Morphology, Growth Process and Symmetry of {0001} Face on Yb:YAl_3(BO_3)_4 Crystal

The {0001} face develops on the habit of self-frequency doubling laser crystal Yb: YAI3(B03)4 (YbYAB) only under high growth rate condition, and its morphology is rough. To study the growth mechanism of {0001} face, we have observed the growth morphology on {0001} polishing section by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A series of AFM images captured in different growth durations on the {0001} polishing section reflect the crystal growth process. It is shown that the growth morphology on the {0001} polishing section was rough with many hillocks at the first growth stage, and it can become smooth finally, although the growth morphology on the {0001} face developed naturally on YbYAB crystal habit is always rough. On the smooth {0001} surface formed at the last growth stage, there are some triangular pits. This fact is different from that of hillocks in most crystal growth morphologies. AFM can easily distinguish the pits or hillocks on the surface, but differential interfere contrast microscopy (DIC) can not do. The orientation of the triangular pits is just the opposite to the triangular {0001} faces. The chemical etching pattern is also composed of this kind of triangular pits. These growth morphology and etching pattern of the {0001} faces show 3m symmetry, but the point group of YbYAB crystal is 32. The symmetric contradiction between morphology and point group does not exist for quartz, although which has the same point group as YbYAB. From quartz {0001} surface morphology we can distinguish the right form or left form of the crystal, but from YbYAB {0001} surface morphology we can not do. The reason for the symmetric contradiction between YbYAB {0001} surface morphology and its point group is not known yet.

Sputtering pressure influence on growth morphology, surface roughness, and electrical resistivity for strong anisotropy beryllium film

The strong anisotropy beryllium （Be） films are fabricated at different sputtering pressures by direct current magnetron sputtering. With the increase of pressure, the deposition rate of Be film first increases, and when the pressure exceeds 0.8 Pa, it gradually descends. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that Be film is of α-Be phase, its surface always reveals the （101） crystal plane possessing the low surface energy. As for the growth morphology of Be film, the surface is mainly characterized by the fibrous grains, while the cross section shows a transition from a columnar grain to a mixed grain consisting of a cone-shaped grain and a columnar grain as the sputtering pressure increases. The large grain fraction decays exponentially from 75.0% to 59.3% with the increase of sputtering pressure p, which can improve the grain size uniformity. The surface roughness increases due to the insufficient atom diffusion, which is comparable to its decrease due to the etching effect at p 〈 0.8 Pa, while it increases drastically at p 〉 0.8 Pa, and this increase is dominated by the atom diffusion. The electrical resistivity values of Be films range from 1.7 μΩ m to 2.7 μΩ m in the range 0.4 Pa-1.2 Pa, which is 50 times larger than the bulk resistivity.

Growth Habit of the Basic Oxysulfate Magnesium Whisker

The growth habit of the basic magnesium oxysulfate whisker was investigated based on the theoreticalmodelof anion coordination polyhedron growth units.It is found that typicalbasic magnesium oxysulfate whisker growth is consistent with anion tetrahedralcoordination incorporation rules.The growth units of basic magnesium oxysulfate whiskers are [Mg-（OH）_4]^（2-） and HSO_4^-.[Mg-（OH）_4]^（2-） is the favorable growth unit and whisker growth is in the direction of the [Mg-（OH）_4]^（2-） combination.A plurality of [Mg-（OH）_4]^（2-） s combine and become a larger dimensionalgrowth unit in a one-dimensionaldirection.Then HSO_4^- and larger dimensionalgrowth units connect as basic magnesium sulfate whiskers,according to the structuralcharacteristics of the basic magnesium sulfate whisker,which can guide the synthesis of magnesium hydroxide whisker.

Microstructure and growth morphology of Frank-Kasper phase in rapidly solidified Mg_(32)Al_(17)Zn_(32) ternary alloys

In the present investigation, the microstructures and growth morphology of Mg32（Al,Zn）49 Frank-Kasper phase in rapidly solidified Mg32Al17Zn32 temary alloys were studied in detail. The samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction analysis （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM） and energy dispersive spectrum （EDS）. The results show that the microstructures mainly consist of Mg3e（Al,Zn）49 Frank-Kasper phase and interdendritic Mg-rich O-phase. Under rapid solidification condition, Mg32（Al,Zn）49 Frank-Kasper phase reveals a perfect faceted dendritic characteristic in the shape of a three-fold symmetric microstructure with doublet tips in the axes direction. Observations for fracture surfaces show that the growth morphology of Mg32（Al,Zn）49 grains was truncated cubic, and its growth mechanism was also discussed.

GROWTH MORPHOLOGIES OF A BINARY ALLOY WITH LOW ANISOTROPY IN DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION

Two new classes of growth morphologies, called doublons and seaweed, were simulated using a phase-field method. The evolution of doublon and seaweed morphologies was obtained in directional solidification. The influence of orientation and velocity on the growth morphology was investigated. It was indicated that doublons preferred growing with its crystallographic axis aligned with the heat flow direction. Seaweed, on the other hand, could be obtained by tilting the crystalline axis to 45°. Stable doublons could only exist in a range of velocity regime. Beyond this regime the patterns formed would be unstable. The simulation results agreed with the reported experimental results qualitatively.

Effect of thermal aging on the fatigue crack growth behavior of cast duplex stainless steels

The effect of thermal aging on the fatigue crack growth（FCG） behavior of Z3CN20？09M cast duplex stainless steel with low ferrite content was investigated in this study. The crack surfaces and crack growth paths were analyzed to clarify the FCG mechanisms. The microstructure and micromechanical properties before and after thermal aging were also studied. Spinodal decomposition in the aged ferrite phase led to an increase in the hardness and a decrease in the plastic deformation capacity, whereas the hardness and plastic deformation capacity of the austenite phase were almost unchanged after thermal aging. The aged material exhibited a better FCG resistance than the unaged material in the near-threshold regime because of the increased roughness-induced crack closure associated with the tortuous crack path and rougher fracture surface; however, the tendency was reversed in the Paris regime because of the cleavage fracture in the aged ferrite phases.

Investigation on the icosahedral quasicrystal phase in Mg_(70.8)Zn_(28)Nd_(1.2) alloy

Mg70.8Zn28Nd1.2（mole fraction） alloy containing icosahedral quasicrystal phase （I-phase） was prepared under conventional metal casting conditions. The microstructure, phase constitution and phase structure of the alloy were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The resuits showed that the spherical phase in Mg70.8Zn28Nd1.2 alloy was a simple icosahedral quasicrystal with stoichiometric composition of Mg40Zn55Nd5 and quasi-lattice of 0.525 nm. In this research, the as-cast microstructure of Mg70.8Zn28Nd1.2 alloy mainly consisted of Mg40Zn55Nd5 icosahedral quasicrystal phase and Mg7Zn3 columnar crystal matrix. In the growing process of Mg40Zn55Nd5 icosahedral quasicrystal phase, the growth morphology mainly depended on interface energy, adsorption effect of Nd and cooling rate.

ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY OBSERVATION OF MAGNETRON SPUTTERED ALUMINUM－SILICON ALLOY FILMS

wo different surface morphology characteristics of magnetron sputtered aluminumsilicon(Al-Si)alloy films deposited at 0 and 200℃ were observed by atomic force microscopy(AFM).One is irregularly shaped grains put togther on a plane.The other is irregularly shaped grains Piled up in space. Nanometer-sized particles with heights from 1.6 to 2.9 nm were first observed. On the basis of these observations the growth mechanism of magnetron sputtered films is discussed.

Influence of synthesis temperatures on the crystalline grain growth and morphology of lanthanum magnesium hexaaluminate

Lanthanum magnesium hexaaluminate（LaMgAl（11）O（19）, LMA） was prepared at different temperatures by solid-state reaction. Phase compositions and crystal morphologies of specimens synthesized at different temperatures were investigated using X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. It was observed that the crystalline grain size of LMA was not only dependent on the preparation temperature but also on its powder morphology. In the temperature range of 1300 e1550℃, LMA showed platelet grain and the average crystalline grain size increases with the increase in temperature. At1600℃, if the powder was sintered for two times, the equiaxed grain could be found with the decrease in grain space, resulting in the reduction of the crystalline grain size. Styles of specimens（powder or disk） might have no obvious influence on morphologies and sizes of LMA crystalline grains which were synthesized with the well-dispersed raw material mixtures. The synthesis temperature played a key role in influencing the free space for the formation and growth of crystalline grains.

Microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis of ZSM-22 zeolite with controllable crystal lengths

ZSM-22 （TON） zeolite crystal morphology was successfully controlled using a microwave-assisted solvothermal fabrication method. Different co-solvents, including ethanol, 2-propanol, glycerol, and ethylene glycol, were also applied in the synthesis mixture. The effects of various parameters such as the aging time, the type and amount of co-solvent on the ZSM-22 crystal aspect ratio were investigated. When employing this microwave irradiation synthesis, a long aging time was crucial to obtain smaller and more uniform crystal sizes. The addition of co-solvent resulted in elongated ZSM-22 crystals, regard- less of the actual co-solvent used, although ZSM-22 zeolite crystallinity was sensitive to the co-solvent type. In general, the use of a co-solvent stimulated the appearance of ZSM-5 zeolite as an impurity and the amount of this impurity was proportional to the concentration of co-solvent in the synthesis mixture.