Lateral diffusion couples containing Al islands on Pd–Si multiple layers are used to study Al–Pd2Si reactions. The Pd2Si phase was first formed in the Pd–Si multiple-layer region after furnace annealing at 225 °C. Then, the Al–Pd2Si lateral couples were in situ annealed in a transmission electron microscope at temperatures ranging from 377–438 °C. The laterally growing region is composed of the Al3Pd2 compound and Si precipitates, as identified by selected area diffraction (SAD). During the in situ anneals, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images were recorded by a video cassette recorder allowing thereafter a kinetic study. The lateral growth is parabolically dependent on the annealing time. An activation energy of 1.7 eV is found for this diffusion process.

Previous qualitative studies of ion beam mixing of Ni–Ti and Fe–Ti multilayers at room temperature have shown the Ni–Ti samples to mix considerably faster than the Fe–Ti, in apparent contrast with theory. Furthermore, the Fe–Ti mixing was strongly inhibited by previous charging of the sample with hydrogen, whereas only a small effect was seen for Ni–Ti. We have quantified the mixing and extended the study to four more systems (Al–Ti. Co–Ti, Cu–Ti, and Pd–Ti) and lower temperatures. This allows some important conclusions to be drawn. Predictions based on a thermal spike model underestimate the larger room temperature mixing rates (Cu–Ti, Ni–Ti, and Pd–Ti), apparently because of contributions from a temperature dependent mechanism such as radiation enhanced diffusion. The lower mixing rates (Fe–Ti, Co–Ti, and Ni–Ti at ∼80 K) are overestimated by a factor of 2–3.5, possibly because of hydrogen contamination of the as-deposited samples. For the Al–Ti sample, the experimental mixing rate was in good agreement with predictions. Except for the Cu–Ti sample, results were seen to vary with heat of solution, rather than heat of mixing, suggesting significant contributions from the lower temperature after-spike regime. Hydrogen charging was found to reduce the Fe–Ti mixing rate by a factor of 7 at room temperature, whereas the Co–Ti and Ni–Ti rates were only reduced by a factor of 2, and the mixing of the Pd–Ti was influenced very little. Near liquid nitrogen temperature the Ni–Ti mixing rate was more strongly reduced (by a factor of 3–4). Our results suggest that the original hydrogen contamination in as-deposited samples may also cause significant reduction of mixing rates in some materials.

Microhardness and cantilever beam fatigue measurements were conducted on Fe–13Cr–15Ni base austenitic alloys that were implanted with boron and nitrogen ions either singly or simultaneously. The microstructure of the modified surface layer and dislocation slip modes after fatigue tests were investigated by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Both hardness and fatigue life were improved by ion implantation, but the greatest improvement was achieved when boron and nitrogen were implanted simultaneously. The degree of fatigue life improvement also varied with minor changes in the base alloying compositions: nitrogen was detrimental or ineffective in the presence of titanium, and boron was much more effective in the presence of molybdenum. Comparison of slip band morphology between the compression and tension cycles indicated that implantation improved the reversibility of surface slip and delayed crack initiation.

Molecular dynamics simulations of energetic displacement cascades in Cu and Ni were performed with primary-knock-on-atom (PKA) energies up to 5 keV. The interatomic forces were represented by the Gibson II (Cu) and the Johnson-Erginsoy (Ni) potentials. Our results indicate that the primary state of damage produced by displacement cascades is controlled basically by two phenomena: replacement collision sequences during the ballistic phase, and melting and resolidification during the thermal spike. The thermal-spike phase is of longer duration and has a more marked effect in Cu than in Ni. Results for atomic mixing, defect production, and defect clustering are presented and compared with experiment. Simulations of “heat spikes” in these metals suggest a model for “cascade collapse” based on the regrowth kinetics of the molten cascade core.

A nickel aluminide of composition Ni–23.5Al–0.5Hf–0.2B (at. %) is found to develop intergranular cavities with a quasi-equilibrium shape when it is creep deformed at high temperatures and low stresses. When the temperature is lowered and the stress significantly increased (by a factor of 10), crack-like noses form at the tips of the original quasi-equilibrium cavities. Although this observation is in general agreement with previously published computer simulations, certain complications are found as well. The experimental and theoretical relationships between growth rates and sizes of the crack-like noses are inconsistent, and growth rates vary from nose to nose. Possible reasons for these effects are discussed.

CuTi was irradiated with 1-MeV Ne+, Kr+, and Xe+ in the temperature range from 150 to 563 K. The volume fraction of the amorphous phase produced during room temperature irradiation with Ne+ and Kr+ ions was determined as a function of ion dose from measurements of the integrated intensity of the diffuse ring in electron diffraction patterns. The results, analyzed by Gibbons' model, indicate that direct amorphization occurs along a single ion track with Kr+, but the overlapping of three ion tracks is necessary for amorphization with Ne+. The critical temperature for amorphization increases with increasing projectile mass from electron to Ne+ to Kr+. However, the critical temperatures for Kr+ and Xe+ irradiations were found to be identical, and very close to the thermal crystallization temperature of an amorphous zone embedded in the crystalline matrix. Using the present observations, relationships between the amorphization kinetics and the displacement density along the ion track, and between the critical temperature and the stability of the irradiation-induced damage, are discussed.

The elastic plane-strain Green's function is calculated for a general anisotropic composite solid with a plane interface and a line load parallel to the composite interface. The interface may be between two different solids or between different orientations of the same solid such as a grain boundary. The equations of elastic equilibrium are solved by the Fourier transform method. Analytical expressions are obtained for the Green's function in real as well as Fourier space. These expressions should be useful for calculations of elastic properties of a composite solid containing defects. Two sum rules are also derived for matrices which constitute the Green's function and the stress tensor. These sum rules can serve as numerical checks in detailed computer simulation calculations.

The microstructure of Al films deposited on SiO2 using the partially ionized beam (PIB) deposition technique is studied. It is shown that by employing less than 1% ions (ion-to-atom ratio) derived from the evaporated material and about 1–2 kV bias voltage at the substrate during deposition, one can grow highly (111) oriented Al films at room temperature. For a fixed bias potential, the value of the ion-to-atom ratio to achieve the optimum orientation effect is determined. At the optimum condition for the (111) preferred orientation growth, no significant enhancement in the grain size is observed. It is also found that a drastic reduction in the degree of the preferred orientation occurs when the films are deposited at a substrate temperature greater than 150 °C.

Strain hardening dominates the deformation process in fine-grained A1-7475 alloy in the temperature range 400 to 515 °C. It is shown that anomalously low stress exponents are obtained as a result of strain hardening in strain-rate-change tests. In order to measure stress exponents in a quasi-steady state condition, the samples must be initially deformed at a relatively high stress (≍ 10 MPa) to a relatively high strain (∊ ≍ 0.5) before initiating a strain-rate-change test. Such a procedure revealed that a stress exponent about equal to two and an activation energy (141 kJ/mole) nearly equal to the activation energy for lattice diffusion are obtained. The results are interpreted in terms of a model involving grain boundary sliding accommodated by slip following the Gifkins' “core and mantle” concept. It is proposed that strain hardening is associated with the development of a boundary-dislocation structure in the mantle region in a manner similar to the development of subgrains in the core of a grain when slip is the principal deformation mode.

Films of three compound semiconductors with the zincblende structure grown epitaxially on {100} silicon substrates by chemical vapor deposition or metal-organic chemical vapor deposition were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The three systems have similar thermal mismatches but cover a wide range of lattice mismatch. From the comparison of the observed microstructures as well as from the investigation of early stages of film formation it is concluded that the lattice mismatch plays a minor role in the formation of stacking faults and twin boundaries. A formation mechanism is proposed for these defects which is based on deposition errors during the adsorption of atoms on {111} facets of film nuclei. The observed microstructural features are discussed in terms of this model.

The elastic Green's functions for displacements and stresses have been calculated for a composite solid containing a planar crack in a planar interface using the Green's function derived in a previous paper for a line load parallel to the composite interface. The resulting functions can be used to calculate the stress or displacement at any point in the composite for a variety of elastic singularities. As specific applications, the Mode I stress intensity factor of an interfacial crack was calculated as were the Green's functions for the semi-infinite antiplane strain case. The Mode I case shows the near-crack tip oscillations reported by other authors while the Mode III case does not. The newly devised Green's functions are shown to reproduce the results of other authors in the isotropic limit.

The structure of Nb–Al thin films after ion mixing was studied for compositions from 20 to 85 at. % Al as a function of temperature in the range between 40 and 620 K. The phase formation was determined by transmission electron microscopy. At lower temperatures, only supersaturated bcc-solid solution, NbAl, and amorphous phase were found throughout the studied composition range. Besides these phases irradiation at temperatures above 470 K causes the formation of a metastable crystalline compound at an overall composition close to Nb25Al75, and for T = 623 K the equilibrium compound NbAl3 is formed. The other intermetallic phases Nb2Al and Nb3Al have not been observed at any irradiation temperature. Calculations of the Gibbs free energies of the various phases are presented, and the reliability of extrapolations to regions of metastability with respect to temperature and composition is commented on. The phase formation during heavy-ion irradiation is discussed in the context of the calculated free energies and kinetic constraints. For temperatures above 300 K, the attainment of a metastable phase equilibrium between the bcc solid solution and the amorphous phase is proposed due to the influence of radiation enhanced diffusion.

Multilayers of Mn/Bi were irrradiated with 400 keV Xe+ at temperatures from 80 to 550 K. Ferromagnetic MnBi layers oriented perpendicular to the substrate surface were formed directly at mixing temperatures from room temperature (RT) to 500 K. The measurements of Curie point and optical Faraday rotation revealed that 60–70 at. % of MnBi ion-mixed at RT is the metastable phase (QIITP: quenched high temperature phase). The fraction of QIITP is reduced with increase in mixing temperature. It was also found that ion beam mixing yields a pronounced protection effect against the deterioration of MnBi in a moist atmosphere. A detailed discussion is given on the kinetics of ion beam mixing and the growth mechanism of the metastable MnBi grains.

Phase transformations at the Si–H2O interface, induced by nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation, were studied in real time. Si samples were irradiated using a 4 ns pulse from a Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser while immersed in the transparent liquid. Using time-resolved conductivity and reflectivity techniques, in combination with modeling of optical parameters and heat flow, transient processes in the Si, the H2O, and at the interface have been unraveled. In the liquid, local rapid heating occurs as a result of heat flow across the interface, and formation of a low-density steam phase occurs on a nanosecond timescale. Expansion of this phase is followed by a collapse after 200 ns. These rapid phase transformations in the water initiate a shock wave with a pressure of 0.4± 0.3 kbar. Transient phase transformations and the heat flow into the water during the laser pulse influence the energy coupling into the sample, resulting in an effective laser pulse shortening. The pulse shortening and the additional heat flow into the water during solidification result in a 30% enhancement of the solidification velocity for 270 nm deep melts. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy data reveal that the Si surface is planar after irradiation and is inert to chemical reactions during irradiation. Recent experiments described in the literature concerning pulsed-laser induced synthesis at the solid-liquid interface are reviewed and discussed in the context of the fundamental phenomena presently observed.

Isotropic hexagonal BN (h-BN) films were deposited on SiO2 crucibles used for synthesis of GaAs. Deposited films were analyzed for composition, morphology, and growth rates using proton resonant scattering, optical absorption, x-ray and electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The silicon concentration of GaAs synthesized in BN coated crucibles was approximately one order of magnitude higher than that for GaAs synthesized in uncoated crucibles under identical synthesis conditions.

The room temperature deformation behavior and microstructure of Ti48Al52 and Ti52Al48 alloys are compared. The material was fabricated by rapid solidification melt spinning, and examined in both as-cast and consolidated forms. The Ti52Al48 alloy exhibited enhanced strength and ductility in both forms in bend tests compared with the Ti48Al52 alloy. The microstructure of the Ti52Al48 alloy was two-phase γ–TiAl and α2–Ti3Al. The Ti48Al52 alloy was single-phase γ–TiAl and had a larger grain size than the previous alloy. The microstructure of the Ti52Al48 alloy after room temperature deformation consisted primarily of {111} mechanical twins and a/2〈110〉 perfect dislocations. The comparable Ti48Al52 alloy microstructure contained fewer twins, and many more a〈101〉 and a/2〈112〉 superdislocations were present in addition to a/2〈110〉 dislocations. The superdislocations had dissociated and formed sessile faulted dipoles. The possible reasons for the differences in microstructure and mechanical behavior between these two alloys are discussed.

We have used rapid e-beam heating and quenching to study metastable transitions between allotropic phases in Mn and to determine relative rates of transformation between the allotropes. The equilibrium α ⇉ β transition at 720 °C is bypassed and the metastable α ⇉ γ transition is observed to occur at a temperature (880 ± 30 °C) near that predicted thermodynamically (864 °C).

The effects of the addition of chromium on several properties of Fe3Al, including tensile strength and ductility, fracture behavior, and slip and dislocation characteristics, were studied. Alloying with up to 6 at. % chromium results in an increase in room temperature ductility from approximately 4% to 8–10%. Along with this increase in ductility, the addition of chromium produces a change in fracture mode from transgranular cleavage to a mixed mode of intergranular-transgranular cleavage, and a change in slip behavior from coarse straight slip to fine wavy slip. These phenomena are discussed in terms of the effect of chromium on the antiphase boundary energies and dislocation characteristics.

Mechanical properties of GaP crystals are investigated in the temperature range 600–900 °C by means of compression tests. Stress-strain characteristics of a GaP crystal in the temperature range 600–800 °C are very similar to those of a GaAs crystal in the temperature range 450–600 °C. The dynamic state of dislocations during deformation is determined by means of the strain-rate cycling technique. The deformation of GaP is found to be controlled by the dislocation processes the same as those in other kinds of semiconductors such as Si, Ge, and GaAs. The velocity v of dislocations that control deformation is deduced to be v = v0 τ exp(–2.2 eV/kT) as a function of the stress τ and the temperature T, where v0 is a constant and k the Boltzmann constant. The Portevin-LeChatelier effect is observed in the stress-strain behavior in the deformation at high temperatures and under low strain rates, which may be attributed to the locking of dislocations by impurities or impurity-defect complexes.

The fractal nature of self-ion collision cascades is first described using an inverse power potential and then by the more realistic potential of Biersack–Ziegler. Based on the model of Cheng et al. and TRIM Monte Carlo simulations, the average cascade fractal dimension is a function of both atomic mass and initial energy. The instantaneous fractal dimension increases as the cascade evolves. A critical energy Ec for producing a dense subcascade is derived and it is shown that Ec agrees well with the onset energy for constant damage efficiency.