Resumo em Inglês:

A study of the mobility of n-doped wurtzite III-Nitrides is reported. We have determined the nonequilibrium thermodynamic state of the III-Nitrides systems driven far away from equilibrium by a strong electric field in the steady state, which follows after a very fast transient. The dependence of the mobility (which depends on the nonequilibrium thermodynamic state of the sample) on the electric field strength is derived, which decreases with the strength of electric field. We analyzed the contributions to the mobility arising out of the different channels of electron scattering, namely, the polar optic, deformation, piezoelectric, interactions with the phonons, and with impurities. The case of n-InN, n-GaN, and n-AlN have been analyzed: as expected the main contribution comes from the polar-optic interactions in these strongly polar semiconductors. The other interactions are in decreasing order, the deformation acoustic, the piezoelectric, and the one due to impurities.

Resumo em Inglês:

Single-wall carbon nanotubes were produced with, either, a bimetallic or a mixture of three catalysts. Raman scattering and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were used as characterization tools. The mixture LiNi0.5Co0.5O2 leaded to a sample relatively free from impurities with long bundles, each containing a few tubes. A narrow distribution of diameters for the sample produced with this mixture was evidenced by Raman scattering experiences. The mean tube diameter was found to be smaller than those measured for the nanotubes obtained with the bimetallic catalysts, Fe/Ni and Ni/Co. Possible chiralities were calculated for the semiconductor nanotubes formed. Assignments of the Raman radial breathing mode frequencies to the calculated structures are presented.

Resumo em Inglês:

Feasibility of designing composites from carbon nanotubes and nanodiamond clusters is discussed based on atomistic simulations. Depending on nanotube size and morphology, some types of open nanotubes can be chemically connected with different facets of diamond clusters. The geometrical relation between different types of nanotubes and different diamond facets for construction of mechanically stable composites with all bonds saturated is summarized. Potential applications of the suggested nanostructures are briefly discussed based on the calculations of their electronic properties using environment dependent self-consistent tight-binding approach.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this work, a-C:H:Si (DLC-Si) films were produced onto crystalline silicon and polycarbonate substrates by the rf-PACVD technique from gaseous mixtures of CH4 + SiH4 and C2H2 + SiH4. The effects of self-bias and gas composition upon mechanical and optical properties of the films were investigated. Micro-hardness, residual stress, surface roughness and refractive index measurements were employed for characterization. By incorporating low concentrations of silicon and by exploring the more favorable conditions for the rf-PACVD deposition technique, highly adherent DLC-Si thin films were produced with reduced internal stresses (lower than 1 GPa), high hardness (around 20 GPa) and high deposition rates (up to 10 µm/h). Results that show the technological viability of this material for application as protective coatings for polycarbonates are also discussed.

Resumo em Inglês:

Experimental investigation and modeling of pulsed H2/CH4 plasmas used for diamond deposition are presented. Two plasma configurations are studied : a 2.45 GHz microwave cavity configuration and a 915 MHz surface-wave configuration. Time-resolved measurements of the gas temperature determined from the Doppler broadening of the Balmer Ha line, of the H-atom relative density and of the discharge volume (Vpl) are reported. The experimental time-variations of the gas temperature are characterized by a sharp increase at the beginning of the pulse (t < 250 µs) and a decrease down to a stable value at steady state (t > 1 ms). The simulations enable us to estimate time-variations of the electron energy distribution function, gas temperature and chemical species densities. The in-pulse steady state temperature obtained from the model is in agreement with the measured one, although a discrepancy is obtained on the shape of the early time-variation. Calculations were carried out in order to study the effects of the in-pulse power, the duty cycle and the off-plasma time on the H-atom and CH3-radical densities. It is seen that, at a constant power density averaged over a period, low duty cycles favor high H-atom and CH3 - radical densities, while too long off-plasma times reduce the H-atom density during the pulse. In addition, the production of H atoms was seen to be governed by thermal dissociation in the 2.45 GHz microwave cavity system, and by electronic impact dissociation in the 915 MHz surface wave system, the latter operating under high gas velocities.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this work, silicon carbide films were deposited onto tungsten carbide from a sintered SiC target on a r.f. magnetron sputtering system. Based on previous results about the influence of r.f. power and argon pressure upon the properties of films deposited on silicon substrates, suitable conditions were chosen to produce high quality films on WC-Co pieces. Deposition parameters were chosen in order to obtain high deposition rates (about 30 nm/min at 400 W rf power) and acceptable residual stresses (1.5 GPa). Argon pressure affects the energy of particles so that films with higher hardness (30 GPa) were obtained at low pressures (0.05 Pa). Wear rates of the coated pieces against a chromium steel ball in a diamond suspension medium were found to be about half of the uncoated ones. Hardness and wear resistance measurements were done also in thermally annealed (200-800 °C) samples revealing the effectiveness of SiC coatings to protect tool material against severe mechanical degradation resulting of high temperature (above 500 °C) oxidation.

Resumo em Inglês:

Calculations of the total dielectric functions and the optical bandgap energy (OBGE) of 4HSiC were performed by the full-potential linear muffin-tin-orbital method. The results are compared to spectroscopic ellipsometry dielectric measurements agreeing closely over in a wide range of energies. The obtained theoretical value of the (OBGE) agrees very closely with the measured ones obtained by transmission and photoacoustic spectroscopies at room temperature performed on 470 µm thick wafer and a 25 µm thick homoepitaxial layer of 4H-SiC samples grown (n-type, Siface) by hot wall CVD.

Resumo em Inglês:

The optical bandgap energies (OBGE) of 3C, 15R, 6H and 4H-SiC have been investigate experimentally by transmission and photoacoustic spectroscopies. The measurements were performed on 470 mum thick wafers. The OBGE obtained from both spectroscopies for different polytypes show very good agreement. In order to have a better understanding of these materials calculations of eletronic band structure were performed by the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method. For the OBGE the results are compared to the measurements agreeing closely over the energies of those polytypes.

Resumo em Inglês:

The stress evolution in diamond films grown on Ti6Al4V was investigated in order to develop a comprehensive view of the residual stress formation. Residual stress is composed of intrinsic stress induced during diamond film growth and extrinsic stress caused by the different thermal expansion coefficients between the film and substrate. In the coalescence stage it has been observed that the residual stress is dominated by the microstructure, whereas on continuous films, the thermal stress is more important. In this work diamond thin films with small grain size and good size and good quality were obtained in a surface wave-guide microwave discharge, the Surfatron system, with a negative bias voltage applied between the plasma shell and substrate. For above of -100V applied bias, the ratio of carbon sp³/sp² bond may increase and the nucleation rate increase arising the high value at the -250V applied bias. Stress measurements and sp³ content in the film were studied by Raman scattering spectroscopy. The total residual stress is compressive and varied from -1.52 to -1.48 GPa between 0 and -200 V applied bias, respectively, and above the -200 V, the compressive residual stress increased drastically to -1.80 GPa. The diamond nucleation density was evaluated by top view SEM images.

Resumo em Inglês:

Boron doped diamond thin films were grown on titanium alloy substrates (Ti6Al4V) with 36 × 35 × 1.3 mm at 873-933 K at 6.5 × 10³ Pa during 8 h by hot filament CVD assisted technique. The boron source was obtained from a H2 line forced to pass through a bubbler containing B2O3 dissolved in methanol (B\C = 6000 ppm). The films were grown on both sides of perforated and non-perforated substrates. Emphasis for diamond growing on perforated substrates have been done in order to increase the active surface area and hereafter to promote an easier electrolyte flow for wastewater treatment. The electrode performance was determined by cyclic voltammetry measurements in KCl, KNO3, Na2SO4, HCl, HNO3 and H2SO4 solutions and the reversibility behavior of the Fe(CN)6(3-/4-) at the Ti6Al4V/Diamond electrode were studied. Also, Scaning Electron Microcopy and Raman Scattering Spectroscopy were used for morphology and diamond quality evaluation, respectively.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this work we study the influence of oxygen addition to several halocarbon-hydrogen gas systems. Diamond growth have been performed in a high power density MWCVD reactor built in our laboratory. The growth experiments are monitored by argon actinometry as a reference to plasma temperature and atomic hydrogen production, and by mass spectrometry to compare the exhaust gas composition. Atomic hydrogen actinometry revealed that the halogen presence in the gas phase is responsible for a considerable increase of atomic hydrogen concentration in the gas phase. Mass spectrometry shows similar results for all gas mixtures tested. Growth studies with oxygen addition to CF4/H2, CCl4/H2, CCl2F2/H2 and CH3Cl/H2 reveals that oxygen increases the carbon solubility in the gas phase but no better diamond growth conditions were found. Halogens are not, per se, eligible for diamond growth. All the possible advantages, as the higher production of atomic hydrogen, have been suppressed by the low carbon solubility in the gas phase, even when oxygen is added. The diamond growth with small amount of CF4 added to CH4/H2 mixture is not aggressive to the apparatus but brings several advantages to the process.

Resumo em Inglês:

The sol-gel process is a methodology used to obtain organic-inorganic hybrid solids, which open new possibilities in the field of material science. The sol-gel technique offers a low temperature attractive approach for introducing organic molecules into amorphous materials. In order to introduce tetrakis (2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)porphyrin covalently bounded to a silicate matrix, the inorganic precursor 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane was added (molar ratio 2:1) to the porphyrin solution in anhydrous dimethylformamide and triethylamine. The isolated porphyrin and the hybrid porphyrinosilica have excitation maximum centred at 400 nm and 424 nm, respectively and the emission spectra for both materials has bands centred at 650 nm and 713 nm. The formation of hybrid matrix was investigated by FTIR.

Resumo em Inglês:

Polarized light microscopy was used to investigate the presence of preferred molecular orientation in the LCP phase of PPS/LCP blends after injection moulding. Normal birefringence effects appeared to be complicated by artifacts due to sample preparation and by the complex nature of polarized light transmission through a multicomponent sample. It was found, however, that, during low-temperature cutting of optically transparent thin sections on a standard microtome, individual LCP particles could be separated from the PPS matrix, and their birefringence analyzed separately. Preferred orientation was detected only in LCP fibrils which dominated in skin regions, but not in droplet-shaped particles which had formed in core regions. Quantitative measurements indicated that the molecular orientation of the fibrils increased linearly with their length-to-diameter aspect ratios which ranged from 15 to 50. Even for the highest aspect ratios, however, the degree of orientation was always less than that which could easily be introduced into pure LCP thin-film samples by manual shearing.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this study was to analyze the microhardness of two resin-modified glass ionomer cements (Vitremer; Fuji II LC); two polyacid-modified composite resins (Freedom; F2000) and a hybrid composite resin (Prodigy), at different depths from the upper surface. Six hemi-cylinders (3 mm height; 3 mm radius) per tested material were obtained. Vickers Hardness was determined using a micro-indentation tester. For each hemi-cylinder, three indentations were taken at one of the following depths: 0.4, 1.0, 2.0 and 2.6 mm. For each material, microhardness average was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey test Fuji II LC and Vitremer showed no statistically significant difference among hardness means recorded at the four analyzed depths. The hybrid and the polyacid-modified composite resins showed significant decrease microhardness with increasing depth. It may be concluded that for the RMGIC, microhardness was not affected at depths up to 2.6 mm. On the other hand, both hybrid and PMCRs should de better placed in increments not thicker than 2 mm to achieve optimal hardness throughout the restoration.

Resumo em Inglês:

When welded joints have to meet particular requirements related to fatigue life they are usually designed using the so called S-N design curves. This implies the construction of a curve for each particular design. From the point of view of the user, it is often difficult to establish accurately which is the curve that better fits the design that is being considered. The so called " local approach " is based on the concept that the fatigue strenght of welded joints is essentially determined by the local stress and strain in the " hot spots ". These spots are located in the geometric discontinuities of the joint. Through this approach is possible to consider the possibility of constructing and using only one curve of design or " key curve ", for a given material. In this case the design parameter is the local stress or strain instead of the nominal stress. In the present work the lateral defect is modeled with fillet welds using the local approach combined with the finite elements method. A data base of Kt for different dimensionless geometric relations is generated, and from these results an analytical function for the value of the concentrator is interpolated. Finally the contour plots that were generated help reducing the number laboratory tests needed for the determination of Kt.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this study a coaxial line was used to connect a microwave-frequency Network Analyzer and a base moving sample holder for dielectric characterization of ferroelectric materials in the microwave range. The main innovation of the technique is the introduction of a special sample holder that eliminates the air gap effect by pressing sample using a fine pressure system control. The device was preliminary tested with alumina (Al2O3) ceramics and validated up to 2 GHz. Dielectric measurements of lanthanum and manganese modified lead titanate (PLTM) ceramics were carried out in order to evaluate the technique for a high permittivity material in the microwave range. Results showed that such method is very useful for materials with high dielectric permittivities, which is generally a limiting factor of other techniques in the frequency range from 50 MHz to 2 GHz.

Resumo em Inglês:

A Mg-9wt.Al-1wt.%Zn-alloy was anodized up to 90 V with constant current/constant voltage in an electrolyte which contained the compounds of the HAE-process (KOH, Al(OH)3, KF, Na3PO4 and KMnO4). Electron microscopic examinations revealed a highly porous and irregular film structure. The distribution of the elements in the film was measured with energy dispersive spectrometry on specimens prepared in cross section for the transmission electron microscope. The main characteristic found was a fluoride-enriched zone of about 100 nm thickness at the metal / film interface. Practically no manganese from the permanganate was detected in this fluoride-enriched zone.

Resumo em Inglês:

We described an automatic diameter control system (ADC), for the laser heated pedestal growth technique, that reduces the diameter fluctuations in oxide fibers grown from unreacted and non-sinterized pedestals, to less than 2% of the average fiber diameter, and diminishes the average diameter fluctuation, over the entire length of the fiber, to less than 1%. The ADC apparatus is based on an artificial vision system that controls the pulling speed and the height of the molten zone within a precision of 30 mum. We also show that this system can be used for periodic in situ axial doping the fiber. Pure and Cr3+ doped LaAlO3 and pure LiNbO3 were usedas model materials.

Resumo em Inglês:

Hydroxyapatite (HA) whiskers with uniform morphology and good crystallinity were successfully prepared by a precipitation-hydrolysis method in moderately acid solution at 85-95 °C for 48-120 h, their lengths were in the range of 50-150 mum and aspect ratios (length/diameter) in the range of 40-100. The precipitates formed at each stage of the synthesis were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM and SEM. The morphology and crystallinity of the precipitates depended on the synthesis temperature and time as well as the concentrations of soluble calcium and phosphate ions. The HA whiskers were formed by the hydrolysis of precursors produced during the reactions and took over the morphology of fibrous octacalcium phosphate (OCP). The stoichiometric HA whiskers were improved with the increase of pH value of solution, the synthetic temperature and the duration.