Compositional analysis of thin film amorphous semiconductors and insulators using LIMA

LIMA (Laser-induced Ion Mass Analysis) is a new technique capable of compositional analysis of thin films and surface regions. Under UHV conditions a focused laser beam evaporates and ionizes a microvolume of specimen material from which a mass spectrum is obtained. LIMA has been used to examine a range of thin film materials with applications in electronic devices. The neutral photon probe avoids charging problems, and low conductivity materials are examined without prior metallization. Analyses of insulating silicon oxides, nitrides, and oxynitrides confirm estimates of composition from infrared measurements. However, the hydrogen content of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) found by LIMA shows no correlation with values given by infrared absorption analysis. Explanations are proposed and discussed. © 1985.

Focused ion beam etching of GaN

We have investigated the use of focused ion beam (FIB) etching for the fabrication of GaN-based devices. Although work has shown that conventional reactive ion etching (RIE) is in most cases appropriate for the GaN device fabrication, the direct write facility of FIB etching - a well-established technique for optical mask repair and for IC failure analysis and repair - without the requirement for depositing an etch mask is invaluable. A gallium ion beam of about 20nm diameter was used to sputter GaN material. The etching rate depends linearly on the ion dose per area with a slope of 3.5×10 -4μm3/pC. At a current of 3nA, for example, this corresponds to an etch rate of 1.05μm3/s. Good etching qualities have been achieved with a side wall roughness significantly below 0.1μm. Changes in the roughness of the etched surface plane stay below 8nm.

Reduced divergence angle of photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

The reduced divergence angle of the photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (PC-VCSEL) was investigated in both theory and experiment. The photonic crystal waveguide possessed the weakly guiding waveguide characteristic, which accounted for the reduction of the divergence angle. The three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method was used to simulate the designed PC-VCSEL, and a calculated divergence angle of 5.2 degrees was obtained. The measured divergence angles of our fabricated PC-VCSEL were between 5.1 degrees and 5.5 degrees over the entire drive current range, consistent with the numerical results. This is the lowest divergence angle of the fabricated PC-VCSEL ever reported.

Surface sediment diatoms from the western Pacific marginal seas and their correlation to environmental variables

Diatom data of 192 surface sediment samples from the marginal seas in the western Pacific together with modern summer and winter sea surface temperature and salinity data were analyzed. The results of canonical correspondence analysis show that summer sea-surface salinity (SSS) is highly positively correlated with winter SSS and so is summer sea-surface temperature (SST) with winter SST. The correlations between SSSs and SSTs are less positively correlated, which may be due to interactions of regional current pattern and monsoon climate. The correlations between diatom species, sample sites and environmental variables concur with known diatom ecology and regional oceanographic characters. The results of forward selection of the environmental variables and associated Monte Carlo permutation tests of the statistical significance of each variable suggest that summer SSS and winter SST are the main environmental factors affecting the diatom distribution in the area and therefore preserved diatom data from down core could be used for reconstructions of summer SSS and winter SST in the region.

Benthic foraminiferal distribution in surface sediments along continental slope of the southern Okinawa Trough: dependance on water masses and food supply

Benthic foraminiferal analysis of 29 samples in surface sediments from the southern Okinawa Trough is carried out. The results indicate that benthic foraminiferal abundance decreases rapidly with increasing water depth. Percentage frequencies of agglutinated foraminifera further confirm the modem shallow carbonate lysocline in the southern Okinawa Trough. From continental shelf edge to the bottom of Okinawa Trough, benthic foraminiferal fauna in the surface sediments can be divided into 5 assemblages: (1) Continental shelf break assemblage, dominated by Cibicides pseudoungerianus, corresponds to subsurface water mass of the Kuroshio Current; (2) upper continental slope assemblage, dominated by Cassidulina carinata, Globocassidulina subglobosa, corresponds to intermediate water mass of the Kuroshio Current; (3) intermediate continental slope assemblage, dominated by Uvigerina hispida, corresponds to the Okinawa Trough deep water mass above the carbonate lysocline; (4), lower continental slope - trough bottom assemblage, dominated by Pullenia bulloides, Epistominella exigua and Cibicidoides hyalinus, corresponds to deep water mass of the Okinawa Trough; and (5) trough bottom agglutinated assemblage, dominated by Rhabdammina spp., Bathysiphon flavidus, corresponds to I strongly dissolved environment of the trough bottom. The benthic foraminiferal fauna in the southern Okinawa Trough are controlled jointly by water masses and food supply. Water temperature, oxygen concentration and carbonate dissolution of the water masses are important controlling factors especially for the continental shelf break and trough bottom assemblages. The food supply also plays an important role in these benthic foraminiferal assemblages along the western slope. of the Okinawa Trough. Both the abundance and the 5 assemblages of benthic foraminifera correspond well to the organic matter supply along the continental slope and a lateral transport of TSM (total suspended matter) and POC (particulate organic carbon) from the shelf break to the deep water is also an important food supply for benthic fauna in this region.

A new empirical model for retrieving sea surface salinity in L band

Sea surface salinity is a key physical parameter in ocean science. It is important in the ocean remote sensing to retrieve sea surface salinity by the microwave probe technology. Based on the in situ measurement data and remote sensing data of the Yellow Sea, we have built a new empirical model in this paper, which can be used to retrieve sea surface salinity of the Yellow Sea by means of the brightness temperature of the sea water at L-band. In this model, the influence of the roughness of the sea surface is considered, and the retrieved result is in good agreement with the in situ measurement data, where the mean absolute error of the retrieved sea surface salinity is about 0.288 psu. This result shows that our model has greater retrieval precision compared with similar models.

Comparative study of tool life and hole quality in drilling of CFRP/titanium stack using coated carbide drill

The use of hybrid materials including carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) and lightweight metals such as titanium are increasing particularly in aerospace applications. Multi-material stacks require a number of holes for the assembly purposes. In this research, drilling trials have been carried out in CFRP, Ti-6Al-4V and CFRP/Ti-6Al-4V stack workpieces using AlTiN coated tungsten carbide drill bit. The effects of process parameters have been investigated. The thrust force, torque, burr formation, delamination, surface roughness and tool wear have been analyzed at various processing condition. The experimental results have shown that the thrust force, torque, burr formation and the average surface roughness increase with the increased feed rate and decrease with the increased cutting speed in drilling of Ti-6Al-4V. In drilling CFRP, delamination and the average surface roughness has similar tendency with the cutting parameters however thrust force and torque rises with the increased cutting speed. The results showed that after making 15 holes in CFRP/Ti-6Al-4V stack, measured thrust forces were increased by 20% in CFRP and by 45% in Ti-6Al-4V. Delamination was found to be much smaller in drilling of CFRP in stack from compared to drilling single CFRP. Tool life was significantly shortened in drilling of stack due to the combination of the wear mechanisms.

Abrasive size and concentration effects on the tribo-corrosion of cast CoCrMo alloy in simulated body fluids

Some retrieved CoCrMo hip implants have shown that abrasive wear is one of the possible wear mechanisms invoked within such joints. To date, little work has focused on the third body abrasion of CoCrMo and therefore there is a general lack of understanding of the effect of abrasive size and volume concentration on the tribo-corrosion performance of the CoCrMo alloys. The present work assessed the tribo-corrosion behaviour of cast CoCrMo (F-75) under various abrasion-corrosion conditions by using a modified microabrasion tester incorporating a three-electrode electrochemical cell. The effects of reduced abrasive size/hardness and volume concentration, as well as the role of proteins on the tribo-corrosion performance of the cast CoCrMo alloy were addressed. The correlation between electrochemical and mechanical processes for different abrasion-corrosion test conditions has been discussed in detail. Results show that the reduction in abrasive size and volume concentration can significantly affect the abrasion-corrosion wear mechanisms and the wear-induced corrosion response of the material. The finding of this study implies that the smaller/softer third body particles generated in vivo could also result in significant wear-induced corrosion and therefore potential metal ion release, which could be potentially detrimental to both the patient health and the life span of the implants. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modifications of Surface Properties of Beta Ti by Laser Surface Treatment

β -type Ti-alloy is a promising biomedical implant material as it has a low Young’s modulus but is also known to have inferior surface hardness. Various surface treatments can be applied to enhance the surface hardness. Physical vapour deposition (PVD) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) are two examples of this but these techniques have limitations such as poor interfacial adhesion and high distortion. Laser surface treatment is a relatively new surface modification method to enhance the surface hardness but its application is still not accepted by the industry. The major problem of this process involves surface melting which results in higher surface roughness after the laser surface treatment. This paper will report the results achieved by a 100 W CW fiber laser for laser surface treatment without the surface being melted. Laser processing parameters were carefully selected so that the surface could be treated without surface melting and thus the surface finish of the component could be maintained. The surface and microstructural characteristics of the treated samples were examined using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), 3-D surface profile & contact angle measurements and nano-indentation test.

Modifications of Surface Properties of Beta Ti by Laser Gas Diffusion Nitriding

Beta-type Ti-alloy is a promising biomedical implant material as it has a low Young’s modulus and is also known to have inferior surface hardness. Various surface treatments can be applied to enhance the surface hardness. Physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition are two examples of this but these techniques have limitations such as poor interfacial adhesion and high distortion. Laser surface treatment is a relatively new surface modification method to enhance the surface hardness but its application is still not accepted by the industry. The major problem of this process involves surface melting which results in higher surface roughness after the laser surface treatment. This paper will report the results achieved by a 100 W continuous wave (CW) fiber laser for laser surface treatment without the surface being melted. Laser processing parameters were carefully selected so that the surface could be treated without surface melting and thus the surface finish of the component could be maintained. The surface and microstructural characteristics of the treated samples were examined using x-ray diffractometry, optical microscopy, three-dimensional surface profile and contact angle measurements, and nanoindentation test.

Spectrum simulation of rough and nanostructured targets from their 2D and 3D image by Monte Carlo methods

Corteo is a program that implements Monte Carlo (MC) method to simulate ion beam analysis (IBA) spectra of several techniques by following the ions trajectory until a sufficiently large fraction of them reach the detector to generate a spectrum. Hence, it fully accounts for effects such as multiple scattering (MS). Here, a version of Corteo is presented where the target can be a 2D or 3D image. This image can be derived from micrographs where the different compounds are identified, therefore bringing extra information into the solution of an IBA spectrum, and potentially significantly constraining the solution. The image intrinsically includes many details such as the actual surface or interfacial roughness, or actual nanostructures shape and distribution. This can for example lead to the unambiguous identification of structures stoichiometry in a layer, or at least to better constraints on their composition. Because MC computes in details the trajectory of the ions, it simulates accurately many of its aspects such as ions coming back into the target after leaving it (re-entry), as well as going through a variety of nanostructures shapes and orientations. We show how, for example, as the ions angle of incidence becomes shallower than the inclination distribution of a rough surface, this process tends to make the effective roughness smaller in a comparable 1D simulation (i.e. narrower thickness distribution in a comparable slab simulation). Also, in ordered nanostructures, target re-entry can lead to replications of a peak in a spectrum. In addition, bitmap description of the target can be used to simulate depth profiles such as those resulting from ion implantation, diffusion, and intermixing. Other improvements to Corteo include the possibility to interpolate the cross-section in angle-energy tables, and the generation of energy-depth maps.

Investigations on Dezincification of Brass and Epoxy Coated Brass

Brasses are widely used as constructional materials in marine environment due to their anticorrosive,antifouling and mechanical properties.However, its resistance to corrosion and fouling may vary according to local marine environmental condition and the seasons.The dezincification of brass is one of the forms of selective corrosion which has attracted the attention of researchers for the last two decades.Many of the dezincification mechanistic studies have been performed in noncomplex media and hence their conclusions cannot be extended to esturine water,which is of great significance since brass is extensively used in marine environment.Inhibited α brasses are largely immune to dezincication and the effect of tin and arsenic addition to α/beta brasses is not so reliable in controlling the dezincification. There have been many cases of dezincification in duplex brasses in both freshwater and seawater.Though there is some protection methods such as inhibitors,electro deposition and electro polymerization,there is no reliable method of inhibiting the dezincification of two-phase brass.Organic coatings are effectively used for the protection metals due to their capacity to act a physical barrieer between the metal surface and corrosive environment.Hence,pure epoxy coating is selected for this as it has antocorrosiion effect on brass.The dezincification behaviour of brass of the present study has been highlighted in terms of corrosion rate,weight gain/loss,corrosion current and polarization resistence,open circuit potential,dezincification factor. The marine fouling as biomass on brass was assessed and presented in this thesis, The physicochemical properties of estuarine water were correlated with corrosion behaviour of brass.The deterioration of the brass subjected to the effect of estuarine water was also investigated as a measure of loss in mechanical properties such as tensile strength,yield strength,percntage elongation and percentage reduction in area.To validate dezincification data,visual observation,spot analysis,surface morphology before and after removal of corrosion products and corrosion product analysis were performed.The dezincification behavior of epoxy coated brass of the present study has beenhighlighted in terms of corrosion rate ,weight gain/loss,corrosion current and polarization resistance,open circuit potential.dezincification factor.The marine fouling as biomass on epoxy coated brass subjeted to the effect of estuarine water was also investigated as ameasure of loss in mechanical properties such as tensile strength,percentage elongation and percentage reduction in area.The results of dezincification behavior of brass and epoxy coated brass in Cochin estuary water has been presented and discussed.Attempt has been made to correlate the dezincification behavior of brass with epoxy coated brass.

Surface evolution of amorphous nanocolumns of Fe–Ni grown by oblique angle deposition

The growth of Fe–Ni based amorphous nanocolumns has been studied using atomic force microscopy. The root mean square roughness of the film surface increased with the deposition time but showed a little change at higher deposition time. It was found that the separation between the nanostructures increased sharply during the initial stages of growth and the change was less pronounced at higher deposition time. During the initial stages of the column growth, a roughening process due to self shadowing is dominant and, as the deposition time increases, a smoothening mechanism takes place due to the surface diffusion of adatoms

The PML for rough surface scattering

In this paper we investigate the use of the perfectly matched layer (PML) to truncate a time harmonic rough surface scattering problem in the direction away from the scatterer. We prove existence and uniqueness of the solution of the truncated problem as well as an error estimate depending on the thickness and composition of the layer. This global error estimate predicts a linear rate of convergence (under some conditions on the relative size of the real and imaginary parts of the PML function) rather than the usual exponential rate. We then consider scattering by a half-space and show that the solution of the PML truncated problem converges globally at most quadratically (up to logarithmic factors), providing support for our general theory. However we also prove exponential convergence on compact subsets. We continue by proposing an iterative correction method for the PML truncated problem and, using our estimate for the PML approximation, prove convergence of this method. Finally we provide some numerical results in 2D.(C) 2008 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.