 13500, FIN-00076 Aalto, Espoo (Finland); Sippola, Perttu; Pyymaki Perros, Alexander; Lipsanen, Harri [Department of Micro- and Nanosciences, Aalto University, P.O. Box 13500, FIN-00076 Aalto, Espoo (Finland); Sajavaara, Timo [Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40014 Jyväskylä (Finland); Paulasto-Kröckel, Mervi [Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Aalto University. P.O. Box 13500, FIN-00076 Aalto, Espoo (Finland)

2016-07-15

Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition was utilized to grow aluminum nitride (AlN) films on Si from trimethylaluminum and N{sub 2}:H{sub 2} plasma at 200 °C. Thermal treatments were then applied on the films which caused changes in their chemical composition and nanostructure. These changes were observed to manifest in the refractive indices and densities of the films. The AlN films were identified to contain light element impurities, namely, H, C, and excess N due to nonideal precursor reactions. Oxygen contamination was also identified in the films. Many of the embedded impurities became volatile in the elevated annealing temperatures. Most notably, high amounts of H were observed to desorb from the AlN films. Furthermore, dinitrogen triple bonds were identified with infrared spectroscopy in the films. The triple bonds broke after annealing at 1000 °C for 1 h which likely caused enhanced hydrolysis of the films. The nanostructure of the films was identified to be amorphous in the as-deposited state and to become nanocrystalline after 1 h of annealing at 1000 °C.

Synthesis of Aluminum-Aluminum Nitride Nanocomposites by a Gas-Liquid Reaction II. Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Borgonovo, Cecilia; Makhlouf, Makhlouf M.

2016-04-01

In situ fabrication of the reinforcing particles in the metal matrix is an answer to many of the challenges encountered in manufacturing aluminum matrix nanocomposites. In this method, the nanoparticles are formed directly within the melt by means of a chemical reaction between a specially designed aluminum alloy and a gas. In this publication, we describe a process for synthesizing aluminum-aluminum nitride nanocomposites by reacting a nitrogen-containing gas with a molten aluminum-lithium alloy. We quantify the effect of the process parameters on the average particle size and particle distribution, as well as on the tendency of the particles to cluster in the alloy matrix, is quantified. Also in this publication, we present the measured room temperature and elevated temperature tensile properties of the nanocomposite material as well as its measured room temperature impact toughness.

Sample Size Induced Brittle-to-Ductile Transition of Single-Crystal Aluminum Nitride

Science.gov (United States)

2015-08-01

ARL-RP-0528 ● AUG 2015 US Army Research Laboratory Sample Size Induced Brittle-to- Ductile Transition of Single-Crystal Aluminum...originator. ARL-RP-0528 ● AUG 2015 US Army Research Laboratory Sample Size Induced Brittle-to- Ductile Transition of Single-Crystal...Sample Size Induced Brittle-to- Ductile Transition of Single-Crystal Aluminum Nitride 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT

Effect of argon ion beam voltages on the microstructure of aluminum nitride films prepared at room temperature by a dual ion beam sputtering system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, H.-Y.; Han Sheng; Cheng, C.-H.; Shih, H.C.

2004-01-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) films were successfully deposited at room temperature onto p-type (1 0 0) silicon wafers by manipulating argon ion beam voltages in a dual ion beam sputtering (DIBS). X-ray diffraction spectra showed that aluminum nitride films could be synthesized above 800 V. The (0 0 2) orientation was dominant at 800 V, above which the orientation was random. The atomic force microscope (AFM) images displayed a relatively smooth surface with the root-mean-square roughness of 2-3 nm, where this roughness decreased with argon ion beam voltage. The Al 2p 3/2 and N 1s spectra indicated that both the aluminum-aluminum bond and aluminum-nitrogen bond appeared at 600 V, above which only the aluminum-nitrogen bond was detected. Moreover, the atomic concentration in aluminum nitride films was concentrated in aluminum-rich phases in all cases. Nevertheless, the aluminum concentration markedly increased with argon ion beam voltages below 1000 V, above which the concentration decreased slightly. The correlation between the microstructure of aluminum nitride films and argon ion beam voltages is also discussed

Synthesis of nanocrystalline magnesium nitride (Mg3N2) powder using thermal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong-Wook; Kim, Tae-Hee; Park, Hyun-Woo; Park, Dong-Wha

2011-01-01

Nanocrystalline magnesium nitride (Mg 3 N 2 ) powder was synthesized from bulk magnesium by thermal plasma at atmospheric pressure. Magnesium vapor was generated through heating the bulk magnesium by DC plasma jet and reacted with ammonia gas. Injecting position and flow rates of ammonia gas were controlled to investigate an ideal condition for Mg 3 N 2 synthesis. The synthesized Mg 3 N 2 was cooled and collected on the chamber wall. Characteristics of the synthesized powders for each experimental condition were analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravity analysis (TGA). In absence of NH 3 , magnesium metal powder was formed. The synthesis with NH 3 injection in low temperature region resulted in a formation of crystalline magnesium nitride with trigonal morphology, whereas the mixture of magnesium metal and amorphous Mg 3 N 2 was formed when NH 3 was injected in high temperature region. Also, vaporization process of magnesium was discussed.

Coplanar transitions based on aluminum nitride interposer substrate for terabit transceivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dong, Yunfeng; Johansen, Tom Keinicke; Zhurbenko, Vitaliy

2017-01-01

This paper presents two types of coplanar transitions based on aluminum nitride (AlN) substrate for interposer designs of terabit transceivers. The designs of coupled coplanar waveguide (CCPW), coupled line, coplanar waveguide (CPW), and coplanar stripline (CPS) based on AlN substrate are explained...

An experimental study on the aluminum nitride flux detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Byung Soo; Hwang, In Koo; Chung, Chong Eun; Kwon, Kee Choon

2004-06-01

The result of a study on the 'development of a solid state flux monitor' performed as a part of the I-NERI project 'development of enhanced reactor operation through improved sensing and control at nuclear power pants' is described in this report. Dozens of aluminum nitride based flux sensors have been fabricated with different sizes 3mm x 3mm x 0.635mm and 3mm x 3mm x 0.381mm by ORNL and were packaged with MGO insulation by KAERI for a feasibility study to use them as the in-core flux monitor in the nuclear power plants. In chapter 1, we describe the basic properties of the aluminum nitride and the geometric shape of the fabricated detectors with the signal cables attached. In chapter 2, we describe the calculation results based on the EGS4 and MCNP4B code to determine the neutron sensitivity of the aluminum nitride and the optimal thickness for the gamma rejection for the case of the detectors being used in the pulse mode operation. In chapter 3, we describe the results of measurements for the insulation resistance and of the experiments to determine the optimum operating voltage of the sensors after the packaging with long cables attached. In chapter 4, we describe the results of experiments to measure the high gamma flux from the 187Ci Co60, 77,000Ci Co60, and the 200,000Ci Co60 at the high level irradiation facility at KAERI at various distances and compared the results with the EGS4 based calculation results. In chapter 5, we describe the results of pulse counts at the IR beam port of the Hanaro reactor, the low flux measurements in the current mode at the Pohang accelerator, and the high flux measurements in the current mode inside the cold neutron source hole of the Hanaro reacter. Finally, in chapter 6, we analyze the results of the above experiments and describe the necessary future work.

An experimental study on the aluminum nitride flux detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Byung Soo; Hwang, In Koo; Chung, Chong Eun; Kwon, Kee Choon

2004-06-01

The result of a study on the 'development of a solid state flux monitor' performed as a part of the I-NERI project 'development of enhanced reactor operation through improved sensing and control at nuclear power pants' is described in this report. Dozens of aluminum nitride based flux sensors have been fabricated with different sizes 3mm x 3mm x 0.635mm and 3mm x 3mm x 0.381mm by ORNL and were packaged with MGO insulation by KAERI for a feasibility study to use them as the in-core flux monitor in the nuclear power plants. In chapter 1, we describe the basic properties of the aluminum nitride and the geometric shape of the fabricated detectors with the signal cables attached. In chapter 2, we describe the calculation results based on the EGS4 and MCNP4B code to determine the neutron sensitivity of the aluminum nitride and the optimal thickness for the gamma rejection for the case of the detectors being used in the pulse mode operation. In chapter 3, we describe the results of measurements for the insulation resistance and of the experiments to determine the optimum operating voltage of the sensors after the packaging with long cables attached. In chapter 4, we describe the results of experiments to measure the high gamma flux from the 187Ci Co60, 77,000Ci Co60, and the 200,000Ci Co60 at the high level irradiation facility at KAERI at various distances and compared the results with the EGS4 based calculation results. In chapter 5, we describe the results of pulse counts at the IR beam port of the Hanaro reactor, the low flux measurements in the current mode at the Pohang accelerator, and the high flux measurements in the current mode inside the cold neutron source hole of the Hanaro reacter. Finally, in chapter 6, we analyze the results of the above experiments and describe the necessary future work

Thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramics. Waermeleitfaehigkeit von Aluminiumnitrid-Keramik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruessel, C.; Hofmann, T.; Limmer, G. (Erlangen-Nuernberg Univ., Erlangen (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Werkstoffwissenschaften 3)

Aluminium nitride ceramics made by the authors, as well as others produced commercially, mostly using yttrium oxide as an additive, were characterized with respect to their phase and chemical composition, their microstructure, and their thermal conductivity. It was shown that conventional ideas, especially with regard to the correlations between thermal conductivity and the oxygen content and the microstructure, could not withstand a critical examination. Instead, a connection can be seen between the oxygen not bound up in yttrium-aluminum garnet and thermal conductivity. Relatively low thermal conductivities were always observed when yttrium-aluminum garnet was present as a grain-boundary phase; in contrast, high values of thermal conductivity were seen when the yttrium-aluminum garnet was present in the form of isolated grains. (orig.).

Progress in efficient doping of high aluminum-containing group III-nitrides

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Y.-H.; Towe, E.

2018-03-01

The group III-nitride (InN, GaN, and AlN) class of semiconductors has become one of two that are critical to a number of technologies in modern life—the other being silicon. Light-emitting diodes made from (In,Ga)N, for example, dominate recent innovations in general illumination and signaling. Even though the (In,Ga)N materials system is fairly well established and widely used in advanced devices, challenges continue to impede development of devices that include aluminum-containing nitride films such as (Al,Ga)N. The main difficulty is efficient doping of films with aluminum-rich compositions; the problem is particularly severe for p-type doping, which is essential for Ohmic contacts to bipolar device structures. This review briefly summarizes the fundamental issues related to p-type doping, and then discusses a number of approaches that are being pursued to resolve the doping problem or for circumventing the need for p-type doping. Finally, we discuss an approach to doping under liquid-metal-enabled growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Recent results from a number of groups appear to indicate that p-type doping of nitride films under liquid-metal-enabled growth conditions might offer a solution to the doping problem—at least for materials grown by molecular beam epitaxy.

Aluminum nitride nanophotonic circuits operating at ultraviolet wavelengths

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stegmaier, M.; Ebert, J.; Pernice, W. H. P., E-mail: wolfram.pernice@kit.edu [Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76133 Karlsruhe (Germany); Meckbach, J. M.; Ilin, K.; Siegel, M. [Institute of Micro- und Nanoelectronic Systems, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76187 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2014-03-03

Aluminum nitride (AlN) has recently emerged as a promising material for integrated photonics due to a large bandgap and attractive optical properties. Exploiting the wideband transparency, we demonstrate waveguiding in AlN-on-Insulator circuits from near-infrared to ultraviolet wavelengths using nanophotonic components with dimensions down to 40 nm. By measuring the propagation loss over a wide spectral range, we conclude that both scattering and absorption of AlN-intrinsic defects contribute to strong attenuation at short wavelengths, thus providing guidelines for future improvements in thin-film deposition and circuit fabrication.

Optical properties of aluminum nitride thin films grown by direct-current magnetron sputtering close to epitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stolz, A. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Soltani, A., E-mail: ali.soltani@iemn.univ-lille1.fr [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Abdallah, B. [Department of Materials Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Damascus, P.O. Box 6091 (Syrian Arab Republic); Charrier, J. [Fonctions Optiques pour les Technologies de l' informatiON (FOTON), UMR CNRS 6082, 6, rue de Kerampont CS 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France); Deresmes, D. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Jouan, P.-Y.; Djouadi, M.A. [Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel – IMN, UMR CNRS 6502, 2, rue de la Houssinère BP 32229, 44322 Nantes (France); Dogheche, E.; De Jaeger, J.-C. [Institut d' Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, PRES Lille, Université Nord de France, Avenue Poincaré, 59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)

2013-05-01

Low-temperature Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films with a thickness of 3 μm were deposited by Direct-Current magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrate. They present optical properties similar to those of epitaxially grown films. Different characterization methods such as X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were used to determine the structural properties of the films such as its roughness and crystallinity. Newton interferometer was used for stress measurement of the films. Non-destructive prism-coupling technique was used to determine refractive index and thickness homogeneity by a mapping on the whole sample area. Results show that AlN films grown on AlGaN layer have a high crystallinity close to epitaxial films, associated to a low intrinsic stress for low thickness. These results highlight that it is possible to grow thick sample with microstructure and optical properties close to epitaxy, even on a large surface. - Highlights: ► Aluminum Nitride sputtering technique with a low temperature growth process ► Epitaxial quality of two microns sputtered Aluminum Nitride film ► Optics as a non-destructive accurate tool for acoustic wave investigation.

Piezoelectric actuated micro-resonators based on the growth of diamond on aluminum nitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hees, J; Heidrich, N; Pletschen, W; Sah, R E; Wolfer, M; Lebedev, V; Nebel, C E; Ambacher, O; Williams, O A

2013-01-01

Unimorph heterostructures based on piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) and diamond thin films are highly desirable for applications in micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems. In this paper, we present a new approach to combine thin conductive boron-doped as well as insulating nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) with sputtered AlN films without the need for any buffer layers between AlN and NCD or polishing steps. The zeta potentials of differently treated nanodiamond (ND) particles in aqueous colloids are adjusted to the zeta potential of AlN in water. Thereby, the nucleation density for the initial growth of diamond on AlN can be varied from very low (10 8 cm −2 ), in the case of hydrogen-treated ND seeding particles, to very high values of 10 11 cm −2 for oxidized ND particles. Our approach yielding high nucleation densities allows the growth of very thin NCD films on AlN with thicknesses as low as 40 nm for applications such as microelectromechanical beam resonators. Fabricated piezo-actuated micro-resonators exhibit enhanced mechanical properties due to the incorporation of boron-doped NCD films. Highly boron-doped NCD thin films which replace the metal top electrode offer Young’s moduli of more than 1000 GPa. (paper)

The use of aluminum nitride to improve Aluminum-26 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry measurements and production of Radioactive Ion Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Janzen, Meghan S.; Galindo-Uribarri, Alfredo; Liu, Yuan; Mills, Gerald D.; Romero-Romero, Elisa; Stracener, Daniel W.

2015-10-01

We present results and discuss the use of aluminum nitride as a promising source material for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) science applications of 26Al isotopes. The measurement of 26Al in geological samples by AMS is typically conducted on Al2O3 targets. However, Al2O3 is not an ideal source material because it does not form a prolific beam of Al- required for measuring low-levels of 26Al. Multiple samples of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), mixed Al2O3-AlN as well as aluminum fluoride (AlF3) were tested and compared using the ion source test facility and the stable ion beam (SIB) injector platform at the 25-MV tandem electrostatic accelerator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Negative ion currents of atomic and molecular aluminum were examined for each source material. It was found that pure AlN targets produced substantially higher beam currents than the other materials and that there was some dependence on the exposure of AlN to air. The applicability of using AlN as a source material for geological samples was explored by preparing quartz samples as Al2O3 and converting them to AlN using a carbothermal reduction technique, which involved reducing the Al2O3 with graphite powder at 1600 °C within a nitrogen atmosphere. The quartz material was successfully converted to AlN. Thus far, AlN proves to be a promising source material and could lead towards increasing the sensitivity of low-level 26Al AMS measurements. The potential of using AlN as a source material for nuclear physics is also very promising by placing 26AlN directly into a source to produce more intense radioactive beams of 26Al.

Surface ferromagnetism and superconducting properties of nanocrystalline niobium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shipra, R.; Kumar, Nitesh; Sundaresan, A.

2013-01-01

Nanocrystalline δ-NbN x samples have been synthesized by reacting NbCl 5 and urea at three different temperatures. A comparison of their structural, magnetic, transport and thermal properties is reported in the present study. The size of the particles and their agglomeration extent increase with increasing reaction temperature. The sample prepared at 900 °C showed the highest superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of 16.2 K with a transition width, ∼1.8 K, as obtained from the resistivity measurement on cold-pressed bars. Above T c , magnetization measurements revealed the presence of surface ferromagnetism which coexists with superconductivity below T c . Heat capacity measurements confirm superconductivity with strong electron–phonon coupling constant. The sample prepared at 800 °C shows a lower T c (10 K) while that prepared at 700 °C exhibit no superconductivity down to the lowest temperature (3 K) measured. - Highlights: ► Synthesis of δ-NbN nanoparticles by urea nitridation of NbCl 5 . ► Superconducting transition temperature (T c ) is 16.2 K. ► Superconductivity and surface ferromagnetism coexist in the nanoparticles. ► Effect of size and agglomeration on the physical properties of nanoparticles

Effect of contact metals on the piezoelectric properties of aluminum nitride thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harman, J.P.; Kabulski, A. (West Virginia U., Morgantown, WV); Pagan, V.R. (West Virginia U., Morgantown, WV); Famouri, K. (West Virginia U., Morgantown, WV); Kasarla, K.R.; Rodak, L.E. (West Virginia U., Morgantown, WV); Hensel, J.P.; Korakakis, D.

2008-07-01

The converse piezoelectric response of aluminum nitride evaluated using standard metal insulator semiconductor structures has been found to exhibit a linear dependence on the work function of the metal used as the top electrode. The apparent d33 of the 150–1100 nm films also depends on the dc bias applied to the samples.

Effect of contact metals on the piezoelectric properties of aluminum nitride thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harman, J.; Kabulski, A.; Pagán, V. R.; Famouri, P.; Kasarla, K. R.; Rodak, L. E.; Peter Hensel, J.; Korakakis, D.

2008-01-01

The converse piezoelectric response of aluminum nitride evaluated using standard metal insulator semiconductor structures has been found to exhibit a linear dependence on the work function of the metal used as the top electrode. The apparent d33 of the 150–1100 nm films also depends on the dc bias applied to the samples.

Effect of Nano-crystalline Ceramic Coats Produced by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation on Corrosion Behavior of AA5083 Aluminum Alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thayananth, T.; Muthupandi, V.; Rao, S. R. Koteswara

2010-01-01

High specific strength offered by aluminum and magnesium alloys makes them desirable in modern transportation industries. Often the restrictions imposed on the usage of these alloys are due to their poor tribological and corrosion properties. However, their corrosion properties can be further enhanced by synthesizing ceramic coating on the substrate through Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) process. In this study, nano-crystalline alumina coatings were formed on the surface of AA5083 aluminum alloy test coupons using PEO process in aqueous alkali-silicate electrolyte with and without addition of sodium aluminate. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies showed that the crystallite size varied between 38 and 46 nm and α- and γ- alumina were the dominant phases present in the coatings. Corrosion studies by potentiodynamic polarization tests in 3.5% NaCl revealed that the electrolyte composition has an influence on the corrosion resistance of nano-crystalline oxide layer formed.

The initial growth stage in PVT growth of aluminum nitride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heimann, P.; Epelbaum, B.M.; Bickermann, M.; Winnacker, A. [Department of Materials Science 6, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Martensstr. 7, 91058 Erlangen (Germany); Nagata, S. [Functional Materials Development Center, Research Laboratories, JFE Mineral Company, Ltd., 1, Niihama-cho, Chuou-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba 260-0826 (Japan)

2006-06-15

The main issue in homoepitaxial growth of aluminum nitride (AlN) on native seed substrates is the formation of an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) layer at temperatures between 1850-1950 C leading to polycrystalline growth. On the contrary, heteroepitaxial growth of AlN on silicon carbide (SiC) is relatively easy to achieve due to natural formation of a thin molten layer of (Al{sub 2}OC{sub x}) on the seed surface and consequent growth of AlN via the molten buffer layer. Optimization of the seeding process can be achieved by use of ultra-pure starting material. Another critical issue of AlN growth on SiC is cracking of the grown layer upon cooling as a result of different thermal expansion coefficients. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Deposition of single-layer and graded aluminum nitride coatings on vanadium substrates using ion-beam assisted reactive evaporation (ITER task no. ETA-EC-BLR26)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamarani, F.; Lang, R.; Owles, R.

1994-06-01

The objective of the project has been to develop a reactive evaporation process for the fabrication of aluminum nitride coatings on pure vanadium substrates. The aluminum nitride coatings are to be used as electrical insulators on the surfaces of structural materials in contact with liquid metal coolants. (author). 9 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs

Preparation and characteristics of various rare earth nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imamura, H.; Imahashi, T.; Zaimi, M.; Sakata, Y.

2008-01-01

Active nanocrystalline nitrides of EuN and YbN with high surface areas were successfully prepared by the thermal decomposition of the rare earth amides (Eu(NH 2 ) 2 , Yb(NH 2 ) 2 and Yb(NH 2 ) 3 ). For the preparation of CeN, PrN and NdN, the direct reaction of the rare earth metals with ammonia was extensively studied to determine optimal conditions. In the reaction of rare earth metals with ammonia, hydrides besides the nitrides were competitively formed. The reaction conditions such as temperatures and ratios of ammonia to rare earth metal were crucial in preferential formation of nitride. The nanocrystalline YbN and EuN readily absorbed large amounts of ammonia even at room temperature upon contact with ammonia (13.3 kPa). The absorbed ammonia existed in at least two forms on/in the nitride; the one was surface-adsorbed ammonia and the other ammonia absorbed in the nitride in a decomposed state. The properties of ammonia absorbed by the nitride were further evaluated by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), FT-IR and XRD techniques

Sputtered tungsten-based ternary and quaternary layers for nanocrystalline diamond deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Walock, Michael J; Rahil, Issam; Zou, Yujiao; Imhoff, Luc; Catledge, Shane A; Nouveau, Corinne; Stanishevsky, Andrei V

2012-06-01

Many of today's demanding applications require thin-film coatings with high hardness, toughness, and thermal stability. In many cases, coating thickness in the range 2-20 microm and low surface roughness are required. Diamond films meet many of the stated requirements, but their crystalline nature leads to a high surface roughness. Nanocrystalline diamond offers a smoother surface, but significant surface modification of the substrate is necessary for successful nanocrystalline diamond deposition and adhesion. A hybrid hard and tough material may be required for either the desired applications, or as a basis for nanocrystalline diamond film growth. One possibility is a composite system based on carbides or nitrides. Many binary carbides and nitrides offer one or more mentioned properties. By combining these binary compounds in a ternary or quaternary nanocrystalline system, we can tailor the material for a desired combination of properties. Here, we describe the results on the structural and mechanical properties of the coating systems composed of tungsten-chromium-carbide and/or nitride. These WC-Cr-(N) coatings are deposited using magnetron sputtering. The growth of adherent nanocrystalline diamond films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition has been demonstrated on these coatings. The WC-Cr-(N) and WC-Cr-(N)-NCD coatings are characterized with atomic force microscopy and SEM, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and nanoindentation.

Fluorescent lighting with aluminum nitride phosphors

Science.gov (United States)

Cherepy, Nerine J.; Payne, Stephen A.; Seeley, Zachary M.; Srivastava, Alok M.

2016-05-10

A fluorescent lamp includes a glass envelope; at least two electrodes connected to the glass envelope; mercury vapor and an inert gas within the glass envelope; and a phosphor within the glass envelope, wherein the phosphor blend includes aluminum nitride. The phosphor may be a wurtzite (hexagonal) crystalline structure Al.sub.(1-x)M.sub.xN phosphor, where M may be drawn from beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, zinc, scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, ytterbium, bismuth, manganese, silicon, germanium, tin, boron, or gallium is synthesized to include dopants to control its luminescence under ultraviolet excitation. The disclosed Al.sub.(1-x)M.sub.xN:Mn phosphor provides bright orange-red emission, comparable in efficiency and spectrum to that of the standard orange-red phosphor used in fluorescent lighting, Y.sub.2O.sub.3:Eu. Furthermore, it offers excellent lumen maintenance in a fluorescent lamp, and does not utilize "critical rare earths," minimizing sensitivity to fluctuating market prices for the rare earth elements.

Characterization of the nitrogen split interstitial defect in wurtzite aluminum nitride using density functional theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szállás, A.; Szász, K.; Trinh, X. T.; Son, N. T.; Janzén, E.; Gali, A.

2014-01-01

We carried out Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid density functional theory plane wave supercell calculations in wurtzite aluminum nitride in order to characterize the geometry, formation energies, transition levels, and hyperfine tensors of the nitrogen split interstitial defect. The calculated hyperfine tensors may provide useful fingerprint of this defect for electron paramagnetic resonance measurement.

Characterization of the nitrogen split interstitial defect in wurtzite aluminum nitride using density functional theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szállás, A., E-mail: szallas.attila@wigner.mta.hu [Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, H-1525 Budapest (Hungary); Szász, K. [Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, H-1525 Budapest (Hungary); Institute of Physics, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Budapest (Hungary); Trinh, X. T.; Son, N. T.; Janzén, E. [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping (Sweden); Gali, A., E-mail: gali.adam@wigner.mta.hu [Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, H-1525 Budapest (Hungary); Department of Atomic Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budafoki út 8, H-1111 Budapest (Hungary)

2014-09-21

We carried out Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid density functional theory plane wave supercell calculations in wurtzite aluminum nitride in order to characterize the geometry, formation energies, transition levels, and hyperfine tensors of the nitrogen split interstitial defect. The calculated hyperfine tensors may provide useful fingerprint of this defect for electron paramagnetic resonance measurement.

Size dependence of elastic mechanical properties of nanocrystalline aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Wenwu; Dávila, Lilian P., E-mail: ldavila@ucmerced.edu

2017-04-24

The effect of grain size on the elastic mechanical properties of nanocrystalline pure metal Al is quantified by molecular dynamics simulation method. In this work, the largest nanocrystalline Al sample has a mean grain size of 29.6 nm and contains over 100 millions atoms in the modeling system. The simulation results show that the elastic properties including elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength of nanocrystalline Al are relatively insensitive to the variation of mean grain size above 13 nm yet they become distinctly grain size dependent below 13 nm. Moreover, at a grain size <13 nm, the elastic modulus decreases monotonically with decreasing grain size while the ultimate tensile strength of nanocrystalline Al initially decreases with the decrease of the grain size down to 9 nm and then increases with further reduction of grain size. The increase of ultimate tensile strength below 9 nm is believed to be a result of an extended elasticity in the ultrafine grain size nanocrystalline Al. This study can facilitate the prediction of varied mechanical properties for similar nanocrystalline materials and even guide testing and fabrication schemes of such materials.

Influence of aluminum nitride interlayers on crystal orientation and piezoelectric property of aluminum nitride thin films prepared on titanium electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamohara, Toshihiro; Akiyama, Morito; Ueno, Naohiro; Nonaka, Kazuhiro; Kuwano, Noriyuki

2007-01-01

Highly c-axis-oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films have been prepared on titanium (Ti) bottom electrodes by using AlN interlayers. The AlN interlayers were deposited between Ti electrodes and silicon (Si) substrates, such as AlN/Ti/AlN/Si. The crystallinity and crystal orientation of the AlN films and Ti electrodes strongly depended on the thickness of the AlN interlayers. Although the sputtering conditions were the same, the X-ray diffraction intensity of AlN (0002) and Ti (0002) planes drastically increased, and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curves decreased from 5.1 o to 2.6 o and from 3.3 o to 2.0 o , respectively. Furthermore, the piezoelectric constant d 33 of the AlN films was significantly improved from - 0.2 to - 4.5 pC/N

The thermal power of aluminum nitride at temperatures between 1350 and 1650 deg C in argon and nitrogen atmospheres. Ph.D. Thesis - Rhine-Westphalia High School at Aachen

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, W. A.; Schuh, B.

1978-01-01

The test apparatus for measuring the thermal voltage of aluminum nitride for temperature differences of up to + or - 60 C between 1350 and 1650 C is described. The thermal power and its homogeneous proportion are determined and the heat transfer of the migration ions resulting from the homogeneous thermal power is calculated. The conduction mechanism in aluminum nitride is discussed.

Gas-Phase Combustion Synthesis of Aluminum Nitride Powder

Science.gov (United States)

Axelbaum, R. L.; Lottes, C. R.; Huertas, J. I.; Rosen, L. J.

1996-01-01

Due to its combined properties of high electrical resistivity and high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride (AlN) is a highly desirable material for electronics applications. Methods are being sought for synthesis of unagglomerated, nanometer-sized powders of this material, prepared in such a way that they can be consolidated into solid compacts having minimal oxygen content. A procedure for synthesizing these powders through gas-phase combustion is described. This novel approach involves reacting AlCl3, NH3, and Na vapors. Equilibrium thermodynamic calculations show that 100% yields can be obtained for these reactants with the products being AlN, NaCl, and H2. The NaCl by-product is used to coat the AlN particles in situ. The coating allows for control of AlN agglomeration and protects the powders from hydrolysis during post-flame handling. On the basis of thermodynamic and kinetic considerations, two different approaches were employed to produce the powder, in co-flow diffusion flame configurations. In the first approach, the three reactants were supplied in separate streams. In the second, the AlCl3 and NH3 were premixed with HCl and then reacted with Na vapor. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of as-produced powders show only NaCl for the first case and NaCl and AlN for the second. After annealing at 775 C tinder dynamic vacuum, the salt was removed and XRD spectra of powders from both approaches show only AlN. Aluminum metal was also produced in the co-flow flame by reacting AlCl3 with Na. XRD spectra of as-produced powders show the products to be only NaCl and elemental aluminum.

Multi-stage pulsed laser deposition of aluminum nitride at different temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duta, L. [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Stan, G.E. [National Institute of Materials Physics, 105 bis Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Stroescu, H.; Gartner, M.; Anastasescu, M. [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Fogarassy, Zs. [Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Konkoly Thege Miklos u. 29-33, H-1121 Budapest (Hungary); Mihailescu, N. [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Szekeres, A., E-mail: szekeres@issp.bas.bg [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Bakalova, S. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Mihailescu, I.N., E-mail: ion.mihailescu@inflpr.ro [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Multi-stage pulsed laser deposition of aluminum nitride at different temperatures. • 800 °C seed film boosts the next growth of crystalline structures at lower temperature. • Two-stage deposited AlN samples exhibit randomly oriented wurtzite structures. • Band gap energy values increase with deposition temperature. • Correlation was observed between single- and multi-stage AlN films. - Abstract: We report on multi-stage pulsed laser deposition of aluminum nitride (AlN) on Si (1 0 0) wafers, at different temperatures. The first stage of deposition was carried out at 800 °C, the optimum temperature for AlN crystallization. In the second stage, the deposition was conducted at lower temperatures (room temperature, 350 °C or 450 °C), in ambient Nitrogen, at 0.1 Pa. The synthesized structures were analyzed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). GIXRD measurements indicated that the two-stage deposited AlN samples exhibited a randomly oriented wurtzite structure with nanosized crystallites. The peaks were shifted to larger angles, indicative for smaller inter-planar distances. Remarkably, TEM images demonstrated that the high-temperature AlN “seed” layers (800 °C) promoted the growth of poly-crystalline AlN structures at lower deposition temperatures. When increasing the deposition temperature, the surface roughness of the samples exhibited values in the range of 0.4–2.3 nm. SE analyses showed structures which yield band gap values within the range of 4.0–5.7 eV. A correlation between the results of single- and multi-stage AlN depositions was observed.

Wear-triggered self-healing behavior on the surface of nanocrystalline nickel aluminum bronze/Ti3SiC2 composites

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Wenzheng; Lu, Wenlong; Zhang, Po; Wang, Jian; Liu, Xiaojun; Zhou, Liping

2018-04-01

Self-healing can protect materials from diverse damages, but is intrinsically difficult in metals. This paper demonstrates a potential method through a simultaneous decomposition and oxidation of Ti3SiC2 to achieve healing of stress cracking on the surface of nickel aluminum bronze (NAB)/Ti3SiC2 nanocrystalline composites during fretting wear. At the finest nanocrystalline materials, a crack recovery would be attained at 76.5%. The repetitive fretting wear leads to a modest amount of 'flowability' of Ti3SiC2 toward the crack, facilitating crack recovery. Along with the wear-triggered self-healing, the NAB/Ti3SiC2 shows an improved tribological performance with the stable decreased friction torque due to the formation of lubrication TiO2 oxide.

Numerical study of self-heating effects of small-size MOSFETs fabricated on silicon-on-aluminum nitride substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Yanfang; Zhu Ziqiang; Zhu Ming; Lin Chenglu

2006-01-01

Compared with bulk-silicon technology, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology possesses many advantages but it is inevitable that the buried silicon dioxide layer also thermally insulates the metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) from the bulk due to the low thermal conductivity. One of the alternative insulator to replace the buried oxide layer is aluminum nitride (MN), which has a thermal conductivity that is about 200 times higher than that of SiO 2 (320 W·m -1 ·K -1 versus 1.4 W·m -1 ·K -l ). To investigate the self-heating effects of small-size MOSFETs fabricated on silicon-on-aluminum nitride (SOAN) substrate, a two-dimensional numerical analysis is performed by using a device simulator called MEDICI run on a Solaris workstation to simulate the electrical characteristics and temperature distribution by comparing with those of bulk and standard SOI MOSFETs. Our study suggests that AIN is a suitable alternative to silicon dioxide as a buried dielectric in SOI and expands the applications of SOI to high temperature conditions. (authors)

Aluminum Nitride Micro-Channels Grown via Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy for MEMs Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodak, L.E.; Kuchibhatla, S.; Famouri, P.; Ting, L.; Korakakis, D.

2008-01-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a promising material for a number of applications due to its temperature and chemical stability. Furthermore, AlN maintains its piezoelectric properties at higher temperatures than more commonly used materials, such as Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) [1, 2], making AlN attractive for high temperature micro and nanoelectromechanical (MEMs and NEMs) applications including, but not limited to, high temperature sensors and actuators, micro-channels for fuel cell applications, and micromechanical resonators. This work presents a novel AlN micro-channel fabrication technique using Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE). AlN easily nucleates on dielectric surfaces due to the large sticking coefficient and short diffusion length of the aluminum species resulting in a high quality polycrystalline growth on typical mask materials, such as silicon dioxide and silicon nitride [3,4]. The fabrication process introduced involves partially masking a substrate with a silicon dioxide striped pattern and then growing AlN via MOVPE simultaneously on the dielectric mask and exposed substrate. A buffered oxide etch is then used to remove the underlying silicon dioxide and leave a free standing AlN micro-channel. The width of the channel has been varied from 5 ìm to 110 ìm and the height of the air gap from 130 nm to 800 nm indicating the stability of the structure. Furthermore, this versatile process has been performed on (111) silicon, c-plane sapphire, and gallium nitride epilayers on sapphire substrates. Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Raman measurements have been taken on channels grown on each substrate and indicate that the substrate is influencing the growth of the AlN micro-channels on the SiO2 sacrificial layer.

Application of wetting to fabrication of boron nitride/aluminum composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, Hidetoshi; Nakae, Hideo; Okada, Koji

1993-01-01

The focus of this paper is the establishment of a cheap and easy method of manufacturing metal matrix composites by optimizing the wetting and structural properties of the materials used, (i.e. boron nitride/aluminum). Although aluminum is one of the most prominent metals in the fabrication of metal matrix composites, the oxidation of aluminum prevents us from precisely measuring the wetting of ceramics. Therefore, an improved sessile drop method was devised to prevent the oxidation of the aluminum. Using this method, the contact angle between h-BN (hexagonal-BN) and molten Al was measured in a purified He+3%H 2 atmosphere and in a very high vacuum in a temperature range of 1173-1373K. The contact angle progressed through four phases similar to typical ceramics. However, the contact angle became 0 degree in phase 4 at and over 1273K. This contact angle is extremely lower than the contact angles for typical ceramics and it indicates that h-BN is an ideal material for manufacturing a metal matrix composite from the viewpoint of wetting. It was also confirmed that AlN was produced at the solid/liquid interface and caused the contact angle to decrease to 0 degree. AlN has good structural properties whereas h-BN does not. Accordingly, it is suggested that h-BN particles, which have good wetting, be inserted into the Al melt. This will cause the surface of the h-BN to be converted into AlN which has good structural properties. Using this process, a metal matrix composite, which has good structural properties, should be produced. Further, since h-BN is lubricious, a material should be produced which has high wear resistance and good lubricating properties

Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tay, Roland Yingjie [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Tsang, Siu Hon [Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Loeblein, Manuela; Chow, Wai Leong [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); CNRS-International NTU Thales Research Alliance CINTRA UMI 3288, Research Techno Plaza, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, Singapore 637553 (Singapore); Loh, Guan Chee [Institue of High Performance Computing, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16-16 Connexis, Singapore 138632 (Singapore); Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931 (United States); Toh, Joo Wah; Ang, Soon Loong [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Teo, Edwin Hang Tong, E-mail: htteo@ntu.edu.sg [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2015-03-09

Atomically thin hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) films are primarily synthesized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various catalytic transition metal substrates. In this work, a single-step metal-catalyst-free approach to obtain few- to multi-layer nanocrystalline h-BN (NCBN) directly on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si and quartz substrates is demonstrated. The as-grown thin films are continuous and smooth with no observable pinholes or wrinkles across the entire deposited substrate as inspected using optical and atomic force microscopy. The starting layers of NCBN orient itself parallel to the substrate, initiating the growth of the textured thin film. Formation of NCBN is due to the random and uncontrolled nucleation of h-BN on the dielectric substrate surface with no epitaxial relation, unlike on metal surfaces. The crystallite size is ∼25 nm as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the NCBN formed sheets of multi-stacked layers with controllable thickness from ∼2 to 25 nm. The absence of transfer process in this technique avoids any additional degradation, such as wrinkles, tears or folding and residues on the film which are detrimental to device performance. This work provides a wider perspective of CVD-grown h-BN and presents a viable route towards large-scale manufacturing of h-BN substrates and for coating applications.

The Mechanical and Tribology Properties of Sputtered Titanium Aluminum Nitride Coating on the Tungsten Carbide Insert Tool in the Dry Turning of Tool Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esmar Budi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The effect of the sputtering parameters on the mechanical tribology properties of Titanium Aluminum Nitride coating on the tungsten cabide insert tool in the dry turning of tool steel has been investigated. The coating was deposited using a Direct Current magnetron sputtering system with various substrate biases (-79 to -221 V and nitrogen flow rates (30 to 72 sccm. The dry turning test was carried out on a Computer Numeric Code machine using an optimum cutting parameter setting. The results show that the lowest flank wear (~0.4 mm was achieved using a Titanium Aluminum Nitride-coated tool that was deposited at a high substrate bias (-200 V and a high nitrogen flow rate (70 sccm. The lowest flank wear was attributed to high coating hardness.

Morphological and optical properties changes in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) deposited on porous aluminum nanostructures by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for Solar energy applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghrib, M., E-mail: mondherghrib@yahoo.fr [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia); Gaidi, M.; Ghrib, T.; Khedher, N. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia); Ben Salam, M. [L3M, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna (Tunisia); Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique (L.P.V.), Centre de Recherche et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia)

2011-08-15

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to determine the electrical band gap of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on porous alumina structure by fitting the experimental spectra using a model based on the quantum confinement of electrons in Si nanocrystallites having spherical and cylindrical forms. This model permits to correlate the PL spectra to the microstructure of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) structure. The microstructure of aluminum surface layer and nc-Si films was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the structure of the nanocrystalline silicon layer (NSL) is dependent of the porosity (void) of the porous alumina layer (PAL) substrate. This structure was performed in two steps, namely the PAL substrate was prepared using sulfuric acid solution attack on an Al foil and then the silicon was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on it. The optical constants (n and k as a function of wavelength) of the deposited films were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the UV-vis-NIR regions. The SE spectrum of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) was modeled as a mixture of void, crystalline silicon and aluminum using the Cauchy model approximation. The specific surface area (SSA) was estimated and was found to decrease linearly when porosity increases. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties.

Morphological and optical properties changes in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) deposited on porous aluminum nanostructures by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for Solar energy applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghrib, M.; Gaidi, M.; Ghrib, T.; Khedher, N.; Ben Salam, M.; Ezzaouia, H.

2011-01-01

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to determine the electrical band gap of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on porous alumina structure by fitting the experimental spectra using a model based on the quantum confinement of electrons in Si nanocrystallites having spherical and cylindrical forms. This model permits to correlate the PL spectra to the microstructure of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) structure. The microstructure of aluminum surface layer and nc-Si films was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the structure of the nanocrystalline silicon layer (NSL) is dependent of the porosity (void) of the porous alumina layer (PAL) substrate. This structure was performed in two steps, namely the PAL substrate was prepared using sulfuric acid solution attack on an Al foil and then the silicon was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on it. The optical constants (n and k as a function of wavelength) of the deposited films were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the UV-vis-NIR regions. The SE spectrum of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) was modeled as a mixture of void, crystalline silicon and aluminum using the Cauchy model approximation. The specific surface area (SSA) was estimated and was found to decrease linearly when porosity increases. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties.

Mechanisms of dynamic deformation and dynamic failure in aluminum nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Guangli; Chen, C.Q.; Ramesh, K.T.; McCauley, J.W.

2012-01-01

Uniaxial quasi-static, uniaxial dynamic and confined dynamic compression experiments have been performed to characterize the failure and deformation mechanisms of a sintered polycrystalline aluminum nitride using a servohydraulic machine and a modified Kolsky bar. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to identify the fracture and deformation mechanisms under high rate and high pressure loading conditions. These results show that the fracture mechanisms are strong functions of confining stress and strain rate, with transgranular fracture becoming more common at high strain rates. Dynamic fracture mechanics and micromechanical models are used to analyze the observed fracture mechanisms. TEM characterization of fragments from the confined dynamic experiments shows that at higher pressures dislocation motion becomes a common dominant deformation mechanism in AlN. Prismatic slip is dominant, and pronounced microcrack–dislocation interactions are observed, suggesting that the dislocation plasticity affects the macroscopic fracture behavior in this material under high confining stresses.

A novel anti-frictional multiphase layer produced by plasma nitriding of PVD titanium coated ZL205A aluminum alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, C.; Yao, J. W.; Wang, Y. X.; Zhu, Y. D.; Guo, J. H.; Wang, Y.; Fu, H. Y.; Chen, Z. B.; Yan, M. F.

2018-02-01

The heat treatment (consisting of solid solution and aging), is integrated with the nitriding process of titanium coated ZL205A aluminum alloy to improve the surface and matrix mechanical properties simultaneously. Two-step duplex treatment is adopted to prepare the gradient multiphase layer on a magnesium-free ZL205A aluminum-copper based alloy. Firstly, pure titanium film is deposited on the aluminum alloy substrate using magnetron sputtering. Secondly, the Ti-coated specimen is nitrided at the solid solution temperature of the substrate alloying elements in a gas mixture of N2 and H2 and aged at 175 °C. The microstructure evolution, microhardness as well as the wear resistance of obtained multiphase layers are investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), microhardness tester and pin-on-disc tribometer. The multiphase layer, dominated by TiN0.3 or Al3Ti, is prepared with significantly increased layer depth after duplex treatment. The surface hardness of multiphase layer is remarkably improved from 23.7HV to 457HV. The core matrix hardness is also increased to 65HV after aging. The wear rate of the multiphase layer decreases about 55.22% and 49.28% in comparison with the aged and Ti coated specimens, respectively. The predominant wear mechanism for the multiphase layer is abrasive and oxidation, but severe adhesive wear for the aged and Ti coated specimens.

Nanocrystalline Ni-Co Alloy Synthesis by High Speed Electrodeposition

OpenAIRE

Idris, Jamaliah; Christian, Chukwuekezie; Gaius, Eyu

2013-01-01

Electrodeposition of nanocrystals is economically and technologically viable production path for the synthesis of pure metals and alloys both in coatings and bulk form. The study presents nanocrystalline Ni-Co alloy synthesis by high speed electrodeposition. Nanocrystalline Ni-Co alloys coatings were prepared by direct current (DC) and deposited directly on steel and aluminum substrates without any pretreatment, using high speed electrodeposition method. The influence of the electrolysis par...

Plasma-assisted atomic layer epitaxial growth of aluminum nitride studied with real time grazing angle small angle x-ray scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Virginia R.; Nepal, Neeraj; Johnson, Scooter D.; Robinson, Zachary R.; Nath, Anindya; Kozen, Alexander C.; Qadri, Syed B.; DeMasi, Alexander; Hite, Jennifer K.; Ludwig, Karl F.; Eddy, Charles R.

2017-05-01

Wide bandgap semiconducting nitrides have found wide-spread application as light emitting and laser diodes and are under investigation for further application in optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and efficient power switching technologies. Alloys of the binary semiconductors allow adjustments of the band gap, an important semiconductor material characteristic, which is 6.2 eV for aluminum nitride (AlN), 3.4 eV for gallium nitride, and 0.7 eV for (InN). Currently, the highest quality III-nitride films are deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy. Temperatures of 900 °C and higher are required to deposit high quality AlN. Research into depositing III-nitrides with atomic layer epitaxy (ALEp) is ongoing because it is a fabrication friendly technique allowing lower growth temperatures. Because it is a relatively new technique, there is insufficient understanding of the ALEp growth mechanism which will be essential to development of the process. Here, grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering is employed to observe the evolving behavior of the surface morphology during growth of AlN by ALEp at temperatures from 360 to 480 °C. Increased temperatures of AlN resulted in lower impurities and relatively fewer features with short range correlations.

Methods for improved growth of group III nitride buffer layers

Science.gov (United States)

Melnik, Yurity; Chen, Lu; Kojiri, Hidehiro

2014-07-15

Methods are disclosed for growing high crystal quality group III-nitride epitaxial layers with advanced multiple buffer layer techniques. In an embodiment, a method includes forming group III-nitride buffer layers that contain aluminum on suitable substrate in a processing chamber of a hydride vapor phase epitaxy processing system. A hydrogen halide or halogen gas is flowing into the growth zone during deposition of buffer layers to suppress homogeneous particle formation. Some combinations of low temperature buffers that contain aluminum (e.g., AlN, AlGaN) and high temperature buffers that contain aluminum (e.g., AlN, AlGaN) may be used to improve crystal quality and morphology of subsequently grown group III-nitride epitaxial layers. The buffer may be deposited on the substrate, or on the surface of another buffer. The additional buffer layers may be added as interlayers in group III-nitride layers (e.g., GaN, AlGaN, AlN).

Process for the production of metal nitride sintered bodies and resultant silicon nitride and aluminum nitride sintered bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Yajima, S.; Omori, M.; Hayashi, J.; Kayano, H.; Hamano, M.

1983-01-01

A process for the manufacture of metal nitride sintered bodies, in particular, a process in which a mixture of metal nitrite powders is shaped and heated together with a binding agent is described. Of the metal nitrides Si3N4 and AIN were used especially frequently because of their excellent properties at high temperatures. The goal is to produce a process for metal nitride sintered bodies with high strength, high corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance, thermal shock resistance, and avoidance of previously known faults.

Processing of Silver-Implanted Aluminum Nitride for Energy Harvesting Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Alleyne, Fatima Sierre

One of the more attractive sources of green energy has roots in the popular recycling theme of other green technologies, now known by the term "energy scavenging." In its most promising conformation, energy scavenging converts cyclic mechanical vibrations in the environment or random mechanical pressure pulses, caused by sources ranging from operating machinery to human footfalls, into electrical energy via piezoelectric transducers. While commercial piezoelectrics have evolved to favor lead zirconate titanate (PZT) for its combination of superior properties, the presence of lead in these ceramic compounds raises resistance to their application in anything "green" due to potential health implications during their manufacturing, recycling, or in-service application, if leaching occurs. Therefore in this study we have pursued the application of aluminum nitride (AlN) as a non-toxic alternative to PZT, seeking processing pathways to augment the modest piezoelectric performance of AlN and exploit its compatibility with complementary-metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing. Such piezoelectric transducers have been categorized as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), which despite more than a decade of research in this field, is plagued by delamination at the electrode/piezoelectric interface. Consequently the electric field essential to generate and sustain the piezoelectric response of these devices is lost, resulting in device failure. Working on the hypothesis that buried conducting layers can both mitigate the delamination problem and generate sufficient electric field to engage the operation of resonator devices, we have undertaken a study of silver ion implantation to experimentally assess its feasibility. As with most ion implantation procedures employed in semiconductor fabrication, the implanted sample is subjected to a thermal treatment, encouraging diffusion-assisted precipitation of the implanted species at high enough concentrations. The objective

NMR and NQR study of Si-doped (6,0) zigzag single-walled aluminum nitride nanotube as n or P-semiconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Baei, Mohammad T; Peyghan, Ali Ahmadi; Tavakoli, Khadijeh; Babaheydari, Ali Kazemi; Moghimi, Masoumeh

2012-09-01

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the electronic structure properties of pristine and Si-doped aluminum nitride nanotubes as n or P-semiconductors at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory in order to evaluate the influence of Si-doped in the (6,0) zigzag AlNNTs. We extended the DFT calculation to predict the electronic structure properties of Si-doped aluminum nitride nanotubes, which are very important for production of solid-state devices and other applications. To this aim, pristine and Si-doped AlNNT structures in two models (Si(N) and Si(Al)) were optimized, and then the electronic properties, the isotropic (CS(I)) and anisotropic (CS(A)) chemical shielding parameters for the sites of various (27)Al and (14)N atoms, NQR parameters for the sites of various of (27)Al and (14)N atoms, and quantum molecular descriptors were calculated in the optimized structures. The optimized structures, the electronic properties, NMR and NQR parameters, and quantum molecular descriptors for the Si(N) and Si(Al) models show that the Si(N) model is a more reactive material than the pristine or Si(Al) model.

Ultrafast third-harmonic generation from textured aluminum nitride-sapphire interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoker, D. S.; Keto, J. W.; Baek, J.; Wang, W.; Becker, M. F.; Kovar, D.

2006-01-01

We measured and modeled third-harmonic generation (THG) from an AlN thin film on sapphire using a time-domain approach appropriate for ultrafast lasers. Second-harmonic measurements indicated that polycrystalline AlN contains long-range crystal texture. An interface model for third-harmonic generation enabled an analytical representation of scanning THG (z-scan) experiments. Using it and accounting for Fresnel reflections, we measured the AlN-sapphire susceptibility ratio and estimated the susceptibility for aluminum nitride, χ xxxx (3) (3ω;ω,ω,ω)=1.52±0.25x10 -13 esu. The third-harmonic (TH) spectrum strongly depended on the laser focus position and sample thickness. The amplitude and phase of the frequency-domain interference were fit to the Fourier transform of the calculated time-domain field to improve the accuracy of several experimental parameters. We verified that the model works well for explaining TH signal amplitudes and spectral phase. Some anomalous features in the TH spectrum were observed, which we attributed to nonparaxial effects

Aluminum Nitride Ceramic as an Optically Stimulable Luminescence Dosimeter Plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Go Okada

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Photostimulable storage phosphors have been used in a wide range of applications including radiation measurements in one- and two-dimensional spaces, called point dosimetry and radiography. In this work, we report that an aluminum nitride (AlN ceramic plate, which is practically used as a heat sink (SHAPAL®, Tokuyama Corp., Yamaguchi, Japan, shows good optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL properties with sufficiently large signal and capability for imaging applications, and we have characterized the AlN plate for OSL applications. Upon interaction with X-rays, the sample color turns yellowish, due to a radiation-induced photoabsorption band in the UV-blue range below ~500 nm. After irradiating the sample with X-rays, an intense OSL emission can be observed in the UV (360 nm spectral region during stimulation by red light. Although our measurement setup is not optimized, dose detection was confirmed as low as ~3 mGy to over 20 Gy. Furthermore, we have successfully demonstrated that the SHAPAL® AlN ceramic plate has great potential to be used as an imaging plate in radiography.

Laterally vibrating resonator based elasto-optic modulation in aluminum nitride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siddhartha Ghosh

2016-06-01

Full Text Available An integrated strain-based optical modulator driven by a piezoelectric laterally vibrating resonator is demonstrated. The composite structure consists of an acoustic Lamb wave resonator, in which a photonic racetrack resonator is internally embedded to enable overlap of the guided optical mode with the induced strain field. Both types of resonators are defined in an aluminum nitride (AlN thin film, which rests upon a layer of silicon dioxide in order to simultaneously define optical waveguides, and the structure is released from a silicon substrate. Lateral vibrations produced by the acoustic resonator are transferred through a partially etched layer of AlN, producing a change in the effective index of the guided wave through the interaction of the strain components with the AlN elasto-optic (p coefficients. Optical modulation through the elasto-optic effect is demonstrated at electromechanically actuated frequencies of 173 MHz and 843 MHz. This device geometry further enables the development of MEMS-based optical modulators in addition to studying elasto-optic interactions in suspended piezoelectric thin films.

Effect of compacting pressure, powder degassing and thermobaric treatment on densification and properties of nanocrystalline titanium nitride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei V. Kapylou

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The effects of compacting pressure, powder degassing and high pressure sintering temperature and time on the densification and properties of nanocrystalline titanium nitride have been investigated. For this reason, TiN powder with a mean particle size of 55 nm was pressed in the range of compacting pressure from 0.2 to 1.0 GPa and sintered under static pressure of 3.5 GPa in the temperature range of 900–1600°C for 45–120 s. Some of green bodies were degassed in vacuum before sintering. It was shown that samples compacted in the pressure range of 0.2–0.6 GPa have the highest density after the thermobaric treatment. The maximum density (about 97.3 %TD was obtained with degassed samples. Microhardness and microstructure investigations have shown that recrystallization of the TiN nanopowder begins at the sintering temperatures of 1100–1200°C and sintering time less than one minute. The maximum microhardness obtained was 23.2±1.0 GPa and themaximum Young modulus was 370 GPa.

FIB and TEM studies of damage mechanisms in DLC coatings sliding against aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng-Burany, X.; Alpas, A.T.

2007-01-01

Material transfer and adhesion phenomena during sliding contact of non-hydrogenated diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings against an aluminum-silicon (319 Al) counterface tested in vacuum were studied using TEM investigations of the cross-sectional microstructures of the wear tracks. Site-specific focused ion beam (FIB) lift-out method was used to prepare the sections at the precise locations where aluminum pieces were adhered to the DLC surface. The dense amorphous structure of DLC coatings with nanocrystalline graphite platelets is confirmed by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The focused ion channeling contrast images obtained from the cross-sections of the wear track indicated that in some sections of DLC coatings considerable wear was inflicted by aluminum, reducing the coating thickness. The aluminum that was transferred on the DLC coatings' contact surfaces consisted of nanocrystalline grains of less than 100 nm. TEM examination of the contact surface of the 319 Al pin has revealed that the initial aluminum grain size was also reduced to the nanocrystalline scale and this was accompanied with a hardness increase. These observations revealed that local severe plastic deformation accompanied the aluminum adhesion process to DLC coating surfaces

A review: aluminum nitride MEMS contour-mode resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Yunhong, Hou; Meng, Zhang; Guowei, Han; Chaowei, Si; Yongmei, Zhao; Jin, Ning

2016-10-01

Over the past several decades, the technology of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) has advanced. A clear need of miniaturization and integration of electronics components has had new solutions for the next generation of wireless communications. The aluminum nitride (AlN) MEMS contour-mode resonator (CMR) has emerged and become promising and competitive due to the advantages of the small size, high quality factor and frequency, low resistance, compatibility with integrated circuit (IC) technology, and the ability of integrating multi-frequency devices on a single chip. In this article, a comprehensive review of AlN MEMS CMR technology will be presented, including its basic working principle, main structures, fabrication processes, and methods of performance optimization. Among these, the deposition and etching process of the AlN film will be specially emphasized and recent advances in various performance optimization methods of the CMR will be given through specific examples which are mainly focused on temperature compensation and reducing anchor losses. This review will conclude with an assessment of the challenges and future trends of the CMR. Project supported by National Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 61274001, 61234007, 61504130), the Nurturing and Development Special Projects of Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Base's Financial Support (No. Z131103002813070), and the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Fund of CAS (No. CXJJ-14-M32).

Boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond electrodes for neural interfaces: in vivo biocompatibility evaluation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Alcaide, M.; Taylor, Andrew; Fjorback, M.; Zachar, V.; Pennisi, C.P.

2016-01-01

Roč. 10, Mar (2016), 1-9, č. článku 87. ISSN 1662-453X Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : nanocrystalline diamond * neuroprosthetic interfaces * neural electrodes * boron-doped diamond * titanium nitride * foreign body reaction Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.566, year: 2016

Studies on Preparation and Characterization of Aluminum Nitride-Coated Carbon Fibers and Thermal Conductivity of Epoxy Matrix Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeon-Hye Kim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In this work; the effects of an aluminum nitride (AlN ceramic coating on the thermal conductivity of carbon fiber-reinforced composites were studied. AlN were synthesized by a wet-thermal treatment (WTT method in the presence of copper catalysts. The WTT method was carried out in a horizontal tube furnace at above 1500 °C under an ammonia (NH3 gas atmosphere balanced by a nitrogen using aluminum chloride as a precursor. Copper catalysts pre-doped enhance the interfacial bonding of the AlN with the carbon fiber surfaces. They also help to introduce AlN bonds by interrupting aluminum oxide (Al2O3 formation in combination with oxygen. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM; Transmission electron microscopy (TEM; and X-ray diffraction (XRD were used to analyze the carbon fiber surfaces and structures at each step (copper-coating step and AlN formation step. In conclusion; we have demonstrated a synthesis route for preparing an AlN coating on the carbon fiber surfaces in the presence of a metallic catalyst.

Investigating Tribological Characteristics of HVOF Sprayed AISI 316 Stainless Steel Coating by Pulsed Plasma Nitriding

Science.gov (United States)

Mindivan, H.

2018-01-01

In this study, surface modification of aluminum alloy using High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) thermal spray and pulsed plasma nitriding processes was investigated. AISI 316 stainless steel coating on 1050 aluminum alloy substrate by HVOF process was pulsed plasma nitrided at 793 K under 0.00025 MPa pressure for 43200 s in a gas mixture of 75 % N2 and 25 % H2. The results showed that the pulse plasma nitriding process produced a surface layer with CrN, iron nitrides (Fe3N, Fe4N) and expanded austenite (γN). The pulsed plasma nitrided HVOF-sprayed coating showed higher surface hardness, lower wear rate and coefficient of friction than the untreated HVOF-sprayed one.

Fabrication of Aluminum Gallium Nitride/Gallium Nitride MESFET And It's Applications in Biosensing

Science.gov (United States)

Alur, Siddharth

Gallium Nitride has been researched extensively for the past three decades for its application in Light Emitting Diodes (LED's), power devices and UV photodetectors. With the recent developments in crystal growth technology and the ability to control the doping there has been an increased interest in heterostructures formed between Gallium nitride and it's alloy Aluminium Gallium Nitride. These heterostructures due to the combined effect of spontaneous and piezoelectric effect can form a high density and a high mobility electron gas channel without any intentional doping. This high density electron gas makes these heterostructures ideal to be used as sensors. Gallium Nitride is also chemically very stable. Detection of biomolecules in a fast and reliable manner is very important in the areas of food safety and medical research. For biomolecular detection it is paramount to have a robust binding of the probes on the sensor surface. Therefore, in this dissertation, the fabrication and application of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructures as biological sensors for the detection of DNA and Organophosphate hydrolase enzyme is discussed. In order to use these AlGaN/GaN heterostructures as biological sensors capable of working in a liquid environment photodefinable polydimethyl-siloxane is used as an encapsulant. The immobilization conditions for a robust binding of thiolated DNA and the catalytic receptor enzyme organophosphate hydrolase on gold surfaces is developed with the help of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. DNA and OPH are detected by measuring the change in the drain current of the device as a function of time.

Stress and piezoelectric properties of aluminum nitride thin films deposited onto metal electrodes by pulsed direct current reactive sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubois, Marc-Alexandre; Muralt, Paul

2001-01-01

Polycrystalline aluminum nitride thin films were deposited onto platinum, aluminum, and titanium electrodes by reactive magnetron sputtering in the pulsed direct current mode. The films exhibited all a columnar microstructure and a c-axis texture. The built-in stress and the piezoelectric properties of these films were studied as a function of both the processing conditions and the electrode material. Stress was found to be very much dependent on the growth conditions, and values ranging from strong compression to high tension were observed. The piezoelectric d 33,f coefficient was shown to rely on substrate quality and ionic bombardment: The nucleation surface must be stable with regard to the nitrogen plasma and present a hexagonal symmetry and, on the other hand, enough energy must be delivered to the growing film through ionic bombardment. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

Degradation of nitride coatings in low-pressure gas discharge plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, Yurii; Shugurov, Vladimir; Krysina, Olga; Petrikova, Elizaveta; Tolkachev, Oleg

2017-12-01

The paper provides research data on the defect structure, mechanical characteristics, and tribological properties of commercially pure VT1-0 titanium exposed to surface modification on a COMPLEX laboratory electron-ion plasma setup which allows nitriding, coating deposition, and etching in low-pressure gas discharge plasma in a single vacuum cycle. It is shown that preliminary plasma nitriding forms a columnar Ti2N phase in VT1-0 titanium and that subsequent TiN deposition results in a thin nanocrystalline TiN layer. When the coating-substrate system is etched, the coating fails and the tribological properties of the material degrade greatly.

Synthesis of aluminum nitride films by plasma immersion ion implantation-deposition using hybrid gas-metal cathodic arc gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Liru; Fu, Ricky K.Y.; Chu, Paul K.

2004-01-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is of interest in the industry because of its excellent electronic, optical, acoustic, thermal, and mechanical properties. In this work, aluminum nitride films are deposited on silicon wafers (100) by metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) using a modified hybrid gas-metal cathodic arc plasma source and with no intentional heating to the substrate. The mixed metal and gaseous plasma is generated by feeding the gas into the arc discharge region. The deposition rate is found to mainly depend on the Al ion flux from the cathodic arc source and is only slightly affected by the N 2 flow rate. The AlN films fabricated by this method exhibit a cubic crystalline microstructure with stable and low internal stress. The surface of the AlN films is quite smooth with the surface roughness on the order of 1/2 nm as determined by atomic force microscopy, homogeneous, and continuous, and the dense granular microstructures give rise to good adhesion with the substrate. The N to Al ratio increases with the bias voltage applied to the substrates. A fairly large amount of O originating from the residual vacuum is found in the samples with low N:Al ratios, but a high bias reduces the oxygen concentration. The compositions, microstructures and crystal states of the deposited films are quite stable and remain unchanged after annealing at 800 deg. C for 1 h. Our hybrid gas-metal source cathodic arc source delivers better AlN thin films than conventional PIIID employing dual plasmas

Observation of band gaps in the gigahertz range and deaf bands in a hypersonic aluminum nitride phononic crystal slab

Science.gov (United States)

Gorisse, M.; Benchabane, S.; Teissier, G.; Billard, C.; Reinhardt, A.; Laude, V.; Defaÿ, E.; Aïd, M.

2011-06-01

We report on the observation of elastic waves propagating in a two-dimensional phononic crystal composed of air holes drilled in an aluminum nitride membrane. The theoretical band structure indicates the existence of an acoustic band gap centered around 800 MHz with a relative bandwidth of 6.5% that is confirmed by gigahertz optical images of the surface displacement. Further electrical measurements and computation of the transmission reveal a much wider attenuation band that is explained by the deaf character of certain bands resulting from the orthogonality of their polarization with that of the source.

Aluminum Gallium Nitride Alloys Grown via Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy Using a Digital Growth Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Rodak, L. E.; Korakakis, D.

2011-04-01

This work investigates the use of a digital growth technique as a viable method for achieving high-quality aluminum gallium nitride (Al x Ga1- x N) films via metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Digital alloys are superlattice structures with period thicknesses of a few monolayers. Alloys with an AlN mole fraction ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 were grown by adjusting the thickness of the AlN layer in the superlattice. High-resolution x-ray diffraction was used to determine the superlattice period and c-lattice parameter of the structure, while reciprocal-space mapping was used to determine the a-lattice parameter and evaluate growth coherency. A comparison of the measured lattice parameter with both the nominal value and also the underlying buffer layer is discussed.

High Dielectric Performance of Solution-Processed Aluminum Oxide-Boron Nitride Composite Films

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Byoung-Soo; Ha, Tae-Jun

2018-04-01

The material compositions of oxide films have been extensively investigated in an effort to improve the electrical characteristics of dielectrics which have been utilized in various electronic devices such as field-effect transistors, and storage capacitors. Significantly, solution-based compositions have attracted considerable attention as a highly effective and practical technique to replace vacuum-based process in large-area. Here, we demonstrate solution-processed composite films consisting of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and boron nitride (BN), which exhibit remarkable dielectric properties through the optimization process. The leakage current of the optimized Al2O3-BN thin films was decreased by a factor of 100 at 3V, compared to pristine Al2O3 thin film without a loss of the dielectric constant or degradation of the morphological roughness. The characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the incorporation of BN with an optimized concentration into the Al2O3 dielectric film reduced the density of oxygen vacancies which act as defect states, thereby improving the dielectric characteristics.

Hot pressing of nanocrystalline tantalum using high frequency induction heating and pulse plasma sintering

Science.gov (United States)

Jakubowicz, J.; Adamek, G.; Sopata, M.; Koper, J. K.; Siwak, P.

2017-12-01

The paper presents the results of nanocrystalline powder tantalum consolidation using hot pressing. The authors used two different heating techniques during hot pressing: high-frequency induction heating (HFIH) and pulse plasma sintering (PPS). A comparison of the structure, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the bulk nanocrystalline tantalum obtained in both techniques was performed. The nanocrystalline powder was made to start from the microcrystalline one using the high-energy ball milling process. The nanocrystalline powder was hot-pressed at 1000 °C, whereas, for comparison, the microcrystalline powder was hot pressed up to 1500 °C for proper consolidation. The authors found that during hot pressing, the powder partially reacts with the graphite die covered by boron nitride, which facilitated punches and powder displacement in the die during densification. Tantalum carbide and boride in the nanocrystalline material was found, which can improve the mechanical properties. The hardness of the HFIH and PPS nanocrystalline tantalum was as high as 625 and 615 HV, respectively. The microstructure was more uniform in the PPS nanomaterial. The corrosion resistance in both cases deteriorated, in comparison to the microcrystalline material, while the PPS material corrosion resistance was slightly better than that of the HFIH one.

Two-Dimensional Modeling of Aluminum Gallium Nitride/Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Holmes, Kenneth

2002-01-01

Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT's) are microwave power devices that have the performance characteristics to improve the capabilities of current and future Navy radar and communication systems...

The effect of surface nanocrystallization on plasma nitriding behaviour of AISI 4140 steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yang; Wang Liang; Zhang Dandan; Shen Lie

2010-01-01

A plastic deformation surface layer with nanocrystalline grains was produced on AISI 4140 steel by means of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Plasma nitriding of SMAT and un-SMAT AISI 4140 steel was carried out by a low-frequency pulse excited plasma unit. A series of nitriding experiments has been conducted at temperatures ranging from 380 to 500 deg. C for 8 h in an NH 3 gas. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and Vickers microhardness tester. The results showed that a much thicker compound layer with higher hardness was obtained for the SMAT samples when compared with un-SMAT samples after nitriding at the low temperature. In particular, plasma nitriding SMAT AISI 4140 steel at 380 deg. C for 8 h can produced a compound layer of 2.5 μm thickness with very high hardness on the surface, which is similar to un-SMAT samples were plasma nitrided at approximately 430 deg. C within the same time.

The effect of surface nanocrystallization on plasma nitriding behaviour of AISI 4140 steel

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yang; Wang, Liang; Zhang, Dandan; Shen, Lie

2010-11-01

A plastic deformation surface layer with nanocrystalline grains was produced on AISI 4140 steel by means of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Plasma nitriding of SMAT and un-SMAT AISI 4140 steel was carried out by a low-frequency pulse excited plasma unit. A series of nitriding experiments has been conducted at temperatures ranging from 380 to 500 °C for 8 h in an NH 3 gas. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and Vickers microhardness tester. The results showed that a much thicker compound layer with higher hardness was obtained for the SMAT samples when compared with un-SMAT samples after nitriding at the low temperature. In particular, plasma nitriding SMAT AISI 4140 steel at 380 °C for 8 h can produced a compound layer of 2.5 μm thickness with very high hardness on the surface, which is similar to un-SMAT samples were plasma nitrided at approximately 430 °C within the same time.

Room-temperature synthesis of ultraviolet-emitting nanocrystalline GaN films using photochemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamazaki, Shunsuke; Yatsui, Takashi; Ohtsu, Motoichi; Kim, Taw-Won; Fujioka, Hiroshi

2004-01-01

We fabricated UV-emitting nanocrystalline gallium nitride (GaN) films at room temperature using photochemical vapor deposition (PCVD). For the samples synthesized at room temperature with V/III ratios exceeding 5.0x10 4 , strong photoluminescence peaks at 3.365 and 3.310 eV, which can be ascribed to transitions in a mixed phase of cubic and hexagonal GaN, were observed at 5 K. A UV emission spectrum with a full width at half-maximum of 100 meV was observed, even at room temperature. In addition, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement revealed that the film deposited by PCVD at room temperature was well nitridized

Effect of Aluminum Doping on the Nanocrystalline ZnS:Al3+ Films Fabricated on Heavily-Doped p-type Si(100) Substrates by Chemical Bath Deposition Method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, He-Jie; Liang, Yan; Gao, Xiao-Yong; Guo, Rui-Fang; Ji, Qiang-Min

2015-06-01

Intrinsic ZnS and aluminum-doped nanocrystalline ZnS (ZnS:Al3+) films with zinc-blende structure were fabricated on heavily-doped p-type Si(100) substrates by chemical bath deposition method. Influence of aluminum doping on the microstructure, and photoluminescent and electrical properties of the films, were intensively investigated. The average crystallite size of the films varying in the range of about 9.0 ˜ 35.0 nm initially increases and then decreases with aluminum doping contents, indicating that the crystallization of the films are initially enhanced and then weakened. The incorporation of Al3+ was confirmed from energy dispersive spectrometry and the induced microstrain in the films. Strong and stable visible emission band resulting from the defect-related light emission were observed for the intrinsic ZnS and ZnS:Al3+ films at room temperature. The photoluminescence related to the aluminum can annihilate due to the self-absorption of ZnS:Al3+ when the Al3+ content surpasses certain value. The variation of the resistivity of the films that initially reduces and then increases is mainly caused by the partial substitute for Zn2+ by Al3+ as well as the enhanced crystallization, and by the enhanced crystal boundary scattering, respectively.

Chemical vapor deposition of refractory ternary nitrides for advanced diffusion barriers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Custer, Jonathan S.; Fleming, James G.; Roherty-Osmun, Elizabeth; Smith, Paul Martin

1998-09-22

Refractory ternary nitride films for diffusion barriers in microelectronics have been grown using chemical vapor deposition. Thin films of titanium-silicon-nitride, tungsten-boron-nitride, and tungsten-silicon-nitride of various compositions have been deposited on 150 mm Si wafers. The microstructure of the films are either fully amorphous for the tungsten based films, or nauocrystalline TiN in an amorphous matrix for titanium-silicon-nitride. All films exhibit step coverages suitable for use in future microelectronics generations. Selected films have been tested as diffusion barriers between copper and silicon, and generally perform extremely weH. These fiIms are promising candidates for advanced diffusion barriers for microelectronics applications. The manufacturing of silicon wafers into integrated circuits uses many different process and materials. The manufacturing process is usually divided into two parts: the front end of line (FEOL) and the back end of line (BEOL). In the FEOL the individual transistors that are the heart of an integrated circuit are made on the silicon wafer. The responsibility of the BEOL is to wire all the transistors together to make a complete circuit. The transistors are fabricated in the silicon itself. The wiring is made out of metal, currently aluminum and tungsten, insulated by silicon dioxide, see Figure 1. Unfortunately, silicon will diffuse into aluminum, causing aluminum spiking of junctions, killing transistors. Similarly, during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of tungsten from ~fj, the reactivity of the fluorine can cause "worn-holes" in the silicon, also destroying transistors. The solution to these problems is a so-called diffusion barrier, which will allow current to pass from the transistors to the wiring, but will prevent reactions between silicon and the metal.

The effect of surface nanocrystallization on plasma nitriding behaviour of AISI 4140 steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Yang [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Institute of Metals and Technology, 1 Linghai Street, Dalian 116026 (China); Wang Liang, E-mail: wlimt@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Institute of Metals and Technology, 1 Linghai Street, Dalian 116026 (China); Zhang Dandan; Shen Lie [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Institute of Metals and Technology, 1 Linghai Street, Dalian 116026 (China)

2010-11-15

A plastic deformation surface layer with nanocrystalline grains was produced on AISI 4140 steel by means of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Plasma nitriding of SMAT and un-SMAT AISI 4140 steel was carried out by a low-frequency pulse excited plasma unit. A series of nitriding experiments has been conducted at temperatures ranging from 380 to 500 deg. C for 8 h in an NH{sub 3} gas. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and Vickers microhardness tester. The results showed that a much thicker compound layer with higher hardness was obtained for the SMAT samples when compared with un-SMAT samples after nitriding at the low temperature. In particular, plasma nitriding SMAT AISI 4140 steel at 380 deg. C for 8 h can produced a compound layer of 2.5 {mu}m thickness with very high hardness on the surface, which is similar to un-SMAT samples were plasma nitrided at approximately 430 deg. C within the same time.

In situ TEM study of microplasticity and Bauschinger effect in nanocrystalline metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajagopalan, Jagannathan; Rentenberger, Christian; Peter Karnthaler, H.; Dehm, Gerhard; Saif, M. Taher A.

2010-01-01

In situ transmission electron microscopy straining experiments with concurrent macroscopic stress-strain measurements were performed to study the effect of microstructural heterogeneity on the deformation behavior of nanocrystalline metal films. In microstructurally heterogeneous gold films (mean grain size d m = 70 nm) comprising randomly oriented grains, dislocation activity is confined to relatively larger grains, with smaller grains deforming elastically, even at applied strains approaching 1.2%. This extended microplasticity leads to build-up of internal stresses, inducing a large Bauschinger effect during unloading. Microstructurally heterogeneous aluminum films (d m = 140 nm) also show similar behavior. In contrast, microstructurally homogeneous aluminum films comprising mainly two grain families, both favorably oriented for dislocation glide, show limited microplastic deformation and minimal Bauschinger effect despite having a comparable mean grain size (d m = 120 nm). A simple model is proposed to describe these observations. Overall, our results emphasize the need to consider both microstructural size and heterogeneity in modeling the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals.

In situ TEM study of microplasticity and Bauschinger effect in nanocrystalline metals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rajagopalan, Jagannathan [Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Rentenberger, Christian; Peter Karnthaler, H. [Physics of Nanostructured Materials, Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Wien (Austria); Dehm, Gerhard [Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Dept. Materials Physics, University of Leoben, Jahnstr.12, 8700 Leoben (Austria); Saif, M. Taher A., E-mail: saif@illinois.edu [Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2010-08-15

In situ transmission electron microscopy straining experiments with concurrent macroscopic stress-strain measurements were performed to study the effect of microstructural heterogeneity on the deformation behavior of nanocrystalline metal films. In microstructurally heterogeneous gold films (mean grain size d{sub m} = 70 nm) comprising randomly oriented grains, dislocation activity is confined to relatively larger grains, with smaller grains deforming elastically, even at applied strains approaching 1.2%. This extended microplasticity leads to build-up of internal stresses, inducing a large Bauschinger effect during unloading. Microstructurally heterogeneous aluminum films (d{sub m} = 140 nm) also show similar behavior. In contrast, microstructurally homogeneous aluminum films comprising mainly two grain families, both favorably oriented for dislocation glide, show limited microplastic deformation and minimal Bauschinger effect despite having a comparable mean grain size (d{sub m} = 120 nm). A simple model is proposed to describe these observations. Overall, our results emphasize the need to consider both microstructural size and heterogeneity in modeling the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals.

Mechanical characterization of hybrid and functionally-graded aluminum open-cell foams with nanocrystalline-copper coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yi

Cellular/foam materials found in nature such as bone, wood, and bamboo are usually functionally graded by having a non-uniform density distribution and inhomogenous composition that optimizes their global mechanical performance. Inspired by such naturally engineered products, the current study was conducted towards the development of functionally graded hybrid metal foams (FGHMF) with electrodeposited (ED) nanocrystalline coatings. First, the deformation and failure mechanisms of aluminum/copper (Al/Cu) hybrid foams were investigated using finite element analyses at different scales. The micro-scale behavior was studied based on single ligament models discretized using continuum elements and the macro-scale behavior was investigated using beam-element based finite element models of representative unit volumes consisting of multiple foam cells. With a detailed constitutive material behavior and material failure considered for both the aluminum ligament and the nano-copper coating, the numerical models were able to capture the unique behavior of Al/Cu hybrid foams, such as the typically observed sudden load drop after yielding. The numerical models indicate that such load drop is caused by the fracture of foam ligaments initiated from the rupture of the ED nano-copper coating due to its low ductility. This failure mode jeopardizes the global energy absorption capacity of hybrid foams, especially when a thick coating is applied. With the purpose of enhancing the performance of Al/Cu hybrid foams, an annealing process, which increased the ductility of the nanocrystalline copper coating by causing recovery, recrystallination and grain growth, was introduced in the manufacturing of Al/Cu hybrid foams. Quasi-static experimental results indicate that when a proper amount of annealing is applied, the ductility of the ED copper can be effectively improved and the compressive and tensile behavior of Al/Cu hybrid foams can be significantly enhanced, including better energy

Mechanical and tribological properties of crystalline aluminum nitride coatings deposited on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, R. K.; Mishra, S. C.; Mishra, P.; Limaye, P. K.; Singh, K.

2015-11-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) coating is a potential candidate for addressing the problems of MHD pressure drop, tritium permeation and liquid metal corrosion of the test blanket module of fusion reactor. In this work, AlN coatings were grown on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurement revealed that formation of mixed phase (wurtzite and rock salt) AlN was favored at low discharge power and substrate negative biasing. However, at sufficiently high discharge power and substrate bias, (100) oriented wurtzite AlN was obtained. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy showed presence of oxygen in the coatings. The highest value of hardness and Young's modulus were 14.1 GPa and 215 GPa, respectively. Scratch test showed adhesive failure at a load of about 20 N. Wear test showed improved wear resistance of the coatings obtained at higher substrate bias.

Improved design and durability of aluminum die casting horizontal shot sleeves

Science.gov (United States)

Birceanu, Sebastian

The design and performance of shot sleeves is critical in meeting the engineering requirements of aluminum die cast parts. Improvement in shot sleeve materials have a major impact on dimensional stability, reproducibility and quality of the product. This investigation was undertaken in order to improve the life of aluminum die casting horizontal shot sleeves. Preliminary pin tests were run to evaluate the soldering, wash-out and thermal fatigue behavior of commercially available materials and coatings. An experimental rig was designed and constructed for shot sleeve configuration evaluation. Fabrication and testing of experimental shot sleeves was based upon preliminary results and manufacturing costs. Three shot sleeve designs and materials were compared to a reference nitrided H13 sleeve. Nitrided H13 is the preferred material for aluminum die casting shot sleeves because of wear resistance, strength and relative good soldering and wash-out resistance. The study was directed towards damage evaluation on the area under the pouring hole. This area is the most susceptible to damage because of high temperatures and impingement of molten aluminum. The results of this study showed that tungsten and molybdenum had the least amount of soldering and wash-out damage, and the best thermal fatigue resistance. Low solubility in molten aluminum and stability of intermetallic layers are main factors that determine the soldering and wash-out behavior. Thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient directly influence thermal fatigue behavior. TiAlN nanolayered coating was chosen as the material with the best damage resistance among several commercial PVD coatings, because of relatively large thickness and simple deposition conditions. The results show that molybdenum thermal sprayed coating provided the best protection against damage under the pouring hole. Improved bonding is however required for life extension of the coating. TiAlN PVD coating applied on H13 nitrided

Nanocrystalline Ni-Co Alloy Synthesis by High Speed Electrodeposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamaliah Idris

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Electrodeposition of nanocrystals is economically and technologically viable production path for the synthesis of pure metals and alloys both in coatings and bulk form. The study presents nanocrystalline Ni-Co alloy synthesis by high speed electrodeposition. Nanocrystalline Ni-Co alloys coatings were prepared by direct current (DC and deposited directly on steel and aluminum substrates without any pretreatment, using high speed electrodeposition method. The influence of the electrolysis parameters, such as cathodic current density and temperature at constant pH, on electrodeposition and microstructure of Ni-Co alloys were examined. A homogeneous surface morphology was obtained at all current densities of the plated samples, and it was evident that the current density and temperature affect the coating thickness of Ni-Co alloy coatings.

Low temperature aluminum nitride thin films for sensory applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yarar, E.; Zamponi, C.; Piorra, A.; Quandt, E., E-mail: eq@tf.uni-kiel.de [Institute for Materials Science, Chair for Inorganic Functional Materials, Kiel University, D-24143 Kiel (Germany); Hrkac, V.; Kienle, L. [Institute for Materials Science, Chair for Synthesis and Real Structure, Kiel University, D-24143 Kiel (Germany)

2016-07-15

A low-temperature sputter deposition process for the synthesis of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films that is attractive for applications with a limited temperature budget is presented. Influence of the reactive gas concentration, plasma treatment of the nucleation surface and film thickness on the microstructural, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of AlN is investigated. An improved crystal quality with respect to the increased film thickness was observed; where full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the AlN films decreased from 2.88 ± 0.16° down to 1.25 ± 0.07° and the effective longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d{sub 33,f}) increased from 2.30 ± 0.32 pm/V up to 5.57 ± 0.34 pm/V for film thicknesses in the range of 30 nm to 2 μm. Dielectric loss angle (tan δ) decreased from 0.626% ± 0.005% to 0.025% ± 0.011% for the same thickness range. The average relative permittivity (ε{sub r}) was calculated as 10.4 ± 0.05. An almost constant transversal piezoelectric coefficient (|e{sub 31,f}|) of 1.39 ± 0.01 C/m{sup 2} was measured for samples in the range of 0.5 μm to 2 μm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations performed on thin (100 nm) and thick (1.6 μm) films revealed an (002) oriented AlN nucleation and growth starting directly from the AlN-Pt interface independent of the film thickness and exhibit comparable quality with the state-of-the-art AlN thin films sputtered at much higher substrate temperatures.

Impact of annealing temperature on the mechanical and electrical properties of sputtered aluminum nitride thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gillinger, M.; Schneider, M.; Bittner, A.; Schmid, U. [Institute of Sensor and Actuator Systems, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna 1040 (Austria); Nicolay, P. [CTR Carinthian Tech Research AG, Villach 9524 (Austria)

2015-02-14

Aluminium nitride (AlN) is a promising material for challenging sensor applications such as process monitoring in harsh environments (e.g., turbine exhaust), due to its piezoelectric properties, its high temperature stability and good thermal match to silicon. Basically, the operational temperature of piezoelectric materials is limited by the increase of the leakage current as well as by enhanced diffusion effects in the material at elevated temperatures. This work focuses on the characterization of aluminum nitride thin films after post deposition annealings up to temperatures of 1000 °C in harsh environments. For this purpose, thin film samples were temperature loaded for 2 h in pure nitrogen and oxygen gas atmospheres and characterized with respect to the film stress and the leakage current behaviour. The X-ray diffraction results show that AlN thin films are chemically stable in oxygen atmospheres for 2 h at annealing temperatures of up to 900 °C. At 1000 °C, a 100 nm thick AlN layer oxidizes completely. For nitrogen, the layer is stable up to 1000 °C. The activation energy of the samples was determined from leakage current measurements at different sample temperatures, in the range between 25 and 300 °C. Up to an annealing temperature of 700 °C, the leakage current in the thin film is dominated by Poole-Frenkel behavior, while at higher annealing temperatures, a mixture of different leakage current mechanisms is observed.

MEMS flexible artificial basilar membrane fabricated from piezoelectric aluminum nitride on an SU-8 substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Jongmoon; Choi, Hongsoo; Jang, Jeong Hun

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present a flexible artificial basilar membrane (FABM) that mimics the passive mechanical frequency selectivity of the basilar membrane. The FABM is composed of a cantilever array made of piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) on an SU-8 substrate. We analyzed the orientations of the AlN crystals using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The AIN crystals are oriented in the c -axis (0 0 2) plane and effective piezoelectric coefficient was measured as 3.52 pm V −1 . To characterize the frequency selectivity of the FABM, mechanical displacements were measured using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. When electrical and acoustic stimuli were applied, the measured resonance frequencies were in the ranges of 663.0–2369 Hz and 659.4–2375 Hz, respectively. These results demonstrate that the mechanical frequency selectivity of this piezoelectric FABM is close to the human communication frequency range (300–3000 Hz), which is a vital feature of potential auditory prostheses. (paper)

Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composite (CFCC) Program: Gaseous Nitridation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Suplinskas G. DiBona; W. Grant

2001-10-29

Textron has developed a mature process for the fabrication of continuous fiber ceramic composite (CFCC) tubes for application in the aluminum processing and casting industry. The major milestones in this project are System Composition; Matrix Formulation; Preform Fabrication; Nitridation; Material Characterization; Component Evaluation

Exploiting elastic anharmonicity in aluminum nitride matrix for phase-synchronous frequency reference generation

Science.gov (United States)

Ghatge, Mayur; Tabrizian, Roozbeh

2018-03-01

A matrix of aluminum-nitride (AlN) waveguides is acoustically engineered to realize electrically isolated phase-synchronous frequency references through nonlinear wave-mixing. AlN rectangular waveguides are cross-coupled through a periodically perforated plate that is engineered to have a wide acoustic bandgap around a desirable frequency ( f1≈509 MHz). While the coupling plate isolates the matrix from resonant vibrations of individual waveguide constituents at f1, it is transparent to the third-order harmonic waves (3f1) that are generated through nonlinear wave-mixing. Therefore, large-signal excitation of the f1 mode in a constituent waveguide generates acoustic waves at 3f1 with an efficiency defined by elastic anharmonicity of the AlN film. The phase-synchronous propagation of the third harmonic through the matrix is amplified by a high quality-factor resonance mode at f2≈1529 MHz, which is sufficiently close to 3f1 (f2 ≅ 3f1). Such an architecture enables realization of frequency-multiplied and phase-synchronous, yet electrically and spectrally isolated, references for multi-band/carrier and spread-spectrum wireless communication systems.

High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farrell, R.; Pagan, V.R.; Kabulski, A.; Kuchibhatla, S.; Harman, J.; Kasarla, K.R.; Rodak, L.E.; Hensel, J.P.; Famouri, P.; Korakakis, D.

2008-01-01

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE-grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.

High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Farrell; V. R. Pagan; A. Kabulski; Sridhar Kuchibhatl; J. Harman; K. R. Kasarla; L. E. Rodak; P. Famouri; J. Peter Hensel; D. Korakakis

2008-05-01

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.

Suspended HfO2 photonic crystal slab on III-nitride/Si platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yongjin; Feng, Jiao; Cao, Ziping; Zhu, Hongbo

2014-01-01

We present here the fabrication of suspended hafnium oxide (HfO 2 ) photonic crystal slab on a III-nitride/Si platform. The calculations are performed to model the suspended HfO 2 photonic crystal slab. Aluminum nitride (AlN) film is employed as the sacrificial layer to form air gap. Photonic crystal patterns are defined by electron beam lithography and transferred into HfO 2 film, and suspended HfO 2 photonic crystal slab is achieved on a III-nitride/Si platform through wet-etching of AlN layer in the alkaline solution. The method is promising for the fabrication of suspended HfO 2 nanostructures incorporating into a III-nitride/Si platform, or acting as the template for epitaxial growth of III-nitride materials. (orig.)

Nitridation of si using mechano-fusion method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Z. L.; Calka, A.; Williams, J. S.

1996-01-01

Full text: It has been found that silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) can be formed by ball milling of Si in ammonia. However only small fraction of Si can be transformed into 1 Si 3 N 4 . The major milling effect is the formation of poly/nanocrystalline silicon. At this stage of research it is difficult to answer the question why ball milling causes only limited formation of Si 3 N 4 . It is due to little understanding of 1 processes occurring during milling. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to study nitridation reaction during milling of Si in ammonia. In particular the 1 effect of milling conditions such as milling energies, atmosphere and a form of starting material was studied. The micro/macrostructural development during milling and subsequent annealing was studied using x-ray diffractometry, thermal analysis, elemental analysis measurement. It was found that the transformed fraction of Si 3 N 4 compound is strongly dependent on milling energies and milling atmosphere

The precipitation and effect of nano nitrides in HSLC steel

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

The existing forms of N and Al in HSLC (high strength low carbon) steel produced by TSCR (thin slab casting and rolling process), the precipitation thermodynamics and kinetics of AlN, and its effects on structure and mechanical property are studied. The experimental results show that only a small quantity of nitrogen is com- bined into AlN in HSLC steel produced by TSCR and most of the nitrogen in steel is still free nitrogen. Aluminum-nitride is mainly precipitated during the period of slow air cooling after coiling, but not during rolling and water cooling. The acid-soluble aluminum has no obvious effect on the grain size and mechanical property of HSLC steel produced by TSCR whose acid-soluble aluminum content is 0.005%―0.043%. The precipitation of AlN is not the main cause of grain refinement of HSLC steel produced by TSCR, nor is AlN the dominating precipitate that has precipitation strengthening effect. The nano nitrides are not pure AlN, but have complex compositions.

Formation of stacking faults and the screw dislocation-driven growth: a case study of aluminum nitride nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Fei; Estruga, Marc; Forticaux, Audrey; Morin, Stephen A; Wu, Qiang; Hu, Zheng; Jin, Song

2013-12-23

Stacking faults are an important class of crystal defects commonly observed in nanostructures of close packed crystal structures. They can bridge the transition between hexagonal wurtzite (WZ) and cubic zinc blende (ZB) phases, with the most known example represented by the "nanowire (NW) twinning superlattice". Understanding the formation mechanisms of stacking faults is crucial to better control them and thus enhance the capability of tailoring physical properties of nanomaterials through defect engineering. Here we provide a different perspective to the formation of stacking faults associated with the screw dislocation-driven growth mechanism of nanomaterials. With the use of NWs of WZ aluminum nitride (AlN) grown by a high-temperature nitridation method as the model system, dislocation-driven growth was first confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Meanwhile numerous stacking faults and associated partial dislocations were also observed and identified to be the Type I stacking faults and the Frank partial dislocations, respectively, using high-resolution TEM. In contrast, AlN NWs obtained by rapid quenching after growth displayed no stacking faults or partial dislocations; instead many of them had voids that were associated with the dislocation-driven growth. On the basis of these observations, we suggest a formation mechanism of stacking faults that originate from dislocation voids during the cooling process in the syntheses. Similar stacking fault features were also observed in other NWs with WZ structure, such as cadmium sulfide (CdS) and zinc oxide (ZnO).

CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW TOOL STEEL FOR ALUMINUM EXTRUSION DIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Britti Bacalhau

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Aluminum extrusion dies are an important segment of application on industrial tools steels, which are manufactured in steels based on AISI H13 steel. The main properties of steels applied to extrusion dies are: wear resistance, impact resistance and tempering resistance. The present work discusses the characteristics of a newly developed hot work steel to be used on aluminum extrusion dies. The effects of Cr and Mo contents with respect to tempering resistance and the Al addition on the nitriding response have been evaluated. From forged steel bars, Charpy impact test and characterization via EPMA have been conducted. The proposed contents of Cr, Mo, and Al have attributed to the new VEX grade a much better tempering resistance than H13, as well as a deeper and harder nitrided layer. Due to the unique characteristics, this new steel provides an interesting alternative to the aluminum extrusion companies to increase their competitiveness.

Nanocrystal conversion chemistry: A unified and materials-general strategy for the template-based synthesis of nanocrystalline solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasquez, Yolanda; Henkes, Amanda E.; Chris Bauer, J.; Schaak, Raymond E.

2008-01-01

The concept of nanocrystal conversion chemistry, which involves the use of pre-formed nanoparticles as templates for chemical transformation into derivative solids, has emerged as a powerful approach for designing the synthesis of complex nanocrystalline solids. The general strategy exploits established synthetic capabilities in simple nanocrystal systems and uses these nanocrystals as templates that help to define the composition, crystal structure, and morphology of product nanocrystals. This article highlights key examples of 'conversion chemistry' approaches to the synthesis of nanocrystalline solids using a variety of techniques, including galvanic replacement, diffusion, oxidation, and ion exchange. The discussion is organized according to classes of solids, highlighting the diverse target systems that are accessible using similar chemical concepts: metals, oxides, chalcogenides, phosphides, alloys, intermetallic compounds, sulfides, and nitrides. - Graphical abstract: Nanocrystal conversion chemistry uses pre-formed nanoparticles as templates for chemical transformation into derivative solids, helping to define the composition, crystal structure, and morphology of product nanocrystals that have more complex features than their precursor templates. This article highlights the application of this concept to diverse classes of solids, including metals, oxides, chalcogenides, phosphides, alloys, intermetallics, sulfides, and nitrides

Preparation of nanocrystalline VN by the melamine reduction of V2O5 xerogel and its supercapacitive behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Fukui; He Chun; Shu Dong; Chen Hongyu; Zhang Jie; Tang Shaoqing; Finlow, David E.

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Organic nitridizing agent was employed for preparation of nanocrystalline VN. ► The supercapacitive behavior of VN was studied by electrochemical method. ► The supercapacitive behavior of VN was studied in three kinds of electrolyte. ► The specific capacitance of VN was determined as 273 F g −1 in 1.0 M KOH. ► The supercapacitive mechanism and involved factor on capacitance were analyzed. - Abstract: An organic nitridizing reagent was employed in the preparation of nanocrystalline VN at 800 °C under a N 2 atmosphere. The prepared VN was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and its supercapacitive behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in three different types of aqueous electrolyte, 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , 2.0 M NaNO 3 and 1.0 M KOH. The XRD results indicate that prepared VN has a cubic structure with space group Fm3m and a lattice parameter of 4.139 Å. The nanocrystalline structure of VN with a low degree of crystallinity was confirmed by TEM imaging. The presence of oxygen on the VN surface was detected by FTIR and XPS, and its molecular composition was determined to be VN 1.02 O 0.1 . The specific capacitances of nanocrystalline VN were determined to be 114, 45.7 and 273 F g −1 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , 2.0 M NaNO 3 and 1.0 M KOH, respectively. Thus, the KOH solution was considered the best aqueous electrolyte for the capacitive performance of VN. The supercapacitive mechanism and the factor that influenced the specific capacitance are also analyzed in this paper.

Plasma synthesis and HPHT consolidation of BN nanoparticles, nanospheres, and nanotubes to produce nanocrystalline cubic boron nitride

Science.gov (United States)

Stout, Christopher

Plasma methods offer a variety of advantages to nanomaterials synthesis. The process is robust, allowing varying particle sizes and phases to be generated simply by modifying key parameters. The work here demonstrates a novel approach to nanopowder synthesis using inductively-coupled plasma to decompose precursor, which are then quenched to produce a variety of boron nitride (BN)-phase nanoparticles, including cubic phase, along with short-range-order nanospheres (e.g., nano-onions) and BN nanotubes. Cubic BN (c-BN) powders can be generated through direct deposition onto a chilled substrate. The extremely-high pyrolysis temperatures afforded by the equilibrium plasma offer a unique particle growth environment, accommodating long deposition times while exposing resulting powders to temperatures in excess of 5000K without any additional particle nucleation and growth. Such conditions can yield short-range ordered amorphous BN structures in the form of 20nm diameter nanospheres. Finally, when introducing a rapid-quenching counter-flow gas against the plasma jet, high aspect ratio nanotubes are synthesized, which are collected on substrate situated radially. The benefits of these morphologies are also evident in high-pressure/high-temperature consolidation experiments, where nanoparticle phases can offer a favorable conversion route to super-hard c-BN while maintaining nanocrystallinity. Experiments using these morphologies are shown to begin to yield c-BN conversion at conditions as low as 2.0 GPa and 1500°C when using micron sized c-BN seeding to create localized regions of high pressures due to Hertzian forces acting on the nanoparticles.

A nanoindentation study of magnetron co-sputtered nanocrystalline ternary nitride coatings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeung W.Y.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Nanoindentation testing was used to determine the hardness, elastic modulus and plasticity parameter of three newly developed ternary nitride coatings with nano-sized grains. With decreasing nitrogen deposition pressure, grain diameter of the coatings decreases that leads to both higher nanohardness and elastic modulus with conservation of satisfactory values of plasticity characteristic.

Method of forming aluminum oxynitride material and bodies formed by such methods

Science.gov (United States)

Bakas, Michael P [Ammon, ID; Lillo, Thomas M [Idaho Falls, ID; Chu, Henry S [Idaho Falls, ID

2010-11-16

Methods of forming aluminum oxynitride (AlON) materials include sintering green bodies comprising aluminum orthophosphate or another sacrificial material therein. Such green bodies may comprise aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen in addition to the aluminum orthophosphate. For example, the green bodies may include a mixture of aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and aluminum orthophosphate or another sacrificial material. Additional methods of forming aluminum oxynitride (AlON) materials include sintering a green body including a sacrificial material therein, using the sacrificial material to form pores in the green body during sintering, and infiltrating the pores formed in the green body with a liquid infiltrant during sintering. Bodies are formed using such methods.

Radiation stability of nanocrystalline ZrN coatings irradiated with high energy Xe and Bi ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skuratov, V.A.; Sokhatsky, A.S.; Uglov, V.V.; Zlotski, S.V.; Van Vuuren, A.J.; Neethling, Jan; O'Connell, J.

2011-01-01

Swift Xe and Bi ion irradiation effects in nanocrystalline ZrN coatings as a function of ion fluence are reported. Zirconium nitride films of different thickness (0.1, 3, 10 and 20 micrometers) synthesized by vacuum arc-vapour deposition in nanocrystalline state (average size of crystallites is ∼4 nm) were irradiated with 167 MeV Xe and 695 MeV Bi ions to fluences in the range 3x10 12 ÷2.6x10 15 cm -2 (Xe) and 10 12 x10 13 cm -2 (Bi) and studied using XRD and TEM techniques. No evidence of amorphization due to high level ionizing energy losses has been found. The measurements of lattice parameter have revealed nonmonotonic dependence of the stress level in irradiated samples on ion fluence. (authors)

Enhanced c-axis orientation of aluminum nitride thin films by plasma-based pre-conditioning of sapphire substrates for SAW applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gillinger, M.; Shaposhnikov, K.; Knobloch, T.; Stöger-Pollach, M.; Artner, W.; Hradil, K.; Schneider, M.; Kaltenbacher, M.; Schmid, U.

2018-03-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) on sapphire has been investigated with two different pretreatments prior to sputter deposition of the AlN layer to improve the orientation and homogeneity of the thin film. An inverse sputter etching of the substrate in argon atmosphere results in an improvement of the uniformity of the alignment of the AlN grains and hence, in enhanced electro-mechanical AlN film properties. This effect is demonstrated in the raw measurements of SAW test devices. Additionally, the impulse response of several devices shows that a poor AlN thin film layer quality leads to a higher signal damping during the transduction of energy in the inter-digital transducers. As a result, the triple-transit signal cannot be detected at the receiver.

Nanopillar arrays of amorphous carbon nitride

Science.gov (United States)

Sai Krishna, Katla; Pavan Kumar, B. V. V. S.; Eswaramoorthy, Muthusamy

2011-07-01

Nanopillar arrays of amorphous carbon nitride have been prepared using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as a template. The amine groups present on the surface of these nanopillars were exploited for functionalization with oleic acid in order to stabilize the nanostructure at the aqueous-organic interface and also for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles and protein. These immobilised nanoparticles were found to have good catalytic activity.

Effects of Nano-Aluminum Nitride on the Performance of an Ultrahigh-Temperature Inorganic Phosphate Adhesive Cured at Room Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Chengkun; Chen, Hailong; Wang, Chao; Zhang, Jifeng; Qi, Hui; Zhou, Limin

2017-11-03

Based on the optimal proportion of resin and curing agent, an ultrahigh-temperature inorganic phosphate adhesive was prepared with aluminum dihydric phosphate, aluminium oxide ( α -Al₂O₃), etc. and cured at room temperature (RT). Then, nano-aluminum nitride (nano-AlN), nano-Cupric oxide (nano-CuO), and nano-titanium oxide (nano-TiO₂) were added into the adhesive. Differential scanning calorimetry was conducted using the inorganic phosphate adhesive to analyze the phosphate reactions during heat treatment, and it was found that 15 wt % nano-AlN could clearly decrease the curing temperature. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microphenomenon of the modified adhesive at ultrahigh-temperature. The differential thermal analysis of the inorganic phosphate adhesive showed that the weight loss was approximately 6.5 wt % when the mass ratio of resin to curing agent was 1:1.5. An X-ray diffraction analysis of the adhesive with 10% nano-AlN showed that the phase structure changed from AlPO₄(11-0500) to the more stable AlPO₄(10-0423) structure after heat treatment. The shear strength of the adhesive containing 10% nano-AlN reached 7.3 MPa at RT due to the addition of nano-AlN, which promoted the formation of phosphate and increased the Al 3+ .

Micro-Scale Gallium Nitride Pressure Sensors for Advanced Harsh Environment Space Technology

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this research is to study the high-temperature response of the 2-dimesional electron gas (2DEG) that occurs at the interface of aluminum gallium nitride...

A first principle study of band structure of III-nitride compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, Rashid [Centre for High Energy Physics University of the Punjab, Lahore-54590 (Pakistan)]. E-mail: rasofi@hotmail.com; Akbarzadeh, H. [Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, 841546 Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Fazal-e-Aleem [Centre for High Energy Physics University of the Punjab, Lahore-54590 (Pakistan)

2005-12-15

The band structure of both phases, zinc-blende and wurtzite, of aluminum nitride, indium nitride and gallium nitride has been studied using computational methods. The study has been done using first principle full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method, within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). For the exchange correlation potential, generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and an alternative form of GGA proposed by Engel and Vosko (GGA-EV) have been used. Results obtained for band structure of these compounds have been compared with experimental results as well as other first principle computations. Our results show a significant improvement over other theoretical work and are closer to the experimental data.

Proton Irradiation-Induced Metal Voids in Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

ABBREVIATIONS 2DEG two-dimensional electron gas AlGaN aluminum gallium nitride AlOx aluminum oxide CCD charged coupled device CTE coefficient of...frequency of FETs. Such a device may also be known as a heterojunction field-effect transistor (HFET), modulation-doped field-effect transistor (MODFET...electrons. This charge attracts electrons to the interface, forming the 2DEG channel. The HEMT includes a heterojunction of two semiconducting

Formation of nanocrystalline surface layers in various metallic materials by near surface severe plastic deformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masahide Sato, Nobuhiro Tsuji, Yoritoshi Minamino and Yuichiro Koizumi

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The surface of the various kinds of metallic materials sheets were severely deformed by wire-brushing at ambient temperature to achieve nanocrystalline surface layer. The surface layers of the metallic materials developed by the near surface severe plastic deformation (NS-SPD were characterized by means of TEM. Nearly equiaxed nanocrystals with grain sizes ranging from 30 to 200 nm were observed in the near surface regions of all the severely scratched metallic materials, which are Ti-added ultra-low carbon interstitial free steel, austenitic stainless steel (SUS304, 99.99 wt.%Al, commercial purity aluminum (A1050 and A1100, Al–Mg alloy (A5083, Al-4 wt.%Cu alloy, OFHC-Cu (C1020, Cu–Zn alloy (C2600 and Pb-1.5%Sn alloy. In case of the 1050-H24 aluminum, the depth of the surface nanocrystalline layer was about 15 μm. It was clarified that wire-brushing is an effective way of NS-SPD, and surface nanocrystallization can be easily achieved in most of metallic materials.

Effects of Nano-Aluminum Nitride on the Performance of an Ultrahigh-Temperature Inorganic Phosphate Adhesive Cured at Room Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengkun Ma

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Based on the optimal proportion of resin and curing agent, an ultrahigh-temperature inorganic phosphate adhesive was prepared with aluminum dihydric phosphate, aluminium oxide ( α -Al2O3, etc. and cured at room temperature (RT. Then, nano-aluminum nitride (nano-AlN, nano-Cupric oxide (nano-CuO, and nano-titanium oxide (nano-TiO2 were added into the adhesive. Differential scanning calorimetry was conducted using the inorganic phosphate adhesive to analyze the phosphate reactions during heat treatment, and it was found that 15 wt % nano-AlN could clearly decrease the curing temperature. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microphenomenon of the modified adhesive at ultrahigh-temperature. The differential thermal analysis of the inorganic phosphate adhesive showed that the weight loss was approximately 6.5 wt % when the mass ratio of resin to curing agent was 1:1.5. An X-ray diffraction analysis of the adhesive with 10% nano-AlN showed that the phase structure changed from AlPO4(11-0500 to the more stable AlPO4(10-0423 structure after heat treatment. The shear strength of the adhesive containing 10% nano-AlN reached 7.3 MPa at RT due to the addition of nano-AlN, which promoted the formation of phosphate and increased the Al3+.

Controlling of Nitriding Process on Reactive Plasma Spraying of Al Particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahien, Mohammed; Yamada, Motohiro; Yasui, Toshiaki; Fukumoto, Masahiro

2011-01-01

Reactive plasma spraying (RPS) has been considered as a promising technology for in-situ formation of aluminum nitride (AlN) thermally sprayed coatings. To fabricate thick A lN coatings in RPS process, controlling and improving the in-flight nitriding reaction of Al particles is required. In this study, it was possible to control the nitriding reaction by using ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) powders. Thick and dense AlN coating (more than 300 μm thickness) was successfully fabricated with small addition of NH 4 Cl powders. Thus, addition of NH 4 Cl prevented the Al aggregation by changing the reaction pathway to a mild way with no explosive mode (relatively low heating rates) and it acts as a catalyst, nitrogen source and diluent agent.

Nanocrystalline CdTe thin films by electrochemical synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramesh S. Kapadnis

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Cadmium telluride thin films were deposited onto different substrates as copper, Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO, Indium tin oxide (ITO, Aluminum and zinc at room temperature via electrochemical route. The morphology of the film shows the nanostructures on the deposited surface of the films and their growth in vertical direction. Different nanostructures developed on different substrates. The X-ray diffraction study reveals that the deposited films are nanocrystalline in nature. UV-Visible absorption spectrum shows the wide range of absorption in the visible region. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirms the formation of cadmium telluride.

Feasibility study of using thin aluminum nitride film as a buffer layer for dual metal gate process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chang Seo; Cho, Byung Jin; Balasubramanian, N.; Kwong, Dim-Lee

2004-01-01

We evaluated the feasibility of using an ultra thin aluminum nitride (AlN) buffer layer for dual metal gates CMOS process. Since the buffer layer should not affect the thickness of gate dielectric, it should be removed or consumed during subsequent process. In this work, it was shown that a thin AlN dielectric layer would be reacted with initial gate metals and would be consumed during subsequent annealing, resulting in no increase of equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). The reaction of AlN layer with tantalum (Ta) and hafnium (Hf) during subsequent annealing, which was confirmed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, shifted the flat-band voltage of AlN buffered MOS capacitors. No contribution to equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) was also an indication showing the full consumption of AIN, which was confirmed with TEM analysis. The work functions of gate metals were modulated through the reaction, suggesting that the consumption of AlN resulted in new thin metal alloys. Finally, it was found that the barrier heights of the new alloys were consistent with their work functions

Thermodynamics of inversion-domain boundaries in aluminum nitride: Interplay between interface energy and electric dipole potential energy

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J. Y.; Xie, Y. P.; Guo, H. B.; Chen, Y. G.

2018-05-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) has a polar crystal structure that is susceptible to electric dipolar interactions. The inversion domains in AlN, similar to those in GaN and other wurtzite-structure materials, decrease the energy associated with the electric dipolar interactions at the expense of inversion-domain boundaries, whose interface energy has not been quantified. We study the atomic structures of six different inversion-domain boundaries in AlN, and compare their interface energies from density functional theory calculations. The low-energy interfaces have atomic structures with similar bonding geometry as those in the bulk phase, while the high-energy interfaces contain N-N wrong bonds. We calculate the formation energy of an inversion domain using the interface energy and dipoles' electric-field energy, and find that the distribution of the inversion domains is an important parameter for the microstructures of AlN films. Using this thermodynamic model, it is possible to control the polarity and microstructure of AlN films by tuning the distribution of an inversion-domain nucleus and by selecting the low-energy synthesis methods.

The Importance Of Surface Topography For The Biological Properties Of Nitrided Diffusion Layers Produced On Ti6Al4V Titanium Alloy

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Wierzchoń T.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Diffusion nitrided layers produced on titanium and its alloys are widely studied in terms of their application for cardiac and bone implants. The influence of the structure, the phase composition, topography and surface morphology on their biological properties is being investigated. The article presents the results of a study of the topography (nanotopography of the surface of TiN+Ti2N+αTi(N nitrided layers produced in low-temperature plasma on Ti6Al4V titanium alloy and their influence on the adhesion of blood platelets and their aggregates. The TEM microstructure of the produced layers have been examined and it was demonstrated that the interaction between platelets and the surface of the titanium implants subjected to glow-discharge nitriding can be shaped via modification of the roughness parameters of the external layer of the TiN titanium nitride nanocrystalline zone.

The effect of He and swift heavy ions on nanocrystalline zirconium nitride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janse van Vuuren, A., E-mail: arnojvv@gmail.com [Centre for HRTEM, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Neethling, J.H. [Centre for HRTEM, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Skuratov, V.A. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Uglov, V.V. [Belarusian State University, Minsk (Belarus); Petrovich, S. [VINCA Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Belgrade University, Belgrade (Serbia)

2014-05-01

Recent studies have shown that swift heavy ion irradiation may significantly modulate hydrogen and helium behaviour in some materials. This phenomenon is of considerable practical interest for ceramics in general and also for candidate materials for use as inert matrix fuel hosts. These materials will accumulate helium via (n, α) reactions and will also be subjected to irradiation by fission fragments. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy was used to study nanocrystalline ZrN irradiated with 30 keV He to fluences between 10{sup 16} and 5 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup −2}, 167 MeV Xe to fluences between 5 × 10{sup 13} and 10{sup 14} cm{sup −2} and also 695 MeV Bi to a fluence of 1.5 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup −2}. He/Bi and He/Xe irradiated samples were annealed at temperatures between 600 and 1000 °C and were analysed using SEM, XTEM and selected area diffraction. The results indicated that post irradiation heat treatment induces exfoliation at a depth that corresponds to the end-of-range of 30 keV He ions. SEM and XTEM analysis of He/Xe irradiated samples revealed that electronic excitation effects, due to Xe ions, suppress helium blister formation and consequently the exfoliation processes. He/Bi samples however do not show the same effects. This suggests that nanocrystalline ZrN is prone to the formation of He blisters which may ultimately lead material failure. These effects may however be mitigated by electronic excitation effects from certain SHIs.

The effect of He and swift heavy ions on nanocrystalline zirconium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janse van Vuuren, A.; Neethling, J.H.; Skuratov, V.A.; Uglov, V.V.; Petrovich, S.

2014-01-01

Recent studies have shown that swift heavy ion irradiation may significantly modulate hydrogen and helium behaviour in some materials. This phenomenon is of considerable practical interest for ceramics in general and also for candidate materials for use as inert matrix fuel hosts. These materials will accumulate helium via (n, α) reactions and will also be subjected to irradiation by fission fragments. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy was used to study nanocrystalline ZrN irradiated with 30 keV He to fluences between 10 16 and 5 × 10 16 cm −2 , 167 MeV Xe to fluences between 5 × 10 13 and 10 14 cm −2 and also 695 MeV Bi to a fluence of 1.5 × 10 13 cm −2 . He/Bi and He/Xe irradiated samples were annealed at temperatures between 600 and 1000 °C and were analysed using SEM, XTEM and selected area diffraction. The results indicated that post irradiation heat treatment induces exfoliation at a depth that corresponds to the end-of-range of 30 keV He ions. SEM and XTEM analysis of He/Xe irradiated samples revealed that electronic excitation effects, due to Xe ions, suppress helium blister formation and consequently the exfoliation processes. He/Bi samples however do not show the same effects. This suggests that nanocrystalline ZrN is prone to the formation of He blisters which may ultimately lead material failure. These effects may however be mitigated by electronic excitation effects from certain SHIs

Coating of Titanium Nitride on Stainless Steel Targets by a 4 kJ Plasma Focus Device

Science.gov (United States)

Omrani, M.; Habibi, M.; Amrollahi, R.

2012-08-01

Titanium nitride thin films were deposited on stainless steel (SS316L) targets by using a 4 kJ plasma focus device. The corresponding energy flux delivered to SS316L surface is estimated to be 2.69 × 1013 kev cm-3 ns-1. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the formation of a nanocrystalline titanium nitride coating on the surface of targets. Thickness of the elements found on the surface of treated samples which are obtained by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis (RBS) were (×1015 at/cm2) .45% Ti, 50% N and 5% Fe. Scanning electron microscopy was used to indicate changes in surface morphology. Existence of grains in different size confirms the formation of TiN crystals on the surface of targets.

Controlling of Nitriding Process on Reactive Plasma Spraying of Al Particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shahien, Mohammed [Graduate Student, Toyohashi University of Technology (Japan); Yamada, Motohiro; Yasui, Toshiaki; Fukumoto, Masahiro, E-mail: mo.shahien@yahoo.com [Toyohashi University of Technology (Japan)

2011-10-29

Reactive plasma spraying (RPS) has been considered as a promising technology for in-situ formation of aluminum nitride (AlN) thermally sprayed coatings. To fabricate thick A lN coatings in RPS process, controlling and improving the in-flight nitriding reaction of Al particles is required. In this study, it was possible to control the nitriding reaction by using ammonium chloride (NH{sub 4}Cl) powders. Thick and dense AlN coating (more than 300 {mu}m thickness) was successfully fabricated with small addition of NH{sub 4}Cl powders. Thus, addition of NH{sub 4}Cl prevented the Al aggregation by changing the reaction pathway to a mild way with no explosive mode (relatively low heating rates) and it acts as a catalyst, nitrogen source and diluent agent.

Compaction simulation of nano-crystalline metals with molecular dynamics analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khoei A.R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The molecular-dynamics analysis is presented for 3D compaction simulation of nano-crystalline metals under uniaxial compaction process. The nano-crystalline metals consist of nickel and aluminum nano-particles, which are mixed with specified proportions. The EAM pair-potential is employed to model the formation of nano-particles at different temperatures, number of nano-particles, and mixing ratio of Ni and Al nano-particles to form the component into the shape of a die. The die-walls are modeled using the Lennard-Jones inter-atomic potential between the atoms of nano-particles and die-walls. The forming process is model in uniaxial compression, which is simulated until the full-dense condition is attained at constant temperature. Numerical simulations are performed by presenting the densification of nano-particles at different deformations and distribution of dislocations. Finally, the evolutions of relative density with the pressure as well as the stress-strain curves are depicted during the compaction process.

Surface nanocrystallization by surface mechanical attrition treatment and its effect on structure and properties of plasma nitrided AISI 321 stainless steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin Yimin [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Middle Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000 (China) and Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China)]. E-mail: linyimin_2001@yahoo.com.cn; Lu Jian [LASMIS, University of Technology of Troyes, 10000 Troyes (France); Wang Liping [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Middle Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Xu Tao [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Middle Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Xue Qunji [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Middle Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000 (China)]. E-mail: qjxue@ns.lzb.ac.cn

2006-12-15

A plastic deformation surface layer with nanocrystalline grains was produced on AISI 321 austenitic stainless steel by means of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Low-temperature nitriding of SMAT and un-SMAT AISI 321 stainless steel was carried out in pulsed-DC glow discharge. The effect of SMAT pretreatment on the microstructure and properties of the stainless steel were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Vickers hardness tester and UMT-2MT tribometer. The results show that the plasma nitriding of AISI 321 steel can be enhanced considerably by means of SMAT process before nitriding, and a much thicker nitrogen diffusion layer with higher hardness was obtained for the SMAT samples when compared with un-SMAT samples. In addition, the wear resistance and load capacity of the nitrided layers on the SMAT samples was much higher than that of the un-SMAT samples due to the thicker S phase case and the gradient nitrogen diffusion layer.

Wettability Investigations and Wet Transfer Enhancement of Large-Area CVD-Graphene on Aluminum Nitride.

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Marius; Hoffmann, René; Cimalla, Volker; Ambacher, Oliver

2017-08-18

The two-dimensional and virtually massless character of graphene attracts great interest for radio frequency devices, such as surface and bulk acoustic wave resonators. Due to its good electric conductivity, graphene might be an alternative as a virtually massless electrode by improving resonator performance regarding mass-loading effects . We report on an optimization of the commonly used wet transfer technique for large-area graphene, grown via chemical vapor deposition, onto aluminum nitride (AlN), which is mainly used as an active, piezoelectric material for acoustic devices. Today, graphene wet transfer is well-engineered for silicon dioxide (SiO₂). Investigations on AlN substrates reveal highly different surface properties compared to SiO₂ regarding wettability, which strongly influences the quality of transferred graphene monolayers. Both physical and chemical effects of a plasma treatment of AlN surfaces change wettability and avoid large-scale cracks in the transferred graphene sheet during desiccation. Spatially-resolved Raman spectroscopy reveals a strong strain and doping dependence on AlN plasma pretreatments correlating with the electrical conductivity of graphene. In our work, we achieved transferred crack-free large-area (40 × 40 mm²) graphene monolayers with sheet resistances down to 350 Ω/sq. These achievements make graphene more powerful as an eco-friendly and cheaper replacement for conventional electrode materials used in radio frequency resonator devices.

Preparation of nanocrystalline VN by the melamine reduction of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} xerogel and its supercapacitive behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng Fukui [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); He Chun [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Shu Dong, E-mail: dshu@scnu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Base of Production, Education and Research on Energy Storage and Power Battery of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Technology on Energy Storage and Power Generation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Chen Hongyu, E-mail: hychen@scnu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Base of Production, Education and Research on Energy Storage and Power Battery of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Technology on Energy Storage and Power Generation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zhang Jie; Tang Shaoqing; Finlow, David E. [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China)

2011-12-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Organic nitridizing agent was employed for preparation of nanocrystalline VN. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The supercapacitive behavior of VN was studied by electrochemical method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The supercapacitive behavior of VN was studied in three kinds of electrolyte. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The specific capacitance of VN was determined as 273 F g{sup -1} in 1.0 M KOH. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The supercapacitive mechanism and involved factor on capacitance were analyzed. - Abstract: An organic nitridizing reagent was employed in the preparation of nanocrystalline VN at 800 Degree-Sign C under a N{sub 2} atmosphere. The prepared VN was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and its supercapacitive behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in three different types of aqueous electrolyte, 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, 2.0 M NaNO{sub 3} and 1.0 M KOH. The XRD results indicate that prepared VN has a cubic structure with space group Fm3m and a lattice parameter of 4.139 Angstrom-Sign . The nanocrystalline structure of VN with a low degree of crystallinity was confirmed by TEM imaging. The presence of oxygen on the VN surface was detected by FTIR and XPS, and its molecular composition was determined to be VN{sub 1.02}O{sub 0.1}. The specific capacitances of nanocrystalline VN were determined to be 114, 45.7 and 273 F g{sup -1} in 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, 2.0 M NaNO{sub 3} and 1.0 M KOH, respectively. Thus, the KOH solution was considered the best aqueous electrolyte for the capacitive performance of VN. The supercapacitive mechanism and the factor that influenced the specific capacitance are also analyzed in this paper.

Structure and hemocompatibility of nanocrystalline titanium nitride produced under glow-discharge conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Sowińska, Agnieszka; Czarnowska, Elżbieta; Tarnowski, Michał; Witkowska, Justyna; Wierzchoń, Tadeusz

2018-04-01

Significant efforts are being made towards developing novel antithrombotic materials. The purpose of the presented study was to characterize two variants of nitrided surface layers produced on alloy Ti-6Al-4V in different areas of low-temperature plasma - at the plasma potential (TiNp) or at the cathode potential (TiNc). The layers were characterized in terms of their microstructure, surface topography and wettability, and platelet response to the environment of different pH. The produced layers were of the TiN + Ti2N + αTiN-type, but the layer produced at the plasma potential was thinner, smoother and had lower surface free energy compared with that produced at the cathode potential. Biological evaluation demonstrated more fibrinogen buildup, less platelet adhesion and aggregation, and fewer strongly activated platelets on the TiNp surface compared with those parameters on the TiNc surface and on the titanium alloy in its initial state. Interestingly, both surface types were significantly resistant to fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion in the environment of lower pH. In conclusion, the nitrided surface layer produced at the plasma potential is a promising material and this basic information is critical for further development of hemocompatible materials.

Correlations between optical properties, microstructure, and processing conditions of Aluminum nitride thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baek, Jonghoon; Ma, James; Becker, Michael F.; Keto, John W.; Kovar, Desiderio

2007-01-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) films were deposited using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto sapphire (0001) substrates with varying processing conditions (temperature, pressure, and laser fluence). We have studied the dependence of optical properties, structural properties and their correlations for these AlN films. The optical transmission spectra of the produced films were measured, and a numerical procedure was applied to accurately determine the optical constants for films of non-uniform thickness. The microstructure and texture of the films were studied using various X-ray diffraction techniques. The real part of the refractive index was found to not vary significantly with processing parameters, but absorption was found to be strongly dependent on the deposition temperature and the nitrogen pressure in the deposition chamber. We report that low optical absorption, textured polycrystalline AlN films can be produced by PLD on sapphire substrates at both low and high laser fluence using a background nitrogen pressure of 6.0 x 10 -2 Pa (4.5 x 10 -4 Torr) of 99.9% purity

Nanocrystalline ceramic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Richard W.; Nieman, G. William; Weertman, Julia R.

1994-01-01

A method for preparing a treated nanocrystalline metallic material. The method of preparation includes providing a starting nanocrystalline metallic material with a grain size less than about 35 nm, compacting the starting nanocrystalline metallic material in an inert atmosphere and annealing the compacted metallic material at a temperature less than about one-half the melting point of the metallic material.

Reactive ion assisted deposition of aluminum oxynitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwangbo, C.K.; Lingg, L.J.; Lehan, J.P.; Macleod, H.A.; Suits, F.

1989-01-01

Optical properties, stoichiometry, chemical bonding states, and crystal structure of aluminum oxynitride (AlO/sub x/N/sub y/) thin films prepared by reactive ion assisted deposition were investigated. The results show that by controlling the amount of reactive gases the refractive index of aluminum oxynitride films at 550 nm is able to be varied from 1.65 to 1.83 with a very small extinction coefficient. Variations of optical constants and chemical bonding states of aluminum oxynitride films are related to the stoichiometry. From an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis it is observed that our aluminum oxynitride film is not simply a mixture of aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride but a continuously variable compound. The aluminum oxynitride films are amorphous from an x-ray diffraction analysis. A rugate filter using a step index profile of aluminum oxynitride films was fabricated by nitrogen ion beam bombardment of a growing Al film with backfill oxygen pressure as the sole variation. This filter shows a high resistivity to atmospheric moisture adsorption, suggesting that the packing density of aluminum oxynitride films is close to unity and the energetic ion bombardment densifies the film as well as forming the compound

Growth Structure and Properties of Gradient Nanocrystalline Coatings of the Ti-Al-Si-Cu-N System

Science.gov (United States)

Ovchinnikov, S. V.; Pinzhin, Yu. P.

2016-10-01

Methods of electron microprobe analysis, X-ray structure analysis and electron microscopy were used to study the element composition and features of the structure-phase, elastic stress state of nanocrystalline coatings of the Ti- Al- Si- Cu- N system with gradient of copper concentration across their thickness. The authors established the effects of element composition modification, non-monotonous behavior of the lattice constant of alloyed nitride and rise in the bending-torsion value of the crystalline lattice in individual nanocrystals to values of around 400 degrees/μm with increase in copper concentration, whereas the sizes of alloyed nitride crystals remained practically unchanged. Mechanical (hardness), adhesion and tribological properties of coatings were examined. Comparative analysis demonstrates higher values of adhesion characteristics in the case of gradient coatings of the Ti- Al- Si- Cu- N system than in the case of single-layer (with constant element concentration) analogues.

Improved reaction sintered silicon nitride. [protective coatings to improve oxidation resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgartner, H. R.

1978-01-01

Processing treatments were applied to as-nitrided reaction sintered silicon nitride (RSSN) with the purposes of improving strength after processing to above 350 MN/m2 and improving strength after oxidation exposure. The experimental approaches are divided into three broad classifications: sintering of surface-applied powders; impregnation of solution followed by further thermal processing; and infiltration of molten silicon and subsequent carburization or nitridation of the silicon. The impregnation of RSSN with solutions of aluminum nitrate and zirconyl chloride, followed by heating at 1400-1500 C in a nitrogen atmosphere containing silicon monoxide, improved RSSN strength and oxidation resistance. The room temperature bend strength of RSSN was increased nearly fifty percent above the untreated strength with mean absolute strengths up to 420 MN/m2. Strengths of treated samples that were measured after a 12 hour oxidation exposure in air were up to 90 percent of the original as-nitrided strength, as compared to retained strengths in the range of 35 to 60 percent for untreated RSSN after the same oxidation exposure.

Study on microstructure change of Uranium nitride coated U-7wt%Mo powder by heat treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Woo Hyoung; Park, Jae Soon; Lee, Hae In; Kim, Woo Jeong; Yang, Jae Ho; Park, Jong Man [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

Uranium-molybdenum alloy particle dispersion fuel in an aluminum matrix with a high uranium density has been developed for a high performance research reactor in the RERTR program. In order to retard the fuel-matrix interaction in U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel in which the U-Mo fuel particles were dispersed in Al matrix, nitride layer coated U-Mo fuel particle has been designed and techniques to fabricate nitride-layer coated U-7wt%Mo particles have been developed in our lab. In this study, uranium nitride coated U-Mo particle has heat treatment for several times and degree. And we suggested for interaction layer remedy in U-Mo dispersion fuel. We investigate effect of heat treatment interaction layer evolution on uranium nitride coated U-Mo powder. The EDS and XRD analysis to investigate the phase evolution in uranium nitride coated layer is also a part of the present work

Mechanical and tribological properties of crystalline aluminum nitride coatings deposited on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choudhary, R.K., E-mail: crupeshbarc@gmail.com [Materials Processing Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Mishra, S.C.; Mishra, P. [Materials Processing Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Limaye, P.K. [Refuelling Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Singh, K. [Fusion Reactor Materials Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India)

2015-11-15

Aluminum nitride (AlN) coating is a potential candidate for addressing the problems of MHD pressure drop, tritium permeation and liquid metal corrosion of the test blanket module of fusion reactor. In this work, AlN coatings were grown on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurement revealed that formation of mixed phase (wurtzite and rock salt) AlN was favored at low discharge power and substrate negative biasing. However, at sufficiently high discharge power and substrate bias, (100) oriented wurtzite AlN was obtained. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy showed presence of oxygen in the coatings. The highest value of hardness and Young's modulus were 14.1 GPa and 215 GPa, respectively. Scratch test showed adhesive failure at a load of about 20 N. Wear test showed improved wear resistance of the coatings obtained at higher substrate bias. - Highlights: • Crystalline AlN coatings obtained on stainless steel by reactive sputtering. • Wurtzite AlN formed at higher discharge power and higher substrate biasing. • Mixture of wurtzite and rock salt AlN formed at low power and low biasing. • Substrate negative biasing improved adhesion of AlN coatings. • Substrate negative biasing improved wear resistance and hardness of AlN coatings.

Mechanical and tribological properties of crystalline aluminum nitride coatings deposited on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choudhary, R.K.; Mishra, S.C.; Mishra, P.; Limaye, P.K.; Singh, K.

2015-01-01

Aluminum nitride (AlN) coating is a potential candidate for addressing the problems of MHD pressure drop, tritium permeation and liquid metal corrosion of the test blanket module of fusion reactor. In this work, AlN coatings were grown on stainless steel by magnetron sputtering. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurement revealed that formation of mixed phase (wurtzite and rock salt) AlN was favored at low discharge power and substrate negative biasing. However, at sufficiently high discharge power and substrate bias, (100) oriented wurtzite AlN was obtained. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy showed presence of oxygen in the coatings. The highest value of hardness and Young's modulus were 14.1 GPa and 215 GPa, respectively. Scratch test showed adhesive failure at a load of about 20 N. Wear test showed improved wear resistance of the coatings obtained at higher substrate bias. - Highlights: • Crystalline AlN coatings obtained on stainless steel by reactive sputtering. • Wurtzite AlN formed at higher discharge power and higher substrate biasing. • Mixture of wurtzite and rock salt AlN formed at low power and low biasing. • Substrate negative biasing improved adhesion of AlN coatings. • Substrate negative biasing improved wear resistance and hardness of AlN coatings.

Mechanical, Corrosion and Biological Properties of Room-Temperature Sputtered Aluminum Nitride Films with Dissimilar Nanostructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Besleaga

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Aluminum Nitride (AlN has been long time being regarded as highly interesting material for developing sensing applications (including biosensors and implantable sensors. AlN, due to its appealing electronic properties, is envisaged lately to serve as a multi-functional biosensing platform. Although generally exploited for its intrinsic piezoelectricity, its surface morphology and mechanical performance (elastic modulus, hardness, wear, scratch and tensile resistance to delamination, adherence to the substrate, corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility are also essential features for high performance sustainable biosensor devices. However, information about AlN suitability for such applications is rather scarce or at best scattered and incomplete. Here, we aim to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the morpho-structural, compositional, mechanical, electrochemical and biological properties of reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtered AlN nanostructured thin films with various degrees of c-axis texturing, deposited at a low temperature (~50 °C on Si (100 substrates. The inter-conditionality elicited between the base pressure level attained in the reactor chamber and crystalline quality of AlN films is highlighted. The potential suitability of nanostructured AlN (in form of thin films for the realization of various type of sensors (with emphasis on bio-sensors is thoroughly probed, thus unveiling its advantages and limitations, as well as suggesting paths to safely exploit the remarkable prospects of this type of materials.

Mechanical, Corrosion and Biological Properties of Room-Temperature Sputtered Aluminum Nitride Films with Dissimilar Nanostructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Besleaga, Cristina; Dumitru, Viorel; Trinca, Liliana Marinela; Popa, Adrian-Claudiu; Negrila, Constantin-Catalin; Kołodziejczyk, Łukasz; Luculescu, Catalin-Romeo; Ionescu, Gabriela-Cristina; Ripeanu, Razvan-George; Vladescu, Alina; Stan, George E

2017-11-17

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) has been long time being regarded as highly interesting material for developing sensing applications (including biosensors and implantable sensors). AlN, due to its appealing electronic properties, is envisaged lately to serve as a multi-functional biosensing platform. Although generally exploited for its intrinsic piezoelectricity, its surface morphology and mechanical performance (elastic modulus, hardness, wear, scratch and tensile resistance to delamination, adherence to the substrate), corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility are also essential features for high performance sustainable biosensor devices. However, information about AlN suitability for such applications is rather scarce or at best scattered and incomplete. Here, we aim to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the morpho-structural, compositional, mechanical, electrochemical and biological properties of reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtered AlN nanostructured thin films with various degrees of c -axis texturing, deposited at a low temperature (~50 °C) on Si (100) substrates. The inter-conditionality elicited between the base pressure level attained in the reactor chamber and crystalline quality of AlN films is highlighted. The potential suitability of nanostructured AlN (in form of thin films) for the realization of various type of sensors (with emphasis on bio-sensors) is thoroughly probed, thus unveiling its advantages and limitations, as well as suggesting paths to safely exploit the remarkable prospects of this type of materials.

Study of aluminum nitride precipitation in Fe- 3%Si steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.L. Alcântara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available For good performance of electrical steels it is necessary a high magnetic induction and a low power loss when submitted to cyclic magnetization. A fine dispersion of precipitates is a key requirement in the manufacturing process of Fe- 3%Si grain oriented electrical steel. In the production of high permeability grain oriented steel precipitate particles of copper and manganese sulphides and aluminium nitride delay normal grain growth during primary recrystallization, causing preferential growth of grains with Goss orientation during secondary recrystallization. The sulphides precipitate during the hot rolling process. The aluminium nitride particles are formed during hot rolling and the hot band annealing process. In this work AlN precipitation during hot deformation of a high permeability grain oriented 3%Si steel is examined. In the study, transfer bar samples were submitted to controlled heating, compression and cooling treatments in order to simulate a reversible hot rolling finishing. The samples were analyzed using the transmission electron microscope (TEM in order to identify the precipitates and characterize size distribution. Precipitate extraction by dissolution method and analyses by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES were used to quantify the precipitation. The results allowed to describe the precipitation kinetics by a precipitation-time-temperature (PTT diagram for AlN formation during hot rolling.

Polarity Control in Group-III Nitrides beyond Pragmatism

Science.gov (United States)

Mohn, Stefan; Stolyarchuk, Natalia; Markurt, Toni; Kirste, Ronny; Hoffmann, Marc P.; Collazo, Ramón; Courville, Aimeric; Di Felice, Rosa; Sitar, Zlatko; Vennéguès, Philippe; Albrecht, Martin

2016-05-01

Controlling the polarity of polar semiconductors on nonpolar substrates offers a wealth of device concepts in the form of heteropolar junctions. A key to realize such structures is an appropriate buffer-layer design that, in the past, has been developed by empiricism. GaN or ZnO on sapphire are prominent examples for that. Understanding the basic processes that mediate polarity, however, is still an unsolved problem. In this work, we study the structure of buffer layers for group-III nitrides on sapphire by transmission electron microscopy as an example. We show that it is the conversion of the sapphire surface into a rhombohedral aluminum-oxynitride layer that converts the initial N-polar surface to Al polarity. With the various AlxOyNz phases of the pseudobinary Al2O3 -AlN system and their tolerance against intrinsic defects, typical for oxides, a smooth transition between the octahedrally coordinated Al in the sapphire and the tetrahedrally coordinated Al in AlN becomes feasible. Based on these results, we discuss the consequences for achieving either polarity and shed light on widely applied concepts in the field of group-III nitrides like nitridation and low-temperature buffer layers.

Nanocrystalline solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gleiter, H.

1991-01-01

Nanocrystalline solids are polycrystals, the crystal size of which is a few (typically 1 to 10) nanometres so that 50% or more of the solid consists of incoherent interfaces between crystals of different orientations. Solids consisting primarily of internal interfaces represent a separate class of atomic structures because the atomic arrangement formed in the core of an interface is known to be an arrangement of minimum energy in the potential field of the two adjacent crystal lattices with different crystallographic orientations on either side of the boundary core. These boundary conditions result in atomic structures in the interfacial cores which cannot be formed elsewhere (e.g. in glasses or perfect crystals). Nanocrystalline solids are of interest for the following four reasons: (1) Nanocrystalline solids exhibit an atomic structure which differs from that of the two known solid states: the crystalline (with long-range order) and the glassy (with short-range order). (2) The properties of nanocrystalline solids differ (in some cases by several orders of magnitude) from those of glasses and/or crystals with the same chemical composition, which suggests that they may be utilized technologically in the future. (3) Nanocrystalline solids seem to permit the alloying of conventionally immiscible components. (4) If small (1 to 10 nm diameter) solid droplets with a glassy structure are consolidated (instead of small crystals), a new type of glass, called nanoglass, is obtained. Such glasses seem to differ structurally from conventional glasses. (orig.)

Improving the Microstructure and Electrical Properties of Aluminum Induced Polysilicon Thin Films Using Silicon Nitride Capping Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Hang Weng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the capping layer effect of SiNx (silicon nitride on the microstructure, electrical, and optical properties of poly-Si (polycrystalline silicon prepared by aluminum induced crystallization (AIC. The primary multilayer structure comprised Al (30 nm/SiNx (20 nm/a-Si (amorphous silicon layer (100 nm/ITO coated glass and was then annealed in a low annealing temperature of 350°C with different annealing times, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The crystallization properties were analyzed and verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD and Raman spectra. The grain growth was analyzed via optical microscope (OM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The improved electrical properties such as Hall mobility, resistivity, and dark conductivity were investigated by using Hall and current-voltage (I-V measurements. The results show that the amorphous silicon film has been effectively induced even at a low temperature of 350°C and a short annealing time of 15 min and indicate that the SiNx capping layer can improve the grain growth and reduce the metal content in the induced poly-Si film. It is found that the large grain size is over 20 μm and the carrier mobility values are over 80 cm2/V-s.

Microencapsulation of silicon nitride particles with yttria and yttria-alumina precursors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, A.K.; De Jonghe, L.C.

1990-01-01

Procedures are described to deposit uniform layers of yttria and yttria-alumina precursors on fine powders and whiskers of silicon nitride. The coatings were produced by aging at elevated temperatures aqueous systems containing the silicon nitride core particles, yttrium and aluminum nitrates, and urea. Optimum concentrations of the core particles, in relation to the reactants, were established to promote surface deposition of the oxide precursors. Polymeric dispersants were used effectively to prevent agglomeration of the solids during the microencapsulation process. The morphology of the powders was characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The mechanisms for the formation of the coated layers are discussed. A description is provided that allows qualitative assessment of the experimental factors that determine microencapsulation by a slurry method

Effect of plasma nitriding on electrodeposited Ni–Al composite coating

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daemi, N.; Mahboubi, F.; Alimadadi, Hossein

2011-01-01

In this study plasma nitriding is applied on nickel–aluminum composite coating, deposited on steel substrate. Ni–Al composite layers were fabricated by electro-deposition process in Watt’s bath containing Al particles. Electrodeposited specimens were subjected to plasma atmosphere comprising of N2......–20% H2, at 500°C, for 5h. The surface morphology investigated, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the surface roughness was measured by use of contact method. Chemical composition was analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and formation of AlN phase was confirmed by X-ray diffraction....... The corrosion resistance of composite coatings was measured by potentiodynamic polarization in 3.5% NaCl solution. The obtained results show that plasma nitriding process leads to an increase in microhardness and corrosion resistance, simultaneously....

Structure-property correlations in nanocrystalline Al-Zr alloy composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rittner, M.N.; Argonne National Lab., IL; Weertman, J.R.; Eastman, J.A.

1996-01-01

A study of the structure, grain size stability and Vickers microhardness of nanocrystalline aluminum-zirconium alloy composites was conducted. Samples were synthesized by the inert gas condensation process with electron beam evaporation. Transmission electron microscope examinations of the samples were performed at room and elevated temperatures. The behavior of the microstructures of the samples with time and temperature was investigated as a function of specimen composition. Vickers microhardness data were evaluated at room temperature in as-produced and polished compacted specimens. The local chemical composition of individual microhardness indents and average values of the grain size and porosity level were determined for a number of samples. Correlations among these microstructural variables and hardness were determined using multiple regression techniques

Relative SHG measurements of metal thin films: Gold, silver, aluminum, cobalt, chromium, germanium, nickel, antimony, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten, zinc, silicon and indium tin oxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franklin Che

Full Text Available We have experimentally measured the surface second-harmonic generation (SHG of sputtered gold, silver, aluminum, zinc, tungsten, copper, titanium, cobalt, nickel, chromium, germanium, antimony, titanium nitride, silicon and indium tin oxide thin films. The second-harmonic response was measured in reflection using a 150 fs p-polarized laser pulse at 1561 nm. We present a clear comparison of the SHG intensity of these films relative to each other. Our measured relative intensities compare favorably with the relative intensities of metals with published data. We also report for the first time to our knowledge the surface SHG intensity of tungsten and antimony relative to that of well known metallic thin films such as gold and silver. Keywords: Surface second-harmonic generation, Nonlinear optics, Metal thin films

Impact of layer and substrate properties on the surface acoustic wave velocity in scandium doped aluminum nitride based SAW devices on sapphire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gillinger, M., E-mail: manuel.gillinger@tuwien.ac.at; Knobloch, T.; Schneider, M.; Schmid, U. [Institute of Sensor and Actuator Systems, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna (Austria); Shaposhnikov, K.; Kaltenbacher, M. [Institute of Mechanics and Mechatronics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna (Austria)

2016-06-06

This paper investigates the performance of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices consisting of reactively sputter deposited scandium doped aluminum nitride (Sc{sub x}Al{sub 1-x}N) thin films as piezoelectric layers on sapphire substrates for wireless sensor or for RF-MEMS applications. To investigate the influence of piezoelectric film thickness on the device properties, samples with thickness ranging from 500 nm up to 3000 nm are fabricated. S{sub 21} measurements and simulations demonstrate that the phase velocity is predominantly influenced by the mass density of the electrode material rather than by the thickness of the piezoelectric film. Additionally, the wave propagation direction is varied by rotating the interdigital transducer structures with respect to the crystal orientation of the substrate. The phase velocity is about 2.5% higher for a-direction compared to m-direction of the sapphire substrate, which is in excellent agreement with the difference in the anisotropic Young's modulus of the substrate corresponding to these directions.

Microstructure and tensile properties of bulk nanostructured aluminum/graphene composites prepared via cryomilling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, J.L., E-mail: ljlhpu123@163.com; Xiong, Y.C.; Wang, X.D.; Yan, S.J.; Yang, C.; He, W.W.; Chen, J.Z.; Wang, S.Q.; Zhang, X.Y.; Dai, S.L.

2015-02-25

In order to develop high strength metal–matrix composites with acceptable ductility, bulk nanostructured aluminum–matrix composites reinforced with graphene nanoflakes were fabricated by cryomilling and hot extrusion processes. Microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized and determined using transmission electron microscopy, electron dispersion spectroscopy, as well as static tensile tests. The results show that, with an addition of only 0.5 wt% graphene nanoflakes, the bulk nanostructured aluminum/graphene composite exhibited increased strength and unsubdued ductility over pure aluminum. Besides, the mechanical properties of the composites with higher content of graphene nanoflakes were also measured and investigated. Above 1.0 wt% of graphene nanoflakes, however, this strengthening effect sharply dropped due to the clustering of graphene nanoflakes. Furthermore, the optimal addition of graphene nanoflakes into the nanocrystalline aluminum matrix was calculated and discussed.

Electrochemical properties of lanthanum nitride with calcium nitride additions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lesunova, R.P.; Fishman, L.S.

1986-01-01

This paper reports on the electrochemical properties of lanthanum nitride with calcium nitride added. The lanthanum nitride was obtained by nitriding metallic lanthanum at 870 K in an ammonia stream. The product contained Cl, Pr, Nd, Sm, Fe, Ca, Cu, Mo, Mg, Al, Si, and Be. The calcium nitride was obtained by nitriding metallic calcium in a nitrogen stream. The conductivity on the LaN/C 3 N 2 system components are shown as a function of temperature. A table shows the solid solutions to be virtually electronic conductors and the lanthanum nitride a mixed conductor

Nanocrystalline functional materials and nanocomposites synthesis through aerosol routes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milošević Olivera B.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This paper represents the results of the design of functional nanocrystalline powders and nanocomposites using chemical reactions in aerosols. The process involves ultrasonic aerosol formation (mist generators with the resonant frequencies of 800 kHz, 1.7 and 2.5 MHz from precursor salt solutions and control over the aerosol decomposition in a high-temperature tubular flow reactor. During decomposition, the aerosol droplets undergo evaporation/drying, precipitation and thermolysis in a single-step process. Consequently, spherical, solid, agglomerate-free submicronic particles are obtained. The particle morphology, revealed as a composite structure consisting of primary crystallites smaller than 20 nm was analysed by several methods (XRD, DSC/DTA, SEM, TEM and discussed in terms of precursor chemistry and process parameters. Following the initial attempts, a more detailed aspect of nanocrystalline particle synthesis was demonstrated for the case of nanocomposites based on ZnO-MeO (MeO=Bi Cr+, suitable for electronic applications, as well as an yttrium-aluminum base complex system, suitable for phosphorus applications. The results imply that parts of the material structure responsible for different functional behaviour appear through in situ aerosol synthesis by processes of intraparticle agglomeration, reaction and sintering in the last synthesis stage.

Comprehensive perspective on the mechanism of preferred orientation in reactive-sputter-deposited nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajikawa, Yuya; Noda, Suguru; Komiyama, Hiroshi

2003-01-01

Texture control of sputter-deposited nitride films has provoked a great deal of interest due to its technological importance. Despite extensive research, however, the reported results are scattered and discussions about the origin of preferred orientation (PO) are sometimes conflicting, and therefore controversial. The aim of this study is to acquire a clear perspective in order to discuss the origin of PO of sputter-deposited nitrides. Among nitrides, we focus on titanium nitride (TiN), aluminum nitride (AlN), and tantalum nitride (TaN), which are three commonly used nitrides. First, we collected reported experimental results about the relation between operating conditions and PO, because PO is considered to be determined by film formation processes, such as surface diffusion or grain growth, which is affected by operating conditions. We also collected reported results about such PO-determining processes. Then, we categorized the PO-determining processes into an initial stage and a growth stage of film deposition, and further categorized each stage into a vapor-solid interface and a solid-solid interface. Then, we related each stage and interface to film morphology and to PO-determining processes. Finally, based on existing results, previous models, and proposed schema, we discuss the origin of PO. Based on previous experimental results on film morphology, PO of nitride films occurred in the growth stage at the vapor-solid interface, where the sticking process of the precursor and the surface diffusion process determine PO, rather than in the initial stage and in the growth stage at the solid-solid interface. TiN (002) PO, however, seems to be caused in the initial stage at the solid-solid interface

Influence of laser pulse frequency on the microstructure of aluminum nitride thin films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antonova, K., E-mail: krasa@issp.bas.bg [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Duta, L. [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Szekeres, A. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Stan, G.E. [National Institute of Materials Physics, 105 bis Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Mihailescu, I.N. [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele (Romania); Anastasescu, M.; Stroescu, H.; Gartner, M. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania)

2017-02-01

Highlights: • Study of pulsed laser deposited AlN films at different laser pulse frequencies. • Higher laser pulse frequency promotes nanocrystallites formation at temperature 450 °C. • AFM and GIXRD detect randomly oriented wurtzite AlN structures. • Characterization of the nanocrystallites’ orientation by FTIR reflectance spectra. • Berreman effect is registered in p-polarised radiation at large incidence angles. - Abstract: Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films were synthesized on Si (100) wafers at 450 °C by pulsed laser deposition. A polycrystalline AlN target was multipulsed irradiated in a nitrogen ambient, at different laser pulse repetition rate. Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction and Atomic Force Microscopy analyses evidenced nanocrystallites with a hexagonal lattice in the amorphous AlN matrix. The thickness and optical constants of the layers were determined by infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry. The optical properties were studied by Fourier Transform Infrared reflectance spectroscopy in polarised oblique incidence radiation. Berreman effect was observed around the longitudinal phonon modes of the crystalline AlN component. Angular dependence of the A{sub 1}LO mode frequency was analysed and connected to the orientation of the particles’ optical axis to the substrate surface normal. The role of the laser pulse frequency on the layers’ properties is discussed on this basis.

Room-temperature low-voltage electroluminescence in amorphous carbon nitride thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, R.; Legnani, C.; Ribeiro Pinto, P. M.; Cremona, M.; de Araújo, P. J. G.; Achete, C. A.

2003-06-01

White-blue electroluminescent emission with a voltage bias less than 10 V was achieved in rf sputter-deposited amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN) and amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiCN) thin-film-based devices. The heterojunction structures of these devices consist of: Indium tin oxide (ITO), used as a transparent anode; amorphous carbon film as an emission layer, and aluminum as a cathode. The thickness of the carbon films was about 250 Å. In all of the produced diodes, a stable visible emission peaked around 475 nm is observed at room temperature and the emission intensity increases with the current density. For an applied voltage of 14 V, the luminance was about 3 mCd/m2. The electroluminescent properties of the two devices are discussed and compared.

Multimillion atom simulations of dynamics of oxidation of an aluminum nanoparticle and nanoindentation on ceramics.

Science.gov (United States)

Vashishta, Priya; Kalia, Rajiv K; Nakano, Aiichiro

2006-03-02

We have developed a first-principles-based hierarchical simulation framework, which seamlessly integrates (1) a quantum mechanical description based on the density functional theory (DFT), (2) multilevel molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a reactive force field (ReaxFF) that describes chemical reactions and polarization, a nonreactive force field that employs dynamic atomic charges, and an effective force field (EFF), and (3) an atomistically informed continuum model to reach macroscopic length scales. For scalable hierarchical simulations, we have developed parallel linear-scaling algorithms for (1) DFT calculation based on a divide-and-conquer algorithm on adaptive multigrids, (2) chemically reactive MD based on a fast ReaxFF (F-ReaxFF) algorithm, and (3) EFF-MD based on a space-time multiresolution MD (MRMD) algorithm. On 1920 Intel Itanium2 processors, we have demonstrated 1.4 million atom (0.12 trillion grid points) DFT, 0.56 billion atom F-ReaxFF, and 18.9 billion atom MRMD calculations, with parallel efficiency as high as 0.953. Through the use of these algorithms, multimillion atom MD simulations have been performed to study the oxidation of an aluminum nanoparticle. Structural and dynamic correlations in the oxide region are calculated as well as the evolution of charges, surface oxide thickness, diffusivities of atoms, and local stresses. In the microcanonical ensemble, the oxidizing reaction becomes explosive in both molecular and atomic oxygen environments, due to the enormous energy release associated with Al-O bonding. In the canonical ensemble, an amorphous oxide layer of a thickness of approximately 40 angstroms is formed after 466 ps, in good agreement with experiments. Simulations have been performed to study nanoindentation on crystalline, amorphous, and nanocrystalline silicon nitride and silicon carbide. Simulation on nanocrystalline silicon carbide reveals unusual deformation mechanisms in brittle nanophase materials, due to

Direct bonding of ALD Al₂O₃ to silicon nitride thin films

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laganà, Simone; Mikkelsen, E. K.; Marie, Rodolphe

2017-01-01

microscopy (TEM) by improving low temperature annealing bonding strength when using atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide. We have investigated and characterized bonding of Al2O3-SixNy (low stress silicon rich nitride) and Al2O3-Si3N4 (stoichiometric nitride) thin films annealed from room temperature up......O3 can be bonded to. Preliminary tests demonstrating a well-defined nanochannel system with-100 nm high channels successfully bonded and tests against leaks using optical fluorescence technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization of liquid samples are also reported. Moreover...

Thermally Stable Nanocrystalline Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Hulme-Smith, Christopher Neil; Ooi, Shgh Woei; Bhadeshia, Harshad K. D. H.

2017-10-01

Two novel nanocrystalline steels were designed to withstand elevated temperatures without catastrophic microstructural changes. In the most successful alloy, a large quantity of nickel was added to stabilize austenite and allow a reduction in the carbon content. A 50 kg cast of the novel alloy was produced and used to verify the formation of nanocrystalline bainite. Synchrotron X-ray diffractometry using in situ heating showed that austenite was able to survive more than 1 hour at 773 K (500 °C) and subsequent cooling to ambient temperature. This is the first reported nanocrystalline steel with high-temperature capability.

Formation of nanocrystalline and amorphous phase of Al-Pb-Si-Sn-Cu powder during mechanical alloying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ran Guang; Zhou Jingen; Xi Shengqi; Li Pengliang

2006-01-01

Al-15%Pb-4%Si-1%Sn-1.5%Cu alloys (mass fraction, %) were prepared by mechanical alloying (MA). Phase transformation and microstructure characteristics of the alloy powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the nanocrystalline supersaturated solid solutions and amorphous phase in the powders are obtained during MA. The effect of ball milling is more evident to lead than to aluminum. During MA, the mixture powders are firstly fined, alloyed, nanocrystallized and then the nanocrystalline partly transforms to amorphous phase. A thermodynamic model is developed based on semi-experimental theory of Miedema to calculate the driving force for phase evolution. The thermodynamic analysis shows that there is no chemical driving force to form a crystalline solid solution from the elemental components. But for the amorphous phase, the Gibbs free energy is higher than 0 for the alloy with lead content in the ranges of 0-86.8 at.% and 98.4-100 at.% and lower than 0 in range of 86.8-98.4 at.%. For the Al-2.25 at.%Pb (Al-15%Pb, mass fraction, %), the driving force for formation of amorphization and nanocrystalline supersaturated solid solutions are provided not by the negative heat of mixing but by mechanical work

Origin and effective reduction of inversion domains in aluminum nitride grown by a sublimation method

Science.gov (United States)

Shigetoh, Keisuke; Horibuchi, Kayo; Nakamura, Daisuke

2017-11-01

Owing to the large differences in the chemical properties between Al and N polarities in aluminum nitride (AlN), the choice of the polar direction for crystal growth strongly affects not only the quality but also the shape (facet formation) of the grown crystal. In particular, N-polar (0 0 0 -1) has been considered to be a more preferable direction than Al-polar (0 0 0 1) for sublimation growth because compared to Al-polar (0 0 0 1), N-polar (0 0 0 -1) exhibits better stability at high growth rate (high supersaturation) conditions and enables easier lateral enlargement of the crystal. However, some critical growth conditions induce polarity inversion and hinder stable N-polar growth. Furthermore, the origin of the polarity inversion in AlN growth by the sublimation method is still unclear. To ensure stable N-polar growth without polarity inversion, the formation mechanism of the inversion domain during AlN sublimation growth must be elucidated. Therefore, herein, we demonstrate homoepitaxial growth on an N-polar seed and carefully investigate the obtained crystal that shows polarity inversion. Annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals that polarity is completely converted to the Al polarity via the formation of a 30 nm thick mixed polar layer (MPL) just above the seed. Moreover, three-dimensional atom probe tomography shows the segregation of the oxygen impurities in the MPL with a high concentration of about 3 atom%. Finally, by avoiding the incorporation of oxygen impurity into the crystal at the initial stage of the growth, we demonstrate an effective reduction (seven orders of magnitude) of the inversion domain boundary formation.

Aluminum nitride coatings using response surface methodology to optimize the thermal dissipated performance of light-emitting diode modules

Science.gov (United States)

Jean, Ming-Der; Lei, Peng-Da; Kong, Ling-Hua; Liu, Cheng-Wu

2018-05-01

This study optimizes the thermal dissipation ability of aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics to increase the thermal performance of light-emitting diode (LED) modulus. AlN powders are deposited on heat sink as a heat interface material, using an electrostatic spraying process. The junction temperature of the heat sink is developed by response surface methodology based on Taguchi methods. In addition, the structure and properties of the AlN coating are examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In the XPS analysis, the AlN sub-peaks are observed at 72.79 eV for Al2p and 398.88 eV for N1s, and an N1s sub-peak is assigned to N-O at 398.60eV and Al-N bonding at 395.95eV, which allows good thermal properties. The results have shown that the use of AlN ceramic material on a heat sink can enhance the thermal performance of LED modules. In addition, the percentage error between the predicted and experimental results compared the quadric model with between the linear and he interaction models was found to be within 7.89%, indicating that it was a good predictor. Accordingly, RSM can effectively enhance the thermal performance of an LED, and the beneficial heat dissipation effects for AlN are improved by electrostatic spraying.

The characteristics and residual stress of aluminum nitride films grown by two-stage sputtering of mid-frequency power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, T.-C.; Cheng, H.-E.; Tang, S.-H.; Liu, W.-C.; Lee, Antony H.C.

2008-01-01

The [0 0 2] oriented aluminum nitride has a high surface acoustic wave speed and high mechanic-electron couple coefficient. It is a potential material for manufacturing piezoelectric devices in high frequency application. The AlN films deposited onto silicon substrates were fabricated by two-stage sputtering process with mid-frequency generator. The results showed that the film did not have well [0 0 2] preferred orientation at 1.0 and 1.5 kW, and exhibited a [0 0 2] preferred orientation at 2.0 kW. The adhesion was poor when the film had a high preferred orientation because the substrate was damaged by high energetic atoms bombardment. A two-stage growth method was investigated in order to get high [0 0 2] preferred orientation and good adhesion. A good performance was obtained at the first stage power of 1.5 kW and the second stage power of 2.0 kW. The film showed a tensile stress state when the film was deposited at 1.0 kW. In contrast, the stress state was changed to compressive when the films were grown at 2.0 kW. The two-stage growth could succeed not only to get a high [0 0 2] preferred orientation but also to develop a reducing global stress film

Scratch-resistant transparent boron nitride films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dekempeneer, E.H.A.; Kuypers, S.; Vercammen, K.; Meneve, J.; Smeets, J. [Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO), Mol (Belgium); Gibson, P.N.; Gissler, W. [Joint Research Centre of the Commission of the European Communities, Institute for Advanced Materials, Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See) (Italy)

1998-03-01

Transparent boron nitride (BN) coatings were deposited on glass and Si substrates in a conventional capacitively coupled RF PACVD system starting from diborane (diluted in helium) and nitrogen. By varying the plasma conditions (bias voltage, ion current density), coatings were prepared with hardness values ranging from 2 to 12 GPa (measured with a nano-indenter). Infrared absorption measurements indicated that the BN was of the hexagonal type. A combination of glancing-angle X-ray diffraction measurements and simulations shows that the coatings consist of hexagonal-type BN crystallites with different degrees of disorder (nanocrystalline or turbostratic material). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of an amorphous interface layer and on top of this interface layer a well-developed fringe pattern characteristic for the basal planes in h-BN. Depending on the plasma process conditions, these fringe patterns showed different degrees of disorder as well as different orientational relationships with respect to the substrate surface. These observations were correlated with the mechanical properties of the films. (orig.) 14 refs.

Ternary nitrides for hydrogen storage: Li-B-N, Li-Al-N and Li-Ga-N systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langmi, Henrietta W.; McGrady, G. Sean

2008-01-01

This paper reports an investigation of hydrogen storage performance of ternary nitrides based on lithium and the Group 13 elements boron, aluminum and gallium. These were prepared by ball milling Li 3 N together with the appropriate Group 13 nitride-BN, AlN or GaN. Powder X-ray diffraction of the products revealed that the ternary nitrides obtained are not the known Li 3 BN 2 , Li 3 AlN 2 and Li 3 GaN 2 phases. At 260 deg. C and 30 bar hydrogen pressure, the Li-Al-N ternary system initially absorbed 3.7 wt.% hydrogen, although this is not fully reversible. We observed, for the first time, hydrogen uptake by a pristine ternary nitride of Li and Al synthesized from the binary nitrides of the metals. While the Li-Ga-N ternary system also stored a significant amount of hydrogen, the storage capacity for the Li-B-N system was near zero. The hydrogenation reaction is believed to be similar to that of Li 3 N, and the enthalpies of hydrogen absorption for Li-Al-N and Li-Ga-N provide evidence that AlN and GaN, as well as the ball milling process, play a significant role in altering the thermodynamics of Li 3 N

Strain-induced grain growth of cryomilled nanocrystalline Al in trimodal composites during forging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, B.; Simkin, B.; Majumdar, B.; Smith, C.; Bergh, M. van den; Cho, K.; Sohn, Y.H.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Grain growth of cryomilled nanocrystalline aluminum during hot forging. ► Use of hollow cone dark field imaging technique in TEM for grain size measurement. ► Grain growth model of strain, strain rate and temperature for forging optimization. - Abstract: Grain growth of nanocrystalline aluminum ( nc Al) in trimodal Al metal-matrix-composites (MMCs) during hot forging was investigated. The nc Al phase formed through cryomilling of inert gas-atomized powders in liquid nitrogen has an average grain size down to 21 nm, exhibits excellent thermal stability. However, substantial grain growth of nc Al up to 63 nm was observed when the Al MMCs were thermo-mechanically processed even at relatively low temperatures. Grain growth of the cryomilled nc Al phase in trimodal Al MMCs after hot forging was documented with respect to temperature ranging from 175 °C to 287 °C, true strain ranging from 0.4 to 1.35 and strain rate ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 s −1 . Hollow cone dark field imaging technique was employed to provide statistically confident measurements of nc Al grain size that ranged from 21 to 63 nm. An increase in forging temperature and an increase in true strain were correlated with an increase in grain size of nc Al. Results were correlated to devise a phenomenological grain growth model for forging that takes strain, strain rate and temperature into consideration. Activation energy for the grain growth during thermo-mechanical hot-forging was determined to be 35 kJ/mol, approximately a quarter of activation energy for bulk diffusion of Al and a half of activation energy for static recrystallization.

High performance multilayered nano-crystalline silicon/silicon-oxide light-emitting diodes on glass substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darbari, S; Shahmohammadi, M; Mortazavi, M; Mohajerzadeh, S [Thin Film and Nano-Electronic Laboratory, School of ECE, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Abdi, Y [Nano-Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Robertson, M; Morrison, T, E-mail: mohajer@ut.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS (Canada)

2011-09-16

A low-temperature hydrogenation-assisted sequential deposition and crystallization technique is reported for the preparation of nano-scale silicon quantum dots suitable for light-emitting applications. Radio-frequency plasma-enhanced deposition was used to realize multiple layers of nano-crystalline silicon while reactive ion etching was employed to create nano-scale features. The physical characteristics of the films prepared using different plasma conditions were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, room temperature photoluminescence and infrared spectroscopy. The formation of multilayered structures improved the photon-emission properties as observed by photoluminescence and a thin layer of silicon oxy-nitride was then used for electrical isolation between adjacent silicon layers. The preparation of light-emitting diodes directly on glass substrates has been demonstrated and the electroluminescence spectrum has been measured.

Nanoscratch characterization of indium nitride films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lian, Derming [Chin-Yi Univ. of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan (China). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

2014-01-15

In this study we used RF plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy for the epitaxial growth of single-crystalline indium nitride (InN) thin films on aluminum nitride buffer layers/Si (111) substrates. We then used scratch techniques to study the influence of the c-axis orientation of the InN films and the beam interactions on the tribological performance of these samples. When grown at 440, 470, and 500 C, the coefficients of friction were 0.18, 0.22, and 0.26, respectively, under a normal force (F{sub n}) of 2000 {mu}N; 0.19, 0.23, and 0.27, respectively, under a value of Fn of 4000 {mu}N; and 0.21, 0.24, and 0.28, respectively, under a value of F{sub n} of 6000 {mu}N. These measured values increased slightly upon increasing the growth temperature because of the resulting smaller sizes of the apertures and/or pores in the inner films. The sliding resistance of the ploughed area was observed. The contact sliding line became increasingly noticeable upon increasing the value of F{sub n}; the plot of the friction with respect to the penetration depth revealed a significant relation in its adhesion properties presentation. (orig.)

Nitride alloy layer formation of duplex stainless steel using nitriding process

Science.gov (United States)

Maleque, M. A.; Lailatul, P. H.; Fathaen, A. A.; Norinsan, K.; Haider, J.

2018-01-01

Duplex stainless steel (DSS) shows a good corrosion resistance as well as the mechanical properties. However, DSS performance decrease as it works under aggressive environment and at high temperature. At the mentioned environment, the DSS become susceptible to wear failure. Surface modification is the favourable technique to widen the application of duplex stainless steel and improve the wear resistance and its hardness properties. Therefore, the main aim of this work is to nitride alloy layer on the surface of duplex stainless steel by the nitriding process temperature of 400°C and 450°C at different time and ammonia composition using a horizontal tube furnace. The scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction analyzer are used to analyse the morphology, composition and the nitrided alloy layer for treated DSS. The micro hardnesss Vickers tester was used to measure hardness on cross-sectional area of nitrided DSS. After nitriding, it was observed that the hardness performance increased until 1100 Hv0.5kgf compared to substrate material of 250 Hv0.5kgf. The thickness layer of nitride alloy also increased from 5μm until 100μm due to diffusion of nitrogen on the surface of DSS. The x-ray diffraction results showed that the nitride layer consists of iron nitride, expanded austenite and chromium nitride. It can be concluded that nitride alloy layer can be produced via nitriding process using tube furnace with significant improvement of microstructural and hardness properties.

Nanocrystalline diamond films for biomedical applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pennisi, Cristian Pablo; Alcaide, Maria

2014-01-01

Nanocrystalline diamond films, which comprise the so called nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD), represent a class of biomaterials possessing outstanding mechanical, tribological, and electrical properties, which include high surface smoothness, high corrosion...... performance of nanocrystalline diamond films is reviewed from an application-specific perspective, covering topics such as enhancement of cellular adhesion, anti-fouling coatings, non-thrombogenic surfaces, micropatterning of cells and proteins, and immobilization of biomolecules for bioassays. In order...

Strength and structure of nanocrystalline titanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noskova, N.I.; Pereturina, I.A.; Elkina, O.A.; Stolyarov, V.V.

2004-01-01

Investigation results on strength and plasticity of nanocrystalline titanium VT-1 are presented. Specific features of plastic deformation on tension of this material specimens in an electron microscope column are studied in situ. It is shown that nanocrystalline titanium strength and plasticity at room temperature are dependent on the structure and nanograin size. It is revealed that deformation processes in nanocrystalline titanium are characterized by activation of deformation rotational modes and microtwinning [ru

Wear monitoring of protective nitride coatings using image processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Inge Lise; Guibert, M.; Belin, M.

2010-01-01

-meter with up to 105 19 repetitive cycles, eventually leaving the embedded TiN signal layer uncovered at the bottom the wear scar. 20 The worn surface was characterized by subsequent image processing. A color detection of the wear scar with 21 the exposed TiN layer by a simple optical imaging system showed......A double-layer model system, consisting of a thin layer of tribological titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) on 17 top of titanium nitride (TiN), was deposited on polished 100Cr6 steel substrates. The TiAlN top-coatings 18 were exposed to abrasive wear by a reciprocating wear process in a linear tribo...... a significant increase up to a factor of 2 of 22 the relative color values from the TiAlN top layers to the embedded TiN signal layers. This behavior agrees 23 well with the results of reflectance detection experiment with a red laser optical system on the same system. 24 Thus we have demonstrated that image...

Adsorption of sugars on Al- and Ga-doped boron nitride surfaces: A computational study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darwish, Ahmed A. [Center for Nanotechnology, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12588 (Egypt); Department of Nuclear and Radiation Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria (Egypt); Fadlallah, Mohamed M. [Center for Fundamental Physics, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12588 (Egypt); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha (Egypt); Badawi, Ashraf [Center for Nanotechnology, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12588 (Egypt); Maarouf, Ahmed A., E-mail: ahmed.maarouf@egnc.gov.eg [Center for Fundamental Physics, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza 12588 (Egypt); Egypt Nanotechnology Center & Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613 (Egypt)

2016-07-30

Highlights: • Doping boron nitride sheets with aluminum or gallium atoms significantly enhances their molecular adsorption properties. • Adsorption of glucose or glucosamine on Al- and Ga-doped boron nitride sheets changes the band gap. • Doping concentration changes the bad gap, but has a minor effect on the adsorption energy. - Abstract: Molecular adsorption on surfaces is a key element for many applications, including sensing and catalysis. Non-invasive sugar sensing has been an active area of research due to its importance to diabetes care. The adsorption of sugars on a template surface study is at the heart of matter. Here, we study doped hexagonal boron nitride sheets (h-BNNs) as adsorbing and sensing template for glucose and glucosamine. Using first principles calculations, we find that the adsorption of glucose and glucosamine on h-BNNs is significantly enhanced by the substitutional doping of the sheet with Al and Ga. Including long range van der Waals corrections gives adsorption energies of about 2 eV. In addition to the charge transfer occurring between glucose and the Al/Ga-doped BN sheets, the adsorption alters the size of the band gap, allowing for optical detection of adsorption. We also find that Al-doped boron nitride sheet is better than Ga-doped boron nitride sheet to enhance the adsorption energy of glucose and glucosamine. The results of our work can be potentially utilized when designing support templates for glucose and glucosamine.

Microwave irradiation-assisted deposition of Ga2O3 on III-nitrides for deep-UV opto-electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Jaiswal, Piyush; Ul Muazzam, Usman; Pratiyush, Anamika Singh; Mohan, Nagaboopathy; Raghavan, Srinivasan; Muralidharan, R.; Shivashankar, S. A.; Nath, Digbijoy N.

2018-01-01

We report on the deposition of Ga2O3 on III-nitride epi-layers using the microwave irradiation technique. We also report on the demonstration of a Ga2O3 device: a visible-blind, deep-UV detector, with a GaN-based heterostructure as the substrate. The film deposited in the solution medium, at <200 °C, using a metalorganic precursor, was nanocrystalline. XRD confirms that the as-deposited film, when annealed at high temperature, turns to polycrystalline β-Ga2O3. SEM shows the as-deposited film to be uniform, with a surface roughness of 4-5 nm, as revealed by AFM. Interdigitated metal-semiconductor-metal devices with Ni/Au contact exhibited a peak spectral response at 230 nm and a good visible rejection ratio. This demonstration of a deep-UV detector on the β-Ga2O3/III-nitride stack is expected to open up possibilities of functional and physical integration of β-Ga2O3 and GaN material families towards enabling next-generation high-performance devices by exciting band and heterostructure engineering.

New routes to nitrogen-rich transition metal nitrides: Synthesis of novel polymorphs of Hf3N4

Science.gov (United States)

Salamat, Ashkan; Hector, A.; Gray, B.; Kimber, S.; Bouvier, P.; McMillan, P.

2013-06-01

One of the most obvious features of transition metal nitride chemistry is that the maximum formal oxidation state of the metal is rarely as high as in the corresponding oxides or fluorides. Much of the interest in the high oxidation phases stems from the desire to identify the next generation of photocatalytic materials with tuneable bandgaps. Experiments in the laser heated diamond anvil cell (LHDAC) between the direct reaction of metals and nitrogen have previously produced a number of important new main group nitride phases. This technique has also demonstrated its potential for formation of new nitrogen-rich transition metal nitride phases. Alternative methods with the development of ``soft'' routes to new phases with high nitrogen content also offer the possibility of obtaining metastable phases through topotactic conversions. Using LHDAC in situ with synchrotron angle dispersive diffraction techniques we have crystallised at high pressures and temperatures two novel polymorphs of Hf3N4. Starting with an amide-derived nanocrystalline Hf3N4 sample we have identified a novel tetragonal (I4/ m) polymorph at 15 GPa and 1500K and a second high pressure orthorhombic (Pnma) polymorph at 30 GPa and 2000 K. This study demonstrates that the combination of precursor-based synthesis and high-pressure crystallization could be very productive in synthesis of such nitrogen-rich phases.

Laser shock wave consolidation of nanodiamond powders on aluminum 319

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molian, Pal [Laboratory for Lasers, MEMS, and Nanotechnology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-2161 (United States)], E-mail: molian@iastate.edu; Molian, Raathai; Nair, Rajeev [Laboratory for Lasers, MEMS, and Nanotechnology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-2161 (United States)

2009-01-01

A novel coating approach, based on laser shock wave generation, was employed to induce compressive pressures up to 5 GPa and compact nanodiamond (ND) powders (4-8 nm) on aluminum 319 substrate. Raman scattering indicated that the coating consisted of amorphous carbon and nanocrystalline graphite with peaks at 1360 cm{sup -1} and 1600 cm{sup -1} respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a wavy, non-uniform coating with an average thickness of 40 {mu}m and absence of thermal effect on the surrounding material. The phase transition from nanodiamond to other phases of carbon is responsible for the increased coating thickness. Vicker's microhardness test showed hardness in excess of 1000 kg{sub f}/mm{sup 2} (10 GPa) while nanoindentation test indicated much lower hardness in the range of 20 MPa to 2 GPa. Optical surface profilometry traces displayed slightly uneven surfaces compared to the bare aluminum with an average surface roughness (R{sub a}) in the range of 1.5-4 {mu}m depending on the shock wave pressure and type of confining medium. Ball-on-disc tribometer tests showed that the coefficient of friction and wear rate were substantially lower than the smoother, bare aluminum sample. Laser shock wave process has thus aided in the generation of a strong, wear resistant, durable carbon composite coating on aluminum 319 substrate.

Plasma nitriding of steels

CERN Document Server

Aghajani, Hossein

2017-01-01

This book focuses on the effect of plasma nitriding on the properties of steels. Parameters of different grades of steels are considered, such as structural and constructional steels, stainless steels and tools steels. The reader will find within the text an introduction to nitriding treatment, the basis of plasma and its roll in nitriding. The authors also address the advantages and disadvantages of plasma nitriding in comparison with other nitriding methods. .

Solid state consolidation nanocrystalline copper-tungsten using cold spray

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, Aaron Christopher [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sarobol, Pylin [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Argibay, Nicolas [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Clark, Blythe [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Diantonio, Christopher [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-09-01

It is well known that nanostructured metals can exhibit significantly improved properties compared to metals with conventional grain size. Unfortunately, nanocrystalline metals typically are not thermodynamically stable and exhibit rapid grain growth at moderate temperatures. This severely limits their processing and use, making them impractical for most engineering applications. Recent work has shown that a number of thermodynamically stable nanocrystalline metal alloys exist. These alloys have been prepared as powders using severe plastic deformation (e.g. ball milling) processes. Consolidation of these powders without compromise of their nanocrystalline microstructure is a critical step to enabling their use as engineering materials. We demonstrate solid-state consolidation of ball milled copper-tantalum nanocrystalline metal powder using cold spray. Unfortunately, the nanocrystalline copper-tantalum powder that was consolidated did not contain the thermodynamically stable copper-tantalum nanostructure. Nevertheless, this does this demonstrates a pathway to preparation of bulk thermodynamically stable nanocrystalline copper-tantalum. Furthermore, it demonstrates a pathway to additive manufacturing (3D printing) of nanocrystalline copper-tantalum. Additive manufacturing of thermodynamically stable nanocrystalline metals is attractive because it enables maximum flexibility and efficiency in the use of these unique materials.

Structural, optical and thermal properties of nanoporous aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghrib, Taher

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A simple electrochemical technique is presented and used to manufacture a porous aluminum layer. • Manufactured pores of 40 nm diameter and 200 nm depth are filled by nanocrystal of silicon and graphite. • Dimensions of pores increase with the anodization current which ameliorate the optical and thermal properties. • A new thermal method is presented which permit to determine the pores density and the layer thickness. • All properties show that the manufactured material can be used with success in solar cells. - Abstract: In this work the structural, thermal and optical properties of porous aluminum thin film formed with various intensities of anodization current in sulfuric acid are highlighted. The obtained pores at the surface are filled by sprayed graphite and nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) which the role is to improve its optical and thermal absorption giving a structure of an assembly of three different media such as deposited thin layer (graphite or silicon)/(porous aluminum layer filled with the deposited layer)/(Al sample). The effect of anodization current on the microstructure of porous aluminum and the effect of the deposited layer were systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The thermal properties such as the thermal conductivity (K) and thermal diffusivity (D) are determined by the photothermal deflection (PTD) technique which is a non destructive technique. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the thermal and optical characteristics of these films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties

Bilirubin adsorption on nanocrystalline titania films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhengpeng; Si Shihui; Fung Yingsing

2007-01-01

Bilirubin produced from hemoglobin metabolism and normally conjugated with albumin is a kind of lipophilic endotoxin, and can cause various diseases when its concentration is high. Bilirubin adsorption on the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films was investigated using quartz crystal microbalance, UV-vis and IR techniques, and factors affecting its adsorption such as pH, bilirubin concentration, solution ionic strength, temperature and thickness of TiO 2 films were discussed. The amount of adsorption and parameters for the adsorption kinetics were estimated from the frequency measurements of quartz crystal microbalance. A fresh surface of the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films could be photochemically regenerated because holes and hydroxyl radicals were generated by irradiating the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films with UV light, which could oxidize and decompose organic materials, and the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films can be easily regenerated when it is used as adsorbent for the removal of bilirubin

Reduction of Oxidative Melt Loss of Aluminum and Its Alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dr. Subodh K. Das; Shridas Ningileri

2006-03-17

This project led to an improved understanding of the mechanisms of dross formation. The microstructural evolution in industrial dross samples was determined. Results suggested that dross that forms in layers with structure and composition determined by the local magnesium concentration alone. This finding is supported by fundamental studies of molten metal surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data revealed that only magnesium segregates to the molten aluminum alloy surface and reacts to form a growing oxide layer. X-ray diffraction techniques that were using to investigate an oxidizing molten aluminum alloy surface confirmed for the first time that magnesium oxide is the initial crystalline phase that forms during metal oxidation. The analytical techniques developed in this project are now available to investigate other molten metal surfaces. Based on the improved understanding of dross initiation, formation and growth, technology was developed to minimize melt loss. The concept is based on covering the molten metal surface with a reusable physical barrier. Tests in a laboratory-scale reverberatory furnace confirmed the results of bench-scale tests. The main highlights of the work done include: A clear understanding of the kinetics of dross formation and the effect of different alloying elements on dross formation was obtained. It was determined that the dross evolves in similar ways regardless of the aluminum alloy being melted and the results showed that amorphous aluminum nitride forms first, followed by amorphous magnesium oxide and crystalline magnesium oxide in all alloys that contain magnesium. Evaluation of the molten aluminum alloy surface during melting and holding indicated that magnesium oxide is the first crystalline phase to form during oxidation of a clean aluminum alloy surface. Based on dross evaluation and melt tests it became clear that the major contributing factor to aluminum alloy dross was in the alloys with Mg content. Mg was

Nanocrystalline diamond: In vitro biocompatibility assessment by MG63 and human bone marrow cells cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaral, M; Dias, A G; Gomes, P S; Lopes, M A; Silva, R F; Santos, J D; Fernandes, M H

2008-10-01

Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) has a great potential for prosthetic implants coating. Nevertheless, its biocompatibility still has to be better understood. To do so, we employed several materials characterization techniques (SEM, AFM, micro-Raman spectroscopy) and cell culture assays using MG63 osteoblast-like and human bone marrow cells. Biochemical routines (MTT assays, Lowry's method, ALP activity) supported by SEM and confocal microscopy characterization were carried out. We used silicon nitride (Si3N4) substrates for NCD coatings based on a previous demonstration of the superior adhesion and tribological performance of these NCD coated ceramics. Results demonstrate an improved human osteoblast proliferation and the stimulation of differentiated markers, like ALP activity and matrix mineralization, compared with standard polystyrene tissue culture plates. The nanometric featuring of NCD, associated to its chemical affinity are key points for bone regeneration purposes.

Ion nitriding of aluminium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitz, T.

2002-09-01

The present study is devoted to the investigation of the mechanism of aluminium nitriding by a technique that employs implantation of low-energy nitrogen ions and diffusional transport of atoms. The nitriding of aluminium is investigated, because this is a method for surface modification of aluminium and has a potential for application in a broad spectrum of fields such as automobile, marine, aviation, space technologies, etc. However, at present nitriding of aluminium does not find any large scale industrial application, due to problems in the formation of stoichiometric aluminium nitride layers with a sufficient thickness and good quality. For the purposes of this study, ion nitriding is chosen, as an ion beam method with the advantage of good and independent control over the process parameters, which thus can be related uniquely to the physical properties of the resulting layers. Moreover, ion nitriding has a close similarity to plasma nitriding and plasma immersion ion implantation, which are methods with a potential for industrial application. (orig.)

Anti-corrosion layer prepared by plasma electrolytic carbonitriding on pure aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jie; Zhang, Yifan; Liu, Run; Wang, Bin; Hua, Ming; Xue, Wenbin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • PEC/N can be applied to low melting point metal. • The spectroscopic characterization of plasma discharge is investigated. • Electron concentration and electron temperature are evaluated for PEC/N. • Phase composition of the carbonitrided layer is determined. • PEC/N improves the corrosion resistance of aluminum greatly. - Abstract: In this paper, plasma electrolytic carbonitriding (PEC/N) method was applied to pure aluminum for the first time. The spectroscopic characterization of plasma discharge during PEC/N process was analyzed and the electron temperature was calculated in terms of optical emission spectroscopy. The results showed the discharge plasma was in local thermal equilibrium (LTE) state. Electron concentration and electron temperature were about 6 × 10 21 m −3 and 4000 K, respectively. The carbonitrided layer contained Al 4 C 3 , AlN and Al 7 C 3 N 3 phases. After PEC/N treatment, the corrosion resistance of pure aluminum was significantly improved, which was related to the formation of nitride phases. This work expands the application of plasma electrolysis technology on the surface modification of low melting point metal

Nitride stabilized core/shell nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Kuttiyiel, Kurian Abraham; Sasaki, Kotaro; Adzic, Radoslav R.

2018-01-30

Nitride stabilized metal nanoparticles and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. In one embodiment the metal nanoparticles have a continuous and nonporous noble metal shell with a nitride-stabilized non-noble metal core. The nitride-stabilized core provides a stabilizing effect under high oxidizing conditions suppressing the noble metal dissolution during potential cycling. The nitride stabilized nanoparticles may be fabricated by a process in which a core is coated with a shell layer that encapsulates the entire core. Introduction of nitrogen into the core by annealing produces metal nitride(s) that are less susceptible to dissolution during potential cycling under high oxidizing conditions.

Superconducting niobium nitride films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olaya, J.J. [Departamento de Ingenieria Mecanica y Mecatronica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Carrera 30 Numero 45-03, Bogota (Colombia); Huerta, L. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Rodil, S.E. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico)], E-mail: ser42@iim.unam.mx; Escamilla, R. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

2008-10-01

Niobium nitride (NbN) thin films were deposited under different configurations of the magnetic field using a magnetron sputtering system. The magnetic field configuration varied from balanced to unbalanced leading to different growth conditions and film properties. The aim of the paper was to identify correlations between deposition conditions, film properties and the electrical properties, specially the superconductive critical temperature (T{sub C}). The results suggested that there is a critical deposition condition, having an optimum ion-atom arrival ratio that promotes a well ordered and textured nanocrystalline structure (cubic phase) with the minimum residual stress and only under this condition a high critical temperature (16K) was obtained. Lower T{sub C} values around 12K were obtained for the NbN samples having a lower degree of structural perfection and texture, and a larger fraction of intergranular voids. On the other hand, analysis of valence-band spectra showed that the contribution of the Nb 4d states remained essentially constant while the higher T{sub C} was correlated to a higher contribution of the N 2p states.

Superconducting niobium nitride films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olaya, J.J.; Huerta, L.; Rodil, S.E.; Escamilla, R.

2008-01-01

Niobium nitride (NbN) thin films were deposited under different configurations of the magnetic field using a magnetron sputtering system. The magnetic field configuration varied from balanced to unbalanced leading to different growth conditions and film properties. The aim of the paper was to identify correlations between deposition conditions, film properties and the electrical properties, specially the superconductive critical temperature (T C ). The results suggested that there is a critical deposition condition, having an optimum ion-atom arrival ratio that promotes a well ordered and textured nanocrystalline structure (cubic phase) with the minimum residual stress and only under this condition a high critical temperature (16K) was obtained. Lower T C values around 12K were obtained for the NbN samples having a lower degree of structural perfection and texture, and a larger fraction of intergranular voids. On the other hand, analysis of valence-band spectra showed that the contribution of the Nb 4d states remained essentially constant while the higher T C was correlated to a higher contribution of the N 2p states

Effects of copper and titanium on the corrosion behavior of newly fabricated nanocrystalline aluminum in natural seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherif, El-Sayed M.; Ammar, Hany Rizk; Khalil, Khalil Abdelrazek

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We fabricated nanocrystalline Al and some of its alloys by mechanical alloying method. • The corrosion behavior of the fabricated materials in natural seawater was reported. • We found that Al suffers both uniform and localized corrosion in the seawater. • The presence of Cu significantly decreased the corrosion of Al. • The addition of Ti to the Al–Cu alloy presented more protection to Al against corrosion. - Abstract: Fabrication of a newly nanocrystalline Al and two of its alloys, namely Al–10%Cu; and Al–10%Cu–5%Ti has been carried out using mechanical alloying (MA) technique. The corrosion behavior of these materials in aerated stagnant Arabian Gulf seawater (AGSW) at room temperature has been reported. Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP), chronoamperometric current-time (CCT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive (EDX) investigations were employed to report the corrosion behavior of the fabricated materials. All results indicated that Al suffers both uniform and localized corrosion in the AGSW test solution. The presence of 10%Cu decreases the corrosion current density, the anodic and cathodic currents and corrosion rate and increases the corrosion resistance of Al. The addition of 5%Ti to the Al–10%Cu alloy produced further decreases in the corrosion parameters. Measurements together confirmed that the corrosion of the fabricated materials in AGSW decreases in the order Al > Al–10%Cu > Al–10%Cu–5%Ti

Effects of copper and titanium on the corrosion behavior of newly fabricated nanocrystalline aluminum in natural seawater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sherif, El-Sayed M., E-mail: esherif@ksu.edu.sa [Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Al-Riyadh 11421 (Saudi Arabia); Electrochemistry and Corrosion Laboratory, Department of Physical Chemistry, National Research Centre , (NRC), Dokki, 12622, Cairo 8 (Egypt); Ammar, Hany Rizk [Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Suez (Egypt); Khalil, Khalil Abdelrazek [Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Suez (Egypt); Mechanical Design and Materials Department, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan (Egypt)

2014-05-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We fabricated nanocrystalline Al and some of its alloys by mechanical alloying method. • The corrosion behavior of the fabricated materials in natural seawater was reported. • We found that Al suffers both uniform and localized corrosion in the seawater. • The presence of Cu significantly decreased the corrosion of Al. • The addition of Ti to the Al–Cu alloy presented more protection to Al against corrosion. - Abstract: Fabrication of a newly nanocrystalline Al and two of its alloys, namely Al–10%Cu; and Al–10%Cu–5%Ti has been carried out using mechanical alloying (MA) technique. The corrosion behavior of these materials in aerated stagnant Arabian Gulf seawater (AGSW) at room temperature has been reported. Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP), chronoamperometric current-time (CCT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive (EDX) investigations were employed to report the corrosion behavior of the fabricated materials. All results indicated that Al suffers both uniform and localized corrosion in the AGSW test solution. The presence of 10%Cu decreases the corrosion current density, the anodic and cathodic currents and corrosion rate and increases the corrosion resistance of Al. The addition of 5%Ti to the Al–10%Cu alloy produced further decreases in the corrosion parameters. Measurements together confirmed that the corrosion of the fabricated materials in AGSW decreases in the order Al > Al–10%Cu > Al–10%Cu–5%Ti.

Fabrication of vanadium nitride by carbothermal nitridation reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xitang; Wang Zhuofu; Zhang Baoguo; Deng Chengji

2005-01-01

Vanadium nitride is produced from V 2 O 5 by carbon-thermal reduction and nitridation. When the sintered temperature is above 1273 K, VN can be formed, and the nitrogen content of the products increased with the firing temperature raised, and then is the largest when the sintered temperature is 1573 K. The C/V 2 O 5 mass ratio of the green samples is the other key factor affecting on the nitrogen contents of the products. The nitrogen content of the products reaches the most when the C/V 2 O 5 mass ratio is 0.33, which is the theoretical ratio of the carbothermal nitridation of V 2 O 5 . (orig.)

Electrical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles synthesized by chemical vapor synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartner, Sonja; Schulz, Christof; Wiggers, Hartmut; Ali, Moazzam; Winterer, Markus

2009-01-01

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been prepared by chemical vapor synthesis, which facilitates the incorporation of a higher percentage of dopant atoms, far above the thermodynamic solubility limit of aluminum. The electrical properties of aluminum-doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles were investigated by impedance spectroscopy. The impedance is measured under hydrogen and synthetic air between 323 and 673 K. The measurements under hydrogen as well as under synthetic air show transport properties depending on temperature and doping level. Under hydrogen atmosphere, a decreasing conductivity with increasing dopant content is observed, which can be explained by enhanced scattering processes due to an increasing disorder in the nanocrystalline material. The temperature coefficient for the doped samples switches from positive temperature coefficient behavior to negative temperature coefficient behavior with increasing dopant concentration. In the presence of synthetic air, the conductivity firstly increases with increasing dopant content by six orders of magnitude. The origin of the increasing conductivity is the generation of free charge carriers upon dopant incorporation. It reaches its maximum at a concentration of 7.7% of aluminum, and drops for higher doping levels. In all cases, the conductivity under hydrogen is higher than under synthetic air and can be changed reversibly by changing the atmosphere.

Electrical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles synthesized by chemical vapor synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartner, Sonja; Ali, Moazzam; Schulz, Christof; Winterer, Markus; Wiggers, Hartmut

2009-11-04

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been prepared by chemical vapor synthesis, which facilitates the incorporation of a higher percentage of dopant atoms, far above the thermodynamic solubility limit of aluminum. The electrical properties of aluminum-doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles were investigated by impedance spectroscopy. The impedance is measured under hydrogen and synthetic air between 323 and 673 K. The measurements under hydrogen as well as under synthetic air show transport properties depending on temperature and doping level. Under hydrogen atmosphere, a decreasing conductivity with increasing dopant content is observed, which can be explained by enhanced scattering processes due to an increasing disorder in the nanocrystalline material. The temperature coefficient for the doped samples switches from positive temperature coefficient behavior to negative temperature coefficient behavior with increasing dopant concentration. In the presence of synthetic air, the conductivity firstly increases with increasing dopant content by six orders of magnitude. The origin of the increasing conductivity is the generation of free charge carriers upon dopant incorporation. It reaches its maximum at a concentration of 7.7% of aluminum, and drops for higher doping levels. In all cases, the conductivity under hydrogen is higher than under synthetic air and can be changed reversibly by changing the atmosphere.

High temperature resistant cermet and ceramic compositions

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, W. M. (Inventor)

1978-01-01

Cermet compositions having high temperature oxidation resistance, high hardness and high abrasion and wear resistance, and particularly adapted for production of high temperature resistant cermet insulator bodies are presented. The compositions are comprised of a sintered body of particles of a high temperature resistant metal or metal alloy, preferably molybdenum or tungsten particles, dispersed in and bonded to a solid solution formed of aluminum oxide and silicon nitride, and particularly a ternary solid solution formed of a mixture of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum nitride. Also disclosed are novel ceramic compositions comprising a sintered solid solution of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum nitride.

High temperature resistant cermet and ceramic compositions. [for thermal resistant insulators and refractory coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, W. M. (Inventor)

1978-01-01

High temperature oxidation resistance, high hardness and high abrasion and wear resistance are properties of cermet compositions particularly to provide high temperature resistant refractory coatings on metal substrates, for use as electrical insulation seals for thermionic converters. The compositions comprise a sintered body of particles of a high temperature resistant metal or metal alloy, preferably molybdenum or tungsten particles, dispersed in and bonded to a solid solution formed of aluminum oxide and silicon nitride, and particularly a ternary solid solution formed of a mixture of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum nitride. Ceramic compositions comprising a sintered solid solution of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum nitride are also described.

High surface area V-Mo-N materials synthesized from amine intercalated foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krawiec, Piotr; Narayan Panda, Rabi; Kockrick, Emanuel; Geiger, Dorin; Kaskel, Stefan

2008-01-01

Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Specific surface areas were in the range between 40 and 198 m 2 g -1 and strongly depended on the preparation method (foam or bulk oxide). Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas. The materials were characterized via nitrogen physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction patterns, electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. - Graphical abstract: Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas

Method for producing polycrystalline boron nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexeevskii, V.P.; Bochko, A.V.; Dzhamarov, S.S.; Karpinos, D.M.; Karyuk, G.G.; Kolomiets, I.P.; Kurdyumov, A.V.; Pivovarov, M.S.; Frantsevich, I.N.; Yarosh, V.V.

1975-01-01

A mixture containing less than 50 percent of graphite-like boron nitride treated by a shock wave and highly defective wurtzite-like boron nitride obtained by a shock-wave method is compressed and heated at pressure and temperature values corresponding to the region of the phase diagram for boron nitride defined by the graphite-like compact modifications of boron nitride equilibrium line and the cubic wurtzite-like boron nitride equilibrium line. The resulting crystals of boron nitride exhibit a structure of wurtzite-like boron nitride or of both wurtzite-like and cubic boron nitride. The resulting material exhibits higher plasticity as compared with polycrystalline cubic boron nitride. Tools made of this compact polycrystalline material have a longer service life under impact loads in machining hardened steel and chilled iron. (U.S.)

TiN coated aluminum electrodes for DC high voltage electron guns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamun, Md Abdullah A.; Elmustafa, Abdelmageed A.; Taus, Rhys; Forman, Eric; Poelker, Matthew

2015-01-01

Preparing electrodes made of metals like stainless steel, for use inside DC high voltage electron guns, is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. In this paper, the authors report the exceptional high voltage performance of aluminum electrodes coated with hard titanium nitride (TiN). The aluminum electrodes were comparatively easy to manufacture and required only hours of mechanical polishing using silicon carbide paper, prior to coating with TiN by a commercial vendor. The high voltage performance of three TiN-coated aluminum electrodes, before and after gas conditioning with helium, was compared to that of bare aluminum electrodes, and electrodes manufactured from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). Following gas conditioning, each TiN-coated aluminum electrode reached −225 kV bias voltage while generating less than 100 pA of field emission (<10 pA) using a 40 mm cathode/anode gap, corresponding to field strength of 13.7 MV/m. Smaller gaps were studied to evaluate electrode performance at higher field strength with the best performing TiN-coated aluminum electrode reaching ∼22.5 MV/m with field emission less than 100 pA. These results were comparable to those obtained from our best-performing electrodes manufactured from stainless steel, titanium alloy and niobium, as reported in references cited below. The TiN coating provided a very smooth surface and with mechanical properties of the coating (hardness and modulus) superior to those of stainless steel, titanium-alloy, and niobium electrodes. These features likely contributed to the improved high voltage performance of the TiN-coated aluminum electrodes

Preparation of uranium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potter, R.A.; Tennery, V.J.

1976-01-01

A process is described for preparing actinide-nitrides from massive actinide metal which is suitable for sintering into low density fuel shapes by partially hydriding the massive metal and simultaneously dehydriding and nitriding the dehydrided portion. The process is repeated until all of the massive metal is converted to a nitride

Enhanced Activity of Nanocrystalline Zeolites for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarah C. Larson; Vicki H. Grassian

2006-01-01

Nanocrystalline zeolites with discrete crystal sizes of less than 100 nm have different properties relative to zeolites with larger crystal sizes. Nanocrystalline zeolites have improved mass transfer properties and very large internal and external surface areas that can be exploited for many different applications. The additional external surface active sites and the improved mass transfer properties of nanocrystalline zeolites offer significant advantages for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysis with ammonia as a reductant in coal-fired power plants relative to current zeolite based SCR catalysts. Nanocrystalline NaY was synthesized with a crystal size of 15-20 nm and was thoroughly characterized using x-ray diffraction, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption isotherms and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Copper ions were exchanged into nanocrystalline NaY to increase the catalytic activity. The reactions of nitrogen dioxides (NO x ) and ammonia (NH 3 ) on nanocrystalline NaY and CuY were investigated using FT-IR spectroscopy. Significant conversion of NO 2 was observed at room temperature in the presence of NH 3 as monitored by FT-IR spectroscopy. Copper-exchanged nanocrystalline NaY was more active for NO 2 reduction with NH 3 relative to nanocrystalline NaY

Atomistic study on the interaction of nitrogen and Mg lattice and the nitride formation in nanocrystalline Mg alloys synthesized using cryomilling process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nezafati, Marjan; Giri, Anit; Hofmeister, Clara; Cho, Kyu; Schneider, Matthew M.; Zhou, Le; Sohn, Yongho; Kim, Chang-Soo

2016-01-01

Cryomilling is a broadly applied technique to synthesize nanostructured alloys and composites through powder metallurgy (PM) processing. Understanding the interactions between liquid nitrogen and the nanostructured metal powder is important as it can potentially impact the mechanical performance of these materials. In this study, we performed a series of ab initio density functional theory (DFT) computations to examine the interactions of liquid nitrogen and Mg-based matrices and the formation of Mg-nitrides. The diffusion energy barriers of nitrogen in the Mg and/or Mg-Al alloys were systematically quantified by calculating the transition state (TS) for the displacement of nitrogen between two neighboring equivalent positions. The TS calculation results indicate that diffusion of N atoms is much easier than that of N 2  molecule in the Mg matrix. It is predicted that at least ∼0.4 eV is required to overcome the diffusion energy barrier in the Mg matrix. We also quantified the formation energy of Mg nitride in the matrix. The presence of Mg nitride was demonstrated experimentally using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). In conjunction with the DFT computations and TEM/EELS analysis, we performed analytical calculations for the strain energy introduced during cryomilling to examine the impacts of processing parameters.

Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Nanostructures via Nitridation of Nanopatterned Titanium Dioxide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guler, Urcan; Zemlyanov, Dmitry; Kim, Jongbum

2017-01-01

Plasmonic titanium nitride nanostructures are obtained via nitridation of titanium dioxide. Nanoparticles acquired a cubic shape with sharper edges following the rock-salt crystalline structure of TiN. Lattice constant of the resulting TiN nanoparticles matched well with the tabulated data. Energy...

Structure and thermal stability of nanocrystalline materials

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In addition, study of the thermal stability of nanocrystalline materials against significant grain growth is both scientific and technological interest. A sharp increase in grain size (to micron levels) during consolidation of nanocrystalline powders to obtain fully dense materials may consequently result in the loss of some unique ...

Development of a templated approach to fabricate diamond patterns on various substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimoni, Olga; Cervenka, Jiri; Karle, Timothy J; Fox, Kate; Gibson, Brant C; Tomljenovic-Hanic, Snjezana; Greentree, Andrew D; Prawer, Steven

2014-06-11

We demonstrate a robust templated approach to pattern thin films of chemical vapor deposited nanocrystalline diamond grown from monodispersed nanodiamond (mdND) seeds. The method works on a range of substrates, and we herein demonstrate the method using silicon, aluminum nitride (AlN), and sapphire substrates. Patterns are defined using photo- and e-beam lithography, which are seeded with mdND colloids and subsequently introduced into microwave assisted chemical vapor deposition reactor to grow patterned nanocrystalline diamond films. In this study, we investigate various factors that affect the selective seeding of different substrates to create high quality diamond thin films, including mdND surface termination, zeta potential, surface treatment, and plasma cleaning. Although the electrostatic interaction between mdND colloids and substrates is the main process driving adherence, we found that chemical reaction (esterification) or hydrogen bonding can potentially dominate the seeding process. Leveraging the knowledge on these different interactions, we optimize fabrication protocols to eliminate unwanted diamond nucleation outside the patterned areas. Furthermore, we have achieved the deposition of patterned diamond films and arrays over a range of feature sizes. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the mdND-substrate interaction that will enable the fabrication of integrated nanocrystalline diamond thin films for microelectronics, sensors, and tissue culturing applications.

Review: Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of nanocrystalline diamond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katsuyuki Okada

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Nanocrystalline diamond films have attracted considerable attention because they have a low coefficient of friction and a low electron emission threshold voltage. In this paper, the author reviews the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD of nanocrystalline diamond and mainly focuses on the growth of nanocrystalline diamond by low-pressure PE-CVD. Nanocrystalline diamond particles of 200–700 nm diameter have been prepared in a 13.56 MHz low-pressure inductively coupled CH4/CO/H2 plasma. The bonding state of carbon atoms was investigated by ultraviolet-excited Raman spectroscopy. Electron energy loss spectroscopy identified sp2-bonded carbons around the 20–50 nm subgrains of nanocrystalline diamond particles. Plasma diagnostics using a Langmuir probe and the comparison with plasma simulation are also reviewed. The electron energy distribution functions are discussed by considering different inelastic interaction channels between electrons and heavy particles in a molecular CH4/H2 plasma.

Hot pressing of uranium nitride and mixed uranium plutonium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, J.Y.

1975-01-01

The hot pressing characteristics of uranium nitride and mixed uranium plutonium nitride were studied. The utilization of computer programs together with the experimental technique developed in the present study may serve as a useful purpose of prediction and fabrication of advanced reactor fuel and other high temperature ceramic materials for the future. The densification of nitrides follow closely with a plastic flow theory expressed as: d rho/ dt = A/T(t) (1-rho) [1/1-(1-rho)/sup 2/3/ + B1n (1-rho)] The coefficients, A and B, were obtained from experiment and computer curve fitting. (8 figures) (U.S.)

Direct comparison of the electrical properties in metal/oxide/nitride/oxide/silicon and metal/aluminum oxide/nitride/oxide/silicon capacitors with equivalent oxide thicknesses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Ho-Myoung; Seo, Yu Jeong; Kim, Hee Dong; Kim, Kyoung Chan; Kim, Jong-Guk [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Won-Ju; Koh, Jung-Hyuk [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 139-701 (Korea, Republic of); Sung, Yun Mo [Department of Materials and Science Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Geun, E-mail: tgkim1@korea.ac.k [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of)

2009-07-31

We examine the electrical properties of metal/oxide/nitride/oxide/silicon (MONOS) capacitors with two different blocking oxides, SiO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, under the influence of the same electric field. The thickness of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer is set to 150 A, which is electrically equivalent to a thickness of the SiO{sub 2} layer of 65 A, in the MONOS structure for this purpose. The capacitor with the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} blocking layer shows a larger capacitance-voltage memory window of 8.6 V, lower program voltage of 7 V, faster program/erase speeds of 10 ms/1 {mu}s, lower leakage current of 100 pA and longer data retention than the one with the SiO{sub 2} blocking layer does. These improvements are attributed to the suppression of the carrier transport to the gate electrode afforded by the use of an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} blocking layer physically thicker than the SiO{sub 2} one, as well as the effective charge-trapping by Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} at the deep energy levels in the nitride layer.

Anti-corrosion layer prepared by plasma electrolytic carbonitriding on pure aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jie; Zhang, Yifan; Liu, Run; Wang, Bin; Hua, Ming [Key Laboratory for Beam Technology and Materials Modification of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Beijing Radiation Center, Beijing 100875 (China); Xue, Wenbin, E-mail: xuewb@bnu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory for Beam Technology and Materials Modification of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Beijing Radiation Center, Beijing 100875 (China)

2015-08-30

Highlights: • PEC/N can be applied to low melting point metal. • The spectroscopic characterization of plasma discharge is investigated. • Electron concentration and electron temperature are evaluated for PEC/N. • Phase composition of the carbonitrided layer is determined. • PEC/N improves the corrosion resistance of aluminum greatly. - Abstract: In this paper, plasma electrolytic carbonitriding (PEC/N) method was applied to pure aluminum for the first time. The spectroscopic characterization of plasma discharge during PEC/N process was analyzed and the electron temperature was calculated in terms of optical emission spectroscopy. The results showed the discharge plasma was in local thermal equilibrium (LTE) state. Electron concentration and electron temperature were about 6 × 10{sup 21} m{sup −3} and 4000 K, respectively. The carbonitrided layer contained Al{sub 4}C{sub 3}, AlN and Al{sub 7}C{sub 3}N{sub 3} phases. After PEC/N treatment, the corrosion resistance of pure aluminum was significantly improved, which was related to the formation of nitride phases. This work expands the application of plasma electrolysis technology on the surface modification of low melting point metal.

Metal Nitrides for Plasmonic Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naik, Gururaj V.; Schroeder, Jeremy; Guler, Urcan

2012-01-01

Metal nitrides as alternatives to metals such as gold could offer many advantages when used as plasmonic material. We show that transition metal nitrides can replace metals providing equally good optical performance for many plasmonic applications.......Metal nitrides as alternatives to metals such as gold could offer many advantages when used as plasmonic material. We show that transition metal nitrides can replace metals providing equally good optical performance for many plasmonic applications....

Characteristics of Au/PZT/TiO2/Nitride/Si structure capacitors with ICP nitride treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, Hyung Seob; Kim, Tae Ho; Jeon, Chang Bae; Lee, Jae Gab; Kim, Ji Young

2002-01-01

In this study, the characteristics of PZT/TiO 2 ferroelectric gate stack capacitors with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) nitridation were investigated for field effect transistor (FET)-type Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM) applications. If a high accumulation capacitance is to be had, the ICP nitridation time needs to be optimized. While a short ICP treatment time results in thermal oxide growth due to lack of nitrogen, a long nitridation time causes a nitride layer which is too thick. Au/PZT(200 nm)/TiO 2 (40 nm)/Nitride/Si (MeFINS) structure capacitors show a memory window (ΔV) of 1.6 V under ±3-V operation while Au/PZT(200 nm)/TiO 2 (40 nm)/Si (MeFIS) capacitors without nitride treatment exhibit a small memory window of 0.6 V. At the same time, the capacitance of the MeFINS device is almost twice that of the MeFIS capacitor. This result implies that the ICP nitride treatment suppresses the formation of a low dielectric constant interfacial SiO x layer and alleviates the series capacitance problem

Bimodal microstructure and deformation of cryomilled bulk nanocrystalline Al-7.5Mg alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Z.; Witkin, D.B.; Radmilovic, V.; Lavernia, E.J.; Nutt, S.R.

2005-01-01

The microstructure, mechanical properties and deformation response of bimodal structured nanocrystalline Al-7.5Mg alloy were investigated. Grain refinement was achieved by cryomilling of atomized Al-7.5Mg powders, and then cryomilled nanocrystalline powders blended with 15 and 30% unmilled coarse-grained powders were consolidated by hot isostatic pressing followed by extrusion to produce bulk nanocrystalline alloys. Bimodal bulk nanocrystalline Al-7.5Mg alloys, which were comprised of nanocrystalline grains separated by coarse-grain regions, show balanced mechanical properties of enhanced yield and ultimate strength and reasonable ductility and toughness compared to comparable conventional alloys and nanocrystalline metals. The investigation of tensile and hardness test suggests unusual deformation mechanisms and interactions between ductile coarse-grain bands and nanocrystalline regions

Infrared absorption study of hydrogen incorporation in thick nanocrystalline diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, C.J.; Neves, A.J.; Carmo, M.C.

2005-01-01

We present an infrared (IR) optical absorbance study of hydrogen incorporation in nanocrystalline diamond films. The thick nanocrystalline diamond films were synthesized by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition and a high growth rate about 3.0 μm/h was achieved. The morphology, phase quality, and hydrogen incorporation were assessed by means of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Large amount of hydrogen bonded to nanocrystalline diamond is clearly evidenced by the huge CH stretching band in the FTIR spectrum. The mechanism of hydrogen incorporation is discussed in light of the growth mechanism of nanocrystalline diamond. This suggests the potential of nanocrystalline diamond for IR electro-optical device applications

Properties of minor actinide nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Masahide; Itoh, Akinori; Akabori, Mitsuo; Arai, Yasuo; Minato, Kazuo

2004-01-01

The present status of the research on properties of minor actinide nitrides for the development of an advanced nuclear fuel cycle based on nitride fuel and pyrochemical reprocessing is described. Some thermal stabilities of Am-based nitrides such as AmN and (Am, Zr)N were mainly investigated. Stabilization effect of ZrN was cleary confirmed for the vaporization and hydrolytic behaviors. New experimental equipments for measuring thermal properties of minor actinide nitrides were also introduced. (author)

Design and Implementation of a High-Flux Photoneutron Converter for Analysis of Fast Neutron Radiation Damage on Gallium Nitride Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

as the polarization and 2DEG control between aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and GaN layers. Third, the physical and electrical properties of...electron gases induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization in undoped and doped AlGaN/GaN heterostructures,” Journal of Applied Physics , vol...relationship of the electrical and physical characteristics of the devices with respect to the fast neutron fluence. The damage was also analyzed using

Termo-Reaktif Difüzyon Tekniği ile Cr-Al-N Kaplanmış AISI D2 Çeliğinin Aşınma Davranışı

OpenAIRE

KILINÇ, Bülent; ÇEĞİL, Özkan; ŞEN, Uğur; ŞEN, Şaduman

2014-01-01

In this work, the wear test of uncoated, nitrided, chromium aluminum nitride coated AISI D2 cold work tool steel against silicon nitride ball realized at 0.1 m/s sliding speeds and under the loads of 2.5N, 5N and 10N.Steel samples were nitrided at 575 °C for 8 h in the first step of the coating process, and then chromium aluminum nitride coating was performed thermo-reactive deposition technique (TRD) in a powder mixture consisting of ferro-chromium, aluminum, ammonium chloride, alumina and n...

Development of III-nitride semiconductors by molecular beam epitaxy and cluster beam epitaxy and fabrication of LEDs based on indium gallium nitride MQWs

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tai-Chou Papo

The family of III-Nitrides (the binaries InN, GaN, AIN, and their alloys) is one of the most important classes of semiconductor materials. Of the three, Indium Nitride (InN) and Aluminum Nitride (AIN) have been investigated much less than Gallium Nitride (GaN). However, both of these materials are important for optoelectronic infrared and ultraviolet devices. In particular, since InN was found recently to be a narrow gap semiconductor (Eg=0.7eV), its development should extend the applications of nitride semiconductors to the spectral region appropriate to fiber optics communication and photovoltaic applications. Similarly, the development of AIN should lead to deep UV light emitting diodes (LEDs). The first part of this work addresses the evaluation of structural, optical and transport properties of InN films grown by two different deposition methods. In one method, active nitrogen was produced in the form of nitrogen radicals by a radio frequency (RF) plasma-assisted source. In an alternative method, active nitrogen was produced in the form of clusters containing approximately 2000 nitrogen molecules. These clusters were produced by adiabatic expansion from high stagnation pressure through a narrow nozzle into vacuum. The clusters were singly or doubly ionized with positive charge by electron impact and accelerated up to approximately 20 to 25 KV prior to their disintegration on the substrate. Due to the high local temperature produced during the impact of clusters with the substrate, this method is suitable for the deposition of InN at very low temperatures. The films are auto-doped n-type with carrier concentrations varying from 3 x 1018 to 1020 cm-3 and the electron effective mass of these films was determined to be 0.09m0. The majority of the AIN films was grown by the cluster beam epitaxy method and was doped n- and p- type by incorporating silicon (Si) and magnesium (Mg) during the film deposition. All films were grown under Al-rich conditions at relatively

Effect of micro alloying elements on the interfacial reactions between molten aluminum alloy and tool steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazari, K.A.; Shabestari, S.G.

2009-01-01

The morphology and growth kinetics of intermetallic compounds that are formed in the interface of H13 tool steel and A380 molten aluminum has been investigated through immersion experiments. The effect of addition of micro alloying elements to the melt on the formation and thickness of intermetallic layer was also studied. Microstructural investigation showed that three intermetallic layers formed through the liquid-solid reaction during immersion of steel samples in the liquid aluminum at a temperature of 680 deg. C for the duration time of 2 min to 2.5 h. These intermetallic compounds are Al 8 Fe 2 Si, Al 5 FeSi and Al 12 Fe 5 Si. The effect of nitride coating of the surface of H13 steel on the growth of intermetallic phases has also been studied. Micro alloying elements such as strontium and titanium have been used in the melt and their effects on the morphology of intermetallic compound and their growth rate have been investigated by the immersion experiments at the temperature of 680 deg. C for the time of 0.5-2.5 h. The results showed that two layers of Al 8 Fe 2 Si and Al 5 FeSi formed at the interface and Al 12 Fe 5 Si layer was not observed. Nitride coating decreased the overall thickness of the intermetallic layer about 50% after immersion time of 0.5 h. Addition of micro alloying elements such as Sr (0.05 wt%) and Ti (0.2 wt%) to the melt decreased the total thickness of the intermetallic layer about 31% after immersion of steel for 0.5 h in the melt. Both nitride coating and addition of strontium (0.05 wt%) and titanium (0.2 wt%) micro alloying elements to the melt had the most influence on decreasing the overall thickness of the intermetallic layer. The thickness of the intermetallic layer decreased about 60% after immersion of steel for 2.5 h in the aluminum melt. The experimental results clearly indicate the beneficial effect of strontium on the kinetics of the formation and growth of the intermetallic layers.

Characterization of polymethyl methacrylate/polyethylene glycol/aluminum nitride composite as form-stable phase change material prepared by in situ polymerization method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Lei; Zhu, Jiaoqun; Zhou, Weibin; Wang, Jun; Wang, Yan

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Form-stable PMMA/PEG/AlN PCMs were prepared by in situ polymerization method. → AlN additive effectively enhanced the heat transfer property of composite PCMs. → The composites exhibited desirable thermal performance and electric insulativity. → The composites were available for the thermal management of electronic device. - Abstract: This work was focused on the preparation and characterization of a new type of form-stable phase change material (PCM) employed in thermal management. Using the method of in situ polymerization, polyethylene glycol (PEG) acting as the PCM and aluminum nitride (AlN) serving as the thermal conductivity promoter were uniformly encapsulated and embedded inside the three-dimensional network structure of PMMA matrix. When the mass fraction of PEG was below 70%, the prepared composite PCMs remained solid without leakage above the melting point of the PEG. XRD and FT-IR results indicated that the PEG was physically combined with PMMA matrix and AlN additive and did not participate in the polymerization. Thermal analysis results showed that the prepared composite PCMs possess available latent heat capacity and thermal stability, and the AlN additive was able to effectively enhance the heat transfer property of organic PCM. Moreover, the volume resistivity of composite achieved (5.92 ± 0.16) x 10 10 Ω cm when the mass ratio of AlN was 30%. To sum up, the prepared form-stable PCMs were competent for the thermal management of electronic device due to their acceptable thermal performance and electric insulativity.

Study on the fabrication of back surface reflectors in nano-crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells by using random texturing aluminum anodization

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Kang Sik; Jang, Eunseok; Cho, Jun-Sik; Yoo, Jinsu; Park, Joo Hyung; Byungsung, O.

2015-09-01

In recent decades, researchers have improved the efficiency of amorphous silicon solar cells in many ways. One of the easiest and most practical methods to improve solar-cell efficiency is adopting a back surface reflector (BSR) as the bottom layer or as the substrate. The BSR reflects the incident light back to the absorber layer in a solar cell, thus elongating the light path and causing the so-called "light trapping effect". The elongation of the light path in certain wavelength ranges can be enhanced with the proper scale of BSR surface structure or morphology. An aluminum substrate with a surface modified by aluminum anodizing is used to improve the optical properties for applications in amorphous silicon solar cells as a BSR in this research due to the high reflectivity and the low material cost. The solar cells with a BSR were formed and analyzed by using the following procedures: First, the surface of the aluminum substrate was degreased by using acetone, ethanol and distilled water, and it was chemically polished in a dilute alkali solution. After the cleaning process, the aluminum surface's morphology was modified by using a controlled anodization in a dilute acid solution to form oxide on the surface. The oxidized film was etched off by using an alkali solution to leave an aluminum surface with randomly-ordered dimple-patterns of approximately one micrometer in size. The anodizing conditions and the anodized aluminum surfaces after the oxide layer had been removed were systematically investigated according to the applied voltage. Finally, amorphous silicon solar cells were deposited on a modified aluminum plate by using dc magnetron sputtering. The surfaces of the anodized aluminum were observed by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The total and the diffuse reflectances of the surface-modified aluminum sheets were measured by using UV spectroscopy. We observed that the diffuse reflectances increased with increasing anodizing voltage. The

Micro-mechanisms of Surface Defects Induced on Aluminum Alloys during Plastic Deformation at Elevated Temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Gali, Olufisayo A.

Near-surface deformed layers developed on aluminum alloys significantly influence the corrosion and tribological behavior as well as reduce the surface quality of the rolled aluminum. The evolution of the near-surface microstructures induced on magnesium containing aluminum alloys during thermomechanical processing has been investigated with the aim generating an understanding of the influence of individual forming parameters on its evolution and examine the microstructure of the roll coating induced on the mating steel roll through material transfer during rolling. The micro-mechanisms related to the various features of near-surface microstructure developed during tribological conditions of the simulated hot rolling process were identified. Thermomechanical processing experiments were performed with the aid of hot rolling (operating temperature: 550 to 460 °C, 4, 10 and 20 rolling pass schedules) and hot forming (operating temperature: 350 to 545 °C, strain rate: 4 x 10-2 s-1) tribo-simulators. The surface, near-surface features and material transfer induced during the elevated temperature plastic deformation were examined and characterized employing optical interferometry, SEM/EDS, FIB and TEM. Near-surface features characterized on the rolled aluminum alloys included; cracks, fractured intermetallic particles, aluminum nano-particles, oxide decorated grain boundaries, rolled-in oxides, shingles and blisters. These features were related to various individual rolling parameters which included, the work roll roughness, which induced the formation of shingles, rolling marks and were responsible for the redistribution of surface oxide and the enhancements of the depth of the near-surface damage. The enhanced stresses and strains experienced during rolling were related to the formation and propagation of cracks, the nanocrystalline structure of the near-surface layers and aluminum nano-particles. The mechanism of the evolution of the near-surface microstructure were

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan

2014-01-01

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiN x /SiN y multilayers with high on/off ratio of 10 9 . High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan

2014-09-01

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers with high on/off ratio of 109. High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Nanocrystalline permanent magnets with enhanced properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonowicz, M.

2002-01-01

Parameters of permanent magnets result from the combination of intrinsic properties such as saturation magnetization, magnetic exchange, and magnetocrystalline energy, as well as microstructural parameters such as phase structure, grain size, and orientation. Reduction of grain size into nanocrystalline regime (∼ 50 nm) leads to the enhanced remanence which derives from ferromagnetic exchange coupling between highly refined grains. In this study the fundamental phenomena, quantities, and structure parameters, which define nanophase permanent magnets are presented and discussed. The theoretical considerations are confronted with experimental data for nanocrystalline Sm-Fe-N type permanent magnets. (author)

High performance corrosion and wear resistant composite titanium nitride layers produced on the AZ91D magnesium alloy by a hybrid method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Tacikowski

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Composite, diffusive titanium nitride layers formed on a titanium and aluminum sub-layer were produced on the AZ91D magnesium alloy. The layers were obtained using a hybrid method which combined the PVD processes with the final sealing by a hydrothermal treatment. The microstructure, resistance to corrosion, mechanical damage, and frictional wear of the layers were examined. The properties of the AZ91D alloy covered with these layers were compared with those of the untreated alloy and of some engineering materials such as 316L stainless steel, 100Cr6 bearing steel, and the AZ91D alloy subjected to commercial anodizing. It has been found that the composite diffusive nitride layer produced on the AZ91D alloy and then sealed by the hydrothermal treatment ensures the corrosion resistance comparable with that of 316L stainless steel. The layers are characterized by higher electrochemical durability which is due to the surface being overbuilt with the titanium oxides formed, as shown by the XPS examinations, from titanium nitride during the hydrothermal treatment. The composite titanium nitride layers exhibit high resistance to mechanical damage and wear, including frictional wear which is comparable with that of 100Cr6 bearing steel. The performance properties of the AZ91D magnesium alloy covered with the composite titanium nitride coating are substantially superior to those of the alloy subjected to commercial anodizing which is the dominant technique employed in industrial practice.

Surface modification of 17-4PH stainless steel by DC plasma nitriding and titanium nitride film duplex treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, F.; Leng, Y.X.; Huang, N.; Bai, B.; Zhang, P.Ch.

2007-01-01

17-4PH stainless steel was modified by direct current (DC) plasma nitriding and titanium nitride film duplex treatment in this study. The microstructure, wear resistance and corrosion resistance were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), pin-on-disk tribological test and polarization experiment. The results revealed that the DC plasma nitriding pretreatment was in favor of improving properties of titanium nitride film. The corrosion resistance and wear resistance of duplex treatment specimen was more superior to that of only coated titanium nitride film

Thermodynamic and experimental study on phase stability in nanocrystalline alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Wenwu; Song Xiaoyan; Lu Nianduan; Huang Chuan

2010-01-01

Nanocrystalline alloys exhibit apparently different phase transformation characteristics in comparison to the conventional polycrystalline alloys. The special phase stability and phase transformation behavior, as well as the essential mechanisms of the nanocrystalline alloys, were described quantitatively in a nanothermodynamic point of view. By introducing the relationship between the excess volume at the grain boundary and the nanograin size, the Gibbs free energy was determined distinctly as a function of temperature and the nanograin size. Accordingly, the grain-size-dependence of the phase stability and phase transformation characteristics of the nanocrystalline alloy were calculated systematically, and the correlations between the phase constitution, the phase transformation temperature and the critical nanograin size were predicted. A series of experiments was performed to investigate the phase transformations at room temperature and high temperatures using the nanocrystalline Sm 2 Co 17 alloy as an example. The phase constitution and phase transformation sequence found in nanocrystalline Sm 2 Co 17 alloys with various grain-size levels agree well with the calculations by the nanothermodynamic model.

Nitriding of high speed steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyle, E.D.; Pagon, A.M.; Hubbard, P.; Dowey, S.J.; Pilkington, A.; McCulloch, D.G.; Latham, K.; DuPlessis, J.

2010-01-01

Current practice when nitriding HSS cutting tools is to avoid embrittlement of the cutting edge by limiting the depth of the diffusion zone. This is accomplished by reducing the nitriding time and temperature and eliminating any compound layer formation. However, in many applications there is an argument for generating a compound layer with beneficial tribological properties. In this investigation results are presented of a metallographic, XRD and XPS analysis of nitrided surface layers generated using active screen plasma nitriding and reactive vapour deposition using cathodic arc. These results are discussed in the context of built up edge formation observed while machining inside a scanning electron microscope. (author)

Solvothermal synthesis: a new route for preparing nitrides

CERN Document Server

Demazeau, G; Denis, A; Largeteau, A

2002-01-01

Solvothermal synthesis appears to be an interesting route for preparing nitrides such as gallium nitride and aluminium nitride, using ammonia as solvent. A nitriding additive is used to perform the reaction and, in the case of gallium nitride, is encapsulated by melt gallium. The syntheses are performed in the temperature range 400-800 deg. C and in the pressure range 100-200 MPa. The synthesized powders are characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Finely divided gallium nitride GaN and aluminium nitride AlN, both with wurtzite-type structure, can be obtained by this route.

Tailoring and patterning the grain size of nanocrystalline alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Detor, Andrew J.; Schuh, Christopher A.

2007-01-01

Nanocrystalline alloys that exhibit grain boundary segregation can access thermodynamically stable or metastable states with the average grain size dictated by the alloying addition. Here we consider nanocrystalline Ni-W alloys and demonstrate that the W content controls the grain size over a very broad range: ∼2-140 nm as compared with ∼2-20 nm in previous work on strongly segregating systems. This trend is attributed to a relatively weak tendency for W segregation to the grain boundaries. Based upon this observation, we introduce a new synthesis technique allowing for precise composition control during the electrodeposition of Ni-W alloys, which, in turn, leads to precise control of the nanocrystalline grain size. This technique offers new possibilities for understanding the structure-property relationships of nanocrystalline solids, such as the breakdown of Hall-Petch strength scaling, and also opens the door to a new class of customizable materials incorporating patterned nanostructures

Protein-modified nanocrystalline diamond thin films for biosensor applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Härtl, Andreas; Schmich, Evelyn; Garrido, Jose A; Hernando, Jorge; Catharino, Silvia C R; Walter, Stefan; Feulner, Peter; Kromka, Alexander; Steinmüller, Doris; Stutzmann, Martin

2004-10-01

Diamond exhibits several special properties, for example good biocompatibility and a large electrochemical potential window, that make it particularly suitable for biofunctionalization and biosensing. Here we show that proteins can be attached covalently to nanocrystalline diamond thin films. Moreover, we show that, although the biomolecules are immobilized at the surface, they are still fully functional and active. Hydrogen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond films were modified by using a photochemical process to generate a surface layer of amino groups, to which proteins were covalently attached. We used green fluorescent protein to reveal the successful coupling directly. After functionalization of nanocrystalline diamond electrodes with the enzyme catalase, a direct electron transfer between the enzyme's redox centre and the diamond electrode was detected. Moreover, the modified electrode was found to be sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Because of its dual role as a substrate for biofunctionalization and as an electrode, nanocrystalline diamond is a very promising candidate for future biosensor applications.

In vitro corrosion, cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility of bulk nanocrystalline pure iron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nie, F L; Zheng, Y F; Wei, S C; Hu, C; Yang, G

2010-01-01

Bulk nanocrystalline pure iron rods were fabricated by the equal channel angular pressure (ECAP) technique up to eight passes. The microstructure and grain size distribution, natural immersion and electrochemical corrosion in simulated body fluid, cellular responses and hemocompatibility were investigated in this study. The results indicate that nanocrystalline pure iron after severe plastic deformation (SPD) would sustain durable span duration and exhibit much stronger corrosion resistance than that of the microcrystalline pure iron. The interaction of different cell lines reveals that the nanocrystalline pure iron stimulates better proliferation of fibroblast cells and preferable promotion of endothelialization, while inhibits effectively the viability of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The burst of red cells and adhesion of the platelets were also substantially suppressed on contact with the nanocrystalline pure iron in blood circulation. A clear size-dependent behavior from the grain nature deduced by the gradual refinement microstructures was given and well-behaved in vitro biocompatibility of nanocrystalline pure iron was concluded.

Magnetic properties of nanocrystalline pyrrhotite prepared by high-energy milling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balaz, P.; Godocikova, E.; Alacova, A.

2004-01-01

The nanocrystalline pyrrhotite was prepared by high-energy milling of lead sulphide with elemental Fe acting as reducing element. X-ray diffractometry, Mossbauer spectroscopy and VSM magnetometry were used to determine the properties of nanocrystalline iron sulphide prepared by the corresponding...... mechanochemical reaction. Pyrrhotite Fe1-xS together with the residual Fe metal were identified by the X-ray diffractometry. The kinetic studies performed by Mossbauer spectroscopy and VSM magnetometry allowed us to follow in more details the progress of the nanocrystalline magnetic phase formation during...

Theoretical study on recoilless fractions of simple cubic monatomic nanocrystalline particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Jianping; Wang Luya

2002-01-01

Recoilless fractions of simple cubic monatomic nanocrystalline particles are calculated by using displacement-displacement Green's function. The numerical results show that the recoilless fractions on the surface of monatomic nanocrystalline particles are smaller than those in the inner, and they decrease when the particle size increase, the recoilless fractions of whole monatomic nanocrystalline particles increase when the particle size increase. These effects are more evident when the temperature is higher

Microstructural characterization of an AISI-SAE 4140 steel without nitridation and nitrided

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medina F, A.; Naquid G, C.

2000-01-01

It was micro structurally characterized an AISI-SAE 4140 steel before and after of nitridation through the nitridation process by plasma post-unloading microwaves through Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) by means of secondary electrons and retrodispersed, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersion spectra (EDS) and mapping of elements. (Author)

Synthesis of nanocrystalline fluorinated hydroxyapatite

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Fluorinated hydroxyapatite; nanocrystalline; microwave synthesis; dissolution. ... HA by the presence of other ions such as carbonate, magnesium, fluoride, etc. ... Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT–IR) and laser Raman spectroscopy.

Effects of precursors on the crystal structure and photoluminescence of CdS nanocrystalline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Zuoling; Zhou Shihong; Shi Jinsheng; Zhang Siyuan

2005-01-01

A series of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystalline were synthesized by precipitation from a mixture of aqueous solutions of cadmium salts and sulfur salts without adding any surface-termination agent. Their crystal structures and particle sizes were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The CdS nanocrystalline precipitated from different precursors exhibited three cases: cubic phase, hexagonal phase and a hybrid of cubic and hexagonal phases. The photoluminescence (PL) of cadmium salt precursors and CdS nanocrystalline is also analyzed. Similar spectral band structure of cadmium salt precursors and CdS nanocrystalline is found. The PL of 3.4, 2.4 and 2.0 nm sized CdS nanocrystalline with the same crystal structure indicated quantum confinement effect

Precipitation of metal nitrides from chloride melts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slater, S.A.; Miller, W.E.; Willit, J.L.

1996-01-01

Precipitation of actinides, lanthanides, and fission products as nitrides from molten chloride melts is being investigated for use as a final cleanup step in treating radioactive salt wastes generated by electrometallurgical processing of spent nuclear fuel. The radioactive components (eg, fission products) need to be removed to reduce the volume of high-level waste that requires disposal. To extract the fission products from the salt, a nitride precipitation process is being developed. The salt waste is first contacted with a molten metal; after equilibrium is reached, a nitride is added to the metal phase. The insoluble nitrides can be recovered and converted to a borosilicate glass after air oxidation. For a bench-scale experimental setup, a crucible was designed to contact the salt and metal phases. Solubility tests were performed with candidate nitrides and metal nitrides for which there are no solubility data. Experiments were performed to assess feasibility of precipitation of metal nitrides from chloride melts

Effective Duration of Gas Nitriding Process on AISI 316L for the Formation of a Desired Thickness of Surface Nitrided Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Hassan R. S.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available High temperature gas nitriding performed on AISI 316L at the temperature of 1200°C. The microstructure of treated AISI 316L samples were observed to identify the formation of the microstructure of nitrided surface layer. The grain size of austenite tends to be enlarged when the nitriding time increases, but the austenite single phase structure is maintained even after the long-time solution nitriding. Using microhardness testing, the hardness values drop to the center of the samples. The increase in surface hardness is due to the high nitrogen concentration at or near the surface. At 245HV, the graph of the effective duration of nitriding process was plotted to achieve the maximum depth of nitrogen diffuse under the surface. Using Sigma Plot software best fit lines of the experimental result found and plotted to find out effective duration of nitriding equation as Y=1.9491(1-0.7947x, where Y is the thickness of nitrided layer below the surface and X is duration of nitriding process. Based on this equation, the duration of gas nitriding process can be estimated to produce desired thickness of nitrided layer.

Nucleation of dislocations from [0 0 1] bicrystal interfaces in aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spearot, Douglas E.; Jacob, Karl I.; McDowell, David L.

2005-01-01

It is well established from molecular dynamics simulations that grain boundaries in nanocrystalline samples serve as sources of dislocations. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to study the mechanisms associated with dislocation nucleation from bicrystal [0 0 1] interfaces in aluminum. Three interface misorientations are studied, including the Σ5 (3 1 0) boundary, which has a high density of coincident atomic sites. Molecular dynamics simulations show that full dislocation loops are nucleated from each interface during uniaxial tension. After the second partial dislocation is emitted, a ledge remains within the interface at the intersection of the slip plane and the bicrystal boundary. A disclination dipole model is proposed for the structure of the distorted interface accounting for local lattice rotations and the ledge at the nucleation site

Formation of cBN nanocrystals by He+ implantations of hBN

OpenAIRE

Machaka, Ronald; Erasmus, Rudolph M; Derry, Trevor E

2010-01-01

The structural modifications of polycrystalline hexagonal boron nitride implanted with He+ ion beams at energies between 200 keV and 1.2 MeV to fluences of 1.0 \\times 1017 ions \\cdot cm-2 were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy. The measured Raman spectra show evidence of implantation-induced structural transformations from the hexagonal phase to nanocrystalline cubic boron nitride, rhombohedral boron nitride and amorphous boron nitride phases. The first-order Longitudinal-Optical cB...

Separation of zirconium--hafnium by nitride precipitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, R.N.; Parlee, N.A.

1977-01-01

A method is described for the separation of a light reactive metal (e.g., zirconium) from a heavy reactive metal (e.g., hafnium) by forming insoluble nitrides of the metals in a molten metal solvent (e.g., copper) inert to nitrogen and having a suitable density for the light metal nitride to form a separate phase in the upper portion of the solvent and for the heavy metal nitride to form a separate phase in the lower portion of the solvent. Nitriding is performed by maintaining a nitrogen-containing atmosphere over the bath. The light and heavy metals may be an oxide mixture and carbothermically reduced to metal form in the same bath used for nitriding. The nitrides are then separately removed and decomposed to form the desired separate metals. 16 claims, 1 figure

Nitride fuels irradiation performance data base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brozak, D.E.; Thomas, J.K.; Peddicord, K.L.

1987-01-01

An irradiation performance data base for nitride fuels has been developed from an extensive literature search and review that emphasized uranium nitride, but also included performance data for mixed nitrides [(U,Pu)N] and carbonitrides [(U,Pu)C,N] to increase the quantity and depth of pin data available. This work represents a very extensive effort to systematically collect and organize irradiation data for nitride-based fuels. The data base has many potential applications. First, it can facilitate parametric studies of nitride-based fuels to be performed using a wide range of pin designs and operating conditions. This should aid in the identification of important parameters and design requirements for multimegawatt and SP-100 fuel systems. Secondly, the data base can be used to evaluate fuel performance models. For detailed studies, it can serve as a guide to selecting a small group of pin specimens for extensive characterization. Finally, the data base will serve as an easily accessible and expandable source of irradiation performance information for nitride fuels

Simple process to fabricate nitride alloy powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jae Ho; Kim, Dong-Joo; Kim, Keon Sik; Rhee, Young Woo; Oh, Jang-Soo; Kim, Jong Hun; Koo, Yang Hyun

2013-01-01

Uranium mono-nitride (UN) is considered as a fuel material [1] for accident-tolerant fuel to compensate for the loss of fissile fuel material caused by adopting a thickened cladding such as SiC composites. Uranium nitride powders can be fabricated by a carbothermic reduction of the oxide powders, or the nitriding of metal uranium. Among them, a direct nitriding process of metal is more attractive because it has advantages in the mass production of high-purity powders and the reusing of expensive 15 N 2 gas. However, since metal uranium is usually fabricated in the form of bulk ingots, it has a drawback in the fabrication of fine powders. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has a centrifugal atomisation technique to fabricate uranium and uranium alloy powders. In this study, a simple reaction method was tested to fabricate nitride fuel powders directly from uranium metal alloy powders. Spherical powder and flake of uranium metal alloys were fabricated using a centrifugal atomisation method. The nitride powders were obtained by thermal treating the metal particles under nitrogen containing gas. The phase and morphology evolutions of powders were investigated during the nitriding process. A phase analysis of nitride powders was also part of the present work. KAERI has developed the centrifugal rotating disk atomisation process to fabricate spherical uranium metal alloy powders which are used as advanced fuel materials for research reactors. The rotating disk atomisation system involves the tasks of melting, atomising, and collecting. A nozzle in the bottom of melting crucible introduces melt at the center of a spinning disk. The centrifugal force carries the melt to the edge of the disk and throws the melt off the edge. Size and shape of droplets can be controlled by changing the nozzle size, the disk diameter and disk speed independently or simultaneously. By adjusting the processing parameters of the centrifugal atomiser, a spherical and flake shape

New route to the fabrication of nanocrystalline diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varshney, Deepak; Morell, Gerardo; Palomino, Javier; Resto, Oscar; Gil, Jennifer; Weiner, Brad R.

2014-01-01

Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films offer applications in various fields, but the existing synthetic approaches are cumbersome and destructive. A major breakthrough has been achieved by our group in the direction of a non-destructive, scalable, and economic process of NCD thin-film fabrication. Here, we report a cheap precursor for the growth of nanocrystalline diamond in the form of paraffin wax. We show that NCD thin films can be fabricated on a copper support by using simple, commonplace paraffin wax under reaction conditions of Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition (HFCVD). Surprisingly, even the presence of any catalyst or seeding that has been conventionally used in the state-of-the-art is not required. The structure of the obtained films was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy recorded at the carbon K-edge region confirm the presence of nanocrystalline diamond. The process is a significant step towards cost-effective and non-cumbersome fabrication of nanocrystalline diamond thin films for commercial production

Nitriding of Ti substrate using energetic ions from plasma focus device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriquez, A; Bhuyan, H; Favre, M; Bora, B; Wyndham, E; Chuaqui, H; Mändl, S; Gerlach, J W; Manova, D

2012-01-01

Plasma Focus (PF) discharge is a pulsed plasma producing discharge that generates high temperature and high density plasma for a short duration. PF devices are known to emit intense ion beams pulses of characteristic energy in the keV to a few MeV range, in a time scale of tens of nanoseconds. We have previously investigated the ion flux and energy spectrum of ion beams emitted from a low energy PF, operating at 20 kV, with 1.8 kJ stored energy. It was observed that the ion beams have wide range of energy and intensity spectra with a clear angular anisotropy. Due to the wide range of ion energy and intensity spectra PF has become a subject of current interest for its applications in material sciences including surface modification and thin film deposition. The purpose of this study is the formation of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film and to investigate the structural properties of the TiN thin films in terms of PF angular positions. Substrates like Ti and Ti/Si were nitrided in a 1.8 kJ PF device at different angular positions with respect to the PF axis in order to correlate their surface properties with ion beam parameters. Preliminary characterizations of the ion implanted substrates have been conducted, using SEM, EDX and XRD. Our results indicate the formation of nanocrystalline TiN thin film only in certain angular positions. Angular dependency of the surface morphology was observed, which shows that the surface features strongly depends on ion beam energy and flux. With increasing angular positions, a reduction in the deposition rate and the sputter rate is observed. A pronounced nanostructured surface is only observed at the axis of the pinched plasma column, indicating the dominant role of sputtering and perhaps melting and fast re-crystallization of the surface in creating the nanostructures.

Corrosion of silicon nitride in high temperature alkaline solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, Liyan, E-mail: liyan.qiu@cnl.ca; Guzonas, Dave A.; Qian, Jing

2016-08-01

The corrosion of silicon nitride (Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) in alkaline solutions was studied at temperatures from 60 to 300 °C. Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} experienced significant corrosion above 100 °C. The release rates of silicon and nitrogen follow zero order reaction kinetics and increase with increasing temperature. The molar ratio of dissolved silicon and nitrogen species in the high temperature solutions is the same as that in the solid phase (congruent dissolution). The activation energy for silicon and nitrogen release rates is 75 kJ/mol which agrees well with that of silica dissolution. At 300 °C, the release of aluminum is observed and follows first order reaction kinetics while other minor constituents including Ti and Y are highly enriched on the corrosion films due to the low solubility of their oxides.

Microhardness and microplasticity of zirconium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neshpor, V.S.; Eron'yan, M.A.; Petrov, A.N.; Kravchik, A.E.

1978-01-01

To experimentally check the concentration dependence of microhardness of 4 group nitrides, microhardness of zirconium nitride compact samples was measured. The samples were obtained either by bulk saturation of zirconium iodide plates or by chemical precipitation from gas. As nitrogen content decreased within the limits of homogeneity of zirconium nitride samples where the concentration of admixed oxygen was low, the microhardness grew from 1500+-100 kg/mm 2 for ZrNsub(1.0) to 27000+-100 kg/mm 2 for ZrNsub(0.78). Microplasticity of zirconium nitride (resistance to fracture) decreased, as the concentration of nitrogen vacancies was growing

Surface analysis in steel nitrides by using Moessbauer spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figueiredo, R.S. de.

1991-07-01

The formation of iron nitride layer at low temperatures, 600-700 K, by Moessbauer spectroscopy is studied. These layers were obtained basically through two different processes: ion nitriding and ammonia gas nitriding. A preliminary study about post-discharge nitriding was made using discharge in hollow cathode as well as microwave excitation. The assembly of these chambers is also described. The analysis of the nitrided samples was done by CEMS and CXMS, aided by optical microscopy, and the CEMS and CXMS detectors were constructed by ourselves. We also made a brief study about these detectors, testing as acetone as the mixture 80% He+10% C H 4 as detection gases for the use of CEMS. The surface analysis of the samples showed that in the ammonia gas process nitriding the nitrided layer starts by the superficial formation of an iron nitride rich nitrogen. By thermal evolution this nitride promotes the diffusion of nitrogen and the formation of other more stable nitrides. (author)

Nanocrystalline Al-based alloys - lightweight materials with attractive mechanical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latuch, J; Cieslak, G; Dimitrov, H; Krasnowski, M; Kulik, T

2009-01-01

In this study, several ways of bulk nanocrystalline Al-based alloys' production by high-pressure compaction of powders were explored. The effect of chemical composition and compaction parameters on the structure, quality and mechanical properties of the bulk samples was studied. Bulk nanocrystalline Al-Mm-Ni-(Fe,Co) alloys were prepared by ball-milling of amorphous ribbons followed by consolidation. The maximum microhardness (540 HV0.1) was achieved for the samples compacted at 275 deg. C under 7.7 GPa (which resulted in an amorphous bulk) and nanocrystallised at 235 deg. C for 20 min. Another group of the produced materials were bulk nanocrystalline Al-Si-(Ni,Fe)-Mm alloys obtained by ball-milling of nanocrystalline ribbons and consolidation. The hardness of these samples achieved the value five times higher (350HV) than that of commercial 4xxx series Al alloys. Nanocrystalline Al-based alloys were also prepared by mechanical alloying followed by hot-pressing. In this group of materials, there were Al-Fe alloys containing 50-85 at.% of Al and ternary or quaternary Al-Fe-(Ti, Si, Ni, Mg, B) alloys. Microhardness of these alloys was in the range of 613 - 1235 HV0.2, depending on the composition.

Leachability of nitrided ilmenite in hydrochloric acid

OpenAIRE

Swanepoel, J.J.; van Vuuren, D.S.; Heydenrych, M.

2011-01-01

Titanium nitride in upgraded nitrided ilmenite (bulk of iron removed) can selectively be chlorinated to produce titanium tetrachloride. Except for iron, most other components present during this low temperature (ca. 200°C) chlorination reaction will not react with chlorine. It is therefore necessary to remove as much iron as possible from the nitrided ilmenite. Hydrochloric acid leaching is a possible process route to remove metallic iron from nitrided ilmenite without excessive dissolution o...

Nitriding behavior of Ni and Ni-based binary alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fonovic, Matej

2015-01-15

Gaseous nitriding is a prominent thermochemical surface treatment process which can improve various properties of metallic materials such as mechanical, tribological and/or corrosion properties. This process is predominantly performed by applying NH{sub 3}+H{sub 2} containing gas atmospheres serving as the nitrogen donating medium at temperatures between 673 K and 873 K (400 C and 600 C). NH{sub 3} decomposes at the surface of the metallic specimen and nitrogen diffuses into the surface adjacent region of the specimen whereas hydrogen remains in the gas atmosphere. One of the most important parameters characterizing a gaseous nitriding process is the so-called nitriding potential (r{sub N}) which determines the chemical potential of nitrogen provided by the gas phase. The nitriding potential is defined as r{sub N} = p{sub NH{sub 3}}/p{sub H{sub 2}{sup 3/2}} where p{sub NH{sub 3}} and p{sub H{sub 2}} are the partial pressures of the NH{sub 3} and H{sub 2} in the nitriding atmosphere. In contrast with nitriding of α-Fe where the nitriding potential is usually in the range between 0.01 and 1 atm{sup -1/2}, nitriding of Ni and Ni-based alloys requires employing nitriding potentials higher than 100 atm{sup -1/2} and even up to ∞ (nitriding in pure NH{sub 3} atmosphere). This behavior is compatible with decreased thermodynamic stability of the 3d-metal nitrides with increasing atomic number. Depending on the nitriding conditions (temperature, nitriding potential and treatment time), different phases are formed at the surface of the Ni-based alloys. By applying very high nitriding potential, formation of hexagonal Ni{sub 3}N at the surface of the specimen (known as external nitriding) leads to the development of a compound layer, which may improve tribological properties. Underneath the Ni{sub 3}N compound layer, two possibilities exist: (i) alloying element precipitation within the nitrided zone (known as internal nitriding) and/or (ii) development of metastable and

NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Alloys from Amorphous Precursors

CERN Document Server

Idzikowski, Bogdan; Miglierini, Marcel

2005-01-01

Metallic (magnetic and non-magnetic) nanocrystalline materials have been known for over ten years but only recent developments in the research into those complex alloys and their metastable amorphous precursors have created a need to summarize the most important accomplishments in the field. This book is a collection of articles on various aspects of metallic nanocrystalline materials, and an attempt to address this above need. The main focus of the papers is put on the new issues that emerge in the studies of nanocrystalline materials, and, in particular, on (i) new compositions of the alloys, (ii) properties of conventional nanocrystalline materials, (iii) modeling and simulations, (iv) preparation methods, (v) experimental techniques of measurements, and (vi) different modern applications. Interesting phenomena of the physics of nanocrystalline materials are a consequence of the effects induced by the nanocrystalline structure. They include interface physics, the influence of the grain boundaries, the aver...

Photoacoustic study of nanocrystalline silicon produced by mechanical grinding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poffo, C.M. [Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitario Trindade, C.P. 476, 88040-900 Florianopolis, Santa Catarina (Brazil); Lima, J.C. de, E-mail: fsc1jcd@fisica.ufsc.b [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Trindade, C.P. 476, 88040-900 Florianopolis, Santa Catarina (Brazil); Souza, S.M.; Triches, D.M. [Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitario Trindade, C.P. 476, 88040-900 Florianopolis, Santa Catarina (Brazil); Grandi, T.A. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Trindade, C.P. 476, 88040-900 Florianopolis, Santa Catarina (Brazil); Biasi, R.S. de [Secao de Engenharia Mecanica e de Materiais, Instituto Militar de Engenharia, 22290-270 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2011-04-01

Mechanical grinding (MG) was used to produce nanocrystalline silicon and its thermal and transport properties were investigated by photoacoustic absorption spectroscopy (PAS). The experimental results suggest that in as-milled nanocrystalline silicon for 10 h the heat transfer through the crystalline and interfacial components is similar, and after annealed at 470 {sup o}C the heat transfer is controlled by crystalline component.

Photoacoustic study of nanocrystalline silicon produced by mechanical grinding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poffo, C.M.; Lima, J.C. de; Souza, S.M.; Triches, D.M.; Grandi, T.A.; Biasi, R.S. de

2011-01-01

Mechanical grinding (MG) was used to produce nanocrystalline silicon and its thermal and transport properties were investigated by photoacoustic absorption spectroscopy (PAS). The experimental results suggest that in as-milled nanocrystalline silicon for 10 h the heat transfer through the crystalline and interfacial components is similar, and after annealed at 470 o C the heat transfer is controlled by crystalline component.

Reversal of exchange bias in nanocrystalline antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prados, C; Pina, E; Hernando, A; Montone, A

2002-01-01

The sign of the exchange bias in field cooled nanocrystalline antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic bilayers (Co-O and Ni-O/permalloy) is reversed at temperatures approaching the antiferromagnetic (AFM) blocking temperature. A similar phenomenon is observed after magnetic training processes at similar temperatures. These effects can be explained assuming that the boundaries of nanocrystalline grains in AFM layers exhibit lower transition temperatures than grain cores

Alloy Effects on the Gas Nitriding Process

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, M.; Sisson, R. D.

2014-12-01

Alloy elements, such as Al, Cr, V, and Mo, have been used to improve the nitriding performance of steels. In the present work, plain carbon steel AISI 1045 and alloy steel AISI 4140 were selected to compare the nitriding effects of the alloying elements in AISI 4140. Fundamental analysis is carried out by using the "Lehrer-like" diagrams (alloy specific Lehrer diagram and nitriding potential versus nitrogen concentration diagram) and the compound layer growth model to simulate the gas nitriding process. With this method, the fundamental understanding for the alloy effect based on the thermodynamics and kinetics becomes possible. This new method paves the way for the development of new alloy for nitriding.

Ion nitridation - physical and technological aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elbern, A.W.

1980-01-01

Ion nitridation, is a technique which allows the formation of a controlled thickness of nitrides in the surface of the material, using this material as the cathode in a low pressure glow discharge, which presents many advantages over the conventional method. A brief review of the ion nitriding technique, the physical fenomena involved, and we discuss technological aspects of this method, are presented. (Author) [pt

Silicon nitride-fabrication, forming and properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yehezkel, O.

1983-01-01

This article, which is a literature survey of the recent years, includes description of several methods for the formation of silicone nitride, and five methods of forming: Reaction-bonded silicon nitride, sintering, hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing and chemical vapour deposition. Herein are also included data about mechanical and physical properties of silicon nitride and the relationship between the forming method and the properties. (author)

Enhanced performance of a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell with aluminum nitride in its gel polymer electrolyte

KAUST Repository

Huang, Kuan-Chieh

2011-08-01

The effects of incorporation of aluminum nitride (AlN) in the gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) of a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) were studied in terms of performance of the cell. The electrolyte, consisting of lithium iodide (LiI), iodine (I2), and 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP) in 3-methoxypropionitrile (MPN), was solidified with poly(vinyidene fluoride-co-hexafluoro propylene) (PVDF-HFP). The 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt% of AlN were added to the electrolyte for this study. XRD analysis showed a reduction of crystallinity in the polymer PVDF-HFP for all the additions of AlN. The DSSC fabricated with a GPE containing 0.1 wt% AlN showed a short-circuit current density (JSC) and power-conversion efficiency (η) of 12.92±0.54 mA/cm2 and 5.27±0.23%, respectively, at 100 mW/cm2 illumination, in contrast to the corresponding values of 11.52±0.21 mA/cm2 and 4.75±0.08% for a cell without AlN. The increases both in JSC and in η of the promoted DSSC are attributed to the higher apparent diffusion coefficient of I- in its electrolyte (3.52×10-6 cm2/s), compared to that in the electrolyte without AlN of a DSSC (2.97×10-6 cm 2/s). At-rest stability of the quasi-solid-state DSSC with 0.1 wt% of AlN was found to decrease hardly by 5% and 7% at room temperature and at 40 °C, respectively, after 1000 h duration. The DSSC with a liquid electrolyte showed a decrease of about 40% at room temperature, while it virtually lost its performance in about 150 h at 40 °C. Explanations are further substantiated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and by porosity measurements. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Antireflection coating on InP for semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hantehzadeh, M.R.; Ghoranneviss, M.; Sari, A.H.; Sahlani, F.; Shokuhi, A.; Shariati, M.

2006-01-01

Aluminum nitride thin film by RF magnetron sputtering is used to produce antireflection coating on InP. The index of refection variation of aluminum nitride for different thickness at different wavelength in the range of 400 to 1500 nm is investigated using reflection spectroscopy. Subsequent Ar+ ion implantation at 30 keV with different doses on these coated layers has been performed. The morphology of aluminum nitride after ion implantation is characterized using atomic force microscopy AFM

Antireflection coating on InP for semiconductor detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hantehzadeh, M.R. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)]. E-mail: hanteh@sr.iau.ac.ir; Ghoranneviss, M. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sari, A.H. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sahlani, F. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shokuhi, A. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shariati, M. [Plasma Physics Research Center, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-10-25

Aluminum nitride thin film by RF magnetron sputtering is used to produce antireflection coating on InP. The index of refection variation of aluminum nitride for different thickness at different wavelength in the range of 400 to 1500 nm is investigated using reflection spectroscopy. Subsequent Ar+ ion implantation at 30 keV with different doses on these coated layers has been performed. The morphology of aluminum nitride after ion implantation is characterized using atomic force microscopy AFM.

Synthesis of reduced carbon nitride at the reduction by hydroquinone of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C{sub 3}N{sub 4})O

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kharlamov, Alexey [Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science of NASU, Krzhyzhanovsky St. 3, 03680 Kiev (Ukraine); Bondarenko, Marina, E-mail: mebondarenko@ukr.net [Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science of NASU, Krzhyzhanovsky St. 3, 03680 Kiev (Ukraine); Kharlamova, Ganna [Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev, Volodymyrs' ka St. 64, 01601 Kiev (Ukraine); Fomenko, Veniamin [Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science of NASU, Krzhyzhanovsky St. 3, 03680 Kiev (Ukraine)

2016-09-15

For the first time at the reduction by hydroquinone of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C{sub 3}N{sub 4})O reduced carbon nitride (or reduced multi-layer azagraphene) is obtained. It is differed from usually synthesized carbon nitride by a significantly large (on 0.09 nm) interplanar distance is. At the same time, the chemical bonds between atoms in a heteroatomic plane of reduced carbon nitride correspond to the bonds in a synthesized g-C{sub 3}N{sub 4}. The samples of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide were synthesized under the special reactionary conditions of a pyrolysis of melamine and urea. We believe that reduced carbon nitride consists of weakly connected carbon-nitrogen monosheets (azagraphene sheets) as well as reduced (from graphene oxide) graphene contains weakly connected graphene sheets. - Graphical abstract: XRD pattern and schematic atomic model of one layer of reduced carbon nitride, carbon nitride oxide and synthesized carbon nitride. For the first time at the reduction by hydroquinone of the water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C{sub 3}N{sub 4})O is obtained the reduced carbon nitride (or reduced multi-layer azagraphene). Display Omitted - Highlights: • First the reduced carbon nitride (RCN) at the reduction of the carbon nitride oxide was obtained. • Water-soluble carbon nitride oxide was reduced by hydroquinone. • The chemical bonds in a heteroatomic plane of RCN correspond to the bonds in a synthesized g-C{sub 3}N{sub 4}. • Reduced carbon nitride consists of poorly connected heteroatomic azagraphene layers.

Ferromagnetism appears in nitrogen implanted nanocrystalline diamond films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remes, Zdenek [Institute of Physics ASCR v.v.i., Cukrovarnicka 10, 162 00 Prague 6 (Czech Republic); Sun, Shih-Jye, E-mail: sjs@nuk.edu.tw [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Varga, Marian [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Chou, Hsiung [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Hua-Shu [Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University of Education, Pingtung 900, Taiwan (China); Kromka, Alexander [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Horak, Pavel [Nuclear Physics Institute, 250 68 Rez (Czech Republic)

2015-11-15

The nanocrystalline diamond films turn to be ferromagnetic after implanting various nitrogen doses on them. Through this research, we confirm that the room-temperature ferromagnetism of the implanted samples is derived from the measurements of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Samples with larger crystalline grains as well as higher implanted doses present more robust ferromagnetic signals at room temperature. Raman spectra indicate that the small grain-sized samples are much more disordered than the large grain-sized ones. We propose that a slightly large saturated ferromagnetism could be observed at low temperature, because the increased localization effects have a significant impact on more disordered structure. - Highlights: • Nitrogen implanted nanocrystalline diamond films exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature. • Nitrogen implants made a Raman deviation from the typical nanocrystalline diamond films. • The ferromagnetism induced from the structure distortion is dominant at low temperature.

Syntheses of nanocrystalline BaTiO3 and their optical properties

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, J.; Chu, J.; Zhang, M.

Stoichiometric and titanium-excess nanocrystalline barium titanates were synthesized using a hydrothermal process at various hydrothermal temperatures and with further heat treatment at 500 °C and 900 °C. Owing to the different process conditions, the excess titanium exists in different states and configurations within the nanocrystalline BaTiO3 matrix; this was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence. In these nanocrystalline BaTiO3, the 590, 571, 543 and 694 nm light emission bands were observed; mechanisms leading to such emissions were also discussed.

Electrochemistry of Inorganic Nanocrystalline Electrode Materials for Lithium Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. W. Kwon

2003-01-01

much different from that of traditional crystalline ones because of their significant ‘surface effects’. In connection with that, the nanocrystalline cathode materials are reported to have an enhanced electrochemical activity when the first significative electrochemical step is insertion of Li ions (discharge process. The “electrochemical grafting” concept will be given as a plausible explanation. As illustrative examples, electrochemical behaviors of nanocrystalline manganese oxydes are presented.

Topotactic synthesis of vanadium nitride solid foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyama, S.T.; Kapoor, R.; Oyama, H.T.; Hofmann, D.J.; Matijevic, E.

1993-01-01

Vanadium nitride has been synthesized with a surface area of 120 m 2 g -1 by temperature programmed nitridation of a foam-like vanadium oxide (35 m 2 g -1 ), precipitated from vanadate solutions. The nitridation reaction was established to be topotactic and pseudomorphous by x-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The crystallographic relationship between the nitride and oxide was {200}//{001}. The effect of precursor geometry on the product size and shape was investigated by employing vanadium oxide solids of different morphologies

Microstructure and mechanical properties of silicon nitride structural ceramics of silicon nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strohaecker, T.R.; Nobrega, M.C.S.

1989-01-01

The utilization of direct evaluation technic of tenacity for fracturing by hardness impact in silicon nitride ceramics is described. The microstructure were analysied, by Scanning Electron Microscopy, equiped with a microanalysis acessory by X ray energy dispersion. The difference between the values of K IC measure for two silicon nitride ceramics is discussed, in function of the microstructures and the fracture surfaces of the samples studied. (C.G.C.) [pt

Anti corrosion layer for stainless steel in molten carbonate fuel cell - comprises phase vapour deposition of titanium nitride, aluminium nitride or chromium nitride layer then oxidising layer in molten carbonate electrolyte

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2000-01-01

Forming an anticorrosion protective layer on a stainless steel surface used in a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) - comprises the phase vapour deposition (PVD) of a layer comprising at least one of titanium nitride, aluminium nitride or chromium nitride and then forming a protective layer in situ...

High-pressure structural behaviour of nanocrystalline Ge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, H; Liu, J F; He, Y; Wang, Y; Chen, W; Jiang, J Z; Olsen, J Staun; Gerward, L

2007-01-01

The equation of state and the pressure of the I-II transition have been studied for nanocrystalline Ge using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The bulk modulus and the transition pressure increase with decreasing particle size for both Ge-I and Ge-II, but the percentage volume collapse at the transition remains constant. Simplified models for the high-pressure structural behaviour are presented, based on the assumption that a large fraction of the atoms reside in grain boundary regions of the nanocrystalline material. The interface structure plays a significant role in affecting the transition pressure and the bulk modulus

The prospect of uranium nitride (UN) and mixed nitride fuel (UN-PuN) for pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syarifah, Ratna Dewi; Suud, Zaki

2015-01-01

Design study of small Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) core loaded with uranium nitride fuel (UN) and mixed nitride fuel (UN-PuN), Pa-231 as burnable poison, and Americium has been performed. Pa-231 known as actinide material, have large capture cross section and can be converted into fissile material that can be utilized to reduce excess reactivity. Americium is one of minor actinides with long half life. The objective of adding americium is to decrease nuclear spent fuel in the world. The neutronic analysis results show that mixed nitride fuel have k-inf greater than uranium nitride fuel. It is caused by the addition of Pu-239 in mixed nitride fuel. In fuel fraction analysis, for uranium nitride fuel, the optimum volume fractions are 45% fuel fraction, 10% cladding and 45% moderator. In case of UN-PuN fuel, the optimum volume fractions are 30% fuel fraction, 10% cladding and 60% coolant/ moderator. The addition of Pa-231 as burnable poison for UN fuel, enrichment U-235 5%, with Pa-231 1.6% has k-inf more than one and excess reactivity of 14.45%. And for mixed nitride fuel, the lowest value of reactivity swing is when enrichment (U-235+Pu) 8% with Pa-231 0.4%, the excess reactivity value 13,76%. The fuel pin analyze for the addition of Americium, the excess reactivity value is lower than before, because Americium absorb the neutron. For UN fuel, enrichment U-235 8%, Pa-231 1.6% and Am 0.5%, the excess reactivity is 4.86%. And for mixed nitride fuel, when enrichment (U-235+Pu) 13%, Pa-231 0.4% and Am 0.1%, the excess reactivity is 11.94%. For core configuration, it is better to use heterogeneous than homogeneous core configuration, because the radial power distribution is better

The prospect of uranium nitride (UN) and mixed nitride fuel (UN-PuN) for pressurized water reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Syarifah, Ratna Dewi; Suud, Zaki

2015-09-01

Design study of small Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) core loaded with uranium nitride fuel (UN) and mixed nitride fuel (UN-PuN), Pa-231 as burnable poison, and Americium has been performed. Pa-231 known as actinide material, have large capture cross section and can be converted into fissile material that can be utilized to reduce excess reactivity. Americium is one of minor actinides with long half life. The objective of adding americium is to decrease nuclear spent fuel in the world. The neutronic analysis results show that mixed nitride fuel have k-inf greater than uranium nitride fuel. It is caused by the addition of Pu-239 in mixed nitride fuel. In fuel fraction analysis, for uranium nitride fuel, the optimum volume fractions are 45% fuel fraction, 10% cladding and 45% moderator. In case of UN-PuN fuel, the optimum volume fractions are 30% fuel fraction, 10% cladding and 60% coolant/ moderator. The addition of Pa-231 as burnable poison for UN fuel, enrichment U-235 5%, with Pa-231 1.6% has k-inf more than one and excess reactivity of 14.45%. And for mixed nitride fuel, the lowest value of reactivity swing is when enrichment (U-235+Pu) 8% with Pa-231 0.4%, the excess reactivity value 13,76%. The fuel pin analyze for the addition of Americium, the excess reactivity value is lower than before, because Americium absorb the neutron. For UN fuel, enrichment U-235 8%, Pa-231 1.6% and Am 0.5%, the excess reactivity is 4.86%. And for mixed nitride fuel, when enrichment (U-235+Pu) 13%, Pa-231 0.4% and Am 0.1%, the excess reactivity is 11.94%. For core configuration, it is better to use heterogeneous than homogeneous core configuration, because the radial power distribution is better.

Effect of grain size on corrosion of nanocrystalline copper in NaOH solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Wei; Xu Yimin; Wang Qiming; Shi Peizhen; Yan Mi

2010-01-01

Research highlights: → Coppers display an active-passive-transpassive behaviour with duplex passive film. → Grain size variation has little effect on the overall corrosion behaviour of Cu. → Little effect on corrosion may be due to duplex passivation in NaOH solution. → Bulk nanocrystalline Cu show bamboo-like flake corrosion structure. - Abstract: Effect of grain size on corrosion of bulk nanocrystalline copper was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization measurements in 0.1 M NaOH solution. Bulk nanocrystalline copper was prepared by inert gas condensation and in situ warm compress (IGCWC) method. The grain sizes of all bulk nanocrystalline samples were determined to be 48, 68 and 92 nm using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that bulk coppers displayed an active-passive-transpassive behaviour with duplex passive films. From polycrystalline to nanocrystalline, grain size variation showed little effect on the overall corrosion resistance of copper samples.

Surface modification of aluminum nitride by polysilazane and its polymer-derived amorphous silicon oxycarbide ceramic for the enhancement of thermal conductivity in silicone rubber composite

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Hsien Tang; Sukachonmakul, Tanapon; Kuo, Ming Tai; Wang, Yu Hsiang; Wattanakul, Karnthidaporn

2014-02-01

Polysilazane (PSZ) and its polymer-derived amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramic were coated on aluminum nitride (AlN) by using a dip-coating method to allow moisture-crosslinking of PSZ on AlN, followed by heat treatment at 700 °C in air to convert PSZ into SiOC on AlN. The results from FTIR, XPS and SEM indicated that the surface of AlN was successfully coated by PSZ and SiOC film. It was found that the introduction of PSZ and SiOC film help improve in the interfacial adhesion between the modified AlN (PSZ/AlN and SiOC/AlN) and silicone rubber lead to the increase in the thermal conductivity of the composites since the thermal boundary resistance at the filler-matrix interface was decreased. However, the introduction of SiOC as an intermediate layer between AlN and silicone rubber could help increase the thermal energy transport at the filler-matrix interface rather than using PSZ. This result was due to the decrease in the surface roughness and thickness of SiOC film after heat treatment at 700 °C in air. Thus, in the present work, a SiOC ceramic coating could provide a new surface modification for the improvement of the interfacial adhesion between the thermally conductive filler and the matrix in which can enhance the thermal conductivity of the composites.

''114''-type nitrides LnAl(Si{sub 4-x}Al{sub x})N{sub 7}O{sub δ} with unusual [AlN{sub 6}] octahedral coordination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Saifang; Ouyang, Xin [School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing (China); Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland (New Zealand); Huang, Zhaohui; Fang, Minghao; Liu, Yan-gai [School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing (China); Cao, Peng; Gao, Wei [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland (New Zealand); Zujovic, Zoran; Soehnel, Tilo [School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland (New Zealand); Price, Jason R. [Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, VIC (Australia); Avdeev, Maxim [Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW (Australia); Que, Meidan [School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University (China); Suzuki, Furitsu; Kido, Tsuyoshi; Kaji, Hironori [Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University (Japan)

2017-03-27

Aluminum-nitrogen six-fold octahedral coordination, [AlN{sub 6}], is unusual and has only been seen in the high-pressure rocksalt-type aluminum nitride or some complex compounds. Herein we report novel nitrides LnAl(Si{sub 4-x}Al{sub x})N{sub 7}O{sub δ} (Ln=La, Sm), the first inorganic compounds with [AlN{sub 6}] coordination prepared via non-high-pressure synthesis. Structure refinements of neutron powder diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data show that these compounds crystallize in the hexagonal Swedenborgite structure type with P6{sub 3}mc symmetry where Ln and Al atoms locate in anticuboctahedral and octahedral interstitials, respectively, between the triangular and Kagome layers of [SiN{sub 4}] tetrahedra. Solid-state NMR data of high-purity La-114 powders confirm the unusual [AlN{sub 6}] coordination. These compounds are the first examples of the ''33-114'' sub-type in the ''114'' family. The additional site for over-stoichiometric oxygen in the structure of 114-type compounds was also identified. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Humidity-dependent stability of amorphous germanium nitrides fabricated by plasma nitridation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kutsuki, Katsuhiro; Okamoto, Gaku; Hosoi, Takuji; Shimura, Takayoshi; Watanabe, Heiji

2007-01-01

We have investigated the stability of amorphous germanium nitride (Ge 3 N 4 ) layers formed by plasma nitridation of Ge(100) surfaces using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. We have found that humidity in the air accelerates the degradation of Ge 3 N 4 layers and that under 80% humidity condition, most of the Ge-N bonds convert to Ge-O bonds, producing a uniform GeO 2 layer, within 12 h even at room temperature. After this conversion of nitrides to oxides, the surface roughness drastically increased by forming GeO 2 islands on the surfaces. These findings indicate that although Ge 3 N 4 layers have superior thermal stability compared to the GeO 2 layers, Ge 3 N 4 reacts readily with hydroxyl groups and it is therefore essential to take the best care of the moisture in the fabrication of Ge-based devices with Ge 3 N 4 insulator or passivation layers

Mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline Fe and Fe–B magnetic alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammadi, Majid; Ghasemi, Ali; Tavoosi, Majid

2016-01-01

Mechanochemical synthesis and magnetic characterization of nanocrystalline Fe and Fe–B magnetic alloys was the goal of this study. In this regard, different Fe_2O_3–B_2O_3 powder mixtures with sufficient amount of CaH_2 were milled in a planetary ball mill in order to produce nanocrystalline Fe, Fe_9_5B_5 and Fe_8_5B_1_5 alloys. The produced samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that, nanocrystalline Fe, Fe_9_5B_5 and Fe_8_5B_1_5 alloys can be successfully synthesized by the reduction reaction of Fe_2O_3 and B_2O_3 with CaH_2 during mechanical alloying. The structure of produced Fe_9_5B_5 and Fe_8_5B_1_5 alloys was a combination of Fe and Fe_2B phases with average crystallite sizes of about 15 and 10 nm, respectively. The produced nanocrystalline alloys exhibited soft magnetic properties with the coercivity and saturation of magnetization in the range of 170–240 Oe and 9–28 emu/g, respectively. Increasing the boron content has a destructive effect on soft magnetic properties of Fe–B alloys. - Highlights: • We study the mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline boron, Fe and Fe–B alloys. • We study the reduction reaction of B_2O_3–CaH_2 during milling. • We study the reduction reaction of Fe_2O_3–CaH_2 during milling. • We study the reduction reaction of Fe_2O_3–B_2O_3–CaH_2 during milling. • We study the effect of B on magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe–B alloys.

Synthesis of Mesoporous Nanocrystalline Zirconia by Surfactant-Assisted Hydrothermal Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Nath, Soumav; Biswas, Ashik; Kour, Prachi P; Sarma, Loka S; Sur, Ujjal Kumar; Ankamwar, Balaprasad G

2018-08-01

In this paper, we have reported the chemical synthesis of thermally stable mesoporous nanocrystalline zirconia with high surface area using a surfactant-assisted hydrothermal approach. We have employed different type of surfactants such as CTAB, SDS and Triton X-100 in our synthesis. The synthesized nanocrystalline zirconia multistructures exhibit various morphologies such as rod, mortar-pestle with different particle sizes. We have characterized the zirconia multistructures by X-ray diffraction study, Field emission scanning electron microscopy, Attenuated total refection infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The thermal stability of as synthesized zirconia multistructures was studied by thermo gravimetric analysis, which shows the high thermal stability of nanocrystalline zirconia around 900 °C temperature.

Optical characterization of gallium nitride

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirilyuk, Victoria

2002-01-01

Group III-nitrides have been considered a promising system for semiconductor devices since a few decades, first for blue- and UV-light emitting diodes, later also for high-frequency/high-power applications. Due to the lack of native substrates, heteroepitaxially grown III-nitride layers are usually

Accumulation and recovery of defects in ion-irradiated nanocrystalline gold

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chimi, Y. E-mail: chimi@popsvr.tokai.jaeri.go.jp; Iwase, A.; Ishikawa, N.; Kobiyama, M.; Inami, T.; Okuda, S

2001-09-01

Effects of 60 MeV {sup 12}C ion irradiation on nanocrystalline gold (nano-Au) are studied. The experimental results show that the irradiation-produced defects in nano-Au are thermally unstable because of the existence of a large volume fraction of grain boundaries. This suggests a possibility of the use of nanocrystalline materials as irradiation-resistant materials.

Hydrogen diffusion between plasma-deposited silicon nitride-polyimide polymer interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, S.V.; Kerbaugh, M.

1988-01-01

This paper reports a nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) for hydrogen technique used to analyze the hydrogen concentration near plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride-polyimide interfaces at various nitride-deposition and polyimide-polymer-curing temperatures. The CF 4 + O 2 (8% O 2 ) plasma-etch-rate variation of PECVD silicon nitride films deposited on polyimide appeared to correlate well with the variation of hydrogen-depth profiles in the nitride films. The NRA data indicate that hydrogen-depth-profile fluctuation in the nitride films is due to hydrogen diffusion between the nitride-polyimide interfaces during deposition. Annealing treatment of polyimide films in a hydrogen atmosphere prior to the nitride film deposition tends to enhance the hydrogen-depth-profile uniformity in the nitride films, and thus substantially reduces or eliminates variation in the nitride plasma-etch rate

A phenomenological variational multiscale constitutive model for intergranular failure in nanocrystalline materials

KAUST Repository

Siddiq, A.; El Sayed, Tamer S.

2013-01-01

We present a variational multiscale constitutive model that accounts for intergranular failure in nanocrystalline fcc metals due to void growth and coalescence in the grain boundary region. Following previous work by the authors, a nanocrystalline

Nucleation of iron nitrides during gaseous nitriding of iron; the effect of a preoxidation treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friehling, Peter B.; Poulsen, Finn Willy; Somers, Marcel A.J.

2001-01-01

grains. On prolonged nitriding, immediate nucleation at the surface of iron grains becomes possible. Calculated incubation times for the nucleation of gamma'-Fe4N1-x during nitriding are generally longer than those observed experimentally in the present work. The incubation time is reduced dramatically...

RF plasma nitriding of severely deformed iron-based alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferkel, H.; Glatzer, M.; Estrin, Y.; Valiev, R.Z.; Blawert, C.; Mordike, B.L.

2003-01-01

The effect of severe plastic deformation by cold high pressure torsion (HPT) on radio frequency (RF) plasma nitriding of pure iron, as well as St2K50 and X5CrNi1810 steels was investigated. Nitriding was carried out for 3 h in a nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of 10 -5 bar and temperatures of 350 and 400 deg. C. Nitrided specimens were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and micro hardness measurements. It was found that HPT enhances the effect of nitriding leading almost to doubling of the thickness of the nitrided layer for pure iron and the high alloyed steel. The largest increase in hardness was observed when HPT was combined with RF plasma nitriding at 350 deg. C. In the case of pure iron, the X-ray diffraction spectra showed the formation of ε and γ' nitrides in the compound layer, with a preferential formation of γ' at the expense of the α-phase at the higher nitriding temperature. The corresponding surface hardness was up to 950 HV0.01. While the HPT-processed St2K50 exhibits both nitride phases after nitriding at 350 deg. C, only the γ'-phase was observed after nitriding at 400 deg. C. A surface hardness of up to 1050 HV0.01 was measured for this steel. The high alloyed steel X5CrNi1810 exhibited the highest increase in surface hardness when HPT was combined with nitriding at 350 deg. C. The surface hardness of this steel was greater than 1400 HV0.025. The XRD analyses indicate the formation of the expanded austenite (S-phase) in the surface layer as a result of RF plasma nitriding. Furthermore, after HPT X5CrNi1810 was transformed completely into deformation martensite which did not transform back to austenite under thermochemical treatment. However, in the case of nitriding of the HPT-processed high alloyed steel at 400 deg. C, the formation of the S-phase was less pronounced. In view of the observed XRD peak broadening, the formation of nitrides, such as e.g. CrN, cannot be ruled out

Biologically inspired rosette nanotubes and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite hydrogel nanocomposites as improved bone substitutes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lijie; Webster, Thomas J; Rodriguez, Jose; Raez, Jose; Myles, Andrew J; Fenniri, Hicham

2009-01-01

Today, bone diseases such as bone fractures, osteoporosis and bone cancer represent a common and significant public health problem. The design of biomimetic bone tissue engineering materials that could restore and improve damaged bone tissues provides exciting opportunities to solve the numerous problems associated with traditional orthopedic implants. Therefore, the objective of this in vitro study was to create a biomimetic orthopedic hydrogel nanocomposite based on the self-assembly properties of helical rosette nanotubes (HRNs), the osteoconductive properties of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA), and the biocompatible properties of hydrogels (specifically, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), pHEMA). HRNs are self-assembled nanomaterials that are formed from synthetic DNA base analogs in water to mimic the helical nanostructure of collagen in bone. In this study, different geometries of nanocrystalline HA were controlled by either hydrothermal or sintering methods. 2 and 10 wt% nanocrystalline HA particles were well dispersed into HRN hydrogels using ultrasonication. The nanocrystalline HA and nanocrystalline HA/HRN hydrogels were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical testing studies revealed that the well dispersed nanocrystalline HA in HRN hydrogels possessed improved mechanical properties compared to hydrogel controls. In addition, the results of this study provided the first evidence that the combination of either 2 or 10 wt% nanocrystalline HA and 0.01 mg ml -1 HRNs in hydrogels greatly increased osteoblast (bone-forming cell) adhesion up to 236% compared to hydrogel controls. Moreover, this study showed that HRNs stimulated HA nucleation and mineralization along their main axis in a way that is very reminiscent of the HA/collagen assembly pattern in natural bone. In summary, the presently observed excellent properties of the biomimetic nanocrystalline HA/HRN hydrogel composites

Development of pseudocapacitive molybdenum oxide–nitride for electrochemical capacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ting, Yen-Jui Bernie [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4 (Canada); Wu, Haoran [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4 (Canada); Kherani, Nazir P. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4 (Canada); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4 (Canada); Lian, Keryn, E-mail: keryn.lian@utoronto.ca [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4 (Canada)

2015-03-15

A thin film Mo oxide–nitride pseudocapacitive electrode was synthesized by electrodeposition of Mo oxide on Ti and a subsequent low-temperature (400 °C) thermal nitridation. Two nitridation environments, N{sub 2} and NH{sub 3}, were used and the results were compared. Surface analyses of these nitrided films showed partial conversion of Mo oxide to nitrides, with a lower conversion percentage being the film produced in N{sub 2}. However, the electrochemical analyses showed that the surface of the N{sub 2}-treated film had better pseudocapacitive behaviors and outperformed that nitrided in NH{sub 3}. Cycle life of the resultant N{sub 2}-treated Mo oxide–nitride was also much improved over Mo oxide. A two-electrode cell using Mo oxide–nitride electrodes was demonstrated and showed high rate performance. - Highlights: • Mo(O,N){sub x} was developed by electrodeposition and nitridation in N{sub 2} or NH{sub 3}. • N{sub 2} treated Mo(O,N){sub x} showed a capacitive performance superior to that treated by NH{sub 3}. • The promising electrochemical performance was due to the formation of γ-Mo{sub 2}N.

Co-current Doping Effect of Nanoscale Carbon and Aluminum Nitride on Critical Current Density and Flux Pinning Properties of Bulk MgB2 Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathi, D.; Dey, T. K.

2018-05-01

The effect of nanoscale aluminum nitride (n-AlN) and carbon (n-C) co-doping on superconducting properties of polycrystalline bulk MgB2 superconductor has been investigated. Polycrystalline pellets of MgB2, MgB2 + 0.5 wt% AlN (nano), MgB_{1.99}C_{0.01} and MgB_{1.99}C_{0.01} + 0.5 wt% AlN (nano) have been synthesized by a solid reaction process under inert atmosphere. The transition temperature (TC) estimated from resistivity measurement indicates only a small decrease for C (nano) and co-doped MgB2 samples. The magnetic field response of investigated samples has been measured at 4, 10, and 20 K in the field range ± 6 T. MgB2 pellets co-doped with 0.5 wt% n-AlN and 1 wt% n-C display appreciable enhancement in critical current density (J_C) of MgB2 in both low (≥ 3 times), as well as, high-field region (≥ 15 times). J_C versus H behavior of both pristine and doped MgB2 pellets is well explained in the light of the collective pinning model. Further, the normalized pinning force density f_p(= F_p/F_{pmax}) displays a fair correspondence with the scaling procedure proposed by Eisterer et al. Moreover, the scaled data of the pinning force density (i.e., f_p{-}h data) of the investigated pellets at different temperature are well interpreted by a modified Dew-Hughes expression reported by Sandu and Chee.

Microstructure characterization and cation distribution of nanocrystalline cobalt ferrite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbas, Y.M., E-mail: ymabbas@live.com [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt); Mansour, S.A.; Ibrahim, M.H. [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt); Ali, Shehab E., E-mail: shehab_physics@yahoo.com [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt)

2011-11-15

Nanocrystalline cobalt ferrite has been synthesized using two different methods: ceramic and co-precipitation techniques. The nanocrystalline ferrite phase has been formed after 3 h of sintering at 1000 deg. C. The structural and microstructural evolutions of the nanophase have been studied using X-ray powder diffraction and the Rietveld method. The refinement result showed that the type of the cationic distribution over the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the nanocrystalline lattice is partially an inverse spinel. The transmission electronic microscope analysis confirmed the X-ray results. The magnetic properties of the samples were characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer. - Highlights: > The refinement result showed that the cationic distribution over the sites in the lattice is partially an inverse spinel. > The transmission electronic microscope analysis confirmed the X-ray results. > The magnetic properties of the samples were characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer.

Structure and properties of nanocrystalline soft magnetic composite materials with silicon polymer matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobrzanski, L.A.; Nowosielski, R.; Konieczny, J.; PrzybyI, A.; WysIocki, J.

2005-01-01

The paper concerns investigation of nanocrystalline composites technology preparation. The composites in the form of rings with rectangular transverse section, and with polymer matrix and nanocrystalline metallic powders fulfillment were made, for obtaining good ferromagnetic properties. The nanocrystalline ferromagnetic powders were manufactured by high-energy ball milling of metallic glasses strips in an as-quenched state. Generally for investigation, Co matrix alloys with the silicon polymer were used. Magnetic properties in the form of hysteresis loop by rings method were measured. Generally composite cores showed lower soft ferromagnetic properties than winded cores of nanocrystalline strips, but composite cores showed interesting mechanical properties. Furthermore, the structure of strips and powders on properties of composites were investigated

New Routes to Lanthanide and Actinide Nitrides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butt, D.P.; Jaques, B.J.; Osterberg, D.D. [Boise State University, 1910 University Dr., Boise, Idaho 83725-2075 (United States); Marx, B.M. [Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Johnstown, PA (United States); Callahan, P.G. [Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Hamdy, A.S. [Central Metallurgical R and D Institute, Helwan, Cairo (Egypt)

2009-06-15

The future of nuclear energy in the U.S. and its expansion worldwide depends greatly on our ability to reduce the levels of high level waste to minimal levels, while maintaining proliferation resistance. Implicit in the so-called advanced fuel cycle is the need for higher levels of fuel burn-up and consequential use of complex nuclear fuels comprised of fissile materials such as Pu, Am, Np, and Cm. Advanced nitride fuels comprised ternary and quaternary mixtures of uranium and these actinides have been considered for applications in advanced power plants, but there remain many processing challenges as well as necessary qualification testing. In this presentation, the advantages and disadvantages of nitride fuels are discussed. Methods of synthesizing the raw materials and sintering of fuels are described including a discussion of novel, low cost routes to nitrides that have the potential for reducing the cost and footprint of a fuel processing plant. Phase pure nitrides were synthesized via four primary methods; reactive milling metal flakes in nitrogen at room temperature, directly nitriding metal flakes in a pure nitrogen atmosphere, hydriding metal flakes prior to nitridation, and carbo-thermically reducing the metal oxide and carbon mixture prior to nitridation. In the present study, the sintering of UN, DyN, and their solid solutions (U{sub x}, Dy{sub 1-x}) (x = 1 to 0.7) were also studied. (authors)

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiN{sub x}/SiN{sub y} multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan, E-mail: zyma@nju.edu.cn; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Photonic Electronic Materials Sciences and Technology, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

2014-09-28

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiN{sub x}/SiN{sub y} multilayers with high on/off ratio of 10{sup 9}. High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Silver film on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support: Photocatalytic and antimicrobial ability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vukoje, Ivana D., E-mail: ivanav@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Tomašević-Ilić, Tijana D., E-mail: tommashev@gmail.com [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Zarubica, Aleksandra R., E-mail: zarubica2000@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš (Serbia); Dimitrijević, Suzana, E-mail: suzana@tmf.bg.ac.rs [Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Budimir, Milica D., E-mail: mickbudimir@gmail.com [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Vranješ, Mila R., E-mail: mila@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Šaponjić, Zoran V., E-mail: saponjic@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Nedeljković, Jovan M., E-mail: jovned@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia)

2014-12-15

Highlights: • Simple photocatalytic rout for deposition of Ag on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films. • High antibactericidal efficiency of deposited Ag on TiO{sub 2} support. • Improved photocatalytic performance of TiO{sub 2} films in the presence of deposited Ag. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films were prepared on glass slides by the dip coating technique using colloidal solutions consisting of 4.5 nm particles as a precursor. Photoirradiation of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} film modified with alanine that covalently binds to the surface of TiO{sub 2} and at the same time chelate silver ions induced formation of metallic silver film. Optical and morphological properties of thin silver films on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support were studied by absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Improvement of photocatalytic performance of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films after deposition of silver was observed in degradation reaction of crystal violet. Antimicrobial ability of deposited silver films on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support was tested in dark as a function of time against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The silver films ensured maximum cells reduction of both bacteria, while the fungi reduction reached satisfactory 98.45% after 24 h of contact.

Direct Coating of Nanocrystalline Diamond on Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Tsugawa, Kazuo; Kawaki, Shyunsuke; Ishihara, Masatou; Hasegawa, Masataka

2012-09-01

Nanocrystalline diamond films have been successfully deposited on stainless steel substrates without any substrate pretreatments to promote diamond nucleation, including the formation of interlayers. A low-temperature growth technique, 400 °C or lower, in microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using a surface-wave plasma has cleared up problems in diamond growth on ferrous materials, such as the surface graphitization, long incubation time, substrate softening, and poor adhesion. The deposited nanocrystalline diamond films on stainless steel exhibit good adhesion and tribological properties, such as a high wear resistance, a low friction coefficient, and a low aggression strength, at room temperature in air without lubrication.

Inter- and intra-agglomerate fracture in nanocrystalline nickel.

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Zhiwei; Knapp, J A; Follstaedt, D M; Stach, E A; Wiezorek, J M K; Mao, S X

2008-03-14

In situ tensile straining transmission electron microscopy tests have been carried out on nanocrystalline Ni. Grain agglomerates (GAs) were found to form very frequently and rapidly ahead of an advancing crack with sizes much larger than the initial average grain size. High-resolution electron microscopy indicated that the GAs most probably consist of nanograins separated by low-angle grain boundaries. Furthermore, both inter- and intra-GA fractures were observed. The observations suggest that these newly formed GAs may play an important role in the formation of the dimpled fracture surfaces of nanocrystalline materials.

Plasma nitriding - an eco friendly surface hardening process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherjee, S.

2015-01-01

Surface hardening is a process of heating the metal such that the surface gets only hardened. This process is adopted for many components like gears, cams, and crankshafts, which desire high hardness on the outer surface with a softer core to withstand the shocks. So, to attain such properties processes like carburising, nitriding, flame hardening and induction hardening are employed. Amongst these processes nitriding is the most commonly used process by many industries. In nitriding process the steel material is heated to a temperature of around 550 C and then exposed to atomic nitrogen. This atomic nitrogen reacts with iron and other alloying elements and forms nitrides, which are very hard in nature. By this process both wear resistance and hardness of the product can be increased. The atomic nitrogen required for this process can be obtained using ammonia gas (gas nitriding), cyanide based salt bath (liquid nitriding) and plasma medium (plasma nitriding). However, plasma nitriding has recently received considerable industrial interest owing to its characteristic of faster nitrogen penetration, short treatment time, low process temperature, minimal distortion, low energy use and easier control of layer formation compared with conventional techniques such as gas and liquid nitriding. This process can be used for all ferrous materials including stainless steels. Plasma nitriding is carried out using a gas mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen gas at sub atmospheric pressures hence, making it eco-friendly in nature. Plasma nitriding allows modification of the surface layers and hardness profiles by changing the gas mixture and temperature. The wide applicable temperature range enables a multitude of applications, beyond the possibilities of gas or salt bath processes. This has led to numerous applications of this process in industries such as the manufacture of machine parts for plastics and food processing, packaging and tooling as well as pumps and hydraulic, machine

Structural characterization of nanocrystalline cadmium sulphide powder prepared by solvent evaporation technique

Science.gov (United States)

Pandya, Samir; Tandel, Digisha; Chodavadiya, Nisarg

2018-05-01

CdS is one of the most important compounds in the II-VI group of semiconductor. There are numerous applications of CdS in the form of nanoparticles and nanocrystalline. Semiconductors nanoparticles (also known as quantum dots), belong to state of matter in the transition region between molecules and solids, have attracted a great deal of attention because of their unique electrical and optical properties, compared to bulk materials. In the field of optoelectronic, nanocrystalline form utilizes mostly in the field of catalysis and fluid technology. Considering these observations, presented work had been carried out, i.e. based on the nanocrystalline material preparation. In the present work CdS nano-crystalline powder was synthesized by a simple and cost effective chemical technique to grow cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanoparticles at 200 °C with different concentrations of cadmium. The synthesis parameters were optimized. The synthesized powder was structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction and particle size analyzer. In the XRD analysis, Micro-structural parameters such as lattice strain, dislocation density and crystallite size were analysed. The broadened diffraction peaks indicated nanocrystalline particles of the film material. In addition to that the size of the prepared particles was analyzed by particle size analyzer. The results show the average size of CdS particles ranging from 80 to 100 nm. The overall conclusion of the work can be very useful in the synthesis of nanocrystalline CdS powder.

Correlation of thermodynamics and grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Xiaoyan; Zhang Jiuxing; Li Lingmei; Yang Keyong; Liu Guoquan

2006-01-01

We investigated the correlation of thermodynamics and grain growth kinetics of nanocrystalline metals both theoretically and experimentally. A model was developed to describe the thermodynamic properties of nanograin boundaries, which could give reliable predictions in the destabilization characteristics of nanograin structures and the slowing down of grain growth kinetics at a constant temperature. Both the temperature-varying and isothermal nanograin growth behaviors in pure nanocrystalline Co were studied to verify the thermodynamic predictions. The experimental results showing that discontinuous nanograin growth takes place at a certain temperature and grain growth rate decreases monotonically with time confirm our thermodynamics-based description of nanograin growth characteristics. Therefore, we propose a thermodynamic viewpoint to explain the deviation of grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline metals from those of polycrystalline materials

Advancing liquid metal reactor technology with nitride fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.F.; Baker, R.B.; Leggett, R.D.; Matthews, R.B.

1991-08-01

A review of the use of nitride fuels in liquid metal fast reactors is presented. Past studies indicate that both uranium nitride and uranium/plutonium nitride possess characteristics that may offer enhanced performance, particularly in the area of passive safety. To further quantify these effects, the analysis of a mixed-nitride fuel system utilizing the geometry and power level of the US Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor as a reference is described. 18 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Electrochemical formation of AlN in molten LiCl-KCl-Li{sub 3}N systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goto, Takuya [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)]. E-mail: goto@energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Iwaki, Takayuki [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Ito, Yasuhiko [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

2005-01-30

Electrochemical formation of aluminum nitride was investigated in molten LiCl-KCl-Li{sub 3}N systems at 723 K. When Al was anodically polarized at 1.0 V (versus Li{sup +}/Li), oxidation of nitride ions proceeded to form adsorbed nitrogen atoms, which reacted with the surface to form AlN film. The obtained nitrided film had a thickness of sub-micron order. The obtained nitrided layer consisted of two regions; the outer layer involving AlN and aluminum oxynitride and the inner layer involving metallic Al and AlN. When Al electrode was anodically polarized at 2.0 V, anodic dissolution of Al electrode occurred to give aluminum ions, which reacted with nitride ions in the melt to produce AlN particles (1-5 {mu}m of diameter) of wurtzite structure.

Exploring electrolyte preference of vanadium nitride supercapacitor electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Bo; Chen, Zhaohui; Lu, Gang [Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023 (China); Wang, Tianhu [School of Electrical Information and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001 (China); Ge, Yunwang, E-mail: ywgelit@126.com [Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023 (China)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Hierarchical VN nanostructures were prepared on graphite foam. • Electrolyte preference of VN supercapacitor electrodes was explored. • VN showed better capacitive property in organic and alkaline electrolytes than LiCl. - Abstract: Vanadium nitride hierarchical nanostructures were prepared through an ammonia annealing procedure utilizing vanadium pentoxide nanostructures grown on graphite foam. The electrochemical properties of hierarchical vanadium nitride was tested in aqueous and organic electrolytes. As a result, the vanadium nitride showed better capacitive energy storage property in organic and alkaline electrolytes. This work provides insight into the charge storage process of vanadium nitride and our findings can shed light on other transition metal nitride-based electrochemical energy storage systems.

Fabrication and structure of bulk nanocrystalline Al-Si-Ni-mishmetal alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latuch, Jerzy; Cieslak, Grzegorz; Kulik, Tadeusz

2007-01-01

Al-based alloys of structure consisting of nanosized Al crystals, embedded in an amorphous matrix, are interesting for their excellent mechanical properties, exceeding those of the commercial crystalline Al-based alloys. Recently discovered nanocrystalline Al alloys containing silicon (Si), rare earth metal (RE) and late transition metal (Ni), combine high tensile strength and good wear resistance. The aim of this work was to manufacture bulk nanocrystalline alloys from Al-Si-Ni-mishmetal (Mm) system. Bulk nanostructured Al 91-x Si x Ni 7 Mm 2 (x = 10, 11.6, 13 at.%) alloys were produced by ball milling of nanocrystalline ribbons followed by high pressure hot isostating compaction

Modeling the Gas Nitriding Process of Low Alloy Steels

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, M.; Zimmerman, C.; Donahue, D.; Sisson, R. D.

2013-07-01

The effort to simulate the nitriding process has been ongoing for the last 20 years. Most of the work has been done to simulate the nitriding process of pure iron. In the present work a series of experiments have been done to understand the effects of the nitriding process parameters such as the nitriding potential, temperature, and time as well as surface condition on the gas nitriding process for the steels. The compound layer growth model has been developed to simulate the nitriding process of AISI 4140 steel. In this paper the fundamentals of the model are presented and discussed including the kinetics of compound layer growth and the determination of the nitrogen diffusivity in the diffusion zone. The excellent agreements have been achieved for both as-washed and pre-oxided nitrided AISI 4140 between the experimental data and simulation results. The nitrogen diffusivity in the diffusion zone is determined to be constant and only depends on the nitriding temperature, which is ~5 × 10-9 cm2/s at 548 °C. It proves the concept of utilizing the compound layer growth model in other steels. The nitriding process of various steels can thus be modeled and predicted in the future.

Synthesis of Uranium nitride powders using metal uranium powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jae Ho; Kim, Dong Joo; Oh, Jang Soo; Rhee, Young Woo; Kim, Jong Hun; Kim, Keon Sik

2012-01-01

Uranium nitride (UN) is a potential fuel material for advanced nuclear reactors because of their high fuel density, high thermal conductivity, high melting temperature, and considerable breeding capability in LWRs. Uranium nitride powders can be fabricated by a carbothermic reduction of the oxide powders, or the nitriding of metal uranium. The carbothermic reduction has an advantage in the production of fine powders. However it has many drawbacks such as an inevitable engagement of impurities, process burden, and difficulties in reusing of expensive N 15 gas. Manufacturing concerns issued in the carbothermic reduction process can be solved by changing the starting materials from oxide powder to metals. However, in nitriding process of metal, it is difficult to obtain fine nitride powders because metal uranium is usually fabricated in the form of bulk ingots. In this study, a simple reaction method was tested to fabricate uranium nitride powders directly from uranium metal powders. We fabricated uranium metal spherical powder and flake using a centrifugal atomization method. The nitride powders were obtained by thermal treating those metal particles under nitrogen containing gas. We investigated the phase and morphology evolutions of powders during the nitriding process. A phase analysis of nitride powders was also a part of the present work

The oxidation of titanium nitride- and silicon nitride-coated stainless steel in carbon dioxide environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, D.R.G.; Stott, F.H.

1992-01-01

A study has been undertaken into the effects of thin titanium nitride and silicon nitride coatings, deposited by physical vapour deposition and chemical vapour deposition processes, on the oxidation resistance of 321 stainless steel in a simulated advanced gas-cooled reactor carbon dioxide environment for long periods at 550 o C and 700 o C under thermal-cycling conditions. The uncoated steel contains sufficient chromium to develop a slow-growing chromium-rich oxide layer at these temperatures, particularly if the surfaces have been machine-abraded. Failure of this layer in service allows formation of less protective iron oxide-rich scales. The presence of a thin (3-4 μm) titanium nitride coating is not very effective in increasing the oxidation resistance since the ensuing titanium oxide scale is not a good barrier to diffusion. Even at 550 o C, iron oxide-rich nodules are able to develop following relatively rapid oxidation and breakdown of the coating. At 700 o C, the coated specimens oxidize at relatively similar rates to the uncoated steel. A thin silicon nitride coating gives improved oxidation resistance, with both the coating and its slow-growing oxide being relatively electrically insulating. The particular silicon nitride coating studied here was susceptible to spallation on thermal cycling, due to an inherently weak coating/substrate interface. (Author)

EXAFS and XRD studies of nanocrystalline cerium oxide: the effect of preparation method on the microstructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savin, S.L.P.; Chadwick, A.V.; Smith, M.E.; O'Dell, L.A.

2007-01-01

There is considerable interest in nanocrystalline materials due to their unusual properties, such as enhanced ionic conductivity in the case of nanocrystalline ionic solids. This has potential commercial applications, particularly for oxide ion conductors. However, a detailed knowledge of the microstructure is important in fully understanding the novel properties exhibited by nanocrystalline materials. The final microstructure of a material is dependent on the preparation method used, for example, sol-gel and ball-milling methods are commonly used in the preparation of nanocrystalline oxides. Additionally, there is a problem in maintaining the materials in nanocrystalline form when they are subjected to elevated temperatures. We have been exploring strategies to restrict the growth of nanocrystalline oxides and have found that adding a small amount of an inert material, e.g. SiO 2 or Al 2 O 3 , is particularly effective. We will report XRD and EXAFS studies of nanocrystalline ceria prepared by sol-gel, sol-gel pinned and ball-milling methods and the effect of preparation method on the final microstructure. (copyright 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Surface modification of titanium by plasma nitriding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapczinski Myriam Pereira

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A systematic investigation was undertaken on commercially pure titanium submitted to plasma nitriding. Thirteen different sets of operational parameters (nitriding time, sample temperature and plasma atmosphere were used. Surface analyses were performed using X-ray diffraction, nuclear reaction and scanning electron microscopy. Wear tests were done with stainless steel Gracey scaler, sonic apparatus and pin-on-disc machine. The obtained results indicate that the tribological performance can be improved for samples treated with the following conditions: nitriding time of 3 h; plasma atmosphere consisting of 80%N2+20%H2 or 20%N2+80%H2; sample temperature during nitriding of 600 or 800 degreesC.

Nanocrystalline and ultrafine grain copper obtained by mechanical attrition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo Rodríguez Baracaldo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This article presents a method for the sample preparation and characterisation of bulk copper having grain size lower than 1 μm (ultra-fine grain and lower than 100 nm grain size (nanocrystalline. Copper is initially manufactured by a milling/alloying me- chanical method thereby obtaining a powder having a nanocrystalline structure which is then consolidated through a process of warm compaction at high pressure. Microstructural characterisation of bulk copper samples showed the evolution of grain size during all stages involved in obtaining it. The results led to determining the necessary conditions for achieving a wide range of grain sizes. Mechanical characterisation indicated an increase in microhardness to values of around 3.40 GPa for unconsolida- ted nanocrystalline powder. Compressivee strength was increased by reducing the grain size, thereby obtaining an elastic limit of 650 MPa for consolidated copper having a ~ 62 nm grain size.

Creep behavior of a nanocrystalline Fe-B-Si alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, M.; Kong, Q.P.

1997-01-01

The research of nanocrystalline materials has attracted much attention in the world. In recent years, there have been several studies on their creep behavior. Among these, the authors have studied the tensile creep of a nanocrystalline Ni-P alloy (28 nm) at temperatures around 0.5 Tm (Tm is the melting point). The samples were prepared by the method of crystallization of amorphous ribbon. Based on the data of stress exponent and activation energy, they suggested that the creep was controlled by boundary diffusion; while the creep of the same alloy with a larger grain size (257 nm) was controlled by a different mechanism. In the present paper, the authors extend the research to the creep of a nanocrystalline Fe-B-Si alloy. The samples are also prepared by crystallization of amorphous ribbon. The samples such prepared have an advantage that the interfaces are naturally formed without artificial compaction and porosity

Microstructure characterization and cation distribution of nanocrystalline cobalt ferrite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbas, Y.M.; Mansour, S.A.; Ibrahim, M.H.; Ali, Shehab E.

2011-01-01

Nanocrystalline cobalt ferrite has been synthesized using two different methods: ceramic and co-precipitation techniques. The nanocrystalline ferrite phase has been formed after 3 h of sintering at 1000 deg. C. The structural and microstructural evolutions of the nanophase have been studied using X-ray powder diffraction and the Rietveld method. The refinement result showed that the type of the cationic distribution over the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the nanocrystalline lattice is partially an inverse spinel. The transmission electronic microscope analysis confirmed the X-ray results. The magnetic properties of the samples were characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer. - Highlights: → The refinement result showed that the cationic distribution over the sites in the lattice is partially an inverse spinel. → The transmission electronic microscope analysis confirmed the X-ray results. → The magnetic properties of the samples were characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer.

Electrochemical Solution Growth of Magnetic Nitrides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monson, Todd C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Pearce, Charles [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-10-01

Magnetic nitrides, if manufactured in bulk form, would provide designers of transformers and inductors with a new class of better performing and affordable soft magnetic materials. According to experimental results from thin films and/or theoretical calculations, magnetic nitrides would have magnetic moments well in excess of current state of the art soft magnets. Furthermore, magnetic nitrides would have higher resistivities than current transformer core materials and therefore not require the use of laminates of inactive material to limit eddy current losses. However, almost all of the magnetic nitrides have been elusive except in difficult to reproduce thin films or as inclusions in another material. Now, through its ability to reduce atmospheric nitrogen, the electrochemical solution growth (ESG) technique can bring highly sought after (and previously inaccessible) new magnetic nitrides into existence in bulk form. This method utilizes a molten salt as a solvent to solubilize metal cations and nitrogen ions produced electrochemically and form nitrogen compounds. Unlike other growth methods, the scalable ESG process can sustain high growth rates (~mm/hr) even under reasonable operating conditions (atmospheric pressure and 500 °C). Ultimately, this translates into a high throughput, low cost, manufacturing process. The ESG process has already been used successfully to grow high quality GaN. Below, the experimental results of an exploratory express LDRD project to access the viability of the ESG technique to grow magnetic nitrides will be presented.

Simulation of the Nitriding Process

Science.gov (United States)

Krukovich, M. G.

2004-01-01

Simulation of the nitriding process makes it possible to solve many practical problems of process control, prediction of results, and development of new treatment modes and treated materials. The presented classification systematizes nitriding processes and processes based on nitriding, enables consideration of the theory and practice of an individual process in interrelation with other phenomena, outlines ways for intensification of various process variants, and gives grounds for development of recommendations for controlling the structure and properties of the obtained layers. The general rules for conducting the process and formation of phases in the layer and properties of the treated surfaces are used to create a prediction computational model based on analytical, numerical, and empirical approaches.

Engineering the interface characteristics on the enhancement of field electron emission properties of vertically aligned hexagonal boron nitride nanowalls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sankaran, K.J.; Hoang, D.Q.; Drijkoningen, S.; Pobedinskas, P.; Haenen, K. [Institute for Materials Research (IMO), Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMOMEC, IMEC vzw, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Srinivasu, K.; Leou, K.C. [Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu (China); Korneychuk, S.; Turner, S.; Verbeeck, J. [Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp (Belgium); Lin, I.N. [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui (China)

2016-10-15

Utilization of Au and nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) as interlayers noticeably modifies the microstructure and field electron emission (FEE) properties of hexagonal boron nitride nanowalls (hBNNWs) grown on Si substrates. The FEE properties of hBNNWs on Au could be turned on at a low turn-on field of 14.3 V μm{sup -1}, attaining FEE current density of 2.58 mA cm{sup -2} and life-time stability of 105 min. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the Au-interlayer nucleates the hBN directly, preventing the formation of amorphous boron nitride (aBN) in the interface, resulting in enhanced FEE properties. But Au forms as droplets on the Si substrate forming again aBN at the interface. Conversely, hBNNWs on NCD shows superior in life-time stability of 287 min although it possesses inferior FEE properties in terms of larger turn-on field and lower FEE current density as compared to that of hBNNWs-Au. The uniform and continuous NCD film on Si also circumvents the formation of aBN phases and allows hBN to grow directly on NCD. Incorporation of carbon in hBNNWs from the NCD-interlayer improves the conductivity of hBNNWs, which assists in transporting the electrons efficiently from NCD to hBNNWs that results in better field emission of electrons with high life-time stability. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Variation of intrinsic magnetic parameters of single domain Co-N interstitial nitrides synthesized via hexa-ammine cobalt nitrate route

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ningthoujam, R.S. [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India); Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Panda, R.N., E-mail: rnp@bits-goa.ac.in [Chemistry Group, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Goa Campus, Zuari Nagar, Goa 403726 (India); Gajbhiye, N.S. [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India)

2012-05-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Variation of intrinsic magnetic parameters of Co-N. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synthesis by hexa-ammine cobalt complex route. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Tuning of coercivity by variation of size. - Abstract: We report the variation of Curie temperature (T{sub c}) and coercivity (H{sub c}) of the single domain Co-N interstitial materials synthesized via nitridation of the hexa-ammine Cobalt(III) nitrate complex at 673 K. Co-N materials crystallize in the fcc cubic structure with unit cell parameter, a = 3.552 Angstrom-Sign . The X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks are broader indicating the materials to be nano-structured with crystallite sizes of 5-14 nm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies confirm the nanocrystalline nature of the materials. TEM images show chain-like clusters indicating dipolar interactions between the particles. Magnetic studies focus on the existence of giant magnetic Co atoms in the Co-N lattice that are not influenced by the thermal relaxation. The values of the H{sub c} could be tuned with the dimension of the particles. The values of T{sub c} of the nitride materials are masked by the onset of the ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic transition at higher temperatures. Thermomagnetic studies show an increasing trend in the Curie temperature, T{sub c}, with decrease in particle dimension. This result has been explained qualitatively on the basis of ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic transition and finite size scaling effects.

Strain rate sensitivity studies on bulk nanocrystalline aluminium by nanoindentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varam, Sreedevi; Rajulapati, Koteswararao V., E-mail: kvrse@uohyd.ernet.in; Bhanu Sankara Rao, K.

2014-02-05

Nanocrystalline aluminium powder synthesized using high energy ball milling process was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The studies indicated the powder having an average grain size of ∼42 nm. The consolidation of the powder was carried out by high-pressure compaction using a uni-axial press at room temperature by applying a pressure of 1.5 GPa. The cold compacted bulk sample having a density of ∼98% was subjected to nanoindentation which showed an average hardness and elastic modulus values of 1.67 ± 0.09 GPa and 83 ± 8 GPa respectively at a peak force of 8000 μN and a strain rate of 10{sup −2} s{sup −1}. Achieving good strength along with good ductility is challenging in nanocrystalline metals. When enough sample sizes are not available to measure ductility and other mechanical properties as per ASTM standards, as is the case with nanocrystalline materials, nanoindentation is a very promising technique to evaluate strain rate sensitivity. Strain rate sensitivity is a good measure of ductility and in the present work it is measured by performing indentation at various loads with varying loading rates. Strain rate sensitivity values of 0.024–0.054 are obtained for nanocrystalline Al which are high over conventional coarse grained Al. In addition, Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) image of the indent shows that there is some plastically flown region around the indent suggesting that this nanocrystalline aluminium is ductile.

Size-dependent deformation behavior of nanocrystalline graphene sheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Zhi [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Huang, Yuhong [College of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, Shaanxi (China); Ma, Fei, E-mail: mafei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Sun, Yunjin [Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Product Detection and Control of Spoilage Organisms and Pesticide Residue, Beijing Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety, Beijing 102206 (China); Xu, Kewei, E-mail: kwxu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Department of Physics and Opt-electronic Engineering, Xi’an University of Arts and Science, Xi’an 710065, Shaanxi (China); Chu, Paul K., E-mail: paul.chu@cityu.edu.hk [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

2015-08-15

Highlights: • MD simulation is conducted to study the deformation of nanocrystalline graphene. • Unexpectedly, the elastic modulus decreases with the grain size considerably. • But the fracture stress and strain are nearly insensitive to the grain size. • A composite model with grain domains and GBs as two components is suggested. - Abstract: Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is conducted to study the deformation behavior of nanocrystalline graphene sheets. It is found that the graphene sheets have almost constant fracture stress and strain, but decreased elastic modulus with grain size. The results are different from the size-dependent strength observed in nanocrystalline metals. Structurally, the grain boundaries (GBs) become a principal component in two-dimensional materials with nano-grains and the bond length in GBs tends to be homogeneously distributed. This is almost the same for all the samples. Hence, the fracture stress and strain are almost size independent. As a low-elastic-modulus component, the GBs increase with reducing grain size and the elastic modulus decreases accordingly. A composite model is proposed to elucidate the deformation behavior.

Mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline Fe and Fe–B magnetic alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohammadi, Majid; Ghasemi, Ali, E-mail: ali13912001@yahoo.com; Tavoosi, Majid

2016-12-01

Mechanochemical synthesis and magnetic characterization of nanocrystalline Fe and Fe–B magnetic alloys was the goal of this study. In this regard, different Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}–B{sub 2}O{sub 3} powder mixtures with sufficient amount of CaH{sub 2} were milled in a planetary ball mill in order to produce nanocrystalline Fe, Fe{sub 95}B{sub 5} and Fe{sub 85}B{sub 15} alloys. The produced samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that, nanocrystalline Fe, Fe{sub 95}B{sub 5} and Fe{sub 85}B{sub 15} alloys can be successfully synthesized by the reduction reaction of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and B{sub 2}O{sub 3} with CaH{sub 2} during mechanical alloying. The structure of produced Fe{sub 95}B{sub 5} and Fe{sub 85}B{sub 15} alloys was a combination of Fe and Fe{sub 2}B phases with average crystallite sizes of about 15 and 10 nm, respectively. The produced nanocrystalline alloys exhibited soft magnetic properties with the coercivity and saturation of magnetization in the range of 170–240 Oe and 9–28 emu/g, respectively. Increasing the boron content has a destructive effect on soft magnetic properties of Fe–B alloys. - Highlights: • We study the mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline boron, Fe and Fe–B alloys. • We study the reduction reaction of B{sub 2}O{sub 3}–CaH{sub 2} during milling. • We study the reduction reaction of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}–CaH{sub 2} during milling. • We study the reduction reaction of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}–B{sub 2}O{sub 3}–CaH{sub 2} during milling. • We study the effect of B on magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe–B alloys.

Synthesis and Thermal Conductivity of Exfoliated Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Alumina Ceramic Composite

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Ching-cheh; Hurst, Janet; Santiago, Diana; Lizcano, Maricela; Kelly, Marisabel

2017-01-01

Exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)/alumina composite can be fabricated by following the process of (1) heating a mixture of hBN, AlCl3, and NaF in nitrogen for intercalation; (2) heating the intercalated product in air for exfoliation and at the same time converting the intercalate (AlCl3) into Al2O3, (3) rinsing the oxidized product, (4) coating individual exfoliated hBN platelets that contain Al2O3 with new layers of aluminum oxide, and finally, (5) hot pressing the product into the composite. The composite thus obtained has a composition of approximately 60 percent by weight hBN and 40 percent by weight alumina. Its in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity were measured to be 86 and 18 watts per meter Kelvin, respectively, at room temperature.

Characterization of plasma nitrided layers produced on sintered iron

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Alves Fontes

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Plasma nitriding is a thermo-physical-chemical treatment process, which promotes surface hardening, caused by interstitial diffusion of atomic nitrogen into metallic alloys. In this work, this process was employed in the surface modification of a sintered ferrous alloy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD analyses, and wear and microhardness tests were performed on the samples submitted to ferrox treatment and plasma nitriding carried out under different conditions of time and temperature. The results showed that the nitride layer thickness is higher for all nitrided samples than for ferrox treated samples, and this layer thickness increases with nitriding time and temperature, and temperature is a more significant variable. The XRD analysis showed that the nitrided layer, for all samples, near the surface consists in a mixture of γ′-Fe4N and ɛ-Fe3N phases. Both wear resistance and microhardness increase with nitriding time and temperature, and temperature influences both the characteristics the most.

Innovative boron nitride-doped propellants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thelma Manning

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The U.S. military has a need for more powerful propellants with balanced/stoichiometric amounts of fuel and oxidants. However, balanced and more powerful propellants lead to accelerated gun barrel erosion and markedly shortened useful barrel life. Boron nitride (BN is an interesting potential additive for propellants that could reduce gun wear effects in advanced propellants (US patent pending 2015-026P. Hexagonal boron nitride is a good lubricant that can provide wear resistance and lower flame temperatures for gun barrels. Further, boron can dope steel, which drastically improves its strength and wear resistance, and can block the formation of softer carbides. A scalable synthesis method for producing boron nitride nano-particles that can be readily dispersed into propellants has been developed. Even dispersion of the nano-particles in a double-base propellant has been demonstrated using a solvent-based processing approach. Stability of a composite propellant with the BN additive was verified. In this paper, results from propellant testing of boron nitride nano-composite propellants are presented, including closed bomb and wear and erosion testing. Detailed characterization of the erosion tester substrates before and after firing was obtained by electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This promising boron nitride additive shows the ability to improve gun wear and erosion resistance without any destabilizing effects to the propellant. Potential applications could include less erosive propellants in propellant ammunition for large, medium and small diameter fire arms.

Investigation of microstructure thermal evolution in nanocrystalline Cu

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Kai; Li Hui; Pang Jinbiao; Wang Zhu

2011-01-01

The microstructure of nanocrystalline Cu prepared by compacting nanoparticles (50-60 nm in diameter) under high pressures has been studied by means of positron lifetime spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. These nanoparticles were produced by two different methods. We found that there are order regions interior to the grains and disorder regions at the grain boundaries with a wide distribution of interatomic distances. The mean grain sizes of the nanocrystalline Cu samples decrease after being annealed at 900 o C and increase during aging at 180 o C, which are observed by X-ray diffraction, revealing that the atoms exchange between the two regions. The positron lifetime results clearly indicate that the vacancy clusters formed in the annealing process are unstable and decomposed at the aging time below 6 hours. In addition, the partially oxidized surfaces of the nanoparticles hinder grain growth when the samples age at 180 o C, and the vacancy clusters inside the disorder regions, which are related to Cu 2 O, need longer aging time to decompose. The disorder regions remain after the heat treatment in this work, in spite of the grain growth, which will be good for the samples keeping the properties of nanocrystalline material. -- Research highlights: → We use a digital positron lifetime spectrometer correlated with XRD to study the microstructure evolution of nanocrystalline Cu during thermal treatment. → An atomic scale microstructure of grain boundary is characterized. Further, the surface oxidation of the nanoparticles is considered. → The disorder regions remain after the heat treatment in this work, in spite of grain growth.

Critical currents and fields of disordered nanocrystalline superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yavary, H.; Shahzamanian, M.A.; Rabbani, H.

2007-01-01

Full text: There is an enormous effort directed at increasing the upper critical field of the superconducting materials because this upper critical field provides a fundamental limit to the maximum field a magnet system can produce. High-energy particle accelerators and medical resonance imaging body scanners are limited by the for NbTi (10 T). Gigahertz class nuclear-magnetic-resonance and high field laboratory magnets are limited by for Nb 3 Sn (23 T) [1]. However, the values of critical current density are too low for industrial use, possibly because of degraded or nonsuperconducting phases, such as MoS 2 or Mo 2 S 3 , at the grain boundaries or because the pinning site density is not high enough. It has long been known that decreasing the grain size of low-temperature superconducting (LTS) materials, such as Nb 3 Sn, increases the density of flux pinning sites and hence. Nanocrystalline materials are characterized by ultrafine grains and a high density of grain boundaries [2]. Hence nanocrystalline materials can exhibit unusual physical, chemical, and mechanical properties with respect to conventional polycrystalline materials. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structure of currents and fields in disordered nanocrystalline superconducting materials by the use of quasiclassical many body techniques. The Keldish Greens functions are used to calculate the current density of the system. Since the disorder and microstructure of these nanocrystalline materials are on a sufficiently short length scale as to increase both the density of pinning site and the upper critical field. (authors)

Green synthesis of nanocrystalline α-Al2O3 powders by both wet-chemical and mechanochemical methods

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Huiying; Li, Zhiyong; Zhao, Peng

2018-03-01

Nanosized α-Al2O3 powders were prepared with AlCl3ṡ6H2O and NH4HCO3 as raw materials by both wet-chemical and mechanochemical methods, through the synthesis of the ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide (AACH) precursor followed by calcination. The environmentally benign starch was used as an effective dispersant during the preparation of nanocrystalline α-Al2O3 powders. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to characterize the precursor AACH and products. The results show that nanosized spherical α-Al2O3 powders without hard agglomeration and with particle size in the range of 20-40 nm can be obtained by the two methods. Comparing the two “green” processes, the mechanochemical method has better prospects for commercial production.

Ultrafast Terahertz Conductivity of Photoexcited Nanocrystalline Silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cooke, David; MacDonald, A. Nicole; Hryciw, Aaron

2007-01-01

The ultrafast transient ac conductivity of nanocrystalline silicon films is investigated using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. While epitaxial silicon on sapphire exhibits a free carrier Drude response, silicon nanocrystals embedded in glass show a response that is best described by a class...... in the silicon nanocrystal films is dominated by trapping at the Si/SiO2 interface states, occurring on a 1–100 ps time scale depending on particle size and hydrogen passivation......The ultrafast transient ac conductivity of nanocrystalline silicon films is investigated using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. While epitaxial silicon on sapphire exhibits a free carrier Drude response, silicon nanocrystals embedded in glass show a response that is best described...

Transformation of Goethite to Hematite Nanocrystallines by High Energy Ball Milling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. M. Lemine

2014-01-01

Full Text Available α-Fe2O3 nanocrystallines were prepared by direct transformation via high energy ball milling treatment for α-FeOOH powder. X-ray diffraction, Rietveld analysis, TEM, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM are used to characterize the samples obtained after several milling times. Phase identification using Rietveld analysis showed that the goethite is transformed to hematite nanocrystalline after 40 hours of milling. HRTEM confirm that the obtained phase is mostly a single-crystal structure. This result suggested that the mechanochemical reaction is an efficient way to prepare some iron oxides nanocrystallines from raw materials which are abundant in the nature. The mechanism of the formation of hematite is discussed in text.

Generation and Characteristics of IV-VI transition Metal Nitride and Carbide Nanoparticles using a Reactive Mesoporous Carbon Nitride

KAUST Repository

Alhajri, Nawal Saad

2016-02-22

Interstitial nitrides and carbides of early transition metals in groups IV–VI exhibit platinum-like electronic structures, which make them promising candidates to replace noble metals in various catalytic reactions. Herein, we present the preparation and characterization of nano-sized transition metal nitries and carbides of groups IV–VI (Ti, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, and W) using mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4), which not only provides confined spaces for restricting primary particle size but also acts as a chemical source of nitrogen and carbon. We studied the reactivity of the metals with the template under N2 flow at 1023 K while keeping the weight ratio of metal to template constant at unity. The produced nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, CHN elemental analysis, nitrogen sorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that Ti, V, Nb, Ta, and Cr form nitride phases with face centered cubic structure, whereas Mo and W forme carbides with hexagonal structures. The tendency to form nitride or carbide obeys the free formation energy of the transition metal nitrides and carbides. This method offers the potential to prepare the desired size, shape and phase of transition metal nitrides and carbides that are suitable for a specific reaction, which is the chief objective of materials chemistry.

Characterization of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, Paul K.; Li Liuhe

2006-01-01

Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films possess special chemical and physical properties such as high chemical inertness, diamond-like properties, and favorable tribological proprieties. The materials usually consist of graphite and diamond microstructures and thus possess properties that lie between the two. Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films can exist in different kinds of matrices and are usually doped with a large amount of hydrogen. Thus, carbon films can be classified as polymer-like, diamond-like, or graphite-like based on the main binding framework. In order to characterize the structure, either direct bonding characterization methods or the indirect bonding characterization methods are employed. Examples of techniques utilized to identify the chemical bonds and microstructure of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films include optical characterization methods such as Raman spectroscopy, Ultra-violet (UV) Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, electron spectroscopic and microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy, surface morphology characterization techniques such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) as well as other characterization methods such as X-ray reflectivity and nuclear magnetic resonance. In this review, the structures of various types of amorphous carbon films and common characterization techniques are described

Preparation and study of the nitrides and mixed carbide-nitrides of uranium and of plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anselin, F.

1966-06-01

A detailed description is given of a simple method for preparing uranium and plutonium nitrides by the direct action of nitrogen under pressure at moderate temperatures (about 400 C) on the partially hydrogenated bulk metal. It is shown that there is complete miscibility between the UN and PuN phases. The variations in the reticular parameters of the samples as a function of temperature and in the presence of oxide have been used to detect and evaluate the solubility of oxygen in the different phases. A study has been made of the sintering of these nitrides as a function of the preparation conditions with or without sintering additives. A favorable but non-reproducible, effect has been found for traces of oxide. The best results were obtained for pure UN at 1600 C (96 per cent theoretical density) on condition that a well defined powder, was used. The criterion used is the integral width of the X-ray diffraction lines. The compounds UN and PuN are completely miscible with the corresponding carbides. This makes it possible to prepare carbide-nitrides of the general formula (U,Pu) (C,N) by solid-phase diffusion, at around 1400 C. The sintering of these carbide-nitrides is similar to that of the carbides if the nitrogen content is low; in particular, nickel is an efficient sintering agent. For high contents, the sintering is similar to that of pure nitrides. (author) [fr

Texture-dependent twin formation in nanocrystalline thin Pd films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, B.; Idrissi, H.; Shi, H.; Colla, M.S.; Michotte, S.; Raskin, J.P.; Pardoen, T.; Schryvers, D.

2012-01-01

Nanocrystalline Pd films were produced by electron-beam evaporation and sputter deposition. The electron-beam-evaporated films reveal randomly oriented nanograins with a relatively high density of growth twins, unexpected in view of the high stacking fault energy of Pd. In contrast, sputter-deposited films show a clear 〈1 1 1〉 crystallographic textured nanostructure without twins. These results provide insightful information to guide the generation of microstructures with enhanced strength/ductility balance in high stacking fault energy nanocrystalline metallic thin films.

X-ray absorption and emission study of amorphous and nanocrystalline GaN films containing buried N2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruck, B.J.; Koo, A.; Budde, F.; Granville, S.; Trodahl, H.J.

2004-01-01

Full text: It has been predicted that amorphous gallium nitride (a-GaN) may possess a well-defined wide band gap, and is thus a potential substitute for the more expensive crystalline form used in short wavelength optoelectronic devices. Experimental investigations of disordered GaN have lent support to this prediction, but the picture is complicated because the properties of the amorphous state are not unique, and instead depend on the exact nature of the disordered structure. We have pioneered a novel ion-assisted growth technique that produces GaN films with a microstructure that ranges from nanocrystalline, with crystallite size of order 3 nm, to fully amorphous, depending on the exact growth conditions. This presentation will give an overview of our research into the properties of disordered GaN, including characterization of the physical structure of the films and their electronic energy levels, and also their photoconductive response. In particular I will focus on synchrotron radiation studies of samples with a range of different microstructures. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) provide particularly powerful tools for examining a sample's empty and filled electronic energy levels, respectively. The details of the absorption and emission processes make it possible to obtain atom-specific information and to investigate the symmetry of the electronic levels. An example of the information obtained is shown. The thin solid curve shows XAS data, which is a measure of the nitrogen /7-projected density of unfilled electronic states in this nanocrystalline GaN sample. The thick solid curve shows XES data from the same sample, which provides complementary information about the occupied valence band states. Although the spectral features are broader in fully amorphous films than in nanocrystalline samples, a well-defined band gap exists in both cases with magnitude similar to that of crystalline GaN. There are additional feature

Topological characterization of nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced Poly (lactic acid) and Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) bionanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, A. H.; Dasan, Y. K.; Khan, Ihsan Ullah; Ahmad, Faiz; Ayoub, Muhammad

2016-11-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the morphological and barrier properties of nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced Poly (lactic acid) and Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) bionanocomposites. Nanocrystalline cellulose was isolated from waste oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber using Sulphuric acid hydrolysis. Chemical modifications of nanocrystalline cellulose was performed to allow good compatibilization between fiber and the polymer matrices and also to improve dispersion of fillers. Bionanocomposite materials were produced from these nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced Poly (lactic acid) and Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) using solvent casting and evaporation techniques. The properties of extracted nanocrystalline cellulose were examined using FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, TEM and AFM. Besides that, the properties of bionanocomposites were examined through FESEM and oxygen permeability properties analysis. Better barrier and morphological properties were obtained for nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced bionanocomposites than for neat polymer blend.

Method of preparation of uranium nitride

Science.gov (United States)

Kiplinger, Jaqueline Loetsch; Thomson, Robert Kenneth James

2013-07-09

Method for producing terminal uranium nitride complexes comprising providing a suitable starting material comprising uranium; oxidizing the starting material with a suitable oxidant to produce one or more uranium(IV)-azide complexes; and, sufficiently irradiating the uranium(IV)-azide complexes to produce the terminal uranium nitride complexes.

Microstructural Characterization of Low Temperature Gas Nitrided Martensitic Stainless Steel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandes, Frederico Augusto Pires; Christiansen, Thomas Lundin; Somers, Marcel A. J.

2015-01-01

The present work presents microstructural investigations of the surface zone of low temperature gas nitrided precipitation hardening martensitic stainless steel AISI 630. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was applied to investigate the present phases after successive removal of very thin sections...... of the sample surface. The development of epsilon nitride, expanded austenite and expanded martensite resulted from the low temperature nitriding treatments. The microstructural features, hardness and phase composition are discussed with emphasis on the influence of nitriding duration and nitriding potential....

Pyrochemical reprocessing of nitride fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakazono, Yoshihisa; Iwai, Takashi; Arai, Yasuo

2004-01-01

Electrochemical behavior of actinide nitrides in LiCl-KCl eutectic melt was investigated in order to apply pyrochemical process to nitride fuel cycle. The electrode reaction of UN and (U, Nd)N was examined by cyclic voltammetry. The observed rest potential of (U, Nd)N depended on the equilibrium of U 3+ /UN and was not affected by the addition of NdN of 8 wt.%. (author)

Electrodeposition and characterization of nanocrystalline CoNiFe films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Y.; Wang, Q.P. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Cai, C. [School of Chemistry and chemical engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021 (China); Yuan, Y.N. [Department of Materials and Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Cao, F.H. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Zhang, Z., E-mail: eaglezzy@zjuem.zju.edu.cn [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Zhang, J.Q. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); State Key Laboratory for Corrosion and Protection of Metals, Shenyang 110016 (China)

2012-02-29

Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films have been fabricated using cyclic voltammetry technique from the solutions containing sulfate, then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometer. Meanwhile, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy technique has been employed to probe into the nucleation/growth behavior of Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films. The results show that, the obtained Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} film possesses low coercivity of 973.3 A/m and high saturation magnetic flux density of 1.59 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} A/m. Under the experimental conditions, the nucleation/growth process of Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films is mainly under activation control. With the increase of the applied cathodic potential bias, the charge transfer resistance for CoNiFe deposition decreases exponentially. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} film is obtained using cyclic voltammetry technique. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} possesses low coercivity of 973.3 A/m. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} possesses high saturation magnetic flux density. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The nucleation/growth process of CoNiFe films is mainly under activation control. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The charge transfer resistance for CoNiFe deposition decreases exponentially.

Radiation influence on properties of nanocrystalline alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holkova, D.; Sitek, J.; Novak, P.; Dekan, J.

2016-01-01

Our work is focused on the studied of structural changes amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys after irradiation with electrons. For the analysis of these alloy we use two spectroscopic methods: Moessbauer spectroscopy and XRD. Measurements of nanocrystalline (Fe 3 Ni 1 ) 81 Nb 7 B 12 samples before and after electrons irradiation by means of Moessbauer spectroscopy and XRD showed that the electrons causes changes in magnetic structure which is reflected changes of direction of net magnetic moment. Structural changes occurs in the frame of error indicated by both spectroscopic methods. We can confirm that this kind alloys a resistive again electrons irradiation up to doses of 4 MGy. We observed in this frame only beginning of the radiation damage. (authors)

A computation model for the corrosion resistance of nanocrystalline zirconium metal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiyan; Shi Minghua; Liu Nianfu; Wei Yiming; Li Cong; Qiu Shaoyu; Zhang Qiang; Zhang Pengcheng

2007-01-01

In this paper a computation model of corrosion rate-grain size of nanocrystalline and ultra-fine zirconium has been presented. The model is based on the Wagner's theory and the electron theory of solids. The conductivity, electronic mean free path and grain size of metal were considered. By this model, the corrosion rate of zirconium metal under different temperature was computed. The results show that the corrosion weight gain and rate constant of nanocrystalline zirconium is lower than that of zirconium with coarse grain size. And the corrosion rate constant and weight gain of nanocrystalline zirconium metal decrease with the decrease of grain size. So the refinement of grain size can remarkably improve the corrosion resistance of zirconium metal. (authors)

High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of bulk- and nanocrystalline GaN

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jorgensen, J.E.; Jakobsen, J.M.; Jiang, Jianzhong

2003-01-01

Bulk- and nanocrystalline GaN have been studied by high-pressure energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. Pressure-induced structural phase transitions from the wurtzite to the NaCl phase were observed in both materials. The transition pressure was found to be 40 GPa for the bulk-crystalline GaN, while...... the wurtzite phase was retained up to 60 GPa in the case of nanocrystalline GaN. The bulk moduli for the wurtzite phases were determined to be 187 ( 7) and 319 ( 10) GPa for the bulk- and nanocrystalline phases, respectively, while the respective NaCl phases were found to have very similar bulk moduli [ 208...

Fusion bonding of silicon nitride surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reck, Kasper; Østergaard, Christian; Thomsen, Erik Vilain

2011-01-01

While silicon nitride surfaces are widely used in many micro electrical mechanical system devices, e.g. for chemical passivation, electrical isolation or environmental protection, studies on fusion bonding of two silicon nitride surfaces (Si3N4–Si3N4 bonding) are very few and highly application...

EDITORIAL: Non-polar and semipolar nitride semiconductors Non-polar and semipolar nitride semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jung; Kneissl, Michael

2012-02-01

Throughout the history of group-III-nitride materials and devices, scientific breakthroughs and technological advances have gone hand-in-hand. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the discovery of the nucleation of smooth (0001) GaN films on c-plane sapphire and the activation of p-dopants in GaN led very quickly to the realization of high-brightness blue and green LEDs, followed by the first demonstration of GaN-based violet laser diodes in the mid 1990s. Today, blue InGaN LEDs boast record external quantum efficiencies exceeding 80% and the emission wavelength of the InGaN-based laser diode has been pushed into the green spectral range. Although these tremenduous advances have already spurred multi-billion dollar industries, there are still a number of scientific questions and technological issues that are unanswered. One key challenge is related to the polar nature of the III-nitride wurtzite crystal. Until a decade ago all research activities had almost exclusively concentrated on (0001)-oriented polar GaN layers and heterostructures. Although the device characteristics seem excellent, the strong polarization fields at GaN heterointerfaces can lead to a significant deterioration of the device performance. Triggered by the first demonstration non-polar GaN quantum wells grown on LiAlO2 by Waltereit and colleagues in 2000, impressive advances in the area of non-polar and semipolar nitride semiconductors and devices have been achieved. Today, a large variety of heterostructures free of polarization fields and exhibiting exceptional electronic and optical properties have been demonstrated, and the fundamental understanding of polar, semipolar and non-polar nitrides has made significant leaps forward. The contributions in this Semiconductor Science and Technology special issue on non-polar and semipolar nitride semiconductors provide an impressive and up-to-date cross-section of all areas of research and device physics in this field. The articles cover a wide range of

Plasma nitridation optimization for sub-15 A gate dielectrics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cubaynes, F.N; Schmitz, Jurriaan; van der Marel, C.; Snijders, J.H.M.; Veloso, A.; Rothschild, A.; Olsen, C.; Date, L.

The work investigates the impact of plasma nitridation process parameters upon the physical properties and upon the electrical performance of sub-15 A plasma nitrided gate dielectrics. The nitrogen distribution and chemical bonding of ultra-thin plasma nitrided films have been investigated using

Diagnostic of corrosion–erosion evolution for [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escobar, C.; Villarreal, M. [Thin Film Group, Universidad del Valle, A.A. 25360, Cali (Colombia); Caicedo, J.C., E-mail: jcaicedoangulo1@gmail.com [Powder Metallurgy and Processing of Solid Recycled Research Group, Universidad del Valle, Cali (Colombia); Aperador, W. [Ingeniería Mecatrónica, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá (Colombia); Caicedo, H.H. [Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Prieto, P. [Thin Film Group, Universidad del Valle, A.A. 25360, Cali (Colombia); Center of Excellence for Novel Materials, CENM, Cali (Colombia)

2013-10-31

HfN/VN multilayered systems were grown on 4140 steel substrates with the aim to improve their electrochemical behavior. The multilayered coatings were grown via reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering technique by systematically varying the bilayer period (Λ) and the bilayer number (n) while maintaining constant the total coating thickness (∼ 1.2 μm). The coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties were studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Tafel curves. XRD results showed preferential growth in the face-centered cubic (111) crystal structure for [HfN/VN]{sub n} multilayered coatings. The maximum corrosion resistance was obtained for coatings with (Λ) equal to 15 nm, corresponding to bilayer n = 80. Polarization resistance and corrosion rate was around 112.19 kΩ cm{sup 2} and 0.094*10{sup −3} mmy respectively; moreover, these multilayered system showed a decrease of 80% on mass loss due to the corrosive–erosive process, in relation to multilayered systems with n = 1 and Λ = 1200. HfN/VN multilayers have been designed and deposited on Si (100) and AISI 4140 steel substrates with bilayer periods (Λ) in a broad range, from nanometers to hundreds of nanometers to study the microstructural evolution and electrochemical progress with decreasing bilayer thickness. - Highlights: • Enhancements on surface electrochemical properties and response to surface corrosion attack. • Superficial phenomenon that occurs in corrosion surface of [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n • Corrosion–erosion evolution for [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n structures.

Diagnostic of corrosion–erosion evolution for [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobar, C.; Villarreal, M.; Caicedo, J.C.; Aperador, W.; Caicedo, H.H.; Prieto, P.

2013-01-01

HfN/VN multilayered systems were grown on 4140 steel substrates with the aim to improve their electrochemical behavior. The multilayered coatings were grown via reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering technique by systematically varying the bilayer period (Λ) and the bilayer number (n) while maintaining constant the total coating thickness (∼ 1.2 μm). The coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties were studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Tafel curves. XRD results showed preferential growth in the face-centered cubic (111) crystal structure for [HfN/VN] n multilayered coatings. The maximum corrosion resistance was obtained for coatings with (Λ) equal to 15 nm, corresponding to bilayer n = 80. Polarization resistance and corrosion rate was around 112.19 kΩ cm 2 and 0.094*10 −3 mmy respectively; moreover, these multilayered system showed a decrease of 80% on mass loss due to the corrosive–erosive process, in relation to multilayered systems with n = 1 and Λ = 1200. HfN/VN multilayers have been designed and deposited on Si (100) and AISI 4140 steel substrates with bilayer periods (Λ) in a broad range, from nanometers to hundreds of nanometers to study the microstructural evolution and electrochemical progress with decreasing bilayer thickness. - Highlights: • Enhancements on surface electrochemical properties and response to surface corrosion attack. • Superficial phenomenon that occurs in corrosion surface of [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n • Corrosion–erosion evolution for [Hf-Nitrides/V-Nitrides]n structures

Hydride vapor phase epitaxy growth of GaN, InGaN, ScN, and ScAIN

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bohnen, T.

2010-01-01

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD); hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE); gallium nitride (GaN); indium gallium nitride (InGaN); scandium nitride (ScN); scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN); semiconductors; thin films; nanowires; III nitrides; crystal growth - We studied the HVPE growth of different III

Polarity inversion of AlN film grown on nitrided a-plane sapphire substrate with pulsed DC reactive sputtering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marsetio Noorprajuda

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The effect of oxygen partial pressure (PO2 on polarity and crystalline quality of AlN films grown on nitrided a-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed direct current (DC reactive sputtering was investigated as a fundamental study. The polarity inversion of AlN from nitrogen (−c-polarity to aluminum (+c-polarity occurred during growth at a high PO2 of 9.4×103 Pa owing to Al-O octahedral formation at the interface of nitrided layer and AlN sputtered film which reset the polarity of AlN. The top part of the 1300 nm-thick AlN film sputtered at the high PO2 was polycrystallized. The crystalline quality was improved owing to the high kinetic energy of Al sputtered atom in the sputtering phenomena. Thinner AlN films were also fabricated at the high PO2 to eliminate the polycrystallization. For the 200 nm-thick AlN film sputtered at the high PO2, the full width at half-maximum values of the AlN (0002 and (10−12 X-ray diffraction rocking curves were 47 and 637 arcsec, respectively.

Piezoresistive polysilicon film obtained by low-temperature aluminum-induced crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Suraj Kumar; Celik-Butler, Zeynep; Butler, Donald P.

2010-01-01

A low-temperature deposition process employing aluminum-induced crystallization has been developed for fabrication of piezoresistive polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) films on low cost and flexible polyimide substrates for force and pressure sensing applications. To test the piezoresistive properties of the polysilicon films, prototype pressure sensors were fabricated on surface-micromachined silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) diaphragms, in a half-Wheatstone bridge configuration. Characterization of the pressure sensor was performed using atomic force microscope in contact mode with a specially modified probe-tip. Low pressure values ranging from 5 kPa to 45 kPa were achieved by this method. The resistance change was found to be - 0.1% to 0.5% and 0.07% to 0.3% for polysilicon films obtained at 500 o C and 400 o C, respectively, for the applied pressure range.

Research Update: Phonon engineering of nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junichiro Shiomi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics can be a solution to improve the cost-effectiveness of thermoelectric technology from both material and integration viewpoints. While their figure-of-merit is still developing, recent advances in theoretical/numerical calculations, property measurements, and structural synthesis/fabrication have opened up possibilities to develop the materials based on fundamental physics of phonon transport. Here, this is demonstrated by reviewing a series of works on nanocrystalline silicon materials using calculations of multiscale phonon transport, measurements of interfacial heat conduction, and synthesis from nanoparticles. Integration of these approaches allows us to engineer phonon transport to improve the thermoelectric performance by introducing local silicon-oxide structures.

Nano-particulate Aluminium Nitride/Al: An Efficient and Versatile Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Biginelli Scaffolds

Science.gov (United States)

Tekale, S. U.; Tekale, A. B.; Kanhe, N. S.; Bhoraskar, S. V.; Pawar, R. P.

2011-12-01

Nano-particulate aluminium nitride/Al (7:1) is reported as a new heterogeneous solid acid catalyst for the synthesis of 3, 4-dihydroxypyrimidi-2-(1H)-ones and their sulphur analogues using the Biginelli reaction. This method involves short reaction time, easy separation, high yields and purity of products.

Mesoporous coaxial titanium nitride-vanadium nitride fibers of core-shell structures for high-performance supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xinhong; Shang, Chaoqun; Gu, Lin; Dong, Shanmu; Chen, Xiao; Han, Pengxian; Li, Lanfeng; Yao, Jianhua; Liu, Zhihong; Xu, Hongxia; Zhu, Yuwei; Cui, Guanglei

2011-08-01

In this study, titanium nitride-vanadium nitride fibers of core-shell structures were prepared by the coaxial electrospinning, and subsequently annealed in the ammonia for supercapacitor applications. These core-shell (TiN-VN) fibers incorporated mesoporous structure into high electronic conducting transition nitride hybrids, which combined higher specific capacitance of VN and better rate capability of TiN. These hybrids exhibited higher specific capacitance (2 mV s(-1), 247.5 F g(-1)) and better rate capability (50 mV s(-1), 160.8 F g(-1)), which promise a good candidate for high-performance supercapacitors. It was also revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization that the minor capacitance fade originated from the surface oxidation of VN and TiN.

Additive Manufacturing of Dense Hexagonal Boron Nitride Objects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marquez Rossy, Andres E [ORNL; Armstrong, Beth L [ORNL; Elliott, Amy M [ORNL; Lara-Curzio, Edgar [ORNL

2017-05-12

The feasibility of manufacturing hexagonal boron nitride objects via additive manufacturing techniques was investigated. It was demonstrated that it is possible to hot-extrude thermoplastic filaments containing uniformly distributed boron nitride particles with a volume concentration as high as 60% and that these thermoplastic filaments can be used as feedstock for 3D-printing objects using a fused deposition system. Objects 3D-printed by fused deposition were subsequently sintered at high temperature to obtain dense ceramic products. In a parallel study the behavior of hexagonal boron nitride in aqueous solutions was investigated. It was shown that the addition of a cationic dispersant to an azeotrope enabled the formulation of slurries with a volume concentration of boron nitride as high as 33%. Although these slurries exhibited complex rheological behavior, the results from this study are encouraging and provide a pathway for manufacturing hexagonal boron nitride objects via robocasting.

Aluminum anode for aluminum-air battery - Part I: Influence of aluminum purity

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Young-Joo; Park, In-Jun; Lee, Hyeok-Jae; Kim, Jung-Gu

2015-03-01

2N5 commercial grade aluminum (99.5% purity) leads to the lower aluminum-air battery performances than 4N high pure grade aluminum (99.99% purity) due to impurities itself and formed impurity complex layer which contained Fe, Si, Cu and others. The impurity complex layer of 2N5 grade Al declines the battery voltage on standby status. It also depletes discharge current and battery efficiency at 1.0 V which is general operating voltage of aluminum-air battery. However, the impurity complex layer of 2N5 grade Al is dissolved with decreasing discharge voltage to 0.8 V. This phenomenon leads to improvement of discharge current density and battery efficiency by reducing self-corrosion reaction. This study demonstrates the possibility of use of 2N5 grade Al which is cheaper than 4N grade Al as the anode for aluminum-air battery.

Aluminum surface modification by a non-mass-analyzed nitrogen ion beam

Science.gov (United States)

Ohira, Shigeo; Iwaki, Masaya

Non-mass-analyzed nitrogen ion implantation into polycrystal and single crystal aluminum sheets has been carried out at an accelerating voltage of 90 kV and a dose of 1 × 10 18 N ions/cm 2 using a Zymet implanter model Z-100. The pressure during implantation rose to 10 -3 Pa due to the influence of N gas feeding into the ion source. The characteristics of the surface layers were investigated by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron diffraction (TED), and microscopy (TEM). The AES depth profiling shows a rectangular-like distribution of N atoms and little migration of O atoms near the surface. The high dose N-implantation forms c-axis oriented aluminum nitride (AIN) crystallines, and especially irradiation of Al single crystals with N ions leads to the formation of a hcp AlN single crystal. It is concluded that the high dose N-implantation in Al can result in the formation of AlN at room temperature without any thermal annealing. Furthermore, non-mass-analyzed N-implantation at a pressure of 10 -3 Pa of the nitrogen atmosphere causes the formation of pure AlN single crystals in the Al surface layer and consequently it can be practically used for AlN production.

Microstructure characterization of nanocrystalline TiC synthesized by mechanical alloying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, B.; Pradhan, S.K.

2010-01-01

Nanocrystalline TiC is produced by mechanical milling the stoichiometric mixture of α-Ti and graphite powders at room temperature under argon atmosphere within 35 min of milling through a self-propagating combustion reaction. Microstructure characterization of the unmilled and ball-milled samples was done by both X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. It reveals the fact that initially graphite layers were oriented along and in the course of milling, thin graphite layers were distributed evenly among the grain boundaries of α-Ti particles. Both α-Ti and TiC lattices contain stacking faults of different kinds. The grain size distribution obtained from the Rietveld's method and electron microscopy studies ensure that nanocrystalline TiC particles with almost uniform size (∼13 nm) can be prepared by mechanical alloying technique. The result obtained from X-ray analysis corroborates well with the microstructure characterization of nanocrystalline TiC by electron microscopy.

Thermal stability of grain boundaries in nanocrystalline Zn studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Kai; Li Hui; Pang Jinbiao; Wang Zhu

2012-01-01

Nanocrystalline Zn prepared by compacting nanoparticles with mean grain size about 55 nm at 15 MPa has been studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy. For the bulk Zn sample, the vacancy defect is annealed out at about 350 °C, but for the nanocrystalline Zn sample, the vacancy cluster in grain boundaries is quite difficult to be annealed out even at very high temperature (410 °C). In the grain boundaries of nanocrystalline Zn, the small free volume defect (not larger than divacancy) is dominant according to the high relative intensity for the short positron lifetime (τ 1 ). The oxide (ZnO) inside the grain boundaries has been found having an effect to hinder the decrease of average positron lifetime (τ av ), which probably indicates that the oxide stabilizes the microstructure of the grain boundaries. This stabilization is very important for the nanocrystalline materials using as radiation resistant materials.

Magnetic behavior of nanocrystalline nickel ferrite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nathani, H.; Gubbala, S.; Misra, R.D.K.

2005-01-01

In the previous papers [R.D.K. Misra, A. Kale, R.S. Srivatsava, O. Senkov, Mater. Sci. Technol. 19 (2003) 826; R.D.K. Misra, A. Kale, B. Hooi, J.Th. DeHosson, Mater. Sci. Technol. 19 (2003) 1617; A. Kale, S. Gubbala, R.D.K. Misra, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 277 (2004) 350; S. Gubbala, H. Nathani, K. Koizol, R.D.K. Misra, Phys. B 348 (2004) 317; R.D.K. Misra, S. Gubbala, A. Kale, W.F. Egelhoff, Mater. Sci. Eng. B. 111 (2004) 164], we reported the synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic behavior of nanocrystalline ferrites of inverse and mixed spinel structure made by reverse micelle technique that enabled a narrow particle size distribution to be obtained. In the present paper, the reverse micelle approach has been extended to synthesize nanocrystalline ferrites with varying surface roughness of 8-18 A (the surface roughness was measured by atomic force microscopy) and the magnetic behavior studied by SQUID magnetometer. Two different kinds of measurement were performed: (a) zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) magnetization versus temperature measurements and (b) magnetization as a function of applied field. The analysis of magnetic measurement suggests significant influence of surface roughness of particles on the magnetic behavior. While the superparamagnetic behavior is retained by the nanocrystalline ferrites of different surface roughness at 300 K, the hysteresis loop at 2 K becomes non-squared and the coercivity increases with increase in surface roughness. This behavior is discussed in terms of broken bonds and degree of surface spin disorder

Capacitive performance of molybdenum nitride/titanium nitride nanotube array for supercapacitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xie, Yibing, E-mail: ybxie@seu.edu.cn; Tian, Fang

2017-01-15

Highlights: • MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA is fully converted from MoO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} NTA by one-step nitridation process. • MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA is used as feasible electrode material of high-performance supercapacitor. • MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA shows high capacitance, rate capability and cycling stability. - Abstract: Molybdenum nitride (MoN{sub x}) depositing on titanium nitride nanotube array (TiN NTA) was designed as MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA for supercapacitor electrode material. MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA was fabricated by electrodepositing molybdenum oxide onto titanium dioxide NTA and one-step nitridation treatment in ammonia. MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA involved top-surface layer of MoN{sub x} nanoparticles and underlying layer of TiN NTA, which contributed to electric double layer capacitance in aqueous lithium-ion electrolyte solution. The specific capacitance was increased from 69.05 mF cm{sup −2} for TiN NTA to 121.50 mF cm{sup −2} for MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA at 0.3 mA cm{sup −2}, presenting the improved capacitance performance. MoN{sub x} exhibited the capacitance of 174.83 F g{sup −1} at 1.5 A g{sup −1} and slightly declined to 109.13 F g{sup −1} at 30 A g{sup −1}, presenting high rate capability. MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA exhibited the capacitance retention ratio of 93.8% at 3.0 mA cm{sup −2} after 1000 cycles, presenting high cycling stability. MoN{sub x}/TiN NTA could act as a promising electrode material of supercapacitor.

Nitride coating enhances endothelialization on biomedical NiTi shape memory alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ion, Raluca [University of Bucharest, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 91-95 Spl. Independentei, 050095 Bucharest (Romania); Luculescu, Catalin [National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor, P.O. Box MG-36, 077125 Magurele-Bucharest (Romania); Cimpean, Anisoara, E-mail: anisoara.cimpean@bio.unibuc.ro [University of Bucharest, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 91-95 Spl. Independentei, 050095 Bucharest (Romania); Marx, Philippe [AMF Company, Route de Quincy, 18120 Lury-sur-Arnon (France); Gordin, Doina-Margareta; Gloriant, Thierry [INSA Rennes, UMR CNRS 6226 ISCR, 20 Avenue des Buttes de Coësmes, 35708 Rennes Cedex 7 (France)

2016-05-01

Surface nitriding was demonstrated to be an effective process for improving the biocompatibility of implantable devices. In this study, we investigated the benefits of nitriding the NiTi shape memory alloy for vascular stent applications. Results from cell experiments indicated that, compared to untreated NiTi, a superficial gas nitriding treatment enhanced the adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), cell spreading and proliferation. This investigation provides data to demonstrate the possibility of improving the rate of endothelialization on NiTi by means of nitride coating. - Highlights: • Gas nitriding process of NiTi is competent to promote cell spreading. • Surface nitriding of NiTi is able to stimulate focal adhesion formation and cell proliferation. • Similar expression pattern of vWf and eNOS was exhibited by bare and nitrided NiTi. • Gas nitriding treatment of NiTi shows promise for better in vivo endothelialization.

Covalently bonded disordered thin-film materials. Materials Research Society symposium proceedings Volume 498

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siegal, M.P.; Milne, W.I.; Jaskie, J.E.

1998-01-01

The current and potential impact of covalently bonded disordered thin films is enormous. These materials are amorphous-to-nanocrystalline structures made from light atomic weight elements from the first row of the periodic table. Examples include amorphous tetrahedral diamond-like carbon, boron nitride, carbon nitride, boron carbide, and boron-carbon-nitride. These materials are under development for use as novel low-power, high-visibility elements in flat-panel display technologies, cold-cathode sources for microsensors and vacuum microelectronics, encapsulants for both environmental protection and microelectronics, optical coatings for laser windows, and ultra-hard tribological coatings. researchers from 17 countries and a broad range of academic institutions, national laboratories and industrial organizations come together in this volume to report on the status of key areas and recent discoveries. More specifically, the volume is organized into five sections. The first four highlight ongoing work primarily in the area of amorphous/nanocrystalline (disordered) carbon thin films; theoretical and experimental structural characterization; electrical and optical characterizations; growth methods; and cold-cathode electron emission results. The fifth section describes the growth, characterization and application of boron- and carbon-nitride thin films

Effect of pyrolysis atmospheres on the morphology of polymer-derived silicon oxynitrocarbide ceramic films coated aluminum nitride surface and the thermal conductivity of silicone rubber composites

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Hsien T.; Sukachonmakul, Tanapon; Wang, Chen H.; Wattanakul, Karnthidaporn; Kuo, Ming T.; Wang, Yu H.

2014-02-01

Amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) and silicon oxynitrocarbide (SiONC) ceramic films coated aluminum nitride (AlN) were prepared by using preceramic-polysilazane (PSZ) with dip-coating method, followed by pyrolysis at 700 °C in different (air, Ar, N2 and NH3) atmospheres to converted PSZ into SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic. The existence of amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface was characterized by FTIR, XRD and XPS. The interfacial adhesion between silicone rubber and AlN was significantly improved after the introduction of amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface. It can be observed from AFM that the pyrolysis of PSZ at different atmosphere strongly affected to films morphology on AlN surface as SiOCair and SiONCNH3 ceramic films were more flat and smooth than SiONCN2 and SiONCAr ceramic films. Besides, the enhancement of the thermal conductivity of silicone rubber composites was found to be related to the decrease in the surface roughness of SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface. This present work provided an alternative surface modification of thermally conductive fillers to improve the thermal conductivity of silicon rubber composites by coating with amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films.

XRD and HREM studies of nanocrystalline Cu and Pd

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieman, G.W.; Weertmen, J.R.; Siegel, R.W.

1991-01-01

Consolidated powders of nanocrystalline Cu and Pd have been studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) as part of an investigation of the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline pure metals. XRD line broadening measurements were made to estimate rain size, qualitative grain size distribution and average long range strains in a number of samples. Mean grain sized range from 4-60 nm and have qualitatively narrow grain size distributions. Long range lattice strains are of the order of 0.2-3% in consolidated samples. These strains apparently persist and even increase in Cu samples after annealing at 0.35 Tm (498K) for 2h, accompanied by an apparent increase in grain size of ≥2x. Grain size, grain size distribution width and internal strains vary somewhat among samples produced under apparently identical processing conditions. HREM studies show that twins, stacking faults and low-index facets are abundant in as-consolidated nanocrystalline Cu samples. In this paper methodology, results and analysis of XRD and HREM experiments are presented

Electrochemical behavior of rare earth metals and their nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Yasuhiko; Goto, Takuya

2004-01-01

Pyrometallurgical recycle process using molten salts is considered to be a high potential in pyro-reprocess technologies for spent nitride fuels, and it is important to understand chemical and electro-chemical behavior of nitrides and metals in molten salts. In this study, cadmium nitrates deposited on the anode Cd plate in motlen salt (LiCl-KCl) with addition of Li 3 N are examined. The cadmium nitrates deposited have various compositions corresponding to polarization potentials and then, the relationship between the deposition potential of nitride Cd and their composition is cleared. Their standard chemical potential of CdN is estimated from electrochemical measurement. And then, potential-pH 3- diagram is drawn by voltametry examination of nitride resolution behavior with using thermochemical data of nitrides. (A. Hishinuma)

Formation of local nanocrystalline structure in a boron steel induced by electropulsing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Bingdong; Zhao, Yuguang; Ma, Jun; Guo, Haichao; Yang, Qing

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The local NC structures in the uniform size of ∼15 nm were obtained by electropulsing. ► The NC structures were made up of γ-Fe without any other phases coexisting. ► The reduction in nucleation barrier of the γ-Fe helped form the local γ-Fe NC structure. ► The steel consisting of the lath martensitic and the γ-Fe nanocrystalline structure exhibits high mechanical properties. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline γ-Fe was obtained locally in a cold-rolled boron steel as a result of transient high-energy electropulsing. The nano-grains of γ-Fe were uniformly about 15 nm in size. No phases other than γ-Fe have been found in the nanocrystalline structure. It is believed that the pulse current enhances the nucleation rate of γ-Fe phase during the phase transformation from α-Fe to γ-Fe, resulting in the formation of local nanostructure. Moreover, in this study the steel consisting of the lath martensitic and the γ-Fe nanocrystalline structure exhibits high mechanical properties.

Leachability of nitrided ilmenite in hydrochloric acid

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Swanepoel, JJ

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Titanium nitride in upgraded nitrided ilmenite (bulk of iron removed) can selectively be chlorinated to produce titanium tetrachloride. Except for iron, most other components present during this low temperature (ca. 200 °C) chlorination reaction...

Thermodynamics, kinetics and process control of nitriding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mittemeijer, Eric J.; Somers, Marcel A. J.

1999-01-01

As a prerequisite for predictability of properties obtained by a nitriding treatment of iron-based workpieces, the relation between the process parameters and the composition and structure of the surface layer produced must be known. At present (even) the description of thermodynamic equilibrium...... of pure iron-nitrogen phases has not been achieved fully. It has been shown that taking into account ordering of nitrogen in the epsilon and gamma' iron-nitride phases, leads to an improved understanding of the Fe-N phase diagram. Although thermodynamics indicate the state the system strives for......, the nitriding result is determined largely by the kinetics of the process. The nitriding kinetics have been shown to be characterised by the occurring local near-equilibria and stationary states at surfaces and interfaces, and the diffusion coefficient of nitrogen in the various phases, for which new data have...

Direct separation of short range order in intermixed nanocrystalline and amorphous phases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frenkel, Anatoly I.; Kolobov, Alexander V.; Robinson, Ian K.; Cross, Julie O.; Maeda, Yoshihito; Bouldin, Charles E.

2002-01-01

Diffraction anomalous fine-structure (DAFS) and extended x-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) measurements were combined to determine short range order (SRO) about a single atomic type in a sample of mixed amorphous and nanocrystalline phases of germanium. EXAFS yields information about the SRO of all Ge atoms in the sample, while DAFS determines the SRO of only the ordered fraction. We determine that the first-shell distance distribution is bimodal; the nanocrystalline distance is the same as the bulk crystal, to within 0.01(2) A ring , but the mean amorphous Ge-Ge bond length is expanded by 0.076(19) Angstrom. This approach can be applied to many systems of mixed amorphous and nanocrystalline phases

Enhanced Electroluminescence from Silicon Quantum Dots Embedded in Silicon Nitride Thin Films Coupled with Gold Nanoparticles in Light Emitting Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Luz Muñoz-Rosas

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the use of plasmonic metal layers to improve the photonic emission characteristics of several semiconductor quantum dots is a booming tool. In this work, we report the use of silicon quantum dots (SiQDs embedded in a silicon nitride thin film coupled with an ultra-thin gold film (AuNPs to fabricate light emitting devices. We used the remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (RPECVD in order to grow two types of silicon nitride thin films. One with an almost stoichiometric composition, acting as non-radiative spacer; the other one, with a silicon excess in its chemical composition, which causes the formation of silicon quantum dots imbibed in the silicon nitride thin film. The ultra-thin gold film was deposited by the direct current (DC-sputtering technique, and an aluminum doped zinc oxide thin film (AZO which was deposited by means of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, plays the role of the ohmic metal-like electrode. We found that there is a maximum electroluminescence (EL enhancement when the appropriate AuNPs-spacer-SiQDs configuration is used. This EL is achieved at a moderate turn-on voltage of 11 V, and the EL enhancement is around four times bigger than the photoluminescence (PL enhancement of the same AuNPs-spacer-SiQDs configuration. From our experimental results, we surmise that EL enhancement may indeed be due to a plasmonic coupling. This kind of silicon-based LEDs has the potential for technology transfer.

Residual Stress Induced by Nitriding and Nitrocarburizing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Somers, Marcel A.J.

2005-01-01

The present chapter is devoted to the various mechanisms involved in the buildup and relief of residual stress in nitrided and nitrocarburized cases. The work presented is an overview of model studies on iron and iron-based alloys. Subdivision is made between the compound (or white) layer......, developing at the surfce and consisting of iron-based (carbo)nitrides, and the diffusion zone underneath, consisting of iron and alloying element nitrides dispersed in af ferritic matrix. Microstructural features are related directly to the origins of stress buildup and stres relief....

Surface Properties of a Nanocrystalline Fe-Ni-Nb-B Alloy After Neutron Irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Pavùk, Milan; Sitek, Jozef; Sedlačková, Katarína

2014-09-01

The effect of neutron radiation on the surface properties of the nanocrystalline (Fe0.25Ni0.75)81Nb7B12 alloy was studied. Firstly, amorphous (Fe0.25Ni0.75)81Nb7B12 ribbon was brought by controlled annealing to the nanocrystalline state. After annealing, the samples of the nanocrystalline ribbon were irradiated in a nuclear reactor with neutron fluences of 1×1016cm-2 and 1 × 1017cm-2 . By utilizing the magnetic force microscopy (MFM), topography and a magnetic domain structure were recorded at the surface of the ribbon-shaped samples before and after irradiation with neutrons. The results indicate that in terms of surface the nanocrystalline (Fe0.25Ni0.75)81Nb7B12 alloy is radiation-resistant up to a neutron fluence of 1 × 1017cm-2 . The changes in topography observed for both irradiated samples are discussed

Paramagnetic centers in nanocrystalline TiC/C system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guskos, N.; Bodziony, T.; Maryniak, M.; Typek, J.; Biedunkiewicz, A.

2008-01-01

Electron paramagnetic resonance is applied to study the defect centers in nanocrystalline titanium carbide dispersed in carbon matrix (TiC x /C) synthesized by the non-hydrolytic sol-gel process. The presence of Ti 3+ paramagnetic centers is identified below 120 K along with a minor contribution from localized defect spins coupled with the conduction electron system in the carbon matrix. The temperature dependence of the resonance intensity of the latter signal indicates weak antiferromagnetic interactions. The presence of paramagnetic centers connected with trivalent titanium is suggested to be the result of chemical disorder, which can be further related to the observed anomalous behavior of conductivity, hardness, and corrosion resistance of nanocrystalline TiC x /C

Production of nanocrystalline metal powders via combustion reaction synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Frye, John G.; Weil, Kenneth Scott; Lavender, Curt A.; Kim, Jin Yong

2017-10-31

Nanocrystalline metal powders comprising tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium and/or niobium can be synthesized using a combustion reaction. Methods for synthesizing the nanocrystalline metal powders are characterized by forming a combustion synthesis solution by dissolving in water an oxidizer, a fuel, and a base-soluble, ammonium precursor of tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, or niobium in amounts that yield a stoichiometric burn when combusted. The combustion synthesis solution is then heated to a temperature sufficient to substantially remove water and to initiate a self-sustaining combustion reaction. The resulting powder can be subsequently reduced to metal form by heating in a reducing gas environment.

3D-atom probe analysis of Cr and Cu added nitriding steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, J.; Kawakami, K.; Sugiyama, M.; Kawasaki, K.

2004-01-01

Full text: Nitriding treatment is a very effective method for hardening the surface of steels and realizing improvement in wear-resistance. Although this technology has been performed for many years, the precipitation and hardening mechanisms are not completely clear. It was not easy to observe very fine precipitates which may be generated in nitriding steels. We performed a three-dimensional atom probe analysis of the nitriding steel plate in which two kinds of precipitates were generated. Hot-rolled steel plates, which mainly contained Cr 1.0wt.% and Cu 1.3wt.%, were nitrided by annealing (550-6000 o ) in a mainly NH 3 atmosphere. The material before the nitriding had a hardness of about 100 Hv. By the nitriding, the surface hardness increased to more than 700 Hv, and the inside hardness also increased to 200 Hv. The specimens were taken from 0.15 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.8 mm depth from the surface, which mostly correspond to the peak, the half and the inside hardness, respectively. In the specimen of 0.8 mm depth, prolate spheroidal Cu precipitates of more than 8 nm in diameter were observed. In the specimen of 0.3 mm depth, plate-shape nitride precipitates of 6-10 nm in diameter were observed in addition to the Cu precipitates. Each Cu precipitate made a pair with the nitride precipitate. In the 0.15 mm depth specimen, Cr nitride precipitates of high volume density in addition to the pairs consisting of a Cu precipitate and a Cr nitride precipitate were observed. The size of the nitride precipitate forming the pair was slightly larger than that of the single Cr nitride precipitates. Furthermore, the denuded zone where the nitride precipitate does not exist was observed around the pairs. From these results, it was concluded that three stages of precipitation arose as follows: By the heat treatment of nitriding processing, Cu precipitates were generated first. Then, Cr nitride nucleated at the surface of the Cu precipitates inhomogeneously, and surrounding solute Cr was

Aluminum gallium nitride (GaN)/GaN high electron mobility transistor-based sensors for glucose detection in exhaled breath condensate.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Byung Hwan; Kang, Byoung Sam; Hung, Sheng Chun; Chen, Ke Hung; Ren, Fan; Sciullo, Andrew; Gila, Brent P; Pearton, Stephen J

2010-01-01

Immobilized aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN)/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have shown great potential in the areas of pH, chloride ion, and glucose detection in exhaled breath condensate (EBC). HEMT sensors can be integrated into a wireless data transmission system that allows for remote monitoring. This technology offers the possibility of using AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for extended investigations of airway pathology of detecting glucose in EBC without the need for clinical visits. HEMT structures, consisting of a 3-microm-thick undoped GaN buffer, 30-A-thick Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)N spacer, and 220-A-thick silicon-doped Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)N cap layer, were used for fabricating the HEMT sensors. The gate area of the pH, chloride ion, and glucose detection was immobilized with scandium oxide (Sc(2)O(3)), silver chloride (AgCl) thin film, and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods, respectively. The Sc(2)O(3)-gated sensor could detect the pH of solutions ranging from 3 to 10 with a resolution of approximately 0.1 pH. A chloride ion detection limit of 10(-8) M was achieved with a HEMT sensor immobilized with the AgCl thin film. The drain-source current of the ZnO nanorod-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT sensor immobilized with glucose oxidase showed a rapid response of less than 5 seconds when the sensor was exposed to the target glucose in a buffer with a pH value of 7.4. The sensor could detect a wide range of concentrations from 0.5 nM to 125 microM. There is great promise for using HEMT-based sensors to enhance the detection sensitivity for glucose detection in EBC. Depending on the immobilized material, HEMT-based sensors can be used for sensing different materials. These electronic detection approaches with rapid response and good repeatability show potential for the investigation of airway pathology. The devices can also be integrated into a wireless data transmission system for remote monitoring applications. This sensor technology could use the exhaled breath condensate to measure the

Different shape normal metal interlayers between niobium based SIS junctions and niobium titanium nitride leads and their influence on the electron temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selig, S; Westig, M P; Jacobs, K; Honingh, C E

2014-01-01

In this paper we demonstrate the reduction of heating in a niobium superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction with aluminum-oxide tunnel barrier embedded in a niobium-titanium-nitride circuit. Nonequilibrium quasiparticles which are created due to the Andreev trap at the interface between the niobium and the niobium-titanium-nitride layers are relaxed by inserting a normal-metal conductor of gold between these two layers. In an earlier work we explained the observed relaxation of nonequilibrium quasiparticles due to the geometrically assisted cooling effect. In this paper we investigate this cooling effect in dependence of the normal-metal layer shape and size. We expect that an adapted normal-metal layer is necessary for implementation in practical terahertz SIS heterodyne mixer circuits. We observe in DC-measurements of a large number of devices a clear relation between the volume of the gold layer and the effective electron temperature in the device. Our central finding is that the shape of the gold layer does not influence the cooling provided that the volume is sufficient.

A multilayer innovative solution to improve the adhesion of nanocrystalline diamond coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poulon-Quintin, A., E-mail: poulon@icmcb-bordeaux.cnrs.fr [CNRS, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Univ. Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Faure, C.; Teulé-Gay, L.; Manaud, J.P. [CNRS, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France); Univ. Bordeaux, ICMCB, UPR 9048, F-33600 Pessac (France)

2015-03-15

Highlights: • Improvement of the NCD adhesion on WC-12%Co substrates for tooling applications using a multi-interlayer additional system. • Reduction of the graphite layer thickness and continuity at the interface with the diamond. • Transmission electron microscopy study for a better understanding of the diffusion phenomena occurring at the interfaces. - Abstract: Nano-crystalline diamond (NCD) films grown under negative biased substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are widely used as surface overlay coating onto cermet WC-Co cutting tools to get better performances. To improve the diamond adhesion to the cermet substrate, suitable multi-layer systems have been added. They are composed of a cobalt diffusion barrier close to the substrate (single and sequenced nitrides layers) coated with a nucleation extra layer to improve the nucleus density of diamond during CVD processing. For all systems, before and after diamond deposition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been performed for a better understanding of the diffusion phenomena occurring at the interfaces and to evaluate the presence of graphitic species at the interface with the diamond. Innovative multilayer system dedicated to the regulation of cobalt diffusion coated with a bilayer system optimized for the carbon diffusion control, is shown as an efficient solution to significantly reduce the graphite layer formation at the interface with the diamond down to 10 nm thick and to increase the adhesion of NCD diamond layer as scratch-tests confirm.

Effects of Surface Nitrification on Thermal Conductivity of Modified Aluminum Oxide Nanofibers-Reinforced Epoxy Matrix Nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byungjoo; Bae, Kyongmin; An, Kayhyeok; Park, Soojin

2012-01-01

Aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) nanofibers were treated thermally under an ammonia (NH 3 ) gas stream balanced by nitrogen to form a thin aluminum nitride (AlN) layer on the nanofibers, resulting in the enhancement of thermal conductivity of Al 2 O 3 /epoxy nanocomposites. The micro-structural and morphological properties of the NH 3 -assisted thermally-treated Al 2 O 3 nanofibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AEM), respectively. The surface characteristics and pore structures were observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Zeta-potential and N 2 /77 K isothermal adsorptions. From the results, the formation of AlN on Al 2 O 3 nanofibers was confirmed by XRD and XPS. The thermal conductivity (TC) of the modified Al 2 O 3 nanofibers/epoxy composites increased with increasing treated temperatures. On the other hand, the severely treated Al 2 O 3 /epoxy composites showed a decrease in TC, resulting from a decrease in the probability of heat-transfer networks between the filler and matrix in this system due to the aggregation of nanofiber fillers

Plasma nitriding of CA-6NM steel: effect of H2 + N2 gas mixtures in nitride layer formation for low N2 contents at 500 ºC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Nardelli Allenstein

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This work aims to characterize the phases, thickness, hardness and hardness profiles of the nitride layers formed on the CA-6NM martensitic stainless steel which was plasma nitrided in gas mixtures containing different nitrogen amounts. Nitriding was performed at 500 ºC temperature, and 532 Pa (4 Torr pressure, for gas mixtures of 5% N2 + 95% H2, 10% N2 + 90% H2, and 20% N2 + 80% H2, and 2 hours nitriding time. A 6 hours nitriding time condition for gas mixture of 5% N2 + 95% H2 was also studied. Nitrided samples results were compared with non-nitrided condition. Thickness and microstructure of the nitrided layers were characterized by optical microscopy (OM, using Villela and Nital etchants, and the phases were identified by X-ray diffraction. Hardness profiles and hardness measured on surface steel were determined using Vickers hardness and nanoindentation tester, respectively. It was verified that nitrided layer produced in CA-6NM martensitc stainless steel is constituted of compound layer, being that formation of the diffusion zone was not observed for the studied conditions. The higher the nitrogen amounts in gas mixture the higher is the thickness of the nitrided layer and the probability to form different nitride phases, in the case γ'-Fe4N, ε-Fe2-3N and CrN phases. Intrinsic hardness of the nitrided layers produced in the CA-6NM stainless steel is about 12-14 GPa (~1200-1400 HV.

Ion nitriding in 316=L stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rojas-Calderon, E.L.

1989-01-01

Ion nitriding is a glow discharge process that is used to induce surface modification in metals. It has been applied to 316-L austenitic stainless steel looking for similar benefits already obtained in other steels. An austenitic stainless steel was selected because is not hardenable by heat treatment and is not easy to nitride by gas nitriding. The samples were plastically deformed to 10, 20, 40, 50 AND 70% of their original thickness in order to obtain bulk hardening and to observe nitrogen penetration dependence on it. The results were: an increase of one to two rockwell hardness number (except in 70% deformed sample because of its thickness); an increase of even several hundreds per cent in microhardness knoop number in nitrided surface. The later surely modifies waste resistance which would be worth to quantify in further studies. Microhardness measured in an internal transversal face to nitrided surface had a gradual diminish in its value with depth. Auger microanalysis showed a higher relative concentration rate C N /C F e near the surface giving evidence of nitrogen presence till 250 microns deep. The color metallography etchant used, produced faster corrosion in nitrited regions. Therefore, corrosion studies have to be done before using ion nitrited 316-L under these chemicals. (Author)

UN2−x layer formed on uranium metal by glow plasma nitriding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, Zhong; Hu, Yin; Chen, Lin; Luo, Lizhu; Liu, Kezhao; Lai, Xinchun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We used a very simple method to prepare nitride layer on uranium metal surface. • This modified layer is nitrogen-rich nitride, which should be written as UN 2−x . • TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains. • XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence in the nitride. - Abstract: Glow plasma nitriding is a simple and economical surface treatment method, and this technology was used to prepare nitride layer on the surface of uranium metal with thickness of several microns. The composition and structure of the nitride layer were analyzed by AES and XRD, indicating that this modified layer is nitrogen-rich uranium nitride, which should be written as UN 2−x . TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains, with compact structure. And XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence existing in the nitride. After the treated uranium storage in air for a long time, oxygen just entered the surface several nanometers, showing the nitride layer has excellent oxidation resistance. The mechanism of nitride layer formation and low valence uranium appearance is discussed

Problems and possibilities of development of boron nitride ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusanova, L.N.; Romashin, A.G.; Kulikova, G.I.; Golubeva, O.P.

1988-01-01

The modern state of developments in the field of technology of ceramics produced from boron nitride is analyzed. Substantial difficulties in production of pure ceramics from hexagonal and wurtzite-like boron nitride are stated as related to the structure peculiarities and inhomogeneity of chemical bonds in elementary crystal cells of various modifications. Advantages and disadvantages of familiar technological procedures in production of boron nitride ceramics are compared. A new technology is suggested, which is based on the use of electroorganic compounds for hardening and protection of porous high-purity boron-nitride die from oxidation, and as high-efficient sintered elements for treatment of powders of various structures and further pyrolisis. The method is called thermal molecular lacing (TML). Properties of ceramics produced by the TML method are compared with characteristics of well-known brands of boron nitride ceramics

Amorphous and nanocrystalline titanium nitride and carbonitride materials obtained by solution phase ammonolysis of Ti(NMe2)4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, Andrew W.; Shebanova, Olga; Hector, Andrew L.; McMillan, Paul F.

2006-01-01

Solution phase reactions between tetrakisdimethylamidotitanium (Ti(NMe 2 ) 4 ) and ammonia yield precipitates with composition TiC 0.5 N 1.1 H 2.3 . Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicates that decomposition of these precursor materials proceeds in two steps to yield rocksalt-structured TiN or Ti(C,N), depending upon the gas atmosphere. Heating to above 700 deg. C in NH 3 yields nearly stoichiometric TiN. However, heating in N 2 atmosphere leads to isostructural carbonitrides, approximately TiC 0.2 N 0.8 in composition. The particle sizes of these materials range between 4-12 nm. Heating to a temperature that corresponds to the intermediate plateau in the TGA curve (450 deg. C) results in a black powder that is X-ray amorphous and is electrically conducting. The bulk chemical composition of this material is found to be TiC 0.22 N 1.01 H 0.07 , or Ti 3 (C 0.17 N 0.78 H 0.05 ) 3.96 , close to Ti 3 (C,N) 4 . Previous workers have suggested that the intermediate compound was an amorphous form of Ti 3 N 4 . TEM investigation of the material indicates the presence of nanocrystalline regions x (C,N) y crystalline phases

Effects of oxide distributed in grain boundaries on microstructure stability of nanocrystalline metals

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Kai; Li, Hui; Biao Pang, Jin; Wang, Zhu

2013-06-01

Nanocrystalline copper and zinc prepared by high-pressure compaction method have been studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy associated with X-ray diffraction. For nanocrystalline Cu, mean grain sizes of the samples decrease after being annealed at 900 °C and increase during aging at 180 °C, revealing that the atoms exchange between the two regions. The positron lifetime results indicate that the vacancy clusters formed in the annealing process are unstable and decomposed at the aging time below 6 hours. In addition, the partially oxidized surfaces of the nanoparticles hinder the grain growth during the ageing at 180 °C, and the vacancy clusters inside the disorder regions which are related to Cu2O need longer aging time to decompose. In the case of nanocrystalline Zn, the open volume defect (not larger than divacancy) is dominant according to the high relative intensity for the short positron lifetime (τ1). The oxide (ZnO) inside the grain boundaries has been found having an effect to hinder the decrease of average positron lifetime (τav) during the annealing, which probably indicates that the oxide stabilizes the microstructure of the grain boundaries. For both nanocrystalline copper and zinc, the oxides in grain boundaries enhance the thermal stability of the microstucture, in spite of their different crystal structures. This effect is very important for the nanocrystalline materials using as radiation resistant materials.

Effects of oxide distributed in grain boundaries on microstructure stability of nanocrystalline metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Kai; Li Hui; Pang Jinbiao; Wang Zhu

2013-01-01

Nanocrystalline copper and zinc prepared by high-pressure compaction method have been studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy associated with X-ray diffraction. For nanocrystalline Cu, mean grain sizes of the samples decrease after being annealed at 900 °C and increase during aging at 180 °C, revealing that the atoms exchange between the two regions. The positron lifetime results indicate that the vacancy clusters formed in the annealing process are unstable and decomposed at the aging time below 6 hours. In addition, the partially oxidized surfaces of the nanoparticles hinder the grain growth during the ageing at 180 °C, and the vacancy clusters inside the disorder regions which are related to Cu 2 O need longer aging time to decompose. In the case of nanocrystalline Zn, the open volume defect (not larger than divacancy) is dominant according to the high relative intensity for the short positron lifetime (τ 1 ). The oxide (ZnO) inside the grain boundaries has been found having an effect to hinder the decrease of average positron lifetime (τ av ) during the annealing, which probably indicates that the oxide stabilizes the microstructure of the grain boundaries. For both nanocrystalline copper and zinc, the oxides in grain boundaries enhance the thermal stability of the microstucture, in spite of their different crystal structures. This effect is very important for the nanocrystalline materials using as radiation resistant materials.

Development of nitride fuel and pyrochemical process for transmutation of minor actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, Yasuo; Akabori, Mitsuo; Minato, Kazuo; Uno, Masayoshi

2010-01-01

Nitride fuel cycle for transmutation of minor actinides has been investigated under the double-strata fuel cycle concept. Mononitride solid solutions containing minor actinides have been prepared and characterised. Thermo-physical properties, such as thermal expansion, heat capacity and thermal diffusivity, have been measured by use of minor actinide nitride and burn-up simulated nitride samples. Irradiation behaviour of nitride fuel has been examined by irradiation tests. Pyrochemical process for treatment of spent nitride fuel has been investigated mainly by electrochemical measurements and nitride formation behaviour in pyrochemical process has been studied for recycled fuel fabrication. Recent results of experimental study on nitride fuel and pyrochemical process are summarised in the paper. (authors)

Nanocrystalline magnetite thin films grown by dual ion-beam sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prieto, Pilar; Ruiz, Patricia; Ferrer, Isabel J.; Figuera, Juan de la; Marco, José F.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We have grown tensile and compressive strained nanocrystalline magnetite thin films by dual ion beam sputtering. • The magnetic and thermoelectric properties can be controlled by the deposition conditions. • The magnetic anisotropy depends on the crystalline grain size. • The thermoelectric properties depend on the type of strain induced in the films. • In plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy develops in magnetite thin films with grain sizes ⩽20 nm. - Abstract: We have explored the influence of an ion-assisted beam in the thermoelectric and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline magnetite thin films grown by ion-beam sputtering. The microstructure has been investigated by XRD. Tensile and compressive strained thin films have been obtained as a function of the parameters of the ion-assisted beam. The evolution of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy was attributed to crystalline grain size. In some films, magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements reveal the existence of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by the deposition process related with a small grain size (⩽20 nm). Isotropic magnetic properties have observed in nanocrystalline magnetite thin film having larger grain sizes. The largest power factor of all the films prepared (0.47 μW/K 2 cm), obtained from a Seebeck coefficient of −80 μV/K and an electrical resistivity of 13 mΩ cm, is obtained in a nanocrystalline magnetite thin film with an expanded out-of-plane lattice and with a grain size ≈30 nm

Corrosion fatigue behaviour of ion nitrided AISI 4140 steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Genel, K. [Sakarya Univ., Adapazari (Turkey). Mech. Eng. Dept.; Demirkol, M.; Guelmez, T. [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Guemuessuyu, 80191, Istanbul (Turkey)

2000-08-31

Machine components suffer from corrosion degradation of fatigue characteristics and improvement can be attained by the application of a nitriding treatment, particularly to low alloy steels. In the present study, the effect of ion nitriding on corrosion fatigue performance of AISI 4140 steel has been investigated by conducting a series of rotary bending corrosion fatigue tests at 95 Hz, in 3% NaCl aqueous solution. Hourglass shaped, 4 mm diameter fatigue specimens were ion nitrided at 748 K for 1, 3, 8 and 16 h prior to the tests. It was observed that distinct fatigue limit behaviour of ion nitrided steel in air completely disappeared in corrosive environment besides severe degradation in fatigue characteristics. An improvement reaching to 60% in corrosion fatigue strength can be attained by successive ion nitriding practice based on a fatigue life of 10{sup 7} cycles. An attempt was made to establish an empirical relationship between corrosion fatigue strength and relative case depth, which considers the size of the ion nitrided specimen. It was also determined that a power relationship holds between corrosion fatigue strength and fatigue life of ion nitrided steel. The presence of white layer has resulted in additional improvement in corrosion fatigue resistance, and it was observed that corrosion fatigue cracks were initiated dominantly under the white layer by pit formation mechanism. (orig.)

Corrosion fatigue behaviour of ion nitrided AISI 4140 steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genel, K.

2000-01-01

Machine components suffer from corrosion degradation of fatigue characteristics and improvement can be attained by the application of a nitriding treatment, particularly to low alloy steels. In the present study, the effect of ion nitriding on corrosion fatigue performance of AISI 4140 steel has been investigated by conducting a series of rotary bending corrosion fatigue tests at 95 Hz, in 3% NaCl aqueous solution. Hourglass shaped, 4 mm diameter fatigue specimens were ion nitrided at 748 K for 1, 3, 8 and 16 h prior to the tests. It was observed that distinct fatigue limit behaviour of ion nitrided steel in air completely disappeared in corrosive environment besides severe degradation in fatigue characteristics. An improvement reaching to 60% in corrosion fatigue strength can be attained by successive ion nitriding practice based on a fatigue life of 10 7 cycles. An attempt was made to establish an empirical relationship between corrosion fatigue strength and relative case depth, which considers the size of the ion nitrided specimen. It was also determined that a power relationship holds between corrosion fatigue strength and fatigue life of ion nitrided steel. The presence of white layer has resulted in additional improvement in corrosion fatigue resistance, and it was observed that corrosion fatigue cracks were initiated dominantly under the white layer by pit formation mechanism. (orig.)

Radiofrequency cold plasma nitrided carbon steel: Microstructural and micromechanical characterizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouanis, F.Z.; Bentiss, F.; Bellayer, S.; Vogt, J.B.; Jama, C.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → C38 carbon steel samples were plasma nitrided using a radiofrequency (rf) nitrogen plasma discharge. → RF plasma treatment enables nitriding for non-heated substrates. → The morphological and chemical analyses show the formation of a uniform thickness on the surface of the nitrided C38 steel. → Nitrogen plasma active species diffuse into the samples and lead to the formation of Fe x N. → The increase in microhardness values for nitrided samples with plasma processing time is interpreted by the formation of a thicker nitrided layer on the steel surface. - Abstract: In this work, C38 carbon steel was plasma nitrided using a radiofrequency (rf) nitrogen plasma discharge on non-heated substrates. General characterizations were performed to compare the chemical compositions, the microstructures and hardness of the untreated and plasma treated surfaces. The plasma nitriding was carried out on non-heated substrates at a pressure of 16.8 Pa, using N 2 gas. Surface characterizations before and after N 2 plasma treatment were performed by means of the electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Vickers microhardness measurements. The morphological and chemical analysis showed the formation of a uniform structure on the surface of the nitrided sample with enrichment in nitrogen when compared to untreated sample. The thickness of the nitride layer formed depends on the treatment time duration and is approximately 14 μm for 10 h of plasma treatment. XPS was employed to obtain chemical-state information of the plasma nitrided steel surfaces. The micromechanical results show that the surface microhardness increases as the plasma-processing time increases to reach, 1487 HV 0.005 at a plasma processing time of 8 h.

Radiofrequency cold plasma nitrided carbon steel: Microstructural and micromechanical characterizations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouanis, F.Z. [Universite Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); Unite Materiaux et Transformations (UMET), Ingenierie des Systemes Polymeres, CNRS UMR 8207, ENSCL, BP 90108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Bentiss, F. [Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination et d' Analytique, Faculte des Sciences, Universite Chouaib Doukkali, B.P. 20, M-24000 El Jadida (Morocco); Bellayer, S.; Vogt, J.B. [Universite Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); Unite Materiaux et Transformations (UMET), Ingenierie des Systemes Polymeres, CNRS UMR 8207, ENSCL, BP 90108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France); Jama, C., E-mail: charafeddine.jama@ensc-lille.fr [Universite Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); Unite Materiaux et Transformations (UMET), Ingenierie des Systemes Polymeres, CNRS UMR 8207, ENSCL, BP 90108, F-59652 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)

2011-05-16

Highlights: {yields} C38 carbon steel samples were plasma nitrided using a radiofrequency (rf) nitrogen plasma discharge. {yields} RF plasma treatment enables nitriding for non-heated substrates. {yields} The morphological and chemical analyses show the formation of a uniform thickness on the surface of the nitrided C38 steel. {yields} Nitrogen plasma active species diffuse into the samples and lead to the formation of Fe{sub x}N. {yields} The increase in microhardness values for nitrided samples with plasma processing time is interpreted by the formation of a thicker nitrided layer on the steel surface. - Abstract: In this work, C38 carbon steel was plasma nitrided using a radiofrequency (rf) nitrogen plasma discharge on non-heated substrates. General characterizations were performed to compare the chemical compositions, the microstructures and hardness of the untreated and plasma treated surfaces. The plasma nitriding was carried out on non-heated substrates at a pressure of 16.8 Pa, using N{sub 2} gas. Surface characterizations before and after N{sub 2} plasma treatment were performed by means of the electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Vickers microhardness measurements. The morphological and chemical analysis showed the formation of a uniform structure on the surface of the nitrided sample with enrichment in nitrogen when compared to untreated sample. The thickness of the nitride layer formed depends on the treatment time duration and is approximately 14 {mu}m for 10 h of plasma treatment. XPS was employed to obtain chemical-state information of the plasma nitrided steel surfaces. The micromechanical results show that the surface microhardness increases as the plasma-processing time increases to reach, 1487 HV{sub 0.005} at a plasma processing time of 8 h.

Vibrational thermodynamics of Fe90Zr7B3 nanocrystalline alloy from nuclear inelastic scattering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stankov, S.; Miglierini, M.; Chumakov, A. I.

2010-01-01

Recently we determined the iron-partial density of vibrational states (DOS) of nanocrystalline Fe(90)Zr(7)B(3) (Nanoperm), synthesized by crystallization of an amorphous precursor, for various stages of nanocrystallization separating the DOS of the nanograins from that of the interfaces [S. Stank......, vibrational entropy, and lattice specific heat as the material transforms from amorphous, through nanocrystalline, to fully crystallized state. The reported results shed new light on the previously observed anomalies in the vibrational thermodynamics of nanocrystalline materials....

Intrinsic ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Si, M. S.; Gao, Daqiang, E-mail: gaodq@lzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xueds@lzu.edu.cn; Yang, Dezheng; Peng, Yong; Zhang, Z. Y.; Xue, Desheng, E-mail: gaodq@lzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xueds@lzu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Liu, Yushen [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials and College of Physics and Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Deng, Xiaohui [Department of Physics and Electronic Information Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421008 (China); Zhang, G. P. [Department of Physics, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809 (United States)

2014-05-28

Understanding the mechanism of ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which possess only s and p electrons in comparison with normal ferromagnets based on localized d or f electrons, is a current challenge. In this work, we report an experimental finding that the ferromagnetic coupling is an intrinsic property of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which has never been reported before. Moreover, we further confirm it from ab initio calculations. We show that the measured ferromagnetism should be attributed to the localized π states at edges, where the electron-electron interaction plays the role in this ferromagnetic ordering. More importantly, we demonstrate such edge-induced ferromagnetism causes a high Curie temperature well above room temperature. Our systematical work, including experimental measurements and theoretical confirmation, proves that such unusual room temperature ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets is edge-dependent, similar to widely reported graphene-based materials. It is believed that this work will open new perspectives for hexagonal boron nitride spintronic devices.

Engineering of giant magnetoimpedance effect of amorphous and nanocrystalline microwires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Zhukova

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We present our studies of the factors affecting soft magnetic properties and giant magnetoimpedance effect in thin amorphous and nanocrystalline microwires. We showed that the magnetoelastic anisotropy is one of the most important parameters that determine magnetic softness and GMI effect of glass-coated microwires  and annealing can be very effective for manipulation the magnetic properties of amorphous ferromagnetic glass-coated microwires. Considerable magnetic softening and increasing of the GMI effect is observed in Fe-rich nanocrystalline FINEMET-type glass-coated microwires after the nanocrystallization.

Atomic-scale simulations of the mechanical deformation of nanocrystalline metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiøtz, Jakob; Vegge, Tejs; Di Tolla, Francesco

1999-01-01

that the main deformation mode is sliding in the grain boundaries through a large number of uncorrelated events, where a few atoms (or a few tens of atoms) slide with respect to each other. Little dislocation activity is seen in the grain interiors. The localization of the deformation to the grain boundaries......Nanocrystalline metals, i.e., metals in which the grain size is in the nanometer range, have a range of technologically interesting properties including increased hardness and yield strength. We present atomic-scale simulations of the plastic behavior of nanocrystalline copper. The simulations show...

Formation of nanocrystalline MgB sub 2 under high pressure

CERN Document Server

Sun, L; Kikegawa, T; Cao, L; Zhan, Z; Wu, Q; Wu, X; Wang, W

2002-01-01

The microstructural features of MgB sub 2 at ambient pressure and high pressure have been investigated by means of in situ synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The x-ray diffraction measurements indicated that nanocrystalline MgB sub 2 formed in the pressure range of 26.3-30.2 GPa. TEM investigations reveal complex structure domains with evident lattice distortion in the relevant samples. The superconductivity of nanocrystalline MgB sub 2 was measured and compared with that of the starting sample of MgB sub 2.

Packaging material and aluminum. Hoso zairyo to aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Itaya, T [Mitsubishi Aluminum Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1992-02-01

The present paper introduces aluminum foil packaging materials among the relation between packing materials and aluminum. The characteristics of aluminum foil in the packaging area are in its barrier performance, non-toxicity, tastelessness and odorlessness. Its excellent functions and processibility suit best as functional materials for food, medicine and industrial material packaging. While an aluminum foil may be used as a single packing material as in foils used in homes, many of it as a packaging material are used in combination with adhesives, papers or plastic films, or coated or printed. It is used as composite materials laminated or coated with other materials according to their use for the purpose of complementing the aluminum foil as the base material. Representative method to laminate aluminum foils include the wet lamination, dry lamination, thermally dissolved lamination and extruded lamination. The most important quality requirement in lamination is the adhesion strength, which requires a close attention in selecting the kinds of adhesive, laminating conditions, and aging conditions. 8 figs., 6 tabs.

Structure and electrochemical properties of plasma-nitrided low alloy steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chyou, S.D.; Shih, H.C. (Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua Univ., Hsinchu (Taiwan))

1990-10-01

Plasma-nitrided SAE 4140 steel has been widely applied industrially because of its superior resistance to wear and fatigue. However, its corrosion behaviour in aqueous environments has not been completely explored. The effects of nitriding on corrosion were investigated by performing electrochemical tests on both nitrided and untreated SAE 4140. It was found that, by plasma nitriding, the corrosion resistance improved significantly in HNO{sub 3} and Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} aqueous environments. A reaction model is proposed to explain the beneficial effect of nitride on corrosion resistance. It is concluded that nitrogen and chromium (an alloying element) act synergistically to form a dense protective layer which is responsible for the corrosion resistance. Characterization of the surface layers by Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the protective layer is composed of (Fe, Cr){sub 4}N, (Fe, Cr){sub 2-3}N and CrN in the inner layer, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} together with nitrides in the middle layer, and nitrides, {gamma}'-FeOOH, and Cr(OH){sub 3}.H{sub 2}O in the outermost layer. (orig.).

Atomic Resolution Microscopy of Nitrides in Steel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danielsen, Hilmar Kjartansson

2014-01-01

MN and CrMN type nitride precipitates in 12%Cr steels have been investigated using atomic resolution microscopy. The MN type nitrides were observed to transform into CrMN both by composition and crystallography as Cr diffuses from the matrix into the MN precipitates. Thus a change from one...

Defects in dilute nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W.M.; Buyanova, I.A.; Tu, C.W.; Yonezu, H.

2005-01-01

We provide a brief review our recent results from optically detected magnetic resonance studies of grown-in non-radiative defects in dilute nitrides, i.e. Ga(In)NAs and Ga(Al,In)NP. Defect complexes involving intrinsic defects such as As Ga antisites and Ga i self interstitials were positively identified.Effects of growth conditions, chemical compositions and post-growth treatments on formation of the defects are closely examined. These grown-in defects are shown to play an important role in non-radiative carrier recombination and thus in degrading optical quality of the alloys, harmful to performance of potential optoelectronic and photonic devices based on these dilute nitrides. (author)

Nanocrystalline electrodeposited Ni-Mo-C cathodes for hydrogen production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, K.; Sasaki, T.; Meguro, S.; Asami, K.

2004-01-01

Tailoring active nickel alloy cathodes for hydrogen evolution in a hot concentrated hydroxide solution was attempted by electrodeposition. The carbon addition to Ni-Mo alloys decreased the nanocrystalline grain size and remarkably enhanced the activity for hydrogen evolution, changing the mechanism of hydrogen evolution. The Tafel slope of hydrogen evolution was about 35 mV per decade. This suggested that the rate-determining step is desorption of adsorbed hydrogen atoms by recombination. As was distinct from the binary Ni-Mo alloys, after open circuit immersion, the overpotential, that is, the activity of nanocrystalline Ni-Mo-C alloys for hydrogen evolution was not changed, indicating the sufficient durability in the practical electrolysis

An investigation into the room temperature mechanical properties of nanocrystalline austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eskandari, Mostafa; Zarei-Hanzaki, Abbas; Abedi, Hamid Reza

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Strength of nanocrystalline specimens follows a trend of a remarkable rise along with a small drop in ductility in comparison to the coarse-grained one. ► Universal correlation of linear type (UTS = mτ max ) between shear punch test data and the tensile strength may be unreliable for the nanocrystalline materials. ► Actual relation between the maximum shear and ultimate tensile strength follows an empirical formula of UTS=0.013τ max 2 -25.62τ max +13049. -- Abstract: The present work has been conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of nanostructured 316L and 301 austenitic stainless steels. The nanocrystalline structures were produced through martensite treatment which includes cold rolling followed by annealing treatment. The effect of equivalent rolling strain and annealing parameters on the room temperature mechanical behavior of the experimental alloys have been studied using the shear punch testing technique. The standard uniaxial tension tests were also carried out to adapt the related correlation factors. The microstructures and the volume fraction of phases were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and feritscopy methods, respectively. The results indicate that the strength of nanocrystalline specimens remarkably increases, but the ductility in comparison to the coarse-grained one slightly decreases. In addition the strength of nanocrystalline specimens has been increased by decreasing the annealing temperature and increasing the equivalent rolling strain. The analysis of the load–displacement data has also disclosed that the universal correlation of linear type (UTS = mτ max ) between shear punch test data and the tensile strength is somehow unreliable for the nanocrystalline materials. The results suggest that the actual relation between the maximum shear strength and ultimate tensile strength follows a second order equation of type UTS=aτ max 2 -bτ max +c.

Ceramic material suitable for repair of a space vehicle component in a microgravity and vacuum environment, method of making same, and method of repairing a space vehicle component

Science.gov (United States)

Riedell, James A. (Inventor); Easler, Timothy E. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

A precursor of a ceramic adhesive suitable for use in a vacuum, thermal, and microgravity environment. The precursor of the ceramic adhesive includes a silicon-based, preceramic polymer and at least one ceramic powder selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, boron carbide, boron oxide, boron nitride, hafnium boride, hafnium carbide, hafnium oxide, lithium aluminate, molybdenum silicide, niobium carbide, niobium nitride, silicon boride, silicon carbide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, tin oxide, tantalum boride, tantalum carbide, tantalum oxide, tantalum nitride, titanium boride, titanium carbide, titanium oxide, titanium nitride, yttrium oxide, zirconium diboride, zirconium carbide, zirconium oxide, and zirconium silicate. Methods of forming the ceramic adhesive and of repairing a substrate in a vacuum and microgravity environment are also disclosed, as is a substrate repaired with the ceramic adhesive.

Patterned hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces of ultra-smooth nanocrystalline diamond layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mertens, M., E-mail: michael.mertens@uni-ulm.de [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Mohr, M.; Brühne, K.; Fecht, H.J. [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Łojkowski, M.; Święszkowski, W. [Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Łojkowski, W. [Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (Poland)

2016-12-30

Highlights: • Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties on fluorine-, hydrogen- and oxygen- terminated ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films. • Micropatterned - multi-terminated layers with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas on one sample. • Visualization of multi-terminated surfaces by e.g. SEM and LFM. • Roughness and friction investigations on different terminated surfaces. • Smooth and biocompatible surfaces with same roughness regardless of hydrophobicity for microbiological investigations. - Abstract: In this work, we show that ultra nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) surfaces have been modified to add them hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. The nanocrystalline diamond films were deposited using the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. This allows growing diamond on different substrates which can be even 3D or structured. Silicon and, for optical applications, transparent quartz glass are the preferred substrates for UNCD layers growth. Fluorine termination leads to strong hydrophobic properties as indicated by a high contact angle for water of more than 100°. Hydrogen termination shows lesser hydrophobic behavior. Hydrophilic characteristics has been realised with oxygen termination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements confirm the oxygen and fluorine- termination on the nanocrystalline diamond surface. Further, by micropatterning using photolithography, multi-terminated layers have been created with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas. In addition, we have shown that retermination is achieved, and the properties of the surface have been changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and vice versa. Micro- roughness and stress in the grown film influences slightly the wetting angle as well. The opportunity to realize local differences in hydrophobicity on nanocrystalline diamond layers, in any size or geometry, offers interesting applications for example in

Influence of grain boundaries on elasticity and thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohr, Markus; Daccache, Layal; Horvat, Sebastian; Brühne, Kai; Jacob, Timo; Fecht, Hans-Jörg

2017-01-01

Diamond combines several outstanding material properties such as the highest thermal conductivity and highest elastic moduli of all materials. This makes diamond an interesting candidate for a multitude of applications. Nonetheless, nanocrystalline diamond films, layers and coatings, usually show properties different to those of single crystalline diamond. This is usually attributed to the larger volume fraction of the grain boundaries with atomic structure different from the single crystal. In this work we measured Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline diamond films with average grain sizes ranging from 6 to 15 nm. The measured thermal conductivities are modeled considering the thermal boundary conductance between grains as well as a grain size effect on the phonon mean free path. We make a comparison between elastic modulus and thermal boundary conductance of the grain boundaries G_k for different nanocrystalline diamond films. We conclude that the grain boundaries thermal boundary conductance G_k is a measure of the cohesive energy of the grain boundaries and therefore also of the elastic modulus of the nanocrystalline diamond films.

Characteristics of W Doped Nanocrystalline Carbon Films Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Yong Seob; Park, Chul Min; Kim, Nam-Hoon; Kim, Jae-Moon

2016-05-01

Nanocrystalline tungsten doped carbon (WC) films were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Tungsten was used as the doping material in carbon thin films with the aim of application as a contact strip in an electric railway. The structural, physical, and electrical properties of the fabricated WC films with various DC bias voltages were investigated. The films had a uniform and smooth surface. Hardness and frication characteristics of the films were improved, and the resistivity and sheet resistance decreased with increasing negative DC bias voltage. These results are associated with the nanocrystalline WC phase and sp(2) clusters in carbon networks increased by ion bombardment enhanced with increasing DC bias voltage. Consequently, the increase of sp(2) clusters containing WC nanocrystalline in the carbon films is attributed to the improvement in the physical and electrical properties.

Helium trapping in aluminum and sintered aluminum powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, S.K.; Kaminsky, M.; Rossing, T.

1975-01-01

The surface erosion of annealed aluminum and of sintered aluminum powder (SAP) due to blistering from implantation of 100-keV 4 He + ions at room temperature has been investigated. A substantial reduction in the blistering erosion rate in SAP was observed from that in pure annealed aluminum. In order to determine whether the observed reduction in blistering is due to enhanced helium trapping or due to helium released, the implanted helium profiles in annealed aluminum and in SAP have been studied by Rutherford backscattering. The results show that more helium is trapped in SAP than in aluminum for identical irradiation conditions. The observed reduction in erosion from helium blistering in SAP is more likely due to the dispersion of trapped helium at the large Al-Al 2 O 3 interfaces and at the large grain boundaries in SAP than to helium release

Graphene-aluminum nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartolucci, Stephen F.; Paras, Joseph; Rafiee, Mohammad A.; Rafiee, Javad; Lee, Sabrina; Kapoor, Deepak; Koratkar, Nikhil

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We investigated the mechanical properties of aluminum and aluminum nanocomposites. → Graphene composite had lower strength and hardness compared to nanotube reinforcement. → Processing causes aluminum carbide formation at graphene defects. → The carbides in between grains is a source of weakness and lowers tensile strength. - Abstract: Composites of graphene platelets and powdered aluminum were made using ball milling, hot isostatic pressing and extrusion. The mechanical properties and microstructure were studied using hardness and tensile tests, as well as electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. Compared to the pure aluminum and multi-walled carbon nanotube composites, the graphene-aluminum composite showed decreased strength and hardness. This is explained in the context of enhanced aluminum carbide formation with the graphene filler.

Low temperature anodic bonding to silicon nitride

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weichel, Steen; Reus, Roger De; Bouaidat, Salim

2000-01-01

Low-temperature anodic bonding to stoichiometric silicon nitride surfaces has been performed in the temperature range from 3508C to 4008C. It is shown that the bonding is improved considerably if the nitride surfaces are either oxidized or exposed to an oxygen plasma prior to the bonding. Both bu...

Review of actinide nitride properties with focus on safety aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albiol, Thierry [CEA Cadarache, St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Arai, Yasuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

2001-12-01

This report provides a review of the potential advantages of using actinide nitrides as fuels and/or targets for nuclear waste transmutation. Then a summary of available properties of actinide nitrides is given. Results from irradiation experiments are reviewed and safety relevant aspects of nitride fuels are discussed, including design basis accidents (transients) and severe (core disruptive) accidents. Anyway, as rather few safety studies are currently available and as many basic physical data are still missing for some actinide nitrides, complementary studies are proposed. (author)

Colloidal Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Nanoparticles: Properties and Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guler, Urcan; Suslov, Sergey; Kildishev, Alexander V.

2015-01-01

Optical properties of colloidal plasmonic titanium nitride nanoparticles are examined with an eye on their photothermal and photocatalytic applications via transmission electron microscopy and optical transmittance measurements. Single crystal titanium nitride cubic nanoparticles with an average ...

Isolation of bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from pineapple peel waste: Optimization of acid concentration in the hydrolysis method

Science.gov (United States)

Anwar, Budiman; Rosyid, Nurul Huda; Effendi, Devi Bentia; Nandiyanto, Asep Bayu Dani; Mudzakir, Ahmad; Hidayat, Topik

2016-02-01

Isolation of needle-shaped bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline with a diameter of 16-64 nm, a fiber length of 258-806 nm, and a degree of crystallinity of 64% from pineapple peel waste using an acid hydrolysis process was investigated. Experimental showed that selective concentration of acid played important roles in isolating the bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from the cellulose source. To achieve the successful isolation of bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline, various acid concentrations were tested. To confirm the effect of acid concentration on the successful isolation process, the reaction conditions were fixed at a temperature of 50°C, a hydrolysis time of 30 minutes, and a bacterial cellulose-to-acid ratio of 1:50. Pineapple peel waste was used as a model for a cellulose source because to the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the use of this raw material for producing bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline. In fact, this material can be used as an alternative for ecofriendly and cost-free cellulose sources. Therefore, understanding in how to isolate bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from pineapple peel waste has the potential for large-scale production of inexpensive cellulose nanocrystalline.

Separation and Recycling of Spent Carbon Cathode Blocks in the Aluminum Industry by the Vacuum Distillation Process

Science.gov (United States)

Yaowu, Wang; Jianping, Peng; Yuezhong, Di

2018-04-01

Aluminum is the second most produced metal after iron. China is the top producer of primary aluminum with a production capacity of 41,000 kt and an output in 2016 of 32,000 kt. A large amount of spent carbon cathode block (SCCB) is produced after electrolytic pot failure. SCCB consists of carbon, fluorides, alkali metals, carbides, nitrides, cyanides, and oxides, and is considered to be a hazardous material because it contains significant concentrations of toxic and soluble cyanides and fluorides. There is no economical and efficient process for the treatment of SCCB and is most commonly disposed in landfill. In this study, the vacuum distillation process (VDP) has been used to separate and recycle SCCB. The results show that Na3AlF6, NaF, and sodium metal can be effectively separated from SCCB by VDP, and the distillation ratio is above 80% at a distillation temperature of 1200°C. The carbon content in the distilled SCCB is above 91% and the impurities are mainly CaF2 and Al2O3.

Microstructure and Hardness of High Temperature Gas Nitrided AISI 420 Martensitic Stainless Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Nor Nurulhuda Md.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This study examined the microstructure and hardness of as-received and nitrided AISI 420 martensitic stainless steels. High temperature gas nitriding was employed to treat the steels at 1200°C for one hour and four hours using nitrogen gas, followed by furnace cooled. Chromium nitride and iron nitride were formed and concentrated at the outmost surface area of the steels since this region contained the highest concentration of nitrogen. The grain size enlarged at the interior region of the nitrided steels due to nitriding at temperature above the recrystallization temperature of the steel and followed by slow cooling. The nitrided steels produced higher surface hardness compared to as-received steel due to the presence of nitrogen and the precipitation of nitrides. Harder steel was produced when nitriding at four hours compared to one hour since more nitrogen permeated into the steel.

Influence of plastic deformation on nitriding of a molybdenum-hafnium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakhtin, Yu.M.; Kogan, Ya.D.; Shashkov, D.P.; Likhacheva, T.E.

1982-01-01

The influence of a preliminary plastic strain on the structure and properties of molybdenum alloy with 0.2 wt.% Hf upon nitriding in the ammonia medium at 900-1200 deg C during 1-6 h is investigated. The study of microhardness distribution across the nitrided layer thickness has shown that with increase of the degree of preliminary plastic strain up to 50 % the nitrided layer hardness decreases and with further reduction growth up to 90 % - increases. Nitriding sharply (hundred times) increases wear resistance of molybdenum alloy with hafnium addition. At the reduction degree 25 % the wear resistance is less than at other values of percentage reduction in area owing to the minimum thickness of the nitride zone. The alloy strained before nitriding by 25 % has shown the best results during heat resistance testing

Formation of ZnO Nanocrystalline via Facile Non-Hydrolytic Route

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ooi, M. D. Johan; Aziz, A. Abdul; Abdullah, M. J.

2011-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystalline were synthesized via oxidizing Zn powder in non-aqueous solvent with addition of Diethanolamine (DEA) as a stabilizing agent. The influence of DEA on the structural, optical properties and the formation of ZnO nanocrystalline were studied. The synthesized ZnO were polycrystalline in structures where sample without the addition of DEA shows high intensity peak of (002) phase compared with sample in the presence of DEA which preferred to grow in (101) direction. SEM micrograph displays the morphology of ZnO nanocrystalline for both of the samples which shows micron size and non-uniform particles for sample without DEA whereas for sample with DEA exhibit smaller size (∼110 nm) and nearly spherical in shape despite of some agglomeration occurs at the interparticle separation. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra shows UV emission peak for both of the samples where sample with the absence of DEA possess lower intensity of UV emission peak compared to samples with DEA which demonstrate stronger intensity despite of having very weak visible secondary emission peak at 530 nm.

Grain size dependent electrical studies on nanocrystalline SnO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, A. Chandra; Thangadurai, P.; Ramasamy, S.

2006-01-01

Nanocrystalline tin oxide (n-SnO 2 ) with different grain sizes were synthesized by chemical precipitation method. Size variation was achieved by changing the hydrolysis processing time. Structural phases of the nanocrystalline SnO 2 were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The grain sizes of the prepared n-SnO 2 were found to be in the range 5-20 nm which were estimated using the Scherrer formula and they were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The electrical properties of nanocrystalline SnO 2 were studied using impedance spectroscopy. The impedance spectroscopy results showed that, in the temperature range between 25 and 650 deg. C, the conductivity has contributions from two different mechanisms, which are attributed to different conduction mechanisms in the grain and the grain boundary regions. This is because of the different relaxation times available for the conduction species in those regions. However, for the temperatures above 300 deg. C, there is no much difference between these two different relaxation times. The Arrhenius plots gave the activation energies for the conduction process in all the samples

Grain size refinement in nanocrystalline Hitperm-type glass-coated microwires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talaat, A.; Val, J.J. del; Zhukova, V.; Ipatov, M.; Klein, P.; Varga, R.; González, J.; Churyukanova, M.; Zhukov, A.

2016-01-01

We present a new-Fe 38.5 Co 38.5 B 18 Mo 4 Cu 1 Hitperm glass-coated microwires obtained by Taylor-Ulitovsky technique with nanocrystalline structure consisting of about 23 nm of BCC α-FeCo and an amorphous precursors in as-prepared samples. Annealing resulted in a considerable decrease of such nano-grains down to (11 nm). Obtained results are discussed in terms of the stress diffusion of limited crystalline growth and the chemical composition. Rectangular hysteresis loops have been observed on all annealed samples that are necessary conditions to obtain fast domain wall propagation. An enhancement of the domain wall velocity as well as mobility after annealing has been obtained due to the structural relaxation of such grains with positive magnetostriction. These structure benefits found in the nanocrystalline Hitperm glass-coated microwires are promising for developing optimal magnetic properties. - Highlights: • Grains size refinement upon annealing. • Enhancement of the domain wall velocity as well as mobility after annealing. • Nanocrystalline structure in as-prepared microwires.

Light trapping of crystalline Si solar cells by use of nanocrystalline Si layer plus pyramidal texture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imamura, Kentaro; Nonaka, Takaaki; Onitsuka, Yuya; Irishika, Daichi; Kobayashi, Hikaru, E-mail: h.kobayashi@sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Ultralow reflectivity Si wafers with light trapping effect can be obtained by forming a nanocrystalline Si layer on pyramidal textured Si surfaces. • Surface passivation using phosphosilicate glass improved minority carrier lifetime of the nanocrystalline Si layer/Si structure. • A high photocurrent density of 40.1 mA/cm{sup 2}, and a high conversion efficiency of 18.5% were achieved. - Abstract: The surface structure chemical transfer (SSCT) method has been applied to fabrication of single crystalline Si solar cells with 170 μm thickness. The SSCT method, which simply involves immersion of Si wafers in H{sub 2}O{sub 2} plus HF solutions and contact of Pt catalyst with Si taking only ∼30 s for 6 in. wafers, can decrease the reflectivity to less than 3% by the formation of a nanocrystalline Si layer. However, the reflectivity of the nanocrystalline Si layer/flat Si surface/rear Ag electrode structure in the wavelength region longer than 1000 nm is high because of insufficient absorption of incident light. The reflectivity in the long wavelength region is greatly decreased by the formation of the nanocrystalline Si layer on pyramidal textured Si surfaces due to an increase in the optical path length. Deposition of phosphosilicate glass (PSG) on the nanocrystalline Si layer for formation of pn-junction does not change the ultralow reflectivity because the surface region of the nanocrystalline Si layer possesses a refractive index of 1.4 which is nearly the same as that of PSG of 1.4–1.5. The PSG layer is found to passivate the nanocrystalline Si layer, which is evident from an increase in the minority carrier lifetime from 12 to 44 μs. Hydrogen treatment at 450 °C further increases the minority carrier lifetime approximately to a doubled value. The solar cells with the nanocrystalline Si layer/pyramidal Si substrate/boron-diffused back surface field/Ag rear electrode> structure show a high conversion efficiency of 18

Aluminum powder size and microstructure effects on properties of boron nitride reinforced aluminum matrix composites fabricated by semi-solid powder metallurgy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Cunguang; Guo, Leichen; Luo, Ji; Hao, Junjie; Guo, Zhimeng; Volinsky, Alex A.

2015-01-01

Al matrix composite reinforced by hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with nearly full densification was successfully fabricated by the semi-solid powder metallurgy technique. The h-BN/Al composites were synthesized with elemental pure Al powder size of d_5_0=35, 12 and 2 μm. The powder morphology and the structural characteristics of the composites were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The density, Brinell hardness and compressive behavior of the samples were characterized. Density measurement of the Al composites revealed that the composite densification can be effectively promoted by plenty of embedded liquid phase under pressure. Composites prepared using Al powder with varying granularity showed different grain characteristics, and in situ recrystallization occurred inside the original grains with 35 μm Al powder. A sharp interface consisting of Al/Al_2O_3/h-BN was present in the composites. Both the compressive strength and the fracture strain of the investigated composites increased with the decrease of the Al powder size, along with the Brinell hardness. The composite with 2 μm Al powder exhibited the highest relative density (99.3%), Brinell harness (HB 128), compressive strength (763 MPa) and fracture strain (0.299).

Self-composite comprised of nanocrystalline diamond and a non-diamond component useful for thermoelectric applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gruen, Dieter M [Downers Grove, IL

2009-08-11

One provides nanocrystalline diamond material that comprises a plurality of substantially ordered diamond crystallites that are sized no larger than about 10 nanometers. One then disposes a non-diamond component within the nanocrystalline diamond material. By one approach this non-diamond component comprises an electrical conductor that is formed at the grain boundaries that separate the diamond crystallites from one another. The resultant nanowire is then able to exhibit a desired increase with respect to its ability to conduct electricity while also preserving the thermal conductivity behavior of the nanocrystalline diamond material.

Structure and properties of nitrided surface layer produced on NiTi shape memory alloy by low temperature plasma nitriding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czarnowska, Elżbieta; Borowski, Tomasz; Sowińska, Agnieszka; Lelątko, Józef; Oleksiak, Justyna; Kamiński, Janusz; Tarnowski, Michał; Wierzchoń, Tadeusz

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Low temperature plasma nitriding process of NiTi shape memory alloy is presented. • The possibility of treatment details of sophisticated shape. • TiN surface layer has diffusive character. • TiN surface layer increases corrosion resistance of NiTi alloy. • Produced TiN layer modify the biological properties of NiTi alloy. - Abstract: NiTi shape memory alloys are used for bone and cardiological implants. However, on account of the metallosis effect, i.e. the release of the alloy elements into surrounding tissues, they are subjected to various surface treatment processes in order to improve their corrosion resistance and biocompatibility without influencing the required shape memory properties. In this paper, the microstructure, topography and morphology of TiN surface layer on NiTi alloy, and corrosion resistance, both before and after nitriding in low-temperature plasma at 290 °C, are presented. Examinations with the use of the potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods were carried out and show an increase of corrosion resistance in Ringer's solution after glow-discharge nitriding. This surface titanium nitride layer also improved the adhesion of platelets and the proliferation of osteoblasts, which was investigated in in vitro experiments with human cells. Experimental data revealed that nitriding NiTi shape memory alloy under low-temperature plasma improves its properties for bone implant applications

Structure and properties of nitrided surface layer produced on NiTi shape memory alloy by low temperature plasma nitriding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Czarnowska, Elżbieta [Children' s Memorial Health Institute, Pathology Department, Al. Dzieci Polskich 20, 04-730 Warsaw (Poland); Borowski, Tomasz [Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Wołoska 141, 02-507 Warsaw (Poland); Sowińska, Agnieszka [Children' s Memorial Health Institute, Pathology Department, Al. Dzieci Polskich 20, 04-730 Warsaw (Poland); Lelątko, Józef [Silesia University, Faculty of Computer Science and Materials Science, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1A, 41-500 Chorzów (Poland); Oleksiak, Justyna; Kamiński, Janusz; Tarnowski, Michał [Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Wołoska 141, 02-507 Warsaw (Poland); Wierzchoń, Tadeusz, E-mail: twierz@inmat.pw.edu.pl [Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Wołoska 141, 02-507 Warsaw (Poland)

2015-04-15

Highlights: • Low temperature plasma nitriding process of NiTi shape memory alloy is presented. • The possibility of treatment details of sophisticated shape. • TiN surface layer has diffusive character. • TiN surface layer increases corrosion resistance of NiTi alloy. • Produced TiN layer modify the biological properties of NiTi alloy. - Abstract: NiTi shape memory alloys are used for bone and cardiological implants. However, on account of the metallosis effect, i.e. the release of the alloy elements into surrounding tissues, they are subjected to various surface treatment processes in order to improve their corrosion resistance and biocompatibility without influencing the required shape memory properties. In this paper, the microstructure, topography and morphology of TiN surface layer on NiTi alloy, and corrosion resistance, both before and after nitriding in low-temperature plasma at 290 °C, are presented. Examinations with the use of the potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods were carried out and show an increase of corrosion resistance in Ringer's solution after glow-discharge nitriding. This surface titanium nitride layer also improved the adhesion of platelets and the proliferation of osteoblasts, which was investigated in in vitro experiments with human cells. Experimental data revealed that nitriding NiTi shape memory alloy under low-temperature plasma improves its properties for bone implant applications.

Method of production of hollow silicon nitride articles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parr, N.L.; Brown, R.L.

1971-01-01

The hollow articles prepared according to the invention have a high density, exhibit no internal stresses and correspond to high demands of tolerance and surface quality. One obtains these by flame spraying silicon powder on a pre-heated form designed with separating agent - e.g. NaCl. After removing the form, the silicon is nitridated to silicon nitride by heating in N 2 or in an atmosphere of ammonia. This process can be interrupted if the article is also to be mechanically processed, and then the nitridation can be completed. (Hoe/LH) [de

Selective Adsorption of Sodium Aluminum Fluoride Salts from Molten Aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonard S. Aubrey; Christine A. Boyle; Eddie M. Williams; David H. DeYoung; Dawid D. Smith; Feng Chi

2007-08-16

Aluminum is produced in electrolytic reduction cells where alumina feedstock is dissolved in molten cryolite (sodium aluminum fluoride) along with aluminum and calcium fluorides. The dissolved alumina is then reduced by electrolysis and the molten aluminum separates to the bottom of the cell. The reduction cell is periodically tapped to remove the molten aluminum. During the tapping process, some of the molten electrolyte (commonly referred as “bath” in the aluminum industry) is carried over with the molten aluminum and into the transfer crucible. The carryover of molten bath into the holding furnace can create significant operational problems in aluminum cast houses. Bath carryover can result in several problems. The most troublesome problem is sodium and calcium pickup in magnesium-bearing alloys. Magnesium alloying additions can result in Mg-Na and Mg-Ca exchange reactions with the molten bath, which results in the undesirable pickup of elemental sodium and calcium. This final report presents the findings of a project to evaluate removal of molten bath using a new and novel micro-porous filter media. The theory of selective adsorption or removal is based on interfacial surface energy differences of molten aluminum and bath on the micro-porous filter structure. This report describes the theory of the selective adsorption-filtration process, the development of suitable micro-porous filter media, and the operational results obtained with a micro-porous bed filtration system. The micro-porous filter media was found to very effectively remove molten sodium aluminum fluoride bath by the selective adsorption-filtration mechanism.

Ion beam induces nitridation of silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petravic, M.; Williams, J.S.; Conway, M.

1998-01-01

High dose ion bombardment of silicon with reactive species, such as oxygen and nitrogen, has attracted considerable interest due to possible applications of beam-induced chemical compounds with silicon. For example, high energy oxygen bombardment of Si is now routinely used to form buried oxide layers for device purposes, the so called SIMOX structures. On the other hand, Si nitrides, formed by low energy ( 100 keV) nitrogen beam bombardment of Si, are attractive as oxidation barriers or gate insulators, primarily due to the low diffusivity of many species in Si nitrides. However, little data exists on silicon nitride formation during bombardment and its angle dependence, in particular for N 2 + bombardment in the 10 keV range, which is of interest for analytical techniques such as SIMS. In SIMS, low energy oxygen ions are more commonly used as bombarding species, as oxygen provides stable ion yields and enhances the positive secondary ion yield. Therefore, a large body of data can be found in the literature on oxide formation during low energy oxygen bombardment. Nitrogen bombardment of Si may cause similar effects to oxygen bombardment, as nitrogen and oxygen have similar masses and ranges in Si, show similar sputtering effects and both have the ability to form chemical compounds with Si. In this work we explore this possibility in some detail. We compare oxide and nitride formation during oxygen and nitrogen ion bombardment of Si under similar conditions. Despite the expected similar behaviour, some large differences in compound formation were found. These differences are explained in terms of different atomic diffusivities in oxides and nitrides, film structural differences and thermodynamic properties. (author)

Synthesis and luminescence properties of nanocrystalline LiF:Mg,Cu,P phosphor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahare, P.D., E-mail: pdsahare@physics.du.ac.i [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007 (India); Bakare, J.S. [SSGM College of Engineering, Amravati University, Shegaon 444 203, Maharashtra (India); Dhole, S.D. [Department of Physics, University of Pune, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007 (India); Ingale, N.B. [Department of Physics, Professor Ram Meghe Institute of Technology and Research, Badnera-Amravati 444 605, Maharashtra (India); Rupasov, A.A. [P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr-t 53, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2010-02-15

Nanocrystalline LiF:Mg,Cu,P phosphor material of different shapes and sizes (microcrystalline cubic shape, nanorod shape and nanocrystalline cubical shaped) have been prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. Thermoluminescence (TL) and other dosimetric characteristics of the phosphor are studied and presented here. The formation of the materials was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD). Its shapes and sizes were also observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The TL glow curve of the microcrystalline powder shows a prominent single peak at 408 K along with another peak of lesser intensity at around 638 K. On the contrary, the nanocrystalline rod shaped particles show a peak of low intensity at 401 K and a prominent peak around 700 K while the nanocrystalline particles in cubical shapes again show two peaks, one at around 407 K and the other at around 617 K, of which the lower temperature (407 K) peak is more prominent. The glow curve structure changes at very high doses (100 kRad) and some new peaks appear at around 525 and 637 K also the first peak appearing at around 401 K becomes prominent. The observed changes in TL due to the change in the shape and sizes of the nanophosphor have been reported. The PL has also been studied and various excitation and emission peaks observed due to the presence of various impurities are explained. The observed results have been explained in the light of asymmetrical crystal field effects due to asymmetrical shapes of the nanocrystalline phosphor. The comparison of these properties with the microcrystalline material prepared by the same co-precipitation method is also done.

Formation of nanocrystalline TiC from titanium and different carbon sources by mechanical alloying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia Haoling [Key Lab of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061, Shandong (China); Zhang Zhonghua [Key Lab of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061, Shandong (China)], E-mail: zh_zhang@sdu.edu.cn; Qi Zhen [Key Lab of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061, Shandong (China); Liu Guodong [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China); Bian Xiufang [Key Lab of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Jingshi Road 73, Jinan 250061, Shandong (China)

2009-03-20

In this paper, the formation of nanocrystalline TiC from titanium powders and different carbon resources by mechanical alloying (MA) has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The experimental results show that nanocrystalline TiC can be synthesized from Ti powders and different carbon resources (activated carbon, carbon fibres or carbon nanotubes) by MA at room temperature. Titanium and different carbon resources have a significant effect on the Ti-C reaction and the formation of TiC during MA. Moreover, the formation of nanocrystalline TiC is governed by a gradual diffusion reaction mechanism during MA, regardless of different carbon resources.

Plasmonic spectral tunability of conductive ternary nitrides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kassavetis, S.; Patsalas, P., E-mail: ppats@physics.auth.gr [Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Bellas, D. V.; Lidorikis, E. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, GR-45110 Ioannina (Greece); Abadias, G. [Institut Pprime, Département Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, Université de Poitiers-CNRS-ENSMA, 86962 Chasseneuil-Futuroscope (France)

2016-06-27

Conductive binary transition metal nitrides, such as TiN and ZrN, have emerged as a category of promising alternative plasmonic materials. In this work, we show that ternary transition metal nitrides such as Ti{sub x}Ta{sub 1−x}N, Ti{sub x}Zr{sub 1−x}N, Ti{sub x}Al{sub 1−x}N, and Zr{sub x}Ta{sub 1−x}N share the important plasmonic features with their binary counterparts, while having the additional asset of the exceptional spectral tunability in the entire visible (400–700 nm) and UVA (315–400 nm) spectral ranges depending on their net valence electrons. In particular, we demonstrate that such ternary nitrides can exhibit maximum field enhancement factors comparable with gold in the aforementioned broadband range. We also critically evaluate the structural features that affect the quality factor of the plasmon resonance and we provide rules of thumb for the selection and growth of materials for nitride plasmonics.

UN{sub 2−x} layer formed on uranium metal by glow plasma nitriding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Long, Zhong [China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-71, Mianyang 621907 (China); Hu, Yin [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Chen, Lin [China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-71, Mianyang 621907 (China); Luo, Lizhu [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Liu, Kezhao, E-mail: liukz@hotmail.com [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Lai, Xinchun, E-mail: lai319@yahoo.com [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China)

2015-01-25

Highlights: • We used a very simple method to prepare nitride layer on uranium metal surface. • This modified layer is nitrogen-rich nitride, which should be written as UN{sub 2−x}. • TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains. • XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence in the nitride. - Abstract: Glow plasma nitriding is a simple and economical surface treatment method, and this technology was used to prepare nitride layer on the surface of uranium metal with thickness of several microns. The composition and structure of the nitride layer were analyzed by AES and XRD, indicating that this modified layer is nitrogen-rich uranium nitride, which should be written as UN{sub 2−x}. TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains, with compact structure. And XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence existing in the nitride. After the treated uranium storage in air for a long time, oxygen just entered the surface several nanometers, showing the nitride layer has excellent oxidation resistance. The mechanism of nitride layer formation and low valence uranium appearance is discussed.

Nitridation of porous GaAs by an ECR ammonia plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naddaf, M; Hullavarad, S S; Ganesan, V; Bhoraskar, S V

2006-01-01

The effect of surface porosity of GaAs on the nature of growth of GaN, by use of plasma nitridation of GaAs, has been investigated. Porous GaAs samples were prepared by anodic etching of n-type (110) GaAs wafers in HCl solution. Nitridation of porous GaAs samples were carried out by using an electron-cyclotron resonance-induced ammonia plasma. The formation of mixed phases of GaN was investigated using the grazing angle x-ray diffraction method. A remarkable improvement in the intensity of photoluminescence (PL) compared with that of GaN synthesized by direct nitriding of GaAs surface has been observed. The PL intensity of nitrided porous GaAs at the temperature of 380 deg. C was found to be about two orders of magnitude higher as compared with the directly nitrided GaAs at the temperature of 500 deg. C. The changes in the morphology of nitrided porous GaAs have been investigated using both scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy

Nitridation of porous GaAs by an ECR ammonia plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naddaf, M [Center for Advanced Studies in Material Science and Solid State Physics, University of Pune, Pune 411 007 (India); Department of Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, PO Box 6091, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic); Hullavarad, S S [Center for Superconductivity Research, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Ganesan, V [Inter University Consortium, Indore (India); Bhoraskar, S V [Center for Advanced Studies in Material Science and Solid State Physics, University of Pune, Pune 411 007 (India)

2006-02-15

The effect of surface porosity of GaAs on the nature of growth of GaN, by use of plasma nitridation of GaAs, has been investigated. Porous GaAs samples were prepared by anodic etching of n-type (110) GaAs wafers in HCl solution. Nitridation of porous GaAs samples were carried out by using an electron-cyclotron resonance-induced ammonia plasma. The formation of mixed phases of GaN was investigated using the grazing angle x-ray diffraction method. A remarkable improvement in the intensity of photoluminescence (PL) compared with that of GaN synthesized by direct nitriding of GaAs surface has been observed. The PL intensity of nitrided porous GaAs at the temperature of 380 deg. C was found to be about two orders of magnitude higher as compared with the directly nitrided GaAs at the temperature of 500 deg. C. The changes in the morphology of nitrided porous GaAs have been investigated using both scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.

Nitridation of porous GaAs by an ECR ammonia plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Naddaf, M.; Hullavarad, S. S.; Ganesan, V.; Bhoraskar, S. V.

2006-02-01

The effect of surface porosity of GaAs on the nature of growth of GaN, by use of plasma nitridation of GaAs, has been investigated. Porous GaAs samples were prepared by anodic etching of n-type (110) GaAs wafers in HCl solution. Nitridation of porous GaAs samples were carried out by using an electron-cyclotron resonance-induced ammonia plasma. The formation of mixed phases of GaN was investigated using the grazing angle x-ray diffraction method. A remarkable improvement in the intensity of photoluminescence (PL) compared with that of GaN synthesized by direct nitriding of GaAs surface has been observed. The PL intensity of nitrided porous GaAs at the temperature of 380 °C was found to be about two orders of magnitude higher as compared with the directly nitrided GaAs at the temperature of 500 °C. The changes in the morphology of nitrided porous GaAs have been investigated using both scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.

Composite materials based on high-modulus compounds for additive technology

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoriev, M.; Kotelnikov, N.; Buyakova, S.; Kulkov, S.

2016-07-01

The effect of adding nanocrystalline ZrO2 and submicron TiC to ultrafine Al2O3 on mechanical properties and the microstructure of the composites developed by hot pressing was investigated. It was shown that by means of hot pressing in argon atmosphere at the sintering temperature of 1500 °C one can obtain the composites of Al2O3-ZrO2-TiC with a fine structure and minimal porosity. It was shown that in the material a multi-scale hierarchical structure is formed, which possesses high physical and mechanical properties: the hardness and fracture toughness was 22 GPa and 5.2 MPa*m1/2, respectively. It has been shown that mechanical properties of the composite are better than those of commercial composites based on aluminum oxide (Al2O3, ZTA, Al2O3-TiC) and are comparable to those of silicon nitride.

Nanoindentation studies of ex situ AlN/Al metal matrix nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fale, Sandeep; Likhite, Ajay; Bhatt, Jatin

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Formation of in-situ phases nucleated on AlN particles strengthens the matrix. • Formation of in-situ phases increases with AlN content in nanocomposites. • Stronger in-situ phases results in increased hardness and modulus of elasticity. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline Aluminium nitride (AlN) powder is dispersed in different weight ratio in Aluminum matrix to fabricate metal matrix nanocomposite (MMNC) using ex situ melt metallurgy process. The synthesized Al–AlN nanocomposites are studied for phase analysis using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and for hardness behavior using microindentation and nanoindentation tests. Quantitative analysis of the oxide phases is calculated from thermodynamic data and mass balance equation using elemental data obtained from energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results. Role of oxide phases in association with AlN particles is investigated to understand the mechanical behavior of composites using nanoindentation tester. Load–displacement profile obtained from nanoindentation test reveals distribution of oxide phases along with AlN particle and their effect on indent penetration

Powder-based synthesis of nanocrystalline material components for structural application. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilyuschenko, A.F.; Ivashko, V.S.; Okovity, V.A. [Powder Metallurgy Research Inst., Minsk (Belarus)] [and others

1998-12-01

Hydroxiapate spray coatings and substrates for implant production as well as multilayered metal ceramic coatings from nanocrystalline materials are a subject of the investigation. The work aims at the improvement of quality of said objects. This study has investigated the processes of hydroxiapatite powder production. Sizes, shapes and relief of initial HA powder surface are analyzed using SEM and TEM. Modes of HA plasma spraying on a substrate from titanium and associated compositions of traditional and nanocrystalline structure are optimized. The quality of the sprayed samples are studied using X-ray phase analysis and metallographic analysis. The results of investigations of bioceramic coating spraying on titanium are theoretically generalized, taking into account obtained experimental data. The results of investigations of ion-beam technology are presented for spraying multilayered coatings consisting of alternating metal-ceramic layers of nanocrystalline structure.

Analysis of mechanical properties of steel 1045 plasma nitriding: with and without tempering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, N.T.B.; Passos, M.L.M. dos; Riani, J.C.; Recco, A.A.C.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility of tempering during the nitriding of AISI 1045 steel. The objective was to evaluate the possibility of eliminating this phase, with the nitriding properties remaining unaltered. For this, three parameter samples were compared: quenched, tempered and nitrided for 2h; quenching and nitrided for 2h and quenching and nitrided for 4h. The analysis techniques used for characterizing the samples before and after nitriding were optical microscopy, hardness Rockwell C (HRC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that phase γ is the most favorable of all parameters tested. The hardness assays showed that samples with different initial hardness (with and without tempering) and even nitriding time showed similar mechanical properties. This fact suggests that the tempering process occurred parallel to the nitriding process. (author)

Surface Area, and Oxidation Effects on Nitridation Kinetics of Silicon Powder Compacts

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, R. T.; Palczer, A. R.

1998-01-01

Commercially available silicon powders were wet-attrition-milled from 2 to 48 hr to achieve surface areas (SA's) ranging from 1.3 to 70 sq m/g. The surface area effects on the nitridation kinetics of silicon powder compacts were determined at 1250 or 1350 C for 4 hr. In addition, the influence of nitridation environment, and preoxidation on nitridation kinetics of a silicon powder of high surface area (approximately equals 63 sq m/g) was investigated. As the surface area increased, so did the percentage nitridation after 4 hr in N2 at 1250 or 1350 C. Silicon powders of high surface area (greater than 40 sq m/g) can be nitrided to greater than 70% at 1250 C in 4 hr. The nitridation kinetics of the high-surface-area powder compacts were significantly delayed by preoxidation treatment. Conversely, the nitridation environment had no significant influence on the nitridation kinetics of the same powder. Impurities present in the starting powder, and those accumulated during attrition milling, appeared to react with the silica layer on the surface of silicon particles to form a molten silicate layer, which provided a path for rapid diffusion of nitrogen and enhanced the nitridation kinetics of high surface area silicon powder.

Synthesis and characterization of group V metal carbide and nitride catalysts

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Heock-Hoi

1998-11-01

Group V transition metal carbides and nitrides were prepared via the temperature programmed reaction (TPR) of corresponding oxides with NHsb3 or a CHsb4/Hsb2 mixture. Except for the tantalum compounds, phase-pure carbides and nitrides were prepared. The vanadium carbides and nitrides were the most active and selective catalysts. Therefore the principal focus of the research was the preparation, characterization, and evaluation of high surface area vanadium nitride catalysts. A series of vanadium nitrides with surface areas up to 60 msp2/g was prepared. Thermal gravimetric analysis coupled with x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the solid-state reaction proceeded by the sequential reduction of Vsb2Osb5 to VOsb{0.9} and concluded with the topotactic substitution of nitrogen for oxygen in VOsb{0.9}. The transformation of Vsb2Osb5 to VN was pseudomorphic. An experimental design was executed to determine effects of the heating rates and space velocities on the VN microstructures. The heating rates had minor effects on the surface areas and pore size distributions; however, increasing the space velocity significantly increased the surface area. The materials were mostly mesoporous. Oxygen chemisorption on the vanadium nitrides scaled linearly with the surface area. The corresponding O/Vsbsurface ratio was ≈0.6. The vanadium nitrides were active for butane activation and pyridine hydrodenitrogenation. During butane activation, their selectivities towards dehydrogenation products were as high as 98%. The major product in pyridine hydrodenitrogenation was pentane. The reaction rates increased almost linearly with the surface area suggesting that these reactions were structure insensitive. The vanadium nitrides were not active for crotonaldehyde hydrogenation; however, they catalyzed an interesting ring formation reaction that produced methylbenzaldehyde and xylene from crotonaldehyde. A new method was demonstrated for the production of very

Surface enrichment with chrome and nitriding of IF steel under an abnormal glow discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meira, S.R.; Borges, P.C.; Bernardelli, E.A.

2014-01-01

The objective of this work is to evaluate the influence of surface enrichment of IF steel with chrome, and nitriding, the formation of the nitrided layer. Thus, IF steel samples were subjected to surface enrichment process, using 409 stainless steel as a target for sputtering, followed by plasma nitriding, both under a dc abnormal glow discharge. The enrichment treatment was operated at 1200 ° C for 3h. The nitriding treatment was operated at 510 ° C for 2 h. The influence of the treatments on the layers formed was studied through optical microscopy (OM), scan electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Vickers microindentation. The results show that the enrichment is effective to enrich the IF surface, furthermore, improves the characteristics of nitriding, comparing nitriding samples to nitriding and enriched, was observed needles of nitrides, as well as a higher hardness, which is associated with the nitrides of chrome, on the nitriding and enriched samples. (author)

Continuum modelling for carbon and boron nitride nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thamwattana, Ngamta; Hill, James M

2007-01-01

Continuum based models are presented here for certain boron nitride and carbon nanostructures. In particular, certain fullerene interactions, C 60 -C 60 , B 36 N 36 -B 36 N 36 and C 60 -B 36 N 36 , and fullerene-nanotube oscillator interactions, C 60 -boron nitride nanotube, C 60 -carbon nanotube, B 36 N 36 -boron nitride nanotube and B 36 N 36 -carbon nanotube, are studied using the Lennard-Jones potential and the continuum approach, which assumes a uniform distribution of atoms on the surface of each molecule. Issues regarding the encapsulation of a fullerene into a nanotube are also addressed, including acceptance and suction energies of the fullerenes, preferred position of the fullerenes inside the nanotube and the gigahertz frequency oscillation of the inner molecule inside the outer nanotube. Our primary purpose here is to extend a number of established results for carbon to the boron nitride nanostructures

Comparative study involving the uranium determination through catalytic reduction of nitrates and nitrides by using decoupled plasma nitridation (DPN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguiar, Marco Antonio Souza; Gutz, Ivano G. Rolf

1999-01-01

This paper reports a comparative study on the determination of uranium through the catalytic reduction of nitrate and nitride using the decoupled plasma nitridation. The uranyl ions are a good catalyst for the reduction of NO - 3 and NO - 2 ions on the surface of a hanging drop mercury electrode (HDME). The presence of NO - in a solution with p H = 3 presented a catalytic signal more intense than the signal obtained with NO - 3 (concentration ten times higher). A detection limit of 1x10 9 M was obtained using the technique of decoupled plasma nitridation (DPN), suggesting the development of a sensitive way for the determination of uranium in different matrixes

In-situ TEM observation of the response of ultrafine- and nanocrystalline-grained tungsten to extreme irradiation environments.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Atwani, O; Hinks, J A; Greaves, G; Gonderman, S; Qiu, T; Efe, M; Allain, J P

2014-05-06

The accumulation of defects, and in particular He bubbles, can have significant implications for the performance of materials exposed to the plasma in magnetic-confinement nuclear fusion reactors. Some of the most promising candidates for deployment into such environments are nanocrystalline materials as the engineering of grain boundary density offers the possibility of tailoring their radiation resistance properties. In order to investigate the microstructural evolution of ultrafine- and nanocrystalline-grained tungsten under conditions similar to those in a reactor, a transmission electron microscopy study with in situ 2 keV He(+) ion irradiation at 950 °C has been completed. A dynamic and complex evolution in the microstructure was observed including the formation of defect clusters, dislocations and bubbles. Nanocrystalline grains with dimensions less than around 60 nm demonstrated lower bubble density and greater bubble size than larger nanocrystalline (60-100 nm) and ultrafine (100-500 nm) grains. In grains over 100 nm, uniform distributions of bubbles and defects were formed. At higher fluences, large faceted bubbles were observed on the grain boundaries, especially on those of nanocrystalline grains, indicating the important role grain boundaries can play in trapping He and thus in giving rise to the enhanced radiation tolerance of nanocrystalline materials.

Synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride by reaction of melamine and uric acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dante, Roberto C.; Martin-Ramos, Pablo; Correa-Guimaraes, Adriana; Martin-Gil, Jesus

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Graphitic carbon nitrides by CVD of melamine and uric acid on alumina. → The building blocks of carbon nitrides are heptazine nuclei. → Composite particles with alumina core and carbon nitride coating. - Abstract: Graphitic carbon nitrides were synthesized starting from melamine and uric acid. Uric acid was chosen because it thermally decomposes, and reacts with melamine by condensation at temperatures in the range of 400-600 deg. C. The reagents were mixed with alumina and subsequently the samples were treated in an oven under nitrogen flux. Alumina favored the deposition of the graphitic carbon nitrides layers on the exposed surface. This method can be assimilated to an in situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Infrared (IR) spectra, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, are in accordance with the formation of a graphitic carbon nitride with a structure based on heptazine blocks. These carbon nitrides exhibit poor crystallinity and a nanometric texture, as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The thermal degradation of the graphitic carbon nitride occurs through cyano group formation, and involves the bridging tertiary nitrogen and the bonded carbon, which belongs to the heptazine ring, causing the ring opening and the consequent network destruction as inferred by connecting the IR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results. This seems to be an easy and promising route to synthesize graphitic carbon nitrides. Our final material is a composite made of an alumina core covered by carbon nitride layers.

Characterization of nanocrystalline silicon germanium film and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The nanocrystalline silicon-germanium films (Si/Ge) and Si/Ge nanotubes have low band gaps and high carrier mobility, thus offering appealing potential for absorbing gas molecules. Interaction between hydrogen molecules and bare as well as functionalized Si/Ge nanofilm and nanotube was investigated using Monte ...

Luminescence of nanocrystalline ZnSe:Mn2+

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suyver, J.F.; Wuister, S.F.; Kelly, J.J.; Meijerink, A.

2000-01-01

The luminescence properties of nanocrystalline ZnSe:Mn^(2+) prepared via an inorganic chemical synthesis are described. Photoluminescence spectra show distinct ZnSe and Mn^(2+) related emissions, both of which are excited via the ZnSe host lattice. The Mn^(2+) emission wavelength and the

Some new aspects of microstructural development during sintering of silicon nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feuer, H.; Woetting, G.; Gugel, E.

1994-01-01

The mechanical properties of silicon nitride ceramics strongly depend on their microstructure. However, there is still a lively discussion about the parameters controlling the microstructural development. The current research was stimulated by the observation that a bimodal grain-size distribution in dense silicon nitride has a very beneficial effect on the mechanical properties, especially on the fracture toughness. This paper is focused on the relationship between the α-β-transformation and the densification of silicon nitride powders with different characteristics and sintering additives. Effects of β-grains originally present in the silicon nitride powder, of added β-silicon nitride seeds and of β-crystals formed by the α/β-transformation on the resulting microstructure and on the properties are discussed. The results are summarised in a model describing prerequisites and processing conditions, which are necessary to achieve a bimodal microstructure, i. e. a self-reinforced silicon nitride ceramic. (orig.)

Hot carrier dynamics in plasmonic transition metal nitrides

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, Adela; Florio, Fred; Sundararaman, Ravishankar

2018-06-01

Extraction of non-equilibrium hot carriers generated by plasmon decay in metallic nano-structures is an increasingly exciting prospect for utilizing plasmonic losses, but the search for optimum plasmonic materials with long-lived carriers is ongoing. Transition metal nitrides are an exciting class of new plasmonic materials with superior thermal and mechanical properties compared to conventional noble metals, but their suitability for plasmonic hot carrier applications remains unknown. Here, we present fully first principles calculations of the plasmonic response, hot carrier generation and subsequent thermalization of all group IV, V and VI transition metal nitrides, fully accounting for direct and phonon-assisted transitions as well as electron–electron and electron–phonon scattering. We find the largest frequency ranges for plasmonic response in ZrN, HfN and WN, between those of gold and silver, while we predict strongest absorption in the visible spectrum for the VN, NbN and TaN. Hot carrier generation is dominated by direct transitions for most of the relevant energy range in all these nitrides, while phonon-assisted processes dominate only below 1 eV plasmon energies primarily for the group IV nitrides. Finally, we predict the maximum hot carrier lifetimes to be around 10 fs for group IV and VI nitrides, a factor of 3–4 smaller than noble metals, due to strong electron–phonon scattering. However, we find longer carrier lifetimes for group V nitrides, comparable to silver for NbN and TaN, while exceeding 100 fs (twice that of silver) for VN, making them promising candidates for efficient hot carrier extraction.

Iron Carbides and Nitrides: Ancient Materials with Novel Prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Zhantong; Zhang, Peng; Lei, Xiang; Wang, Xiaobai; Zhao, Nan; Yang, Hua

2018-02-07

Iron carbides and nitrides have aroused great interest in researchers, due to their excellent magnetic properties, good machinability and the particular catalytic activity. Based on these advantages, iron carbides and nitrides can be applied in various areas such as magnetic materials, biomedical, photo- and electrocatalysis. In contrast to their simple elemental composition, the synthesis of iron carbides and nitrides still has great challenges, particularly at the nanoscale, but it is usually beneficial to improve performance in corresponding applications. In this review, we introduce the investigations about iron carbides and nitrides, concerning their structure, synthesis strategy and various applications from magnetism to the catalysis. Furthermore, the future prospects are also discussed briefly. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tribological properties of plasma and pulse plasma nitrided AISI 4140 steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Podgornik, B.; Vizintin, J. [Ljubljana Univ. (Slovenia). Center of Tribology and Tech. Diagnostics; Leskovsek, V. [Inst. of Metals and Technologies, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

1998-10-10

Plasma nitriding is usually used for ferrous materials to improve their surface properties. Knowledge of the properties of thin surface layers is essential for designing engineering components with optimal wear performance. In our study, we investigated the microstructural, mechanical and tribological properties of plasma- and pulse plasma-nitrided AISI 4140 steel in comparison to hardened steel. The influence of nitriding case depth as well as the presence of a compound layer on its tribological behaviour was also examined. Plasma and pulse plasma nitriding were carried out using commercial nitriding processes. Nitrided samples were fully characterised, using metallographic, SEM microscopic, microhardness and profilometric techniques, before and after wear testing. Wear tests were performed on a pin-on-disc wear testing machine in which nitrided pins were mated to hardened ball bearing steel discs. The wear tests were carried out under dry conditions where hardened samples were used as a reference. The resulting wear loss as well as the coefficient of friction was monitored as a function of load and test time. Several microscopic techniques were used to analyse the worn surfaces and wear debris in order to determine the dominant friction and wear characteristics. Results showed improved tribological properties of AISI 4140 steel after plasma and pulse plasma nitriding compared to hardening. However, the compound layer should be removed from the surface by mechanical means or by decreasing the amount of nitrogen in the nitriding atmosphere, to avoid impairment of the tribological properties by fracture of the hard and brittle compound layer followed by the formation of hard abrasive particles. (orig.) 10 refs.

Microstructure and antibacterial properties of microwave plasma nitrided layers on biomedical stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Li-Hsiang; Chen, Shih-Chung; Wu, Ching-Zong; Hung, Jing-Ming; Ou, Keng-Liang

2011-01-01

Nitriding of AISI 303 austenitic stainless steel using microwave plasma system at various temperatures was conducted in the present study. The nitrided layers were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, glancing angle X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Vickers microhardness tester. The antibacterial properties of this nitrided layer were evaluated. During nitriding treatment between 350 deg. C and 550 deg. C, the phase transformation sequence on the nitrided layers of the alloys was found to be γ → (γ + γ N ) → (γ + α + CrN). The analytical results revealed that the surface hardness of AISI 303 stainless steel could be enhanced with the formation of γ N phase in nitriding process. Antibacterial test also demonstrated the nitrided layer processed the excellent antibacterial properties. The enhanced surface hardness and antibacterial properties make the nitrided AISI 303 austenitic stainless steel to be one of the essential materials in the biomedical applications.

Electronic structure and mechanical properties of plasma nitrided ferrous alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Portolan, E. [Centro de Ciencias Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, 95070-560 Caxias do Sul-RS (Brazil); Baumvol, I.J.R. [Centro de Ciencias Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, 95070-560 Caxias do Sul-RS (Brazil); Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91509-970 (Brazil); Figueroa, C.A., E-mail: cafiguer@ucs.br [Centro de Ciencias Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, 95070-560 Caxias do Sul-RS (Brazil)

2009-04-15

The electronic structures of the near-surface regions of two different nitrided steels (AISI 316 and 4140) were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Photoelectron groups from all main chemical elements involved were addressed for steel samples with implanted-N concentrations in the range 16-32 at.%. As the implanted-N concentrations were increased, rather contrasting behaviors were observed for the two kinds of steel. The N1s photoelectrons had spectral shifts toward lower (nitrided AISI 316) or higher (nitrided AISI 4140) binding energies, whereas the Fe2p{sub 3/2} photoelectron spectrum remains at a constant binding energy (nitrided AISI 316) or shifts toward higher binding energies (AISI 4140). These trends are discussed in terms of the metallic nitride formation and the overlapping of atomic orbitals. For nitrided AISI 316, a semi-classical approach of charge transfer between Cr and N is used to explain the experimental facts (formation of CrN), while for nitrided AISI 4140 we propose that the interaction between orbitals 4s from Fe and 2p from N promotes electrons to the conduction band increasing the electrical attraction of the N1s and Fe2p electrons in core shells (formation of FeN{sub x}). The increase in hardness of the steel upon N implantation is attributed to the localization of electrons in specific bonds, which diminishes the metallic bond character.

Electronic structure and mechanical properties of plasma nitrided ferrous alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Portolan, E.; Baumvol, I. J. R.; Figueroa, C. A.

2009-04-01

The electronic structures of the near-surface regions of two different nitrided steels (AISI 316 and 4140) were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Photoelectron groups from all main chemical elements involved were addressed for steel samples with implanted-N concentrations in the range 16-32 at.%. As the implanted-N concentrations were increased, rather contrasting behaviors were observed for the two kinds of steel. The N1s photoelectrons had spectral shifts toward lower (nitrided AISI 316) or higher (nitrided AISI 4140) binding energies, whereas the Fe2p 3/2 photoelectron spectrum remains at a constant binding energy (nitrided AISI 316) or shifts toward higher binding energies (AISI 4140). These trends are discussed in terms of the metallic nitride formation and the overlapping of atomic orbitals. For nitrided AISI 316, a semi-classical approach of charge transfer between Cr and N is used to explain the experimental facts (formation of CrN), while for nitrided AISI 4140 we propose that the interaction between orbitals 4s from Fe and 2p from N promotes electrons to the conduction band increasing the electrical attraction of the N1s and Fe2p electrons in core shells (formation of FeN x). The increase in hardness of the steel upon N implantation is attributed to the localization of electrons in specific bonds, which diminishes the metallic bond character.

Electronic structure and mechanical properties of plasma nitrided ferrous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portolan, E.; Baumvol, I.J.R.; Figueroa, C.A.

2009-01-01

The electronic structures of the near-surface regions of two different nitrided steels (AISI 316 and 4140) were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Photoelectron groups from all main chemical elements involved were addressed for steel samples with implanted-N concentrations in the range 16-32 at.%. As the implanted-N concentrations were increased, rather contrasting behaviors were observed for the two kinds of steel. The N1s photoelectrons had spectral shifts toward lower (nitrided AISI 316) or higher (nitrided AISI 4140) binding energies, whereas the Fe2p 3/2 photoelectron spectrum remains at a constant binding energy (nitrided AISI 316) or shifts toward higher binding energies (AISI 4140). These trends are discussed in terms of the metallic nitride formation and the overlapping of atomic orbitals. For nitrided AISI 316, a semi-classical approach of charge transfer between Cr and N is used to explain the experimental facts (formation of CrN), while for nitrided AISI 4140 we propose that the interaction between orbitals 4s from Fe and 2p from N promotes electrons to the conduction band increasing the electrical attraction of the N1s and Fe2p electrons in core shells (formation of FeN x ). The increase in hardness of the steel upon N implantation is attributed to the localization of electrons in specific bonds, which diminishes the metallic bond character.

Nanocrystalline diamond coatings for machining

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, M.; Breidt, D.; Cremer, R. [CemeCon AG, Wuerselen (Germany)

2007-07-01

This history of CVD diamond synthesis goes back to the fifties of the last century. However, the scientific and economical potential was only gradually recognized. In the eighties, intensive worldwide research on CVD diamond synthesis and applications was launched. Industrial products, especially diamond-coated cutting tools, were introduced to the market in the middle of the nineties. This article shows the latest developments in this area, which comprises nanocrystalline diamond coating structures. (orig.)

Fabrication of carbide and nitride pellets and the nitride irradiations Niloc 1 and Niloc 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blank, H.

1991-01-01

Besides the relatively well-known advanced LMFBR mixed carbide fuel an advanced mixed nitride is also an attractive candidate for the optimised fuel cycle of the European Fast Reactor, but the present knowledge about the nitride is still insufficient and should be raised to the level of the carbide. For such an optimised fuel cycle the following general conditions have been set up for the fuel: (i) the burnup of the optimised MN and MC should be at least 15 a/o or even beyond, at moderate linear ratings of less than 75 kW/m (ii) the fuel will be used in a He-bonding pin concept and (iii) as far as available an advanced economic pellet fabrication method should be employed. (iv) The fuel structure must contain 15 - 20% porosity in order to accomodate the fission product swelling at high burnup. This report gives a comprehensive description of fuel and pellet fabrication and characterization, irradiation, and post-irradiation examination. From the results important conclusions can be drawn about future work on nitrides

Magnetic properties of Nd3(Fe,Mo)29 compound and its nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Hongge

1998-01-01

The iron-rich ternary intermetallic compound Nd 3 (Fe,Mo) 29 with the Nd 3 (Fe,Ti) 29 -type monoclinic structure and its nitride were prepared. After nitrogenation, the nitride retains the structure of the parent compound, but the unit-cell volume of the nitride is 5.9% greater than that of the parent compound. The Curie temperature of Nd 3 (Fe,Mo) 29 nitride is 70.9% higher than that of the parent compound and the saturation magnetization of the nitride is about 6.6% (at 4.2 K) and 23.7% (at 300 K) higher than that of the parent compound. The anisotropy of the nitride is similar to that of parent compound, which exhibits plane anisotropy. (orig.)

Local heating with titanium nitride nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guler, Urcan; Ndukaife, Justus C.; Naik, Gururaj V.

2013-01-01

We investigate the feasibility of titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles as local heat sources in the near infrared region, focusing on biological window. Experiments and simulations provide promising results for TiN, which is known to be bio-compatible.......We investigate the feasibility of titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles as local heat sources in the near infrared region, focusing on biological window. Experiments and simulations provide promising results for TiN, which is known to be bio-compatible....

Precipitation of Chromium Nitrides in the Super Duplex Stainless Steel 2507

Science.gov (United States)

Pettersson, Niklas; Pettersson, Rachel F. A.; Wessman, Sten

2015-03-01

Precipitation of chromium nitrides during cooling from temperatures in the range 1373 K to 1523 K (1100 °C to 1250 °C) has been studied for the super duplex stainless steel 2507 (UNS S32750). Characterization with optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopy was combined to quantify the precipitation process. Primarily Cr2N nitrides were found to precipitate with a high density in the interior of ferrite grains. An increased cooling rate and/or an increased austenite spacing clearly promoted nitride formation, resulting in precipitation within a higher fraction of the ferrite grains, and lager nitride particles. Furthermore, formation of the meta-stable CrN was induced by higher cooling rates. The toughness seemed unaffected by nitrides. A slight decrease in pitting resistance was, however, noticed for quenched samples with large amounts of precipitates. The limited adverse effect on pitting resistance is attributed to the small size (~200 nm) of most nitrides. Slower cooling of duplex stainless steels to allow nitrogen partitioning is suggested in order to avoid large nitrides, and thereby produce a size distribution with a smaller detrimental effect on pitting resistance.

Preparation, characterization and luminescence of nanocrystalline Y2O3:Ho

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biljan, Tomislav; Gajovic, Andreja; Meic, Zlatko; Mestrovic, Ernest

2007-01-01

Nanocrystalline Y 2 O 3 :Ho was synthesized by solution combustion method with ethylene glycol as fuel. Material was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction and TEM showed that the material is nanostructured. Luminescence properties were studied using Raman spectrometers with excitation in near infrared (NIR) and visible regions. The visible and NIR luminescence spectra of nanocrystalline Y 2 O 3 :Ho show some important differences from those of bulk material. The convenience of using Raman instruments for studying luminescence of lanthanide ions is demonstrated

Chemical vapor deposition of nanocrystalline diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vyrovets, I.I.; Gritsyna, V.I.; Dudnik, S.F.; Opalev, O.A.; Reshetnyak, O.M.; Strel'nitskij, V.E.

2008-01-01

The brief review of the literature is devoted to synthesis of nanocrystalline diamond films. It is shown that the CVD method is an effective way for deposition of such nanostructures. The basic technological methods that allow limit the size of growing diamond crystallites in the film are studied.

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline zinc ferrite

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jiang, J.S.; Yang, X.L.; Gao, L.

1999-01-01

Nanocrystalline zinc ferrite powders with a partially inverted spinel structure were synthesized by high-energy ball milling in a closed container at ambient temperature from a mixture of alpha-Fe2O3 and ZnO crystalline powders in equimolar ratio. From low-temperature and in-field Mossbauer...

Atomistic simulation study of deformation twinning of nanocrystalline body-centered cubic Mo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian, Xiaofeng [The College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu (China); Li, Dan, E-mail: txf8378@163.com [The College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu (China); Yu, You [College of Optoelectronic Technology, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu (China); You, Zhen Jiang [Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Li, Tongye [The National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Fuel and Materials, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu (China); Ge, Liangquan [The College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu (China)

2017-04-06

Deformation twinning of nanocrystalline body-centered cubic Mo was studied using molecular dynamics simulations, and the effects of grain sizes and temperatures on the deformation were evaluated. With small grain size, grain rotation accompanying grain growth was found to play important role in nanocrystalline Mo during tensile deformation. Additionally, grain rotation and the deformation controlled by GB-mediated processes induce to the difficulty of creating crack. Twin was formed by successive emission of twinning partials from grain boundaries in small grain size systems. However, the twin mechanisms of GB splitting and overlapping of two extended dislocations were also found in larger size grain. Twin induced crack tips were observed in our simulation, and this confirmed the results of previous molecular dynamics simulations. At higher temperatures, GB activities can be thermally activated, resulting in suppression of twinning tendency and improvement of ductility of nanocrystalline Mo.

Anomalous piezoelectricity in two-dimensional graphene nitride nanosheets.

Science.gov (United States)

Zelisko, Matthew; Hanlumyuang, Yuranan; Yang, Shubin; Liu, Yuanming; Lei, Chihou; Li, Jiangyu; Ajayan, Pulickel M; Sharma, Pradeep

2014-06-27

Piezoelectricity is a unique property of materials that permits the conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical and vice versa. On the basis of crystal symmetry considerations, pristine carbon nitride (C3N4) in its various forms is non-piezoelectric. Here we find clear evidence via piezoresponse force microscopy and quantum mechanical calculations that both atomically thin and layered graphitic carbon nitride, or graphene nitride, nanosheets exhibit anomalous piezoelectricity. Insights from ab inito calculations indicate that the emergence of piezoelectricity in this material is due to the fact that a stable phase of graphene nitride nanosheet is riddled with regularly spaced triangular holes. These non-centrosymmetric pores, and the universal presence of flexoelectricity in all dielectrics, lead to the manifestation of the apparent and experimentally verified piezoelectric response. Quantitatively, an e11 piezoelectric coefficient of 0.758 C m(-2) is predicted for C3N4 superlattice, significantly larger than that of the commonly compared α-quartz.

Grain boundaries of nanocrystalline materials - their widths, compositions, and internal structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fultz, B.; Frase, H.N.

2000-01-01

Nanocrystalline materials contain many atoms at and near grain boundaries. Sufficient numbers of Moessbauer probe atoms can be situated in grain boundary environments to make a clear contribution to the measured Moessbauer spectrum. Three types of measurements on nanocrystalline materials are reported here, all using Moessbauer spectrometry in conjunction with X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, or small angle neutron scattering. By measuring the fraction of atoms contributing to the grain boundary component in a Moessbauer spectrum, and by knowing the grain size of the material, it is possible to deduce the average width of grain boundaries in metallic alloys. It is found that these widths are approximately 0.5 nm for fcc alloys and slightly larger than 1.0 nm for bcc alloys.Chemical segregation to grain boundaries can be measured by Moessbauer spectrometry, especially in conjunction with small angle neutron scattering. Such measurements on Fe-Cu and Fe 3 Si-Nb were used to study how nanocrystalline materials could be stabilized against grain growth by the segregation of Cu and Nb to grain boundaries. The segregation of Cu to grain boundaries did not stabilize the Fe-Cu alloys against grain growth, since the grain boundaries were found to widen and accept more Cu atoms during annealing. The Nb additions to Fe 3 Si did suppress grain growth, perhaps because of the low mobility of Nb atoms, but also perhaps because Nb atoms altered the chemical ordering in the alloy.The internal structure of grain boundaries in nanocrystalline materials prepared by high-energy ball milling is found to be unstable against internal relaxations at low temperatures. The Moessbauer spectra of the nanocrystalline samples showed changes in the hyperfine fields attributable to movements of grain boundary atoms. In conjunction with SANS measurements, the changes in grain boundary structure induced by cryogenic exposure and annealing at low temperature were found to be

Characteristics of RuO2-SnO2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode for thin film microsupercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Han-Ki; Choi, Sun-Hee; Yoon, Young Soo; Chang, Sung-Yong; Ok, Young-Woo; Seong, Tae-Yeon

2005-01-01

The characteristics of RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode, grown by DC reactive sputtering, was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and transmission electron diffraction (TED) examination results showed that Sn and Ru metal cosputtered electrode in O 2 /Ar ambient have RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystallines in an amorphous oxide matrix. It is shown that the cyclic voltammorgram (CV) result of the RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 liquid electrolyte is similar to a bulk-type supercapacitor behavior with a specific capacitance of 62.2 mF/cm 2 μm. This suggests that the RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film can be employed in hybrid all-solid state energy storage devises as an electrode of supercapacitor

Alkaline fuel cell with nitride membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shen-Huei; Pilaski, Moritz; Wartmann, Jens; Letzkus, Florian; Funke, Benedikt; Dura, Georg; Heinzel, Angelika

2017-06-01

The aim of this work is to fabricate patterned nitride membranes with Si-MEMS-technology as a platform to build up new membrane-electrode-assemblies (MEA) for alkaline fuel cell applications. Two 6-inch wafer processes based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were developed for the fabrication of separated nitride membranes with a nitride thickness up to 1 μm. The mechanical stability of the perforated nitride membrane has been adjusted in both processes either by embedding of subsequent ion implantation step or by optimizing the deposition process parameters. A nearly 100% yield of separated membranes of each deposition process was achieved with layer thickness from 150 nm to 1 μm and micro-channel pattern width of 1μm at a pitch of 3 μm. The process for membrane coating with electrolyte materials could be verified to build up MEA. Uniform membrane coating with channel filling was achieved after the optimization of speed controlled dip-coating method and the selection of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as electrolyte solvent. Finally, silver as conductive material was defined for printing a conductive layer onto the MEA by Ink-Technology. With the established IR-thermography setup, characterizations of MEAs in terms of catalytic conversion were performed successfully. The results of this work show promise for build up a platform on wafer-level for high throughput experiments.

Research and development of nitride fuel cycle technology in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minato, Kazuo; Arai, Yasuo; Akabori, Mitsuo; Tamaki, Yoshihisa; Itoh, Kunihiro

2004-01-01

The research on the nitride fuel was started for an advanced fuel, (U, Pn)N, for fast reactors, and the research activities have been expanded to minor actinide bearing nitride fuels. The fuel fabrication, property measurements, irradiation tests and pyrochemical process experiments have been made. In 2002 a five-year-program named PROMINENT was started for the development of nitride fuel cycle technology within the framework of the Development of Innovative Nuclear Technologies by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. In the research program PROMINENT, property measurements, pyrochemical process and irradiation experiments needed for nitride fuel cycle technology are being made. (author)

The preparation of high-adsorption, spherical, hexagonal boron nitride by template method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Ning, E-mail: zhangning5832@163.com; Liu, Huan; Kan, Hongmin; Wang, Xiaoyang; Long, Haibo; Zhou, Yonghui

2014-11-15

Highlights: • The high-adsorption, spherical, hexagonal boron nitride powders were prepared. • The influence mechanism of template content on the micro-morphology and adsorption was explored. • At appropriate synthesis temperature, higher adsorption mesoporous spheres h-BN began to form. - Abstract: This research used low-cost boric acid and borax as a source of boron, urea as a nitrogen source, dodecyl-trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC) as a template, and thus prepared different micro-morphology hexagonal boron nitride powders under a flowing ammonia atmosphere at different nitriding temperatures. The effects of the template content and nitriding temperature on the micro-morphology of hexagonal boron nitride were studied and the formation mechanism analysed. The influences of the template content and nitriding temperature on adsorption performance were also explored. The results showed that at a nitriding temperature of 675 °C, the micro-morphologies of h-BN powder were orderly, inhomogeneous spherical, uniform spherical, beam, and pie-like with increasing template content. The micro-morphology was inhomogeneous spherical at a DTAC dose of 7.5%. The micro-morphology was uniform spherical at a DTAC dose of 10%. At a DTAC dose of 12%, the micro-morphology was a mixture of beam and pie-like shapes. At a certain template content (DTAC at 10%) and at lower nitriding temperatures (625 °C and 650 °C), spherical shell structures with surface subsidence began to form. The porous spheres would appear at a nitriding temperature of 675 °C, and the ball diameter thus formed was approximately 500–600 nm. The ball diameter was about 600–700 nm when the nitriding temperature was 700 °C. At a nitriding temperature of 725 °C, the ball diameter was between 800 and 1000 nm and sintering necking started to form. When the relative pressure was higher, previously closed pores opened and connected with the outside world: the adsorption then increased significantly. The

Amorphous and nanocrystalline materials preparation, properties, and applications

CERN Document Server

Inoue, A

2001-01-01

Amorphous and nanocrystalline materials are a class of their own. Their properties are quite different to those of the corresponding crystalline materials. This book gives systematic insight into their physical properties, structure, behaviour, and design for special advanced applications.

White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using (oxy)nitride phosphors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, R-J; Hirosaki, N; Sakuma, K; Kimura, N

2008-01-01

(Oxy)nitride phosphors have attracted great attention recently because they are promising luminescent materials for phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This paper reports the luminescent properties of (oxy)nitride phosphors in the system of M-Si-Al-O-N (M = Li, Ca or Sr), and optical properties of white LEDs using a GaN-based blue LED and (oxy)nitride phosphors. The phosphors show high conversion efficiency of blue light, suitable emission colours and small thermal quenching. The bichromatic white LEDs exhibit high luminous efficacy (∼55 lm W -1 ) and the multi-phosphor converted white LEDs show high colour rendering index (Ra 82-95). The results indicate that (oxy)nitride phosphors demonstrate their superior suitability to use as down-conversion luminescent materials in white LEDs

Corrosion stability of cermets on the base of titanium nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajdash, O.N.; Marinich, M.A.; Kuzenkova, M.A.; Manzheleev, I.V.

1991-01-01

Corrosion resistance of titanium nitride and its cermets in 5% of HCl, 7% of HNO 3 , 10% of H 2 SO 4 is studied. It is established that alloys TiN-Ni-Mo alloyed with chromium (from 10 to 15%) possess the highest corrosion resistance. Cermet TiN-Cr has the higher stability than titanium nitride due to formation of binary nitride (Ti, Cr)N

Electrophoretic Nanocrystalline Graphene Film Electrode for Lithium Ion Battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaprans, Kaspars; Bajars, Gunars; Kucinskis, Gints; Dorondo, Anna; Mateuss, Janis; Gabrusenoks, Jevgenijs; Kleperis, Janis; Lusis, Andrejs

2015-01-01

Graphene sheets were fabricated by electrophoretic deposition method from water suspension of graphene oxide followed by thermal reduction. The formation of nanocrystalline graphene sheets has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of graphene sheets as anode material for lithium ion batteries was evaluated by cycling voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Fabricated graphene sheets exhibited high discharge capacity of about 1120 mAh·g −1 and demonstrated good reversibility of lithium intercalation and deintercalation in graphene sheet film with capacity retention over 85 % after 50 cycles. Results show that nanocrystalline graphene sheets prepared by EPD demonstrated a high potential for application as anode material in lithium ion batteries

Aluminum recovery as a product with high added value using aluminum hazardous waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, E.; Kopac, J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Granular and compact aluminum dross were physically and chemically characterized. • A relationship between density, porosity and metal content from dross was established. • Chemical reactions involving aluminum in landfill and negative consequences are shown. • A processing method for aluminum recovering from aluminum dross was developed. • Aluminum was recovered as an value product with high grade purity such as alumina. -- Abstract: The samples of hazardous aluminum solid waste such as dross were physically and chemically characterized. A relationship between density, porosity and metal content of dross was established. The paper also examines the chemical reactions involving aluminum dross in landfill and the negative consequences. To avoid environmental problems and to recovery the aluminum, a processing method was developed and aluminum was recovered as an added value product such as alumina. This method refers to a process at low temperature, in more stages: acid leaching, purification, precipitation and calcination. At the end of this process aluminum was extracted, first as Al 3+ soluble ions and final as alumina product. The composition of the aluminum dross and alumina powder obtained were measured by applying the leaching tests, using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and chemical analysis. The mineralogical composition of aluminum dross samples and alumina product were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the morphological characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The method presented in this work allows the use of hazardous aluminum solid waste as raw material to recover an important fraction from soluble aluminum content as an added value product, alumina, with high grade purity (99.28%)

Nanocrystallinity and magnetic property enhancement in melt-spun iron-rare earth-base hard magnetic alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, H.A.; Manaf, A.; Zhang, P.Z.

1993-01-01

Refinement of the grain size below ∼35 nm mean diameter in melt-spun FeNdB-base alloys leads to enhancement of remanent polarization, J r , above the level predicted by the Stoner-Wohlfarth theory for an aggregate of independent, randomly oriented, and uniaxial magnetic particles. This article summarizes the results of the recent systematic research on this phenomenon, including the influence of alloy composition and processing conditions on the crystallite size, degree of enhancement of J r , and maximum energy product (BH) max . It has been shown that the effect can also occur in ternary FeNdB alloys, without the addition of silicon or aluminum, which was originally thought necessary, providing the nanocrystallites are not magnetically decoupled by a paramagnetic second phase. Values of (BH) max above 160 kJ. m -3 have been achieved. The relationship between grain size, J r , intrinsic coercivity, J H c , and (BH) max are discussed in terms of magnetic exchange coupling, anisotropy, and other parameters. Recent extension of this work to the enhancement of properties in Fe-Mischmental-Boron-base alloys and to bonded magnets with a nanocrystalline structure is also described

High-pressure structural behavior of nanocrystalline Ge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, H.; Liu, J. F.; Yan, H.

2007-01-01

The equation of state and the pressure of the I-II transition have been studied for nanocrystalline Ge using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The bulk modulus and the transition pressure increase with decreasing particle size for both Ge-I and Ge-II, but the percentage volume collapse at the transi...

Microstructural characterization of pulsed plasma nitrided 316L stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asgari, M.; Barnoush, A.; Johnsen, R.; Hoel, R.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The low temperature pulsed plasma nitrided layer of 316 SS was studied. → The plastic deformation induced in the austenite due to nitriding is characterized by EBSD at different depths (i.e., nitrogen concentration). → Nanomechanical properties of the nitride layer was investigated by nanoindentation at different depths (i.e., nitrogen concentration). → High hardness, high nitrogen concentration and high dislocation density is detected in the nitride layer. → The hardness and nitrogen concentration decreased sharply beyond the nitride layer. - Abstract: Pulsed plasma nitriding (PPN) treatment is one of the new processes to improve the surface hardness and tribology behavior of austenitic stainless steels. Through low temperature treatment (<440 deg. C), it is possible to obtain unique combinations of wear and corrosion properties. Such a combination is achieved through the formation of a so-called 'extended austenite phase'. These surface layers are often also referred to as S-phase, m-phase or γ-phase. In this work, nitrided layers on austenitic stainless steels AISI 316L (SS316L) were examined by means of a nanoindentation method at different loads. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the S-phase at different depths were studied. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) examination of the layer showed a high amount of plasticity induced in the layer during its formation. XRD results confirmed the formation of the S-phase, and no deleterious CrN phase was detected.

Nanocrystalline sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} carbons: CVD synthesis and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terranova, M. L. [Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata,” via Della Ricerca Scientifica, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche—MinimaLab (Italy); Rossi, M. [Università degli Studi di Roma “Sapienza,” via A. Scarpa, Dipartimento di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria and Centro di Ricerca per le Nanotecnologie Applicate all’Ingegneria (CNIS) (Italy); Tamburri, E., E-mail: emanuela.tamburri@uniroma2.it [Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata,” via Della Ricerca Scientifica, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche—MinimaLab (Italy)

2016-11-15

The design and production of innovative materials based on nanocrystalline sp{sup 2}- and sp{sup 3}-coordinated carbons is presently a focus of the scientific community. We present a review of the nanostructures obtained in our labs using a series of synthetic routes, which make use of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques for the selective production of non-planar graphitic nanostructures, nanocrystalline diamonds, and hybrid two-phase nanostructures.

Electrodeposited nanocrystalline bronze alloys as replacement for Ni

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hovestad, A.; Tacken, R.A.; Mannetje, H.H.'t

2008-01-01

Nanocrystalline white-bronze, CuSn, electroplating was investigated as alternative to Ni plating as undercoat for noble metals in jewellery applications. A strongly acidic plating bath was developed with an organic additive to suppress hydrogen evolution and obtain bright coatings. Polarization

Surface modification of austenitic steel by various glow-discharge nitriding methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Borowski

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Recent years have seen intensive research on modifying glow-discharge nitriding processes. One of the most commonly used glow-discharge methods includes cathodic potential nitriding (conventional method, and active screen plasma nitriding. Each of these methods has a number of advantages. One very important, common feature of these techniques is full control of the microstructure, chemical and phase composition, thickness and the surface topography of the layers formed. Another advantage includes the possibility of nitriding such materials as: austenitic steels or nickel alloys, i.e. metallic materials which do not diffuse nitrogen as effectively as ferritic or martensitic steels. However, these methods have some disadvantages as well. In the case of conventional plasma nitriding, engineers have to deal with the edge effect, which makes it difficult to use this method for complexly shaped components. In turn, in the case of active screen plasma nitriding, the problem disappears. A uniform, smooth layer forms, but is thinner, softer and is not as resistant to friction compared to layers formed using the conventional method. Research is also underway to combine these methods, i.e. use an active screen in conventional plasma nitriding at cathodic potential. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data presenting a comparison between these three nitriding processes and the impact of pulsating current on the formation of the microstructure and functional properties of austenitic steel surfaces. The article presents a characterisation of nitrided layers produced on austenitic X2CrNiMo17-12-2 (AISI 316L stainless steel in the course of glow-discharge nitriding at cathodic potential, at plasma potential and at cathodic potential incorporating an active screen. All processes were carried out at 440 °C under DC glow-discharge conditions and in 100 kHz frequency pulsating current. The layers were examined in terms of their microstructure, phase and