In this report, we present a new organometallic synthetic method to prepare nearly monodisperse InP nanoparticles using indium trifluoroacetate as the In precursor. Spherical particles of various sizes were prepared by modulating the growth duration. The optical and electrochemical properties were investigated and discussed with reference to band edge positions. This is the first report on the band edge position of quantum confined InP nanoparticles, which is a key parameter for development of electro-optic devices like solar cells and light-emitting diodes based on it.

Piezoresponse atomic-force microscopy (PFM) has been used to characterize the local piezoelectric properties of a novel, nanotube-patterned (“honeycomb”) thin film of BaTiO3 on Ti substrate synthesized hydrothermally at 200 °C. PFM amplitude and phase images, prior to the application of any direct current (dc) field, show ring-shaped piezoelectric regions that correspond to the nanostructure of this film. These results show clearly that the as-synthesized nanotube-patterned BaTiO3 thin film is piezoelectric, with a net spontaneous polarization perpendicular to the film–substrate interface. In addition, polarization switching and hysteresis were observed as a function of applied dc field, confirming that this novel fabrication procedure results in unique configurations of BaTiO3 film that are also ferroelectric.

Piezoelectric nanoindentation (PNI) has been developed to quantitatively address electromechanical coupling and pressure-induced dynamic phenomena in ferroelectric materials on the nanoscale. In PNI, an oscillating voltage is applied between the back side of the sample and the indenter tip, and the first harmonic of bias-induced surface displacement at the area of indenter contact is detected. PNI is implemented using a standard nanoindentation system equipped with a continuous stiffness measurement system. The piezoresponse of polycrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and BaTiO3 piezoceramics was studied during a standard nanoindentation experiment. For PZT, the response was found to be load independent, in agreement with theoretical predictions. In polycrystalline barium titanate, a load dependence of the piezoresponse was observed. The potential of piezoelectric nanoindentation for studies of phase transitions and local structure-property relations in piezoelectric materials is discussed.

Ferroelectric films are growing in significance as non-volatile memory devices, sensors, and microactuators. The stress state of the film, induced by processing or constraints such as the substrate, strongly affects device behavior. Thus, it is important to be able to model the coupled and constrained behavior of film material. This work presents a preliminary study of the application of micromechanical modeling to ferroelectric films. A self-consistent micromechanics model developed for bulk ferroelectrics is adapted for thin film behavior by incorporating several features of the microstructure, mechanical clamping by the substrate, residual stresses, and the crystallographic orientation of the film.

First-principles generalized pseudopotential theory (GPT) provides a fundamental basis for transferable multi-ion interatomic potentials in transition metals and alloys within density-functional quantum mechanics. In the central body-centered cubic (bcc) metals, where multi-ion angular forces are important to materials properties, simplified model GPT (MGPT) potentials have been developed based on canonical d bands to allow analytic forms and large-scale atomistic simulations. Robust, advanced-generation MGPT potentials have now been obtained for Ta and Mo and successfully applied to a wide range of structural, thermodynamic, defect, and mechanical properties at both ambient and extreme conditions. Selected applications to multiscale modeling discussed here include dislocation core structure and mobility, atomistically informed dislocation dynamics simulations of plasticity, and thermoelasticity and high-pressure strength modeling. Recent algorithm improvements have provided a more general matrix representation of MGPT beyond canonical bands, allowing improved accuracy and extension to f-electron actinide metals, an order of magnitude increase in computational speed for dynamic simulations, and the development of temperature-dependent potentials.

The paper is a brief retrospective review of our contribution to the Si:Er problem in the last decade. It contains a description of the experimental facilities, results of the light-emitting media (Si:Er and Si1−xGex:Er) research, and device applications.

The synthesis of BaPbO3 from a wide range of mixtures containing metalorganic precursors, nitrate precursors, lead oxides, barium oxide and peroxide was investigated, and the kinetics was analyzed using the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (JMA) equation. It was found that Ba and Pb stearate soaps and Pb oxalate that were used as metalorganic precursors formed BaCO3 and PbO or Pb3O4 after firing at 440 °C. The formation rate of BaPbO3 from a metalorganic precursor system is not higher than that from the conventional BaCO3–PbO system and does not depend on mixing methods or the kinds of metalorganic precursors but instead on the synthesis atmosphere. In the case of the BaCO3–PbO system, the Avrami exponent (n) is ∼1, indicating that the reaction is controlled by the phase-boundary-contraction interface reaction. For the BaO2–PbO2 system, n has two values ∼1 and ∼0.3, depending on the reaction temperature and time, indicating that the reaction is either controlled by the phase-boundary-contraction interface reaction or diffusion-controlled reaction. In the Ba nitrate–Pb nitrate system, phase-pure BaPbO3 is obtained at 550 °C, which is 250 °C lower than in the case of the BaCO3–PbO system. The value of n for the nitrate system is ∼1.5, indicating that the reaction is controlled by a three-dimensional (3D) diffusion-controlled nucleation mechanism. In the BaO–PbO system, the formation of BaPbO3 started at 350 °C by an exothermic reaction and the content of BaPbO3 in the product was ∼40 wt%, which is independent of reaction temperature as well as time in the temperature range of 350–500 °C.

Cu47Ti33Zr11Ni8Si1 metallic glass powder was prepared by gas atomization. Decomposition in the amorphous alloy and primary crystallization has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The glassy powder exhibits a broad DSC exotherm prior to bulk crystallization. Controlled annealing experiments reveal that this exotherm corresponds to a combination of structural relaxation and nanocrystallization. A uniform featureless amorphous contrast is observed in the TEM prior to the detection of nanocrystals of 4–6 nm in size. High-resolution TEM studies indicate that this nanocrystalline phase has a close crystallographic relationship with the γ–CuTi phase having a tetragonal structure. The product of the main crystallization event is also nanocrystalline, hexagonal Cu51Zr14, having dimensions of 20 nm. However, there is no evidence for possible amorphous phase separation prior to the nanocrystallization events.

A multilayered structure of SiOx and SiOxCy on silicon substrate was prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from gas mixtures of hexamethyldisiloxane and oxygen. Scanning transmission electron microscopy studies showed that the structure is well defined with distinct layers. The distributions of Si, C, and O were measured via electron energy-loss spectroscopy. We found that the elements C, Si, and O interdiffuse quite differently across the interfaces. The Si–L2,3 energy-loss near-edge structures in the SiOx and SiOxCy layers were different from those of pure Si, SiC, and Si3N4, which all contain a tetrahedral structure unit. Slight variations of the relative ratio of the first two sharp peaks at about 108 and 115 eV were found, which can probably be attributed to C partially substituting O atoms in the Si–O tetrahedral structure.

Mg82Al8Ca10 was determined to be a pseudo-binary eutectic composition [liquid solidifying into α–Mg and (Mg,Al)2Ca in the Mg–Al–Ca ternary system with a eutectic melting temperature of 789 K]. A series of Mgx(Al0.44Ca0.56)100−x alloys, where 75 ≤ x ≤ 95, were cast into Φ4 mm rods using copper mold casting. The eutectic alloy exhibits the highest fracture strength, σf = 609 MPa. For 75 ≤ x ≥ 79, the alloys have hypereutectic microstructures with Mg2Ca as the primary phase, and σf is reduced together with diminishing plasticity. For hypoeutectic alloys with 86 ≤ x ≥ 95, the volume fraction of the primary α–Mg dendrites dispersed in the eutectic matrix increases with increasing x, resulting in a gradual decrease of the yield and fracture strengths but improved plastic strain to as large as 9%. The refined microstructures created in bulk samples via chill casting can lead to a good combination of strength and plasticity, with specific strength superior to commercial Mg alloys.

The valence band (VB) photoemission supported by ultraviolet–visible–near infrared spectroscopy techniques were used to determine the band gap values of polycrystalline Si and Ge single layers as well as of Si/Ge multilayer structures. The band gap values obtained from VB photoemission measurements for these structures were found to be much larger than their corresponding bulks and to match well with those determined from standard optical absorption measurements. In each case, the VB offset values were obtained by considering the corresponding VB maximum as a reference. The increase in band gap in case of thin single layers of Si and Ge with respect to bulks were interpreted in terms of quantum confinement effect, while in case of multilayer sample, the effect of various factors such as (i) intermixing leading to the formation of SiGe alloy, (ii) roughness at the interface, (iii) particle size, and (iv) strain seem to play an important role in the observed change in band gap.

The viscoelastic behavior of a soda-lime silica glass (a standard window glass) was investigated by means of Vickers indentation from room temperature to 833 K. Hardness values decrease gradually from 293 to 673 K and drop rapidly above 673 K. The flow kinetics of the glass at high temperature was analyzed in the light of atomic force microscopy observations. It was observed that densification significantly contributes to the permanent deformation at low temperatures, whereas volume conservative flow played a more and more important role as temperature was increased. Master curves of the relaxation modulus and the creep compliance were obtained from constant-rate and constant-load indentation experiments, respectively. A major finding was that the viscous flow process is nonlinear, with a sharp decrease of the apparent viscosity as the mean contact pressure increases.

The oxidation behavior of melt-spun Zr75Pd25 and Zr80Pt20 alloys with nanoquasicrystalline phase embedded in amorphous matrix has been studied isothermally as well as nonisothermally in static air. The nature of oxides formed during oxidation has been studied by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and a transition in the structure of the oxides has been shown as one of the primary reasons for the difference in the oxidation behavior of the alloys.

A new configuration of a superdislocation in the γ′ phase of a fourth-generation single-crystal TMS-138 superalloy was found after creep rupture in a [001] tensile test at 1150 °C and 137 MPa. The segments of the superdislocation lie in four directions, i.e., [110], [110], [100], and [010], strictly on a (001) plane with a Burgers vector b = [001]. This superdislocation is pure edge in character and does not dissociate into superpartials. Microstructural evidence shows that this kind of superdislocation is formed by combination of two interfacial dislocations with different Burgers vectors, i.e., 1/2[011] + 1/2[011] → [001].

In this paper, we report a facile route, the tin vapor treatment method, to prepare tin oxide containing mesoporous silica composites (TOMS), which display room-temperature photoluminescence (RT-PL). Among them, TOMS-1 and TOMS-2 were synthesized from mesoporous silica SBA-15 and KIT-6, respectively. They are composed of amorphous SiO2 and tin oxide species and they display strong emission near ultraviolet (UV) when excited by UV light. By increasing the preparation temperature, their Sn content can be increased and subsequently their photoluminescence (PL) intensities can be greatly enhanced. Besides, their PL properties are revealed to be closely related to 2-fold-coordinated tin oxygen-deficient centers.

In this paper, a new method for the identification of material parameters is presented. Neural networks, which are trained on the basis of finite element simulations, are used to solve the inverse problem. The material parameters to be identified are part of a viscoplasticity model that has been formulated for finite deformations and implemented in the finite element code ABAQUS. A proper multi-creep loading history was developed in a previous paper using a phenomenological model for viscoplastic spherical indentation. Now, this phenomenological model is replaced by a more realistic finite element model, which provides fast computation and numerical solutions of high accuracy at the same time. As a consequence, existing neural networks developed for the phenomenological model have been extended from a power law hardening with two material parameters to an Armstrong–Frederick hardening rule with three parameters. These are the yield stress, the initial slope of work hardening, and maximum hardening stress of the equilibrium response. In addition, elastic deformation is taken into account. The viscous part is based on a Chaboche-like overstress model, consisting of two material parameters determining velocity dependence and overstress as a function of the strain rate. The method has been verified by additional finite element simulations. Its application for various metals will be presented in Part II, [J. Mater. Res.21, 677 (2006)].

A neural network-based analysis method for the identification of a viscoplasticity model from spherical indentation data, developed in the first part of this work [J. Mater. Res.21, 664 (2006)], was applied for different metallic materials. Besides the comparison of typical parameters like Young’s modulus and yield stress with values from tensile experiments, the uncertainties in the identified material parameters representing modulus, hardening behavior, and viscosity were investigated in relation to different sources. Variations in the indentation position, tip radius, force application rate, and surface preparation were considered. The extensive experimental validation showed that the applied neural networks are very robust and show small variation coefficients, especially regarding the important parameters of Young’s modulus and yield stress. On the other hand, important requirements were quantified, which included a very good spherical indenter geometry and good surface preparation to obtain reliable results.

Lead titanate (PbTiO3) nano- and microtubes were fabricated by wetting ordered porous alumina and macroporous silicon with precursor oligomers coupled with templated thermolysis. The diameters of the PbTiO3 tubes range from a few tens of nanometers up to one micron. The proper selection of the template allowed for a precise adjustment of their size over two orders of magnitude. Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction revealed that the tube walls were polycrystalline. The generic approach presented here can be adapted for the fabrication of tubes and rods from a multitude of functional inorganic oxides.

A ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 was prepared by the induction melting and isothermal forging process. Dynamic recrystallization occurs during the isothermal forging. The deformation texture was studied by the neutron diffraction technique. The main texture components consist of (110)[112] and (001)[100], which suggested that in-plane plastic flow anisotropy should be expected in the as-forged condition. The uniaxial compression fracture strain in the forged alloy reaches over 9.5%. The final room-temperature fracture of the polycrystalline Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 is controlled mainly by intergranular mode.

Effect of electromigration on mechanical shear behavior of flip chip solder joints consisting of 97Pb3Sn and 37Pb63Sn composite solder joints was studied. The under bump metallurgy (UBM) on the chip side was TiW/Cu/electroplated Cu, and the bond pad on the board side was electroless Ni/Au. It was found that the mode of shear failure has changed after electromigration and the mode depends on the direction of electron flow during electromigration. The shear induced fracture occurs in the bulkof 97Pb3Sn solder without current stressing, however, after 10 h current stressing at 2.55 × 104 A/cm2 at 140 °C, it occurs alternately at the cathode interfaces between solder and intermetallic compounds (IMCs). In the downward electron flow, from the chip to substrate, the failure site was at the Cu–Sn IMC/solder interface near the Si chip. However, in the upward electron flow, from the substrate to chip, failure occurred at the Ni–Sn IMC/solder interface near the substrate. The failure mode has a strong correlation to microstructural change in the solder joint. During the electromigration, while Pb atoms moved to the anode side in the same direction as with the electron flow, Sn atoms diffused to the cathode side, opposite the electron flow. In addition, electromigration dissolves and drives Cu or Ni atoms from UBM or bond pad at the cathode side into the solder. These reactions resulted in the large growth of Sn-based IMC at the cathode sides. Therefore, mechanical shear failure occurs predominantly at the cathode interface.