Highly doped n-type silicon powder responds aggressively to a 2.45-GHz microwave E-field, whereas it remains unperturbed in the H-field. In the E-field, after about 30 s of treatment, the silicon powder attained submelting temperatures and thus coagulated to a bulk solid piece. X-ray diffraction analysis of the surface and the cross section of this solid material failed to show any detectable peaks, ascertaining the fact that the material had decrystallized. The Raman spectra of the material had broad and shallow peaks quite different from the thin, sharp lines exhibited by Si wafer. It appears that the E-field treatment has considerably distorted the lattice structure creating lattice strains throughout the sample. These lattice strains were relieved by grinding (recrystallized).

We show here the possibility of optical quasi-phase matched secondary harmonic generation in crystal quartz that is a non-ferroelectric crystal. By utilizing a twinning phenomenon, for the first time, we have succeeded in fabricating periodic modulation of the nonlinear coefficient by hot pressing. In this method, stress is applied vertically on a quartz surface. We also devised a special press system. The numbers of twins we have achieved are 10 for 500 μm and 17 for 250 μm periods, and the depth of the twinned area is about 50 μm. Our results suggest that the twinned regions can be controlled artificially, and over a few tens of microns of twinned depth can be realized.

Five Ni–Zr–B ternary eutectic alloys were synthesized by means of melt spinning and were found “amorphous” by standard surface x-ray diffraction. The thermal stability was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Glass-formation ability (GFA) was characterized by reduced glass transition temperature among the five “amorphous” alloys. The existence of intermetallic compounds which are structurally complex and have bigger lattice parameters is proved to enhance the higher GFA. The effective suppression of nucleation and growth of intermetallic compounds plays a very important role for the glass formation.

A new Ca–Mg–Zn alloys having significantly improved glass-forming ability (GFA) has been developed. The ternary Ca65Mg15Zn20 bulk metallic glass with diameter of at least 15 mm is successfully fabricated by conventional copper-mold casting method in air atmosphere. The critical cooling rate for glass formation in the cone-shaped copper mold is less than 20 K/s. When compared with the GFA of Ca–Mg–M (M: Cu, Ni, and Ag) alloys, the significantly improved GFA of the Ca–Mg–Zn alloy cannot be represented by ΔTx, Trg, K, and γ parameters.

Systematic experimental work was carried out to understand the mechanism of Au diffusion to the solder interface, and a novel method was proposed to eliminate Au embrittlement by circumventing the continuous layer of (Au,Ni)Sn4 at the solder interface. Contrary to the usual expectation, it was determined that utilization of a very thin Ni metallization in the Au/Ni/Cu under bump metallization (UBM) was an effective means of maintaining mechanical integrity of the solder joint. It was found that the out-diffusion of Cu during the aging period changes the chemistry and morphology of the intermetallic compounds at the interface.

The influence of quenched-in nuclei of icosahedral short range order, proposed as a possible explanation for quasicrystal formation, has been investigated by producing a melt-spun ribbon from previously mechanically alloyed Zr57Ti8Nb2.5Cu13.9Ni11.1Al7.5 glassy powder. A ribbon prepared from highly pure materials forms a quasicrystalline phase during the first stage of the crystallization process, whereas no quasicrystal formation has been detected in the devitrification of the ribbon produced from the mechanically alloyed powder. This finding indicates that the absence of quenched-in nuclei may not be the only reason for the lack of quasicrystal formation in mechanically alloyed powders.

The catalytically important, two-dimensional vanadyl hydrogen phosphate hemihydrate, VOHPO4·0.5H2O phase was transformed to the one-dimensional vanadyl hydrogen phosphate tetrahydrate, VOHPO4·4H2O for the first time by mild treatment with water vapor. It was also observed that for three samples of VOHPO4·0.5H2O prepared under different conditions, the rate of transformation to the tetrahydrate was markedly affected by morphology and crystallinity. The tetrahydrate phase could also be re-transformed to the hemihydrate by applying high vacuum or by heating at 120 °C, but this was accompanied by significant loss in crystallinity.

Straight aligned carbon nanotubes with multiwalled cylindrical structure have been produced by pyrolysis of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) after ball milling treatment. The pre-ball milling treatment prevented the formation of curved nanotubes with bamboo or conelike structures. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the milled FePc has an activated and disordered structure, which contributes a lower vaporization temperature determined by thermal gravimetric analysis. The low formation temperature and an increased nanotube growth rate are favorable to the formation of cylindrical structure than bamboo tubes.

The synthesis and characterization of crystalline tungsten disulphide (WS2) solid lubricant thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using WF6 and H2S gas precursors was studied. A new catalytic route was established to promote nucleation and growth of WS2 films on silicon surfaces with native oxide. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the film morphology, composition, and crystallinity. The films exhibited solid lubricating behavior with a steady-state friction coefficient of 0.04 in a dry nitrogen environment.

We report a substantial reduction in the impurity concentration of semi-insulating CdTe:Ge grown by the vertical Bridgman method by using sublimation of the feed material. Specific resistivity (ρdark) values of up to 3 × 109 Ω cm were obtained for samples with a relatively high photosensitivity (PS) value and optimal compensation. Concentrations of impurities in the feed and as-grown crystals were determined by the glow discharge mass spectroscopy (GDMS) method. The energy levels in the band-gap were studied by photoluminescence (PL), and the data were correlated with the GDMS measurements. The highest values of ρdark and PS were observed in the regions where the PL bands via the deep levels of Ge and Te antisite were present.

The reaction sequence and microstructure evolution of a crystalline MgB2 layer were examined during ex situ annealing of evaporated amorphous boron (a-B) with Mg vapor. Mg was found to migrate rapidly into the a-B layer in the initial stage of reaction with a uniform concentration of about 12 at.%. A thin layer of crystalline MgO was observed at the interface between a-B and the Al2O3 substrate. It was identified that an MgB2 layer started to form at the surface by the nucleation and growth process in polycrystalline form. It appears that there exists two distinct growth fronts in the MgB2 layer: one lying at the surface and the other lying at the interface between the MgB2 layer and the a-B. The microstructural evolution of this layer showed significant differences depending on the location of these two growth fronts.

A hard magnetic Nd50Al15Fe15Co20 bulk metallic glass (BMG) was prepared in the shape of a rod up to 3 mm in diameter by suction casting. The glass transition and crystallization behaviors as well as their kinetic nature have been studied. In contrast to the previously reported hard magnetic Nd–Al–Fe–Co BMGs, Nd50Al15Fe15Co20 as-cast rod exhibits a distinct glass transition and multistep crystallization behaviors in the differential scanning calorimetry traces and lower coercivity. The BMG provides an ideal model for the investigation of glass transition and crystallization of hard magnetic Nd–Al–Fe–Co glass-forming alloys.

α-Cristobalite nanowires of 50–100 nm diameter with lengths of several microns have been synthesized for the first time by the solid-state reaction of fumed silica and activated charcoal. The nanowires have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and Raman scattering. The nanowires are single crystalline as revealed by high-resolution electron microscope images. The crystalline nanowires are clad by an amorphous silica sheath when the carbon to fumed silica ratio in the starting mixture is small. Use of hydrogen along with Ar helps to eliminate the amorphous sheath.

The method we introduced in 1992 for measuring hardness and elastic modulus by instrumented indentation techniques has widely been adopted and used in the characterization of small-scale mechanical behavior. Since its original development, the method has undergone numerous refinements and changes brought about by improvements to testing equipment and techniques as well as from advances in our understanding of the mechanics of elastic–plastic contact. Here, we review our current understanding of the mechanics governing elastic–plastic indentation as they pertain to load and depth-sensing indentation testing of monolithic materials and provide an update of how we now implement the method to make the most accurate mechanical property measurements. The limitations of the method are also discussed.

Surface stability of nearly defect-free epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition was studied using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and electron spectroscopies. Even after exposure to atmosphere, surfaces exhibited distinct LEED patterns providing evidence of unusual chemical stability. Surface order disappeared after heating to 200 °C in vacuum. To investigate, SrRuO3 thin films were annealed up to 800 °C in high vacuum and examined for chemical state and topography. Formation of unit-cell deep pits and the Ru-rich particles begins at low temperatures. Hydrocarbon contamination on the surface contributes to this process.

The growth of molecular adlayers on solid substrates is reviewed with aspecial emphasis on molecules of relevance for organic electronics. In particular,we will consider planar molecules with extended π-systems, namely acenes (anthracene, tetracene, pentacene), perylene, coronenes, diindenoperylene, 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylicacid-dianhydride, poly-phenylenes, oligothiophenes, and phthalocyanines. Special consideration is given to the importance of the formation of ordered molecular overlayers, which are compared with the structure of the corresponding bulk crystals. Whenever possible, aspects relevant for device fabrication (morphology of deposited films, mobilities of charge carriers) will be addressed.

In this paper, we present a study on the formation of gold colloids by laser ablation of a gold metal target in alkanes and thiol-alkane solutions. The results show a decrease of the gold particles’ size up to 2 nm when thiol molecules are present in the liquid environment. The observation of a blue-shift of the surface plasmon resonance is discussed together with transmission electron microscopy analyses accounting the cluster size decrease and the stabilization of the obtained suspensions.

Tin whiskers formed on sputter-deposited films on Muntz metal substrates have been examined following long-term aging at room temperature. It was found that while the initial annealing conditions determined the original nucleation and growth rates, whisker nucleation and growth was a continuous process and appeared to be occurring throughout the duration of the study. Whisker densities increased for all samples during aging, and samples that initially showed no whiskers during high-temperature annealing had a population density of 2.5 mm−2 after storage for 15 months.