Magnetoresistive biosensors use a new detection method for molecular recognition reactions based on two recently developed techniques and devices: Magnetic markers and XMR sensors, where XMR means either giant magnetoresistance (GMR) or tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The markers are specifically attached to the target molecules, and their magnetic stray field is picked up by an embedded magnetoresistive sensor as a change of the electrical resistance. Compared to established, e.g., fluorescent, detection methods, magnetic biosensors have a number of advantages, including low molecular detection limits, flexibility, and the direct availability of an electronic signal suitable for further automated analysis. This makes them a promising choice for the detection units of future widespread and easy-to-use lab-on-a-chip systems or biochips. In this article, we discuss recent advances in this field and compare possible approaches toward single molecule detection.

A technique for forming metallic nanowires by utilizing electromigration, which is the phenomenon of atomic diffusion due to high current densities, is presented. These diffused atoms can be used for creating metallic nanowires. To specify the position at which a nanowire is formed, some specific conditions need to be established. These conditions are, first, to control the atomic diffusion so the accumulation of atoms produces the desired higher compressive stress; second, to design the structure to control the areas in which diffusion takes place; third, to adjust the thickness of the passivation layer deposited on the metal; and fourth, to form a small slot in the passivation layer through which the compressive stress is released by discharging the diffused atoms. It is shown that when these factors are satisfied, an Al nanowire can be successfully generated in a passivated metal track composed of an Al line buried in a W line.

Pure and Pt-doped ZnO nanophase particles were synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The particles were obtained through the decomposition of zinc nitrate and with a newly developed Pt(IV) complex with 1,3-propylenediamine-N,N′-diacetate tetradentate class ligand (pdda). The complex was characterized by elemental analysis, electronic absorption and infrared spectroscopy. The form of the determined complex structure {trans-[Pt(pdda)Br2]·H2O} implies that Pt(IV) ion has a distorted octahedral coordination due to intramolecular N–H···Br interaction. The results of structural refinement (cell parameters, bond lengths, and ion occupancy) of ultrasonically derived pure and Pt-doped ZnO particles suggest either the formation of Zni interstitials or platinum ion incorporation into the ZnO lattice in octahedral interstitial positions, respectively. A well-crystallized hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO was pronounced in all investigated samples [JCPDS card 36-1415, Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards, defined by International Centre for Diffraction Data (www.icdd.com)]. Phase determination also indicated the presence of a nitrate hydroxide hydrate phase (JCPDS card 24-1460), as a result of incomplete precursor decomposition and a spinel Zn2PtO4 phase (below 1.0 wt%) located in the boundary region for a Pt-doped ZnO sample. Based on x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy analyses, it was shown that the different particle growingmorphologies, which were either spheroidally or pyramidally shaped, were influenced by the precursor chemistry, processing parameters and the presence of platinum ions. The composite internal particle structure revealed by transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction analyses, implied that the secondary particles represent an assembly of primary particles sized under 60 nm aroused during the processes of nucleation, growth and aggregation. Both hexagonal and spheroidal shape of primary particles was evident. The particle morphology, primarily particle size and the mechanism of Pt4+ ion introduction into the ZnO cell was discussed based on the structural refinement and selected area electron diffraction analysis.

Chemical solution processing of Gd2Zr2O7 (GZO) thin films via sol-gel and metalorganic decomposition (MOD) precursor routes have been studied on textured Ni-based tape substrates. Even though films processed by both techniques showed similar property characteristics, the MOD-derived samples developed a high degree of texture alignment at significantly lower temperatures. Both precursor chemistries resulted in exceptionally dense, pore-free, and smooth microstructures, reflected in the cross-sectional and plan-view high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies. On the MOD GZO buffered Ni–3at.% W (Ni–W) substrates with additional CeO2/YSZ sputtered over layers, a 0.8-μm-thick YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) film, grown by an ex situ metalorganic trifluoroacetate precursor method, yielded critical current, Ic (77 K, self-field), of 100 A/cm width. Furthermore, using pulsed-laser deposited YBCO films, a zero-field superconducting critical current density, Jc (77 K), of 1 × 106 A/cm2 was demonstrated on an all-solution, simplified CeO2(MOD)/GZO(MOD)/Ni–W architecture. The present study establishes GZO buffers as a candidate material for low-cost, all-solution coated conductor fabrication.

Highly (100)- and (111)-oriented lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films with a thickness of 350 nm were deposited on platinized Si substrates through a single spinning of a PZT sol containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as an additive. The crystallographic orientation of the film was strongly influenced by pyrolysis conditions after spin coating. When the spin-coated sol was pyrolyzed at temperatures above 320 °C for relatively long periods of time (>5 min), (111)-oriented film was formed after annealing at 700 °C for 10 min. On the other hand, when the same sol was pyrolyzed at 320 °C for short periods of time (<5 min), the film was strongly oriented to the (100) direction after annealing. Organic residues derived from PVP decomposition acted as nucleation sites for the (100) oriented grains during annealing after the pyrolysis. The effective d33 of the (100)-oriented PZT film (100 pC/N) was much higher than that of the (111)-oriented film (62 pC/N) with the same thickness.

Perovskite-based SrNb0.2Ti0.8O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bilayer films were grown on (001) SrTiO3 substrate. By means of in situ transmission electron microscopy, lattice expansion and double periodicity were identified in both plan-view and cross-section La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films under electron irradiation for 25 s. After the electron beam was removed from specimens, the original perovskite structure recovered within 10 min. However, when irradiation time was more than 1 min, the original perovskite structure could not recover and became an amorphous phase or a cavity created by irradiation. According to first-principle calculation and electron diffraction pattern simulation, formation mechanism of the lattice expansion and double periodicity is proposed based on oxygen deficiency during electron irradiation.

The surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium ion (CTA+) was confined within the galleries of montmorillonite (MMT) to obtain a series of organo-montmorillonites (C16-MMTs) through an ion-exchange intercalation reaction. The C16-MMT formed a single precipitate layer when CTA+ loading was 18.3 wt% but stratified at high loadings. The conformational disorder increased with increasing CTA+ loading. The upper precipitate was characterized by a larger gallery height and a higher surfactant loading in comparison with lower precipitate. The confined methylene chains adopted a lateral monolayer with a small percentage of conformation freedoms at CTA+ loading of 18.3 wt%. The intercalated methylene chains were arranged either in a lateral monolayer or in a tilted interdigitated bilayer at CTA+ loading of 24.7 wt% while in either a tilted interdigitated bilayer or a lateral bilayer at high CTA+ loadings. The different arrangements of methylene chains intercalated in the MMT galleries are believed to be the reason for the stratification.

The elastic properties of a nickel film approximately 800 nm thick were measured with nanoindentation, microtensile testing, atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM), and surface acoustic wave (SAW) spectroscopy. Values for the indentation modulus (220–223 GPa) and Young’s modulus (177–204 GPa) were lower than predicted for randomly oriented polycrystalline nickel. The observed behavior was attributed to grain-boundary effects in the nanocrystalline film. In addition, the different measurement results were not self-consistent when interpreted assuming elastic isotropy. Agreement was improved by adopting a transversely isotropic model corresponding to the film’s 〈111〉 preferred orientation and reducing the elastic moduli by 10–15%. The SAW spectroscopy results indicated that the film density was 1–2% lower than expected for bulk nickel, consistent with models for nanocrystalline materials. Similar reductions in modulus and density were observed for two additional films approximately 200 and 50 nm thick using AFAM and SAW spectroscopy. These results illustrate how complementary methods can provide a more complete picture of film properties.

Continuous miniaturization of solder joints in high-density packaging makes it important to study how the joint size could affect the solder microstructure and thereby the subsequent in-service reliability. In this study, a printed circuit board with electroless nickel immersion gold (i.e., Au/Ni–P) over Cu bond pads of size approximately ∼80 μm and ∼1500 μm in diameter was dipped into a Sn–3.5Ag solder bath. The study shows that the smaller bumps, which cool more quickly, include much finer Ag3Sn particles. In addition, substantial differences in the thickness of the interfacial intermetallics and the microstructure for different dipping times are observed for different bump sizes. The results from a combined thermodynamic–kinetic model also suggest that the solder bump geometry can influence the dissolution kinetics of the pad metal into the molten solder and therefore the microstructure at the solder-pad interface and within the bulk solder.

A kinetics model based on mass and heat transport has been developed for Ti3SiC2 formation via shock-activated reaction synthesis of powder precursors. The model allows prediction of heat treatment conditions under which an otherwise steady-state reaction is taken over by a “run-away” combustion-type reaction during post-shock reaction synthesis of Ti3SiC2. Shock compression of Ti, SiC, and graphite precursors generates a densely packed highly activated state of reactants, which lowers the activation energy and results in an increased rate of formation of Ti3SiC2 at a lower temperature and in shorter times. The predictive model correlated with experimental results of fraction reacted as a function of time at heat-treatment temperatures of 1400 and 1600 °C illustrates an increased rate of reaction due to lowering activation energy, which also results in the reaction at 1600 °C being taken over by a “run-away” combustion-type reaction, as the rate of heat release due to reaction exceeds the rate of heat dissipation through the compact. Correlation of the model with experimental results illustrates that the predictive model can be used to optimize reaction synthesis conditions in shock-densified compacts of Ti3SiC2-forming powder precursors, to better understand the processes leading to a steady-state reaction being taken over by the combustion mode.

The pseudo NiAl binary phase was formed in a nickel-based superalloy by pack cementation. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis, and positron annihilation technique were used to characterize the pseudo NiAl binary phase. Based on reasonable assumptions, the chemical interdiffusivities of the pseudo NiAl binary phase were then assessed by means of the modified Wagner’s method. The results showed that the chemical interdiffusivities of the pseudo NiAl binary phase were about two orders of magnitude lower than those reported by others. The analysis indicated that the change in thermodynamic properties due to the additions of the microalloying atoms originally present in a superalloy could be responsible mainly for a decrease in chemical interdiffusivities.

We conducted a comparative study of microstructural properties for YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) films on single-crystal MgO and polycrystalline Ni-based metal substrates with ion-beam-assisted deposited (IBAD) MgO as a template. The film grown on the metal substrate shows more crystalline imperfections with density of screw dislocations four times higher than that of the film on single-crystal MgO, as revealed by high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD). These high-density screw dislocation cores connect well and form bigger clustered grains as detected by scanning tunneling microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm that the structural quality of YBCO on the Ni-based alloy is comparable to that on single-crystal MgO. All these factors contribute to our routine fabrication of high-quality YBCO films on metal substrates with critical current densities in self-field as high as those for the films grown on single-crystal MgO substrates. Superconducting properties in fields are also discussed.

The particle size and shape effects of starting raw powders on the synthesis of aluminum nitride by combustion reaction technique were investigated with four sizes of AlN powder as diluent and two shapes of Al powder as reactant. It was found that the structure of beds of starting particles significantly affected the pore channels for nitrogen gas accessibility into a mixture compact and the passages for combustion wave propagation through particles, resulting in changes of AlN product morphology and purity. Through control of the starting particle size and shape, high-purity (over 98%) AlN products several tens of microns in size were synthesized.

Pseudo-simulated body fluids (SBFs) were used in in vitro experiments to promote chitosan porous membrane calcification. Common SBFs, which had concentrations of phosphate or calcium ions doubled, were so named because they do not replicate, by rigor, a genuine body fluid ion concentration. The objective of using such calcification fluids was to study the influence of phosphate and calcium excess in solution on mineralization deposit characteristics. SEM-EDS analyses showed that morphology and composition of deposits varies depending on which ion (phosphate or calcium) is in excess; x-ray diffractograms show that deposits are poorly crystalline (like biological apatites) but still show better crystallinity in deposits generated from P-rich SBF. This result, added to previous ones [such as those reported by Beppu and Santana Mater. Res.5, 47 (2002)] where a difference in the interconnectivity of the inorganic and organic (matrix) phases was stressed, suggests different deposition processes for each situation.

The structural stability of transition metal nanoclusters has been scrutinized with in situ transmission electron microscopy as a function of temperature. In particular iron, cobalt, niobium, and molybdenum clusters with diameters around 5 nm have been investigated. During exposure to air, a thin oxide shell with a thickness of 2 nm is formed around the iron and cobalt clusters, which is thermally unstable under moderate high vacuum annealing above 200 °C. Interestingly, niobium clusters oxidize only internally at higher temperatures without the formation of an oxide shell. They are unaffected under electron beam irradiation, whereas iron and cobalt undergo severe structural changes. Further, no cluster coalescence of niobium takes place, even during annealing up to 800 °C, whereas iron and cobalt clusters coalesce after decomposition of the oxide, as long as the clusters are in close contact. In contrast to niobium, molybdenum clusters do not oxidize upon annealing; they are stable under electron beam irradiation and coalesce at temperatures higher than 800 °C. In all cases, the coalescence process indicates a strong influence of the local environment of the cluster.

Nanocrystal n-diamond particles were synthesized after a pyrogenation of carbon nanotubes and colloidal Fe(OH)3 at atmospheric pressure. The product was investigated with x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis. The results indicate that the n-diamond can be synthesized with the carbon nanotubes as carbon source. The formation mechanism of the n-diamond is suggested in this paper. With the increase of temperature and hence the carbon diffusion in iron, the phase sequence is from Fe(OH)3 into Fe2O3, α–Fe, γ–Fe, and then liquid iron. When carbon in the liquid iron is saturated, graphite separated out of the liquid iron. With the decrease of temperature, the carbon in γ–Fe is separated out, and the n-diamond nuclei form and grow.

ZnO nanowires along with ZnO thin films were obtained on copper-metallized silicon substrates using an radio frequency-reactive sputter-deposition technique. Residual tensile stresses were found in both the copper layer and the ZnO layer. The ZnO nanowires were observed exclusively at the grain boundaries of the ZnO thin films. The average diameter of ZnO nanowires varies only slightly with the ZnO deposition time, while the average length increases linearly with the ZnO deposition time. Based on the observations a growth model involving stress-assisted diffusion of copper and reaction-controlled catalytic growth of ZnO nanowires is suggested.

Titration of copper acetate solution with a dilute NaOH solution to pH 6.5 and subsequent aging at 313 K yielded copper hydroxide acetate with an analytical composition of Cu2(OH)3.1(OCOCH3)0.9nH2O (n ∼ 0.7) and layered discoid crystals. The chemical composition, structure, and holistic trend in thermal behavior are similar to those of the previously known Cu2(OH)3(OCOCH3)H2O phase with layered rectangular crystals. The most obvious difference between the two compounds is morphology of the crystals. The other major differences are found in stability of bonding of the interlayer acetate ions to solid phase and behavior in anion-containing solutions. The interlayer acetate ions in the present compound begin to be dissociated from the solid phase at ∼343 K while those in the previous compound are not dissociated below 383 K. The reaction of the present compound is topotactic in Cl− and NO3− aqueous solutions but reconstructive in a SO42− aqueous solution while the reaction of the previous compound in those solutions is topotactic.

We optimized synthesis conditions of blue-emitting CaMgSi2O6:Eu2+ (CMS:Eu2+) with conventional solid-state reaction and successfully determined structure parameters by Rietveld refinement method with neutron powder diffraction data. The final weighted R-factor Rwp was 6.42% and the goodness-of-fit indicator S (= Rwp/Re) was 1.34. The refined lattice parameters of CMS:Eu2+ were a = 9.7472(3) Å, b = 8.9394(2) Å, and c = 5.2484(1) Å. The β angle was 105.87(1)°. The concentration quenching process was observed, and the critical quenching concentration of Eu2+ in CMS:Eu2+ was about 0.01 mol and critical transfer distance was calculated as 12 Å. With the help of the Rietveld refinement and Dexter theory, the critical transfer distance was also calculated as 27 Å. In addition, the dominant multipolar interaction of CMS:Eu2+ was investigated from the relationship between the emission intensity per activator concentration and activator concentration. The dipole–dipole interaction was a dominant energy transfer mechanism of electric multipolar character of CMS:Eu2+.

Novel Y α-SiAlON whiskers with high aspect ratios were prepared by combustion synthesis, except for common isotropic grains. The growth process of whiskers was investigated, and experimental results showed that the predominant growth mode of whiskers was the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism. In contrast to the usual situation, here the liquid phase played two roles during the growth of Y α-SiAlON whiskers; that is to say, in addition to acting as a medium for mass transportation, the liquid phase took part in reactions itself. It was also found that proper addition of Fe2O3 could facilitate the development of whiskers with no remarkable deterioration on the phase assemblage of combustion products.