Carbon fiber-carbon matrix composites were fabricated using the forced flow-thermal gradient chemical vapor infiltration (FCVI) process. The preforms for the infiltration were prepared by stacking 40 layers of carbon cloth in a graphite holder. The preforms were infiltrated with carbon using propylene or methane as a reactant, with hydrogen as a diluent. Composites with porosities as low as 7% have been processed within 8-12 h. The highest deposition rate obtained in the present study was ∼3 μm/h, which is more than an order of magnitude faster than the typical value of 0.1-0.25 μm/h for the isothermal infiltration process.

Aluminum matrix composites and carbon/carbon composites based on vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) were fabricated for analysis of thermophysical properties. Due to the highly graphitic nature of VGCF, the resulting composites exhibit values of thermal conductivity that have not been achieved by using any other carbon fibers, and thus represent new materials for thermal management in applications such as packaging for high-power, high-density electronic devices. In the aluminum matrix VGCF composites, a thermal conductivity of 642 W/m-K was obtained by using a VGCF loading of only 36.5 vol.%. For VGCF/C composites, thermal conductivity of 910 W/m-K has been observed, a value which is more than a factor of two higher than that of copper. Based on the observed thermal conductivity of VGCF/Al composites and VGCF/C composites, the room temperature thermal conductivity of VGCF in the composite was calculated to be 1460 W/m-K and 1600 W/m-K, respectively.

A self-constraint strengthening mechanism for multilayered brittle materials is proposed. The strengthening is a result of the self-constraint of the individual layers on each other, and no additional reinforcements are needed. The proposed model predicts that when individual brittle layers are stacked and properly “glued” together with a weak interphase, each layer will be ensured a minimum tensile strength, regardless of the flaw size in the individual layers. Estimation of the minimum strength using this model yields an apparently close agreement with the measured values for one type of nacreous structure reported in the literature. It is also predicted that low-strength ceramic sheets, which might be produced by some low-cost fabrication techniques, can be used to construct high strength man-made nacreous ceramics.

In the determination of mechanical properties by ultra-microindentation, various errors can appear. This paper analyzes various sources of errors in estimation of elastic modulus and hardness. These errors arise from uncertainties of the indenter geometry and properties, as well as measuring instrument limitations and errors, such as the minimum detectable load, compliance, and noise of the system. Other sources of errors are thermal drift, shape of the impression, and scatter of properties of the tested material. Characteristic features and the magnitude of individual kinds of errors are discussed, together with formulas and recommended methods for their reduction.

The composition and chemistry of the near-surface region of BaTiO3 have been studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that the Ba3d photoclectron peak shows two chemical states, one of which is attributed to the bulk perovskite and the other to a special surface state unrelated to contamination. The bulk component is reduced and the surface component increases when the material is annealed at high temperatures (either in reducing or oxidizing atmosphere). Both the components are unaltered if the sample is exposed to air, solvents, or water: processes that lead to adsorption of impurities. The surface peak, therefore, attributed to a relaxation related and not contamination-related state, has been compared with those in other Ba-containing oxides. The oxygen photoelectron peak consists of a normal perovskite peak typical of most titanates and a higher energy component clearly related to surface contamination. Annealing in reducing atmosphere results in drastically different optical and electrical properties, and in chemical reduction of some Ti4+ ions to Ti3+. The overall stoichiometry, however, does not change with annealing atmosphere. These results have been discussed in light of our current understanding of this and other related oxides.

Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si structures have been studied to investigate the structural, chemical, and microstructural changes that occur during annealing. Grain growth of the as-deposited Pt columns was observed after annealing at 650 °C, and extensive changes in the Pt microstructure were apparent following a 750 °C anneal for 20 min. In addition, two types of defects were identified on the surfaces of annealed substrates. Defect formation was retarded when the surface was covered with a ferroelectric film. Concurrent with the annealing-induced Pt microstructure changes, Ti from the adhesion layer between the Pt and the SiO2 migrated into the Pt layer and oxidized. It was shown with spectroscopic ellipsometry and Auger electron spectroscopy that for long annealing times, the titanium oxide layer can reach the Pt surface. Consequently, at the processing temperatures utilized in preparing many ferroelectric thin films, the substrate is not completely inert or immobile. The changes associated with Ti migration could be especially problematic in techniques that require the substrate to be heated prior to film deposition.

Tin oxide (SnO2) thin films were deposited on sapphire (0001) substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at temperatures of 600 and 700 °C. The microstructure of the deposited films was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). At the growth conditions studied, films were single-phase rutile and epitaxial, but showed variant structures. Three distinct in-plane epitaxial relationships were observed between the films and the substrate. A crystallographic model is proposed to explain the film morphology. This model can successfully predict the ratio of the width to the length of an averaged grain size based upon the lattice mismatch of the film-substrate interface.

Highly stable bilayer thin film resistors, which consist of an underlying layer of tantalum nitride and of a capping layer of ruthenium oxide, were developed by taking advantage of the desired characteristics of two different materials in a single system. The resistors fabricated in such a way were highly stable under power loading or thermal cycling. Resistors with one digit temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) could be easily controlled by the layer thickness ratio of the tantalum nitride to the ruthenium oxide and the ex situ annealing temperature or duration. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile on the thin films indicates that the ruthenium oxide layer is well defined for the as-deposited form. Nevertheless, interdiffusion takes place after thermal treatment of the bilayer which is used to tune the temperature coefficient of resistance and to stabilize the resistance of the resistors.

The properties of four kinds of Type II carbon fibers, which had been precarbonized at 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, respectively, during two-stage continuous carbonization, were measured after being air oxidized for periods of 1 to 6 min at 550 °C. The effects of precarbonization temperature on mechanical properties, density, morphology, elemental composition, and microstructure of the carbon fibers during the air oxidation are discussed in this article. The precarbonization process strongly affected the surface properties and mechanical properties of the final oxidized carbon fibers. The carbon fibers developed from the different precarbonization temperatures all had different structures. The carbon fibers that had been precarbonized at 300 °C had a more ordered structure than other fibers after air oxidation. These carbon fibers also had a higher performance than the other fibers. Carbon fibers also showed different oxidation behaviors caused by differences in surface morphology resulting from each different precarbonization temperature. Optimum conditions not only improved the tensile strength and modulus, but also increased the density and oxygen content. Experimental results showed that the tensile strength of the carbon fibers precarbonized at 300 °C increased from 2.4 GPa to 4.3 GPa (80%) after 6 min oxidation at 550 °C.

Plan-view microstructures of two Co/Ru bilayers with a composition of [Co12ÅRu45Å]2 and [Co40ÅRu35Å]2 have been studied by conventional and high resolution electron microscopy. Large differences in electron diffraction and image contrast between the two bilayers were observed, which are recognized as the microstructural variations during the relaxation of large coherent planar strains when the Co layers wet coherently or semicoherently the Ru layers. For the [Co12ÅRu45Å]2 bilayer, the Co layers are unrelaxed from the Ru layers; only one set of electron diffraction patterns was observed, and the image consists of three types of contrasts which are closely related with either the generation and movement of misfit dislocations or large coherent strains. For the [Co40ÅRu35Å]2 bilayer, the Co layers are relaxed basically from the Ru layers; two sets of electron diffraction patterns with double diffraction spots were observed, and the image consists of small irregular areas with moiré fringe dots.

Nanocrystalline CoxCu100−x (4 ⋚ x ⋚ 49 at. %) powders were prepared by the reduction of metal acetates in a polyol. The structure of powders was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). As-synthesized powders were composites consisting of nanoscale crystallites of face-centered cubic (fcc) Cu and metastable face-centered cubic (fcc) Co. Complementary results of XRD, HRTEM, EXAFS, NMR, and VSM confirmed that there was no metastable alloying between Co and Cu. The NMR data also revealed that there was some hexagonal-closed-packed (hcp) Co in the samples. The powders were agglomerated, and consisted of aggregates of nanoscale crystallites of Co and Cu. Upon annealing, the powders with low Co contents showed an increase in both saturation magnetization and coercivity with increasing temperature. The results suggested that during preparation the nucleation of Cu occurred first, and the Cu crystallites served as nuclei for the formation of Co.

The mechanism of the solid-state amorphization has been investigated by means of the microstructural studies on the evolution of Ni/Zr diffusion couples, prepared at different sputtering pressures, during short heating times at high temperature. In the sample deposited at 8 mTorr compared to that at 3 mTorr, the possibility of the supersaturation sequence prior to amorphization is observed, and the amorphous phase grows extremely fast with diffuse interface. A high-resolution TEM image shows that the amorphous phase preferentially penetrates along the Zr grain boundary into the Zr layer and selectively grows from the grain boundary into the region of Zr grain with many defects. From the results, the importance of interstitial diffusion has been discussed, and a modified mechanism has been suggested.

The rate of liquid-liquid phase separation was experimentally studied in the PbO-B2O3 system. The in situ measurements were made by observing the melts with a videocamera continuously as the melts were cooled down from homogenization temperatures at a rate of 2.5 °C/min. The time interval between the beginning and the completion of the darkening of the visual field was determined as a measure of the separation rate. The phase-separation rate was estimated to be at least 900 times larger than that of the metastable phase separation below the liquidus.

Chemical interactions between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and triethanol amine titanate chelate were studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The titanate chelate cross coupled the PVA solution and produced a viscous gel. The gel had a three-dimensional network structure containing -CPVA-O-Ti-O-CPVA- organic complexes. A new C(ls) signature at 285.7 eV and an O(ls) signature at 531.25 eV were associated with the formation of these complexes. The water of the PVA solution was physically retained in the gelled structure and was readily available for chemical reactions. The removal of this entrapped water was irreversible and led to a collapsed film of Ti-cross-linked PVA.