The electrical and interfacial properties of HfO2/Al2O3 and Al2O3/HfO2 dielectrics on AlN/p-Ge interface prepared by thermal atomic layer deposition are investigated by capacitance–voltage(C–V) and current–voltage(I–V) measurements. In the C–V measurements, humps related to mid-gap states are observed when the ac frequency is below 100 kHz, revealing lower mid-gap states for the HfO2/Al2O3 sample. Higher frequency dispersion in the inversion region is observed for the Al2O3/HfO2 sample, indicating the presence of slow interface states A higher interface trap density calculated from the high-low frequency method is observed for the Al2O3/HfO2 sample. The parallel conductance method, applied to the accumulation region, shows border traps at 0.3~0.32 eV for the Al2O3/HfO2 sample, which are not observed for the Al2O3/HfO2 sample. I–V measurements show a reduction of leakage current of about three orders of magnitude for the HfO2/Al2O3 sample. Using the Fowler-Nordheim emission, the barrier height is calculated and found to be about 1.08 eV for the HfO2/Al2O3 sample. Based on these results, it is suggested that HfO2/Al2O3 is a better dielectric stack than Al2O3/HfO2 on AlN/p-Ge interface.
A lead-free bulk ceramic having a chemical formula Ba0.8Ca0.2(Ti0.8Zr0.1Ce0.1)O3 (further termed as BCTZCO) is synthesized using mixed oxide route. The structural, dielectric, impedance, and conductivity properties, as well as the modulus of the synthesized sample are discussed in the present work. Analysis of X-ray diffraction data obtained at room temperature reveals the existence of some impurity phases. The natural surface morphology shows close packing of grains with few voids. Attempts have been made to study the (a) effect of microstructures containing grains, grain boundaries, and electrodes on impedance and capacitive characteristics, (b) relationship between properties and crystal structure, and (c) nature of the relaxation mechanism of the prepared samples. The relationship between the structure and physical properties is established. The frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties reveal that this complex system has a high dielectric constant and low tangent loss. An analysis of impedance and related parameters illuminates the contributions of grains. The activation energy is determined for only the high temperature region in the temperature dependent AC conductivity graph. Deviation from the Debye behavior is seen in the Nyquist plot at different temperatures. The relaxation mechanism and the electrical transport properties in the sample are investigated with the help of various spectroscopic (i.e., dielectric, modulus, and impedance) techniques. This lead free sample will serve as a base for device engineering.
The magnetic properties and electronic structures of the B20 crystal structure MnGe and MnSi were investigated using the density functional theory with local density approximation. The low symmetry of the B20 crystal structure plays a very important role to make electromagnetic characteristics of these materials. The important result of the calculations is that it can be observed the appearance of a pair of gaps in the density of states near the Fermi level in both compounds. These features are results from d-band splitting by the low symmetry of the crystal field from B20 crystal structure. It can be seen that there is half-metallic characteristics from the density of states in both compounds. The calculation shows that the value of magnetic moment of MnGe is 5 times bigger than that of MnSi even though they have same crystal structure. The electronic structures of paramagnetic case have a very narrow indirect gap just above the Fermi level in both compounds. These gaps acquire some significance in establishing the stability of the ferromagnetic states within the local density approximation. Calculation shows that the Mn 3d character dominates the density of states near the Fermi level in both materials.
Currently, the Korean nuclear industry uses ZIRLO as material for nuclear fuel cladding(zirconium alloy). KEPCO Nuclear Fuel is in the process of developing a HANA alloy to enable domestic production of cladding. Cladding manufacture involves multistage heat treatments and pickling processes, the latter of which is vital for the removal of defects and impurities on the cladding surface. SMUT that forms on the cladding surface during such pickling process is a source of surface defects during heat treatment and post-treatment processes if not removed. This study analyzes ZIRLO, HANA-4, and HANA-6 alloy claddings to extensively study the SEM/EDS, XRD, and particle size characteristics of SMUT, which are second phase particles that are formed on the cladding surface during pickling processes. Using the analysis results, this study observes SMUT formation characteristics according to Nb concentration in Zr alloys during the washing process following the pickling process. In addition, this study observes SMUT removal characteristics on cladding surfaces according to concentrations of nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid in the acid solution.
In this study, we prepare pure WO3 inverse opal(IO) film with a thickness of approximately 3 μm by electrodeposition, and an ultra-thin TiO2 layer having a thickness of 2 nm is deposited on WO3 IO film by atomic layer deposition. Both sets of photoelectrochemical properties are evaluated after developing dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). In addition, morphological, crystalline and optical properties of the developed films are evaluated through field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and UV/ visible/infrared spectrophotometry. In particular, pure WO3 IO based DSSCs show low VOC, JSC and fill factor of 0.25 V, 0.89 mA/cm2 and 18.9 %, achieving an efficiency of 0.04 %, whereas the TiO2/WO3 IO based DSSCs exhibit VOC, JSC and fill factor of 0.57 V, 1.18 mA/cm2 and 50.1 %, revealing an overall conversion efficiency of 0.34 %, probably attributable to the high dye adsorption and suppressed charge recombination reaction.
In this study, the correlation between microstructure and Charpy impact properties of FCAW(Flux cored arc welding) HAZ(Heat affected zone) of thick steel plates for offshore platforms was investigated. The 1/4 thickness(1/4t) location HAZ specimen had a higher volume fraction of bainite and finer grain size of acicular ferrite than those of the 1/2 thickness (1/2t) location HAZ specimen because of the post heat effect during the continuous FCAW process. The Charpy impact energy at -20 oC of the 1/4t location HAZ specimen was lower than that of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen because of the high volume fraction of coarse bainite. The Charpy impact energy at -40 and -60 oC of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen were higher than those of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen because the ductile fracture occurred in the fine acicular ferrite and martensite regions. In the ductile fracture mode, the deformed regions were observed in fine acicular ferrite and martensite regions. In the brittle fracture mode, long crack propagation path was observed in bainite regions.
Zn-ion supercapacitors (ZICs) show high energy densities with long cycling life for use in electronic devices. Porous Zn electrodes as anodes for ZICs are fabricated by chemical etching process using optimized conditions. The structures, morphologies, chemical bonding states, porous structure, and electrochemical behavior are examined. The optimized porous Zn electrode shows a root mean square of roughness of 173 nm and high surface area of 153 μm2. As a result, ZIC using the optimized porous Zn electrode presents excellent electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance of 399 F g−1 at current density of 0.5 A g−1, high-rate performance (79 F g−1 at a current density of 10.0 A g−1), and outstanding cycling stability (99 % after 1,500 cycles). The development of energy storage performance using synergistic effects of high roughness and high surface area is due to increased electroactive sites by surface functionalization of Zn electrode. Thus, our strategy will lead to a rational design and contribute to next-generation supercapacitors in the near future.
In this study, the effect of carbon equivalent and cooling rate on microstructure and hardness of A516 steels for pressure vessel is investigated. Six kinds of specimens are fabricated by varying carbon equivalent and cooling rate, and their microstructures and hardness levels are analyzed. Specimens with low carbon equivalent consist of ferrite and pearlite. As the cooling rate increases, the size of pearlite decreases slightly. The specimens with high carbon equivalent and rapid cooling rates of 10 and 20 oC/s consist of not only ferrite and pearlite but also bainite structure, such as granular bainite, acicular ferrite, and bainite ferrite. As the cooling rate increases, the volume fractions of bainite structure increase and the effective grain size decreases. The effective grain sizes of granular bainite, acicular ferrite, and bainitic ferrite are ~20, ~5, and ~10 μm, respectively. In the specimens with bainite structure, the volume fractions of acicular ferrite and bainitic ferrite, with small effective grains, increase as cooling rate increases, and so the hardness increases significantly.