Whiskerlike-shaped hydroxyapatite single crystals with the calcium-deficient nature were hydrothermally grown under natural convection by using a temperature-gradient-applied pressure vessel. With this method, crystals grew thinner with a smaller tapering angle than those grown under the nonconvection. Maximum length of the crystals grown under natural convection was 8.3 nm. The grown crystals survived without fracture through at least ten times maximum indentation (25 µm) of the three-point bending tests, showing the maximum bending angle of 62°. Average tensile strength of the crystals was 410.0 MPa.

Textured c-axis oriented LiNbO3 films have been grown for waveguiding applications on silicon substrates by the solid-source metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method using tetramethylheptanedionate sources. Thermally grown SiO2 layers were used as cladding layers to provide optical confinement in the LiNbO3 films. The texture direction could be varied from the [006] to the [012] direction by either increasing the growth temperature and/or decreasing the growth rate. Under optimal growth conditions, 100% [006] texturing could be achieved without the aid of an electric field or by using a SiNx buffer layer. The crystallinity and surface rms roughness of c-axis oriented films were found to be strongly dependent on the growth rate. Rocking curve full-width half-maximum (FWHM) values of (006) peaks could be decreased to less than 2° by increasing the growth rate. The surface roughness also decreased with growth rate, and rms values as low as 1.5 nm were achieved. On the other hand, too high a growth rate leads to increased roughness due to gas phase nucleation. The optical losses were closely correlated with surface roughness, and the best films had optical losses near 4.5 dB/cm at a wavelength of 632.8 nm.

Very thin (<,100 nm) amorphous carbon films were grown on silicon substrates by unfiltered and filtered direct carbon ion beams. In situ surface modification was performed using C- energies in the range of 300–500 eV prior to the growth of the film. By lowering the energy of the C− beam to 150 eV, an amorphous carbon film was continuously grown after the surface modification. High-resolution electron microscopy showed that the film/substrate interface was damaged by 400 and 500 eV C− beams. The carbon composition profile at the interface investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy illustrated that the 500 eV C− beam generated a 30 nm thick carbon/silicon mixing layer at the interface. The damage and mixing layers were not observed at 300 eV modification. Wear testing found that strong adhesion occurred in samples modified at 400 and 500 eV. However, at 300 eV, modified samples exhibited delamination failure, which indicated inferior adhesion of the films. Surface roughness evolution of 30, 60, and 90 nm thick films was investigated by atomic force microscopy. The film surface roughness decrease as a function of film thickness was much faster when the films were grown by the filtered C− beam.

Iron nitride layers were formed by a novel low-temperature gaseous nitriding process. Nitriding occurs at a temperature of 325 °C through NH3 decomposition at the surface of Ni (25 nm) coated Fe, followed by N transport through the Ni film into the underlying Fe, where nitride precipitation takes place. The role of Ni is to protect Fe from oxidation by gas impurities and to serve as a catalyst for NH3 decomposition. The precipitation behavior and the development of microstructure were studied by means of elastic recoil detection, cross-sectional transmission electron diffraction (XTEM), and positron annihilation (PA). From PA and XTEM no evidence was found for the occurrence of porosity during nitriding (an effect found at higher temperatures due to the decomposition of the nitrides into Fe and N2). XTEM showed that the original columnar α–Fe grains transform into smaller ′–Fe4N grains which subsequently transform into larger ε–Fe3−xN grains. This microstructural evolution of smaller ′ grains forming in the original columnar α–Fe structure occurs in one of two growth modes of the nitride in the Fe layer, i.e., throughout the entire depth range of the Fe layer, or preferentially at the Ni/Fe interface when an iron oxide layer is present at this interface.

The influence of the synthesis temperature of a new fly ash–belite cement (FABC) on its hydraulic activity and microstructural characteristics is discussed in this work. Three types of FABC were synthesized at 700, 800, and 900 °C after a previous hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C of the fly ash, CaO, and water mixture. The hydraulic activity of the pastes was evaluated during a period of 200 days from mixing through the combined water content, previously determined from thermogravimetric analyses, and the hydration advance degree by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The microstructure characterization of the pastes was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).