Nanocrystalline PbS has been grown within a phase-separated oxide glass of composition 10 Na2O, 15 PbO, 17 CaO, 3 Bi2O3, and 55 SiO2 (in mole %) by passing H2S gas over it at temperatures varying from 773 to 943 K. The particle size ranged from 2.5 to 12.9 nm. The dc resistivity of composites of nanocrystalline PbS and the phase separated glass has been measured over the temperature range 300 to 670 K. The resistivity variation in the temperature range 550 to 670 K is characterized by the sodium ion migration in the glass with an activation energy, ∼1.2 eV. The resistivity in the range 300 to 500 K was controlled by conduction in PbS particles with the estimated band gap showing an increase with a decrease in the particle size.

In this work the properties of polycrystalline silicon layers obtained by rapid thermal annealing have been discussed. Amorphous silicon layers with thickness of 3000 Å have been deposited on silicon wafers in rf sputtering system. The layers were annealed for 15 s to 5 min at temperatures in the range 800–1200 °C in vacuum 5 × 10−5 Torr. A correlation was established between structure, morphology, sheet resistance, and the parameters of the RTA annealing.

A simple melt-infiltration processing route has been developed for the fabrication of TiC/Ni3Al ceramic/intermetallic composites, which involves a combination of infiltration and subsequent liquid phase sintering. For Ni3Al contents from 8 to 25 vol. %, densities in excess of 98% of theoretical are readily obtained when processing at 1450 °C. TiC and Ni3Al are the only phases detected in the densified materials. Ni3Al ductility is retained after processing, leading to the possibility of ductile phase toughened TiC composites for elevated temperature applications (up to ∼1100 °C).

Lead zirconate titanate powders are derived from a novel aqueous-based citrate-nitrate/oxynitrate sol-gel combustion process. Aqueous solutions of metal nitrates or oxynitrates are transformed into gels with citric acid under heating. The received gels undergo a self-propagating combustion reaction on heating to 180 °C and subsequently yield voluminous ashes. These ashes form single phase perovskite Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 powder with a specific surface area of 8 m2/g upon calcination at 550 °C. The ashes show a homogeneous distribution of lead, zirconium, and titanium ions which guarantees short diffusion paths in solid state formation of PZT perovskite. The redox behavior of the gels was studied with the help of DTA experiments. Powders are characterized in terms of XRD, SEM, and EDX analysis.

We report growth of high-quality Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oz single crystals with dimensions 2 × 1 × 0.03 mm3 with a melt and growth technique. The composition of this crystal is homogeneous and very close to the stoichiometric composition. Structure characterization of a single crystal was realized by measuring the (001) x-ray diffraction. The lattice parameters of a typical crystal are a = 5.414(2) Å, b = 5.413(2) Å, and c = 30.823(10) Å. The superconducting temperature Tc = 95 K with a sharp transition width (10–90% level) between 6 and 10 K was determined from resistivity and dc susceptibility. We have measured the magnetization of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oz single crystal under magnetic field applied along the c-axis. The anomalous second peak effect appeared between 20 and 30 K. We discuss the qualities of these crystals.

Sr-doped Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4+δ samples have been prepared with accurate control of the oxygen content. The stability of both T′ and T* phases is strongly dependent on Sr and oxygen content. An electron diffraction study indicates that, in some cases, anionic vacancies are ordered leading to a pseudo-tetragonal superlattice with unit cell parameters . Structural transitions and superconducting phases created by hole doping in such a system are also reported.

Diamond thin films grown from a dc-arc discharge in CH4/H2 mixtures on Si wafers were examined by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. This deposition method provides good diamond crystallinity at high CH4 concentrations (3%–9%). Seeding the substrate with 5 nm diamond particles at a density of 2 × 1012 cm−1 followed by argon laser irradiation to reduce their agglomeration gives, just after starting deposition, a density of growth centers of 1010cm−2. At 3% CH4 concentration the film grows with almost perfect crystallites. Richer CH4 mixtures (5% and 9%) produce crystallites with twins and stacking faults. An amorphous 20–70 nm SiC interlayer is present at these CH4 concentrations, which was not observed at 3% CH4. Amorphous sp3- and sp2-bonded carbon was detected by Raman spectroscopy at all CH4 concentrations and correlated with TEM data.

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to characterize the surface topography of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers before and after electrochemical treatment, stretch resistance test, and high-temperature treatment. A new kind of spiral structures was found, which was not only on the surface but also in the inner layer. The spiral structure of the fibers was caused by the spinning process. The fiber structure contained the shape of the precursor. There were some large cracks in the carbon fibers after the stretching resistance test. The large cracks can result in carbon fiber breaking under certain stress conditions. The difference in the structures of the carbon fibers before and after the high-temperature treatment was determined.

A two-step heat treatment process has been employed to crystallize low pressure deposited thin films of amorphous germanium. Large grain p-type polycrystalline germanium with a Hall effect hole mobility of greater than 300 cm2/Vs has been obtained. Films with near intrinsic conductivity, necessary for the construction of practical enhancement-mode insulated-gate thin film transistors, were obtained by introducing phosphorus as a compensating dopant. High Hall effect electron mobility of 245 cm2/Vs has been measured on the resulting n-type polycrystalline germanium thin films.

Semiconductor ZnSe microcrystal-doped SiO2 glass thin films were prepared by the RF-magnetron sputtering method. The particle size of ZnSe microcrystals in the films depended on sputtering conditions such as input power, substrate temperature, and relative surface area ratio (ZnSe/SiO2) in the target. The blue shift of the optical absorption edge was observed in these glass films. This blue shift energy was explained in terms of the independent confinement of electrons and positive holes, Coulomb force and the influence of a collapsed exciton and the dielectric constant of the matrix glass being taken into consideration.

Interatomic potentials of the embedded atom and embedded defect type were derived for the Co–Al system by empirical fitting to the properties of the B2 CoAl phase. The embedded atom potentials reproduced most of the properties needed, except that, in using this method, the elastic constants cannot be fitted exactly because CoAl has a negative Cauchy pressure. In order to overcome this limitation and fit the elastic constants correctly, angular forces were added using the embedded defect technique. The effects of angular forces to the embedded atom potentials were seen in the elastic constants, particularly C44. Planar fault energies changed up to 30% in the {110} and {112} γ surfaces and the vacancy formation energies were also very sensitive to the non-central forces. Dislocation core structures and Peierls stress values were computed for the 〈100〉 and 〈111〉 dislocations without angular forces. As a general result, the dislocations with a planar core moved for critical stress values below 250 MPa in contrast with the nonplanar cores for which the critical stress values were above 1500 MPa. The easiest dislocations to move were the 1/2〈111〉 edge superpartials, and the overall preferred slip plane was {110}. These results were compared with experimental observations in CoAl and previously simulated dislocations in NiAl.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface replica method have been employed to study the micromechanism of fatigue crack initiation at Nd-rich phase particles in a high temperature titanium (Ti-55) alloy. It was found that the microcrack initiates near the equator of Nd-rich particles in the matrix. The microcrack grows first at an angle of about 45° with respect to the tensile axis, and then its growth direction becomes approximately normal to the tensile axis. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of the elastic stress distribution around soft particles imbedded in the matrix to account for the experimental findings of particle cracking and the associated surface microcrack initiation near the particle “equator.” A model of fatigue crack initiation at a soft surface particle is proposed.

Hafnia and zirconia gels were prepared by drying hafnyl or zirconyl acetate solutions. Hafnia and zirconia gels contain both hydroxyl group and bidentate acetates which are directly bonded to the metal ions. Thermal decomposition and crystallization behavior of the gels were investigated through XRD, FT-IR, and TEM. Hafnium-containing gels crystallized directly into stable monoclinic hafnia around 500–540 °C, while zirconium-containing gels first formed metastable tetragonal zirconia around 450 °C. The dissimilar crystallization behavior of the gels into metastable, tetragonal zirconia or into stable, monoclinic hafnia can be explained through the difference in free-energy changes of the tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation.

Phase relations in two binary systems MgAl2O4–ZnAl2O4 and MgAl2O4–Mg2TiO4 have been studied and phase diagrams for them have been constructed. Based on the data of x-ray phase and crystal-optical analyses, the formation of a continuous series of solid solutions with spinel structure between the terminal members of the systems studied has been established. In the MgAl2O4–ZnAl2O4 system the solid solution is stable in the range from room temperature to melting temperature. In the MgAl2O4–Mg2TiO4 system the solid solution decomposes below 1380 °C, yielding the formation of limited regions of homogeneity on the basis of MgAlM2O4 and Mg2+2δ Ti1–δO4. Decomposition of the solid solution is accompanied by crystallization of MgTiO3.

Sedimentation in organic solvents was followed by hot-pressing to produce 2 mole % yttria stabilized zirconia-NiAl functionally graded materials (FGM's). These FGM's were better able to accommodate high levels of residual stress than alumina-NiAl FGM's; this is possibly due to enhanced tetragonal phase retention. However, we found that the zirconia layer in these FGM's subsequently experiences room temperature transformation of t-ZrO2 to m-ZrO2.

Powders and coatings of zirconia doped with 2.5 mole% yttria have been produced via the sol-gel route. The phase structure and subsequent thermal evolution in heating and cooling cycles have been investigated using mainly perturbed angular correlations spectroscopy. Thermal analyses and XRD as a function of temperature have also been performed to obtain complementary information. Upon heating, the amorphous gels crystallized into the tetragonal structure and showed the same hyperfine pattern and thermal behavior as observed in tetragonal zirconia obtained by the ceramic route: the two configurations of vacancies around zirconium ions denoted as t1 and t2 forms and their mutual t1 → t2 transformation. While the powder sample exhibited an incipient thermal instability above 1000 °C and underwent completely the t2 form to m–ZrO2 transition during subsequent, gradual cooling below 500 °C, the coating retained the tetragonal phase within the whole temperature range investigated. Hyperfine results suggest that the tetragonal phase stabilization is favored by the highly defective nature of the t1 form and consequently hardened by the availability of oxygen. The PAC derived activation energy for the fast diffusion of the oxygen vacancies inherent to the t2 form was determined as 0.54 ± 0.14 eV.

We studied amorphous lead titanium alkoxide-derived heterometallic complexes, prepared from lead acetate and titanium n-propoxide or n-butoxide in parent alcohol medium. According to gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and thermogravimetric analysis with mass spectrometry of evolved species (TGA/EGA) analyses, the type of alkoxide group influences oxo or acetate bridging, as well as the amounts of hydroxyl and organic groups bound to the metal network. From XANES and EXAFS analysis, local environments of lead and titanium atoms were determined within the analyzed range of 3.4 Å. Local environments depend weakly on the type of alkoxide used. Titanium atoms are pentacoordinated. A Pb–Ti correlation is established with lead atoms bound to titanium atoms by oxygen linkages.

The microstructure of Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) and PbTiO3 (PT) thin films deposited by the sol-gel method and chemical vapor deposition, respectively, were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Domains with ∼7 and ∼20 nm widths were found for the PZT and PT thin films, respectively. The traditional parallel twin or wedge-type structures found in bulk ceramics have been observed in thin films. Differences between observed grain sizes and previous studies of similar compounds (in bulk form) are accounted for by geometrical considerations related to crystallographic factors. Finally, a classification scheme for domains in PZT and PT thin films based on these and other published results of several researchers is presented. Domain sizes varied according to three categories: mono-domains (2–50 nm in diameter), domains in spherulite lamellae (28–130 nm wide), and twins in conventional large grains (5–150 nm wide). The mono-domains are related to small grain sizes, while the lamellae are a function of the nucleation and growth associated with sol-gel processing.

Using a processing route that employed platinum crucibles, single phase ceramics of Pb(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 (PMT) relaxor ferroelectrics were prepared with densities greater than 95% of their theoretical value. The improvements in the sintering characteristics of this system that result from this route were reflected by the dielectric properties, at 182 K, which are similar to those reported for single crystal PMT. Contrast originating from nanosized polar clusters was evident in dark-field TEM images collected from the PMT ceramics at room temperature and showed little change upon cooling through the permittivity maximum. The electron diffraction patterns contained weak superlattice reflections at (h ± 1/2, k ± 1/2, l ± 1/2) that originate from a 1: 1 ordering of the B-site cations. High resolution imaging indicated that the length scale of the chemical ordering in PMT is essentially identical to niobate relaxors such as PMN, with the 1–2 nm ordered domains being surrounded by a disordered matrix.

Brillouin light scattering was used to obtain the elastic and piezoelectric constants for tetragonal PbTiO3 single crystals at room temperature. Approximately 170 measurements of longitudinal and transverse acoustic wave velocities were inverted using literature dielectric constant values to obtain the full set of elastic and piezoelectric constants. Our data indicate a greater electromechanical anisotropy in the polar c direction than previously reported, but are otherwise in general agreement with previous studies. We discuss briefly the degree to which individual elastic and piezoelectric constants are resolved.