The electron irradiation-induced, crystalline-to-amorphous transition was studied in the intermetallic compound Cu4Ti3 by high-resolution electron microscopy. Using highresolution maps from the crystalline region into the amorphized region, the amorphization process and the amorphous structure were examined. The extent of chemical order in crystalline regions just prior to amorphization was studied by simultaneously imaging superlattice and fundamental lattice fringe contrast. The chemical order continuously decreased in these regions but faint superlattice contrast was recognized as long as the crystalline feature remained on the image, supporting the theory that chemical disordering is the major driving force for amorphization. The amorphization process appears to be evolutionary, leading to a nanocrystalline type of amorphous structure. A model of the amorphization process is proposed based on the present results and those from previous studies.

A simple, precise method for obtaining the average thickness of an amorphous layer formed by any surface treatment has been developed. The technique uses an x-ray diffractoeter to measure the reduction in the integrated intensity of several diffracted x-ray lines due to the near surface amorphous layer. The target material for generation of x rays is selected so that the emitted x rays are strongly absorbed by the specimen. This method permits thickness measurements down to ∼ 100 nm. It has been tested on a specimen of Fe80B20 on which an amorphous layer was produced by pulsed XeCl (308 nm) laser irradiation; the amorphous layer thickness was found to be 1.34 (∼0.1) um.

Shape transitions and orientation alignment of elastically misfitting precipitates in the presence of an external stress field have been predicted using bifurcation and group theory and by performing actual energy calculations for elliptical cylinders under plane strain conditions. Under the assumption of system isotropy, the applied field acts to break or perturb the bifurcation. Both first- and second-order size-induced shape transitions are observed for elastically soft precipitates. Stress-induced shape transitions are shown to be either first-order or continuous for elastically soft precipitates. Only continuous stressinduced shape transitions are observed for hard precipitates.

The equilibrium surface composition of a Cu-0.83 at. % Ag alloy has been studied over the range from 600°–400°C. Above 450°C the alloy consists of a single phase, whereas below that temperature the material separates into copper-rich and silver-rich phases. The kinetics of equilibration appear to be controlled by grain boundary diffusion, leading to more rapid equilibration than expected on the basis of lattice diffusion-controlled kinetics. In the single-phase regime, silver segregates to the surface with an average enthalpy of segregation of −24 kJ/mol and an entropy of segregation of 0.94 J/mol K, and displays a trend of increasing equilibrium silver surface concentration with decreasing temperature. Theoretical estimates of the enthalpy of segregation yield the somewhat more negative values of −60 and −47 kJ/mol, respectively. In the two-phase regime, the surface continues to be enriched in silver, but the silver surface concentration decreases with decreasing temperature as a result of the rapidly decreasing equilibrium solubility of silver in copper.

CuCr multilayers, 0.5−1 /um total thickness, on Cu substrates have been laser irradiated. Threshold energy densities for complete alloying with different laser wavelengths and different multilayer structures were determined using Rutherford backscattering. Results are discussed in terms of absorbance of Cu and Cr as a function of laser wavelength, overall chemical composition, and thicknesses of the individual Cu and Cr layers. Also, x-ray diffraction was used to study the microstructure of the CuCr before and after laser irradiation. A method is outlined for unraveling the contributions to peak shift of stacking faults, stresses, and change in'chemical composition. The CuCr alloy produced by the laser irradiation consisted of small, very defective Cu-rich and Cr-rich crystallites. The CuCr layer was subjected to a high tensile stress. The distinct change in preferred orientation of crystallites on laser irradiation indicated a complete melting of the CuCr multilayer. A high tensile strength (> 935 MPa) of the CuCr before and after laser alloying is suggested by the microstructure as observed by x-ray diffraction and sustained by hardness measurements. In the Cu-rich crystals 4.0 at. % Cr was in solid solution, i.e., five times the maximum equilibrium solid solubility.

Powder flakes prepared from 50/um thick melt-spun ribbons of Markomet 1064 (Ni52.5 Mo38 Cr8 B 1.5 wt %) were shock consolidated in the unannealed and annealed condition. The unannealed powder flakes (microhardness 933 kg/mm2) are amorphous while flakes annealed at 900°C for 2 h have a fcc crystal structure, with a microcrystalline grain size of 0.3 μm and microhardness of 800 kg/mm2. The shock-consolidated amorphous powder compact (∼250 kJ/kg shock energy) shows no crystal peaks in an x-ray diffractometer scan. Compacts of annealed powder (400–600 kJ/kg shock energies) contain amorphous material (18%–21%), which was rapidly quenched from the melt formed at interparticle regions during the consolidation process. The microhardness of the amorphous interparticle material is 1100 kg/mm2. Wear properties of the compacts measured in the low velocity friction apparatus (LVFA) pin-on-disk tests show low average friction values (−0.03). The 60 h cumulative wear appears to correlate with the energy of shock compaction rather than the metallic glass content. The Falex ring-on-block test also showed that both the Markomet amorphous compact and the compact containing a mixture of amorphous and microcrystalline phases performed almost equally and wore half as much as the base-line SAE-01 steel-polished sample.

Among chemically bonded ceramics (i.e., those not utilizing thermally activated diffusion for bonding) the French synthetic opal gilsonite provides an excellent existence theorem. By using optical, scanning, and electron microscopy techniques and x-ray, chemical, and differential thermal analyses, it is shown for the first time that the synthetic opal is composed of two separate phases: noncrystalline silica and crystalline (tetragonal) zirconia balls. The zirconia balls with sizes ranging from 7-50 nm appear to be present in an extraordinary regular “lattice” in the void spaces of the silica “balls” of mean size 200 nm. A comparison of the fracture toughness, Kic, data for the gilsonite and natural opal shows that the former is significantly tougher than the latter. The KIC values for gilsonite fall between those of the Corning 0337 Glass Ceramic and Wesgo Al-500 alumina, showing that surprisingly tough ceramics can be made near room temperature by resorting to chemical bonding.

The effects of substituting divalent metal ions (Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) for Y in YCrO3 were investigated by electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity measurements. The electrical conductivity results were consistent with the hopping-type conduction of a temperature-independent concentration of small polarons, with measured activation energies of 0.18-0.26 eV. The Seebeck coefficient increased nearly linearly with temperature and indicated p-type conductivity. Both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient results show a strong dependence on dopant size (ionic radius) and indicate that the highest carrier concentrations were associated with Ca as the dopant, which is attributed to the similar ionic radii of Ca2+ and Y3+. The thermal conductivity decreased slightly with temperature and dopant concentration.

Using a two-zone method, the possible formation of an intercalation compound of hexagonal boron nitride (BN) with Cs and Br2 was investigated. Only a few percent weight increase was observed by doping BN with Cs and Br2. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal was significantly modified by Cs doping, which is attributed to the reaction between the Cs atoms and spin resonance centers (N vacancies) in BN; no change in the EPR spectra was observed with Br2 doping. However, the deep blue colored Cs-BN complex reported by Mugiya and co-workers was not obtained with the two-zone method. Though no evidence of systematic intercalation reaction in BN was observed in contrast to graphite host materials, intercalation islands induced by the introduction of Cs atoms were suggested by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations.

As-received P/P + (100) epitaxial silicon wafers were heat treated using the one-, two-, and three-step internal gettering heat treatment cycles in wet oxygen, dry oxygen, and nitrogen ambients. The results indicate that ambients have an effect on the growth of bulk defects and denuded zone formation in the epitaxial silicon wafers.

Substrate material used for fabrication of P/P + epitaxial silicon wafers was preannealed at 650 °C in nitrogen ambient prior to the epitaxial deposition process for various times up to 300 min. The substrate material originated from a characterized crystal ingot. The results show that annealing before epitaxial deposition can preserve oxide precipitate nuclei from dissolution during the epitaxial deposition process. Additional postepitaxial annealing at 750 °C further enhances the growth of bulk defects.

The diffusion of Sb in heavily doped n- and p-type Si has been studied to determine the activation energies and charge states of the point defects responsible for Sb diffusion. It is shown that neutral point defects, probably Vx, dominate under intrinsic doping conditions. For samples doped with high-concentration As or P backgrounds, Sb diffusion is dominated by a double-negatively charge point defect that causes an n2 concentration-dependent Sb diffusivity. Electric-field effects also are important. The measured diffusion coefficients are Dix = 17.5 exp(−4.05 eV/kT), and Di= = 0.01 exp(−3.75 eV/kT). The activation energies are consistent with diffusion via Vx and V= vacancies. Retarded diffusion of Sb in p+-doped samples with uniform B profiles fits an ion pairing model where Sb+B− pairs form to reduce the flux of Sb atoms.

An x-ray diffraction technique is presented for the determination of the strain tensor in an epitaxial layer grown on a crystallographically distinct substrate. The technique utilizes different diffracting planes in the layer and in a reference crystal fixed to the layer, and is illustrated by application to an ∼4000 Å (001) silicon layer grown on a (01$\overline 1$2 sapphire wafer. The principal strains were measured, and the measured strain normal to the layer was found to agree with the normal strain calculated from the measured in-plane strains within the experimental uncertainty of strain measurement. The principal stresses in the plane of the silicon film, calculated from the measured strains were −0.92 ± 0.16 GPa in the [100] direction and −0.98 ± 0.17 GPa in the [010] direction.

The x-ray photoemission studies of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) bombarded by lowenergy electrons in ultra-high vacuum conditions indicate that the major chemical changes induced by electron bombardment are defluorination of the surface and cross-linking of the polymer chains. The same electron bombardment process, when performed in the presence of 1×10−6 Torr ND3, also results in the adsorption of nitrogen-containing groups at the surface. The rate of nitrogen adsorption is linear for short electron bombardment times while the rates of defluorination and cross-linking are roughly exponential. However, at long bombardment times, the rates of nitrogen uptake, defluorination, and cross-linking become zero at the same time, indicating that defluorination of the surface is the rate-determining step in electron beam-induced adsorption of nitrogen-containing species. Regardless of whether the bombardment is carried out in ultra-high vacuum or in the presence of ND3, the maximum modification depth is less than 30 Å. Pull tests performed on PTFE samples bombarded by electrons in ultra-high vacuum, then removed into air and bonded to epoxy show epoxy-PTFE joint strengths of 280–360 1b/in.2 (psi), are compared to zero psi for untreated PTFE and ≃2000 psi for cohesive failure within the PTFE layer.

Four types of phase transformation that involve the conversion of crystalline phases into more disordered forms are reviewed: melting, disordering of superlattices, amorphization by diffusion between crystalline phases, and irradation amorphization. In the review emphasis is placed on evidence for the heterogeneous nucleation of the product phases; in this connection, the role of surfaces, antiphase domain boundaries, dislocations, vacancies, and grain boundaries is specifically discussed. All of these features have been either observed, or hypothesized, to play a role as heterogeneous nucleation sites in one or more of the four transformations. An attempt is made to draw parallels between nucleation mechanisms in the various processes.