Crystal Grains (crystal + grain)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Microstrain and grain-size analysis from diffraction peak width and graphical derivation of high-pressure thermomechanics

JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2008
Yusheng Zhao
An analytical method is presented for deriving the thermomechanical properties of polycrystalline materials under high-pressure (P) and high-temperature (T) conditions. This method deals with non-uniform stress among heterogeneous crystal grains and surface strain in nanocrystalline materials by examining peak-width variation under different P,T conditions. Because the method deals directly with lattice d spacing and local deformation caused by stress, it can be applied to process any diffraction profile, independent of detection mode. In addition, a correction routine is developed using diffraction elastic ratios to deal with severe surface strain and/or strain anisotropy effects related to nano-scale grain sizes, so that significant data scatter can be reduced in a physically meaningful way. Graphical illustration of the resultant microstrain analysis can identify micro/local yields at the grain-to-grain interactions resulting from high stress concentration, and macro/bulk yield of the plastic deformation over the entire sample. This simple and straightforward approach is capable of revealing the corresponding micro and/or macro yield stresses, grain crushing or growth, work hardening or softening, and thermal relaxation under high- P,T conditions, as well as the intrinsic residual strain and/or surface strain in the polycrystalline bulk. In addition, this approach allows the instrumental contribution to be illustrated and subtracted in a straightforward manner, thus avoiding the potential complexities and errors resulting from instrument correction. Applications of the method are demonstrated by studies of ,-SiC (6H, moissanite) and of micro- and nanocrystalline nickel by synchrotron X-ray and time-of-flight neutron diffraction. [source]


Influence of laser crystallization on hydrogen bonding in poly-Si

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 10 2008
N. H. Nickel
Abstract We investigate the influence of the hydrogen content in the amorphous starting material on hydrogen bonding and defect passivation in laser crystallized poly-Si using electron-spin-resonance and hydrogen effusion measurements. After laser dehydrogenation and crystallization the specimens contain a residual H concentration of 8×1021 cm,3 to 1.5×1022 cm,3. During a vacuum anneal at least 1.5×1021 cm,3 H atoms are mobile in the lattice, however, only about 3.7×1018 cm,3 H atoms passivate Si dangling-bonds. Our results show that the annealing treatment can cause the vast majority of H atoms to accumulate in H stabilized platelets. Since defect passivation preferentially occurs at grain boundaries and platelet nucleation and growth is confined to the interior of single crystal grains, H equilibration is governed by two spatially separated processes. Moreover, our data demonstrate that the hydrogen density-of-states distribution derived from H effusion data is dynamic and changes in response to experimental parameters. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Examination of an unusual grain boundary in CaF2

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 11 2004
M.E. Msall
Abstract We have examined a grain boundary in CaF2 using Phonon Imaging and Electron Backscatter Diffractometry (EBSD). Unlike the <111> twin boundary typically found in CaF2, the crystal grains on either side of the boundary are not simply related to any principle symmetry directions, and are not related to one another by symmetry operations of the cubic group. In spite of the high degree of misalignment of the crystalline lattices, phonons can pass this grain boundary without excessive energy loss. Phonon images of samples taken from different sections of the grain boundary show that the structural properties of the grain boundary are constant over a large area. Computer simulations of phonon scattering at the interface based on acoustic mismatch models demonstrate that the caustic positions are sensitive to small changes in the relative orientation of the two pieces and to the projection of the grain boundary on the image plane. EBSD gives the needed high precision measurement of the relative orientation, resulting in a superior model of phonon transmission through this very asymmetric interface. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Electrochemical Deposition and Properties of Nanometer-structure Ce-doped Lead Dioxide Film Electrode

CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2005
Shi-Yun Al
Abstract The effect of Ce(III) on the morphology and structure of deposited film of lead dioxide was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The results indicated that the Ce-doped PbO2 film consisted of a mixture of , - and , -phase of PbO2. Ce doping changed the size of PbO2 crystal grains and made the crystallite size on the electrode surface in the nanometer range. Owing to the formation of nanometer-structured grains, the specific surface areas and activity sites of the electrode surface were increased, hence the catalytic activity of Ce-doped PbO2 electrode was evidently higher than that of undoped PbO2 electrode. [source]