Quantitative chemical-structure evaluation using atom probe tomography: Short-range order analysis of Fe-Al.

Short-range-order (SRO) has been quantitatively evaluated in an Fe-18Al (at%) alloy using atom probe tomography (APT) data and by calculation of the generalised multicomponent short-range order (GM-SRO) parameters, which have been determined by shell-based analysis of the three-dimensional atomic positions. The accuracy of this method with respect to limited detector efficiency and spatial resolution is tested against simulated D03 ordered data. Whilst there is minimal adverse effect from limited atom probe instrument detector efficiency, the combination of this with imperfect spatial resolution has the effect of making the data appear more randomised. The value of lattice rectification of the experimental APT data prior to GM-SRO analysis is demonstrated through improved information sensitivity.

Long- and medium-range components of the nuclear force in quark-model based calculations

Quark-model descriptions of the nucleon-nucleon interaction contain two main ingredients, a quark-exchange mechanism for the short-range repulsion and meson exchanges for the medium- and long-range parts of the interaction. We point out the special role played by higher partial waves, and in particular the (1)F(3), as a very sensitive probe for the meson-exchange pan employed in these interaction models. In particular, we show that the presently available models fail to provide a reasonable description of higher partial waves and indicate the reasons for this shortcoming.

Short-range order kinetics in alpha-AgZn for various states of post-deformation defect annealing after cold-rolling

Kinetics of short-range ordering (SRO) in Ag with 21, 23 and 28 at% Zn is investigated by residual resistometry during isochronal and isothermal heat treatment for different states of post-deformation defect annealing after cold-rolling to about 30 and 60% thickness reduction. Resistivity changes due to pure ordering can be separated from the as-measured total resistivity change which includes defect annealing. Although the initial state of SRO of the as-rolled material can be estimated to be comparably low, for as-rolled and partially annealed states by appropriate thermal treatment evolution of SRO is achieved which corresponds quite well to that of recrystallized samples. It is observed, however, that quenched-in surplus vacancies contribute considerably to the ordering process for the recrystallized state and that this contribution is still increased by the grain growth during the final stage of annealing. It therefore turns out that SRO-kinetics under equilibrium vacancy conditions can be better observed in a state of post-deformation annealing, for which deformation induced point defects are annealed-out, but a relatively high dislocation density is still present to act as a vacancy sink. Copyright (C) 1996 Acta Metallurgica Inc.

Resistometric study of short-range order kinetics in alpha-AgZn

Short-range ordering (SRO) kinetics was investigated under temperature conditions of isochronal and isothermal annealing in completely recrystallized Ag-21, -23, -28 at.% Zn by residual resistometry. The SRO kinetics deviated considerably from a single exponential relaxation process and was therefore analysed using a log-normal spectrum of SRO relaxation times. This yields activation enthalpies for changes in the degree of SRO in good accordance with literature data. Isothermal SRO relaxation of undeformed samples was compared with that of cold-rolled and partially annealed samples.

Short Range Order Evolution in the Preparation of SnO2 Based Materials

The evolution of Eu3+ doped SnO2 xerogels to the cassiterite structure observed during sintering was studied by means of Eu3+ spectroscopy, XRD and EXAFS at the Sn K-edge. Eu3+ ions adsorbed at the surface of colloidal particles present a broad distribution of sites, typical of oxide glasses. With sintering at 300°C, this distribution is still broadened. Crystallization is clearly observed by the three techniques with increasing sintering temperature. It is found that the addition of Eu3+ limits the crystallite growth.

Influence of ion energy and substrate temperature on the optical and electronic properties of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films

The properties of amorphous carbon (a-C) deposited using a filtered cathodic vacuum arc as a function of the ion energy and substrate temperature are reported. The sp3 fraction was found to strongly depend on the ion energy, giving a highly sp3 bonded a-C denoted as tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) at ion energies around 100 eV. The optical band gap was found to follow similar trends to other diamondlike carbon films, varying almost linearly with sp2 fraction. The dependence of the electronic properties are discussed in terms of models of the electronic structure of a-C. The structure of ta-C was also strongly dependent on the deposition temperature, changing sharply to sp2 above a transition temperature, T1, of ≈200°C. Furthermore, T1 was found to decrease with increasing ion energy. Most film properties, such as compressive stress and plasmon energy, were correlated to the sp3 fraction. However, the optical and electrical properties were found to undergo a more gradual transition with the deposition temperature which we attribute to the medium range order of sp2 sites. We attribute the variation in film properties with the deposition temperature to diffusion of interstitials to the surface above T1 due to thermal activation, leading to the relaxation of density in context of a growth model. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Characterization of polymorphous silicon thin film and solar cells

Polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H) films have been prepared by a new regime of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition in the region adjacent of phase transition from amorphous to microcrystalline state. Comparing to the conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), the pm-Si:H has higher photoconductivity (sigma(ph)), better stability, and a broader light spectral response range in the longer wavelength range. It can be found from Raman spectra that there is a notable improvement in the medium range order. There are a blue shift for the stretching mode of IR spectra and a red shift for the wagging mode. The shifts are attributed to the variation of the microstructure. By using pm-Si:H film as intrinsic layer, a p-i-n junction solar cell was prepared with the initial efficiency of 8.51% and a stabilized efficiency of 8.01% (AM1.5, 100mw/cm(2)) at room temperature (T-R).

Silicon thin films prepared in the transition region and their use in solar cells

Diphasic silicon films (nc-Si/a-Si:H) have been prepared by a new regime of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition in the region adjacent of phase transition from amorphous to microcrystalline state. Comparing to the conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), the nc-Si/a-Si:H has higher photoconductivity (sigma(ph)), better stability, and a broader light spectral response range in the longer wavelength range. It can be found from Raman spectra that there is a notable improvement in the medium range order. The blue shift for the stretching mode and red shift for the wagging mode in the IR spectra also show the variation of the microstructure. By using this kind of film as intrinsic layer, a p-i-n junction solar cell was prepared with the initial efficiency of 8.51 % and a stabilized efficiency of 8.01% (AM 1.5, 100 mw/cm(2)) at room temperature. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Microstructure characterization of transition films from amorphous to nanocrocrystalline silicon

Hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) films near the threshold of crystallinity were prepared by very high-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD) using a wide range of hydrogen dilution R-H = [H-2]/[SiH4] values of 2-100. The effects of H dilution R-H on the structural properties of the films were investigated using micro-Raman scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. The obtained Raman spectra show that the H dilution leads to improvements in the short-range order and the medium-range order of the amorphous network and then to the morphological transition from amorphous to crystalline states. The onset of this transition locates between R-H = 30 and 40 in our case, and with further increasing R-H from 40 to 100, the nanocrystalline volume fraction increases from similar to23% to 43%, and correspondingly the crystallite size enlarges from similar to2.8 to 4.4 nm. The FTIR spectra exhibit that with R-H increasing, the relative intensities of both the SiH stretching mode component at 2100 cm(-1) and wagging mode component at 620 cm(-1) increase in the same manner. We assert that these variations in IR spectra should be associated with the formation of paracrystalline structures in the low H dilution films and nanocrystalline structures in the high H dilution films. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.