Papers by Keyword: High Resolution TEM

Abstract: Radial electron densities within 63-67 μm long ion damage trails, latent ion tracks, created in {001} muscovite by irradiation with 11.1-28.7 MeV/A U and Pb ions, have been derived by small-angle X-ray scattering. Track diameters are 8.0-10.2 nm. The tracks exhibit continuous and uniform electron density decrease of ~4%. Complementary microscopy has revealed loss of atomic order in the tracks. These ion-induced effects undoubtedly accelerate preferential through track permeability of inert and corrosive agents, a property that is important for track applications.

Abstract: We have developed a novel planarization method called catalyst-referred etching (CARE), which can planarize SiC substrates without the use of an abrasive. In this method, platinum is used as an oxidation catalyst. The surface of CARE-processed 4H-SiC (0001) substrates are atomically flat all over the wafer. It is found that the surface of CARE-processed substrates is composed of alternating wide and narrow terraces with single bilayer-height steps, regardless of the off-cut angle. This unique structure is induced by the differences in the chemical stabilities of the terraces.

Abstract: Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy thin films are suitable materials for microelectromechanical devices. During the deposition of Ni-Ti thin films on Si substrates, there exist interfacial diffusion and chemical interactions at the interface due to the high temperature processing necessary to crystallize the film. For the present study, Ni-Ti thin films were prepared by magnetron cosputtering from Ni-Ti and Ti targets in a specially designed chamber mounted on the 6-circle goniometer of the ROssendorf BeamLine (ROBL-CRG) at ESRF, Grenoble (France). The objective of this study has been to investigate the interfacial structure resulting from depositions (at a temperature of ≈ 470°C) on different substrates: naturally oxidized Si(100), Si(111) and poly-Si substrates. A detailed High-Resolution TEM analysis of the interfacial structure has been performed. When Ni-Ti is deposited on Si(100) substrate, a considerable diffusion of Ni into the substrate takes place, resulting in the growth of semi-octaeder A-NiSi2 silicide. In the case of Ni-Ti deposited on Si(111), there appears an uniform thickness plate, due to the alignment between substrate orientation and the [111]-growth front. For Ni-Ti deposited on poly-Si, the diffusion is inhomogeneous. Preferential diffusion is found along the columnar grains of poly-Si, which are favourably aligned for Ni diffusion. These results show that for the Ni-Ti/Si system, the morphology of the diffusion interface is strongly dependent on the type of substrates.

Abstract: The paper presents an overview of a number of unusual phase transformations which take place in pearlitic steels in conditions of the severe deformation, i.e. combination of high pressure and strong shear strain. Strain-induced cementite dissolution is a well-documented phenomenon, which occurs during cold plastic deformation of pearlitic steels. Recently new results which can shed additional light on the mechanisms of this process were obtained thanks to 3DAP and HRTEM investigations of pearlitic steel deformed by high pressure torsion (HPT). It was shown that the process of cementite decomposition starts by carbon depletion from the carbides, which indicates that the deviation of cementite’s chemical composition from the stoichiometric is the main reason for thermodynamic destabilisation of cementite during plastic deformation. Important results were obtained regarding the distribution of released carbon atoms in ferrite. It was experimentally confirmed that carbon segregates to the dislocations and grain boundaries of nanocrystalline ferrite. Another unusual phase transformation taking place in nanocrystalline pearlitic steel during room temperature HPT is a stress induced α→γ transformation, which never occurs during conventional deformation of coarse grained iron and carbon steels. It was concluded that this occurred due to a reverse martensitic transformation. The atomistic mechanism and the thermodynamics of the transformation, as well as issues related to the stability of the reverted austenite will be discussed.

Abstract: Recent studies of nanocrystalline materials have often found that the deformation mechanisms are radically different to those in coarse-grained materials, resulting in quite different mechanical properties for such materials. The use of pearlitic steels for the study of the deformation mechanisms in bcc materials with ultrafine grain sizes is quite convenient, because it is relatively straightforward to obtain a homogenous nanocrystalline structure with a mean grain size as small as 10 nm using various modes of severe plastic deformation (SPD). In this paper we show that highpressure torsion of an initially pearlitic steel results in a nanostructured steel in which austenite has been formed at or close to room temperature. The orientation relationship between neighboring ferrite and austenite grains is the well-known Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship, i.e. the same observed in temperature-induced martensitic transformation of iron and steels. It is shown that this must have resulted from a reverse martensitic transformation promoted by the high shear strains experienced by the material during severe plastic deformation of the nanocrystalline structure. This transformation represents an alternative deformation mechanism that can be activated when conventional deformation mechanisms such as slip of lattice dislocations become exhausted.