Recent progresses in thermal treatment of β-Ga_(2)O_(3) single crystals and devices

In recent years,ultra-wide bandgap β-Ga_(2)O_(3) has emerged as a fascinating semiconductor material due to its great potential in power and photoelectric devices.In semiconductor industrial,thermal treatment has been widely utilized as a convenient and effective approach for substrate property modulation and device fabrication.Thus,a thorough summary of β-Ga_(2)O_(3) substrates and devices behaviors after high-temperature treatment should be significant.In this review,we present the recent advances in modulating properties of β-Ga_(2)O_(3) substrates by thermal treatment,which include three major applications:(ⅰ)tuning surface electrical properties,(ⅱ)modifying surface morphology,and(ⅲ)oxidating films.Meanwhile,regulating electrical contacts and handling with radiation damage and ion implantation have also been discussed in device fabrication.In each category,universal annealing conditions were speculated to figure out the corresponding problems,and some unsolved questions were proposed clearly.This review could construct a systematic thermal treatment strategy for various purposes and applications of β-Ga_(2)O_(3).

Comparison of mechanical properties in high temperature and thermal treatment granite

Static mechanical experiments were carried out on granite after and under different temperatures using an electro-hydraulic and servo-controlled material testing machine with a heating device. Variations in obvious form, stress-strain curve, peak strength, peak strain and elastic modulus with temperature were analyzed and the essence of rock failure modes was explored. The results indicate that, compared with granite after the high temperature treatment, the brittle-ductile transition critical temperature is lower, the densification stage is longer, the elastic modulus is smaller and the damage is larger under high temperature. In addition, the peak stress is lower and the peak strain is greater, but both of them change more obviously with the increase of temperature compared with that of granite after the high temperature treatment. Furthermore, the failure modes of granite after the high temperature treatment and under high temperature show a remarkable difference. Below 100 ℃, the failure modes of granite under both conditions are the same, presenting splitting failure. However, after 100 ℃, the failure modes of granite after the high temperature treatment and under high temperature present splitting failure and shear failure, respectively.

Thermal Treatment for Decreasing the Acidity of Crude Oil

Highly acidic crude oil is thermally soaked to investigate how the temperature and time involved affect the removal of organic acid in feedstock. Experimental results indicate that thermal treatment is an effective approach to decreasing acidity and the acid removal rate reaches 80%. Temperature is one of the main factors that determine the acid removal reaction. When the temperature ranges from 420oC to 440oC, the acid removal rate increases with the rise of the reaction temperature, but the increase slows down gradually. At the reaction temperature below 440oC, the long reaction time favors the acid removal. The cracking and polymerization of hydrocarbon molecules take place so that the properties of the crude oil change at the same time when the highly acidic crude is thermally treated.

Effect of thermal treatment on energy dissipation of granite under cyclic impact loading

High temperature treatment causes thermal damage to rocks in deep mining.To study the thermal effect on the energy dissipation of rocks during the dynamic cyclic loading,cyclic impact loading experiments of heat-treated rocks were carried out using the splitting Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)experimental system.The correlations among the energy dissipation,energy dissipation rate,impact times,accumulated absorbed energy per volume,failure mode and temperature were analyzed.The results show that the reflected energy under the first impact increases and finally exceeds the absorbed energy when the temperature increases;however,the total reflected energy decreases above 200℃.The absorbed energy under the first impact and the total absorbed energy all decrease as the temperature increases,the rates of which decrease accordingly.And the same phenomenon appears for the transmitted energy and the rate of the transmitted energy.On the contrary,the rate of the reflected energy increases with the rising temperature.When the temperature increases,the fewer impact times are needed to destroy the sample.In addition,the failure modes are different when the rock is treated at different temperatures;that is,when the temperature is high,even though the absorbed energy is low,the sample breaks into powder after several impacts.

Influence of Thermal Treatments on In-depth Compositional Uniformity of Culn（S,Se）2 Thin Films

CuIn（S,Se）2 thin films were prepared by thermal crystallization of co-sputtered Cu-In alloy precursors in S/Se atmosphere. In-depth compositional uniformity is an important prereq- uisite for obtaining device-quality CuIn（S,Se）2 absorber thin films. In order to figure out the influence of heat treatments on in-depth composition uniformity of CuIn（S,Se）2 thin films, two kinds of reaction temperature profiles were investigated. One process is ＂one step profile＂, referring to formation of CuIn（S,Se）2 thin films just at elevated temperature （e.g. 500 ℃）. The other is ＂two step profile＂, which allows for slow diffusion of S and Se elements into the alloy precursors at a low temperature before the formation and re-crystallization of CuIn（S,Se）2 thin films at higher temperature （e.g. first 250 ℃ then 500 ℃）. X-ray diffrac- tion studies reveal that there is a discrepancy in the shape of （112） peak. Samples annealed with ＂one step profile＂ have splits on （112） peaks, while samples annealed with ＂two step profile＂ have relatively symmetrical （112） peaks. Grazing incident X-ray diffraction and en- ergy dispersive spectrum measurements of samples successively etched in bromine methanol show that CuIn（S,Se）2 thin films have better in-depth composition uniformity after ＂two step profile＂ annealing. The reaction mechanism during the two thermal processing was also investigated by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra.

Effects of Melt Thermal Treatment on A356 Alloy

To increase the casting quality of hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys, the effects of melt thermal treatment on the solidification structure of the A356 alloy were analyzed by a factorial experiment, in which the overheated melt was mixed with the low temperature melt. Experimental results show that the elongation ratio and strength of the treated samples increase remarkably compared with the control sample. The primary dendrite size reduces dramatically and the dendrite changes from columnar to equiaxed, with a little change of the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS). Combined with the measurement of the nucleation undercooling, it is concluded that the solidification structure and refining effect are dependent primarily on the low temperature melt. The refining mechanism is believed as a result of the multiplication of the nuclei in the melt thermal treatment procedure.

Effect of thermal treatment and ball milling on microstructure and phase transformation of Ni-Mn-Ga-Nb alloys

To clarify phase transformation evolution of Nb-doped Ni-Mn-Ga bulk alloys after aging and ball milling, the microstructure and phase transformation of the aged and ball-milled dual-phase Nb-doped Ni-Mn-Ga alloys were investigated by SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC and susceptibility measurements. The as-cast alloys were mainly composed of the second phase with layer-shape and presented a reduced martensitic transformation with increasing the second phase content. The second phase transformed from layer-shape to dense bar-shape and the martensitic transformation was enhanced after being quenched at 1173 K. After aging at 673 and 873 K, the 3% Nb alloy with less second phase exhibited a single-step phase transformation, whereas the 6% Nb and 9% Nb alloys with more second phase exhibited a two-step martensitic transformation and Curie transition. The martensitic transformation and Curie transition of the as-milled dual-phase particles disappeared and were retrieved after annealing at 1073 K due to the recovery of high ordered structure of the matrix.

Effect of Thermal Treatment and Acid Leaching Process on Pore Characteristics of Nanometer Porous Glass

Porous glass was prepared by thermally treating sodium borosilicate glass for different time, the effect of thermal treatment on pore size distribution was discussed and the pore size of the prepared porous glass was measured by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and differential thermal analysis （DTA）. The results show that the optimum porous glass with an average diameter of 80 nm can be prepared by thermal treatment at 600℃ for 12 h and then acid treatment for 12 h in 2 mol·L^-1 hydrochloric acid solution.

Impacts of freezing and thermal treatments on dimensional and mechanical properties of wood flour-HDPE composite

Wood plastic composite （WPC） of wood flour （WF）, high density polyethylene （HDPE）, maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene （MAPE） and lubricant was prepared by extrusion, and then exposed to different temperatures to evaluate the effects of freezing and thermal treatment on its dimensional and mechanical properties. At elevated temperatures, WPC expanded rapidly initially, and then contracted slowly until reaching an equilibrium state. Treatment at 52°C and relative humidity of 50% for 16 days improved the mechanical properties of WPC： flexure, tensile strength, and izod unnotched impact strength increased by 8%, 10% and 15%, respectively. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction （XRD） tests showed that the degree of crystalization of HDPE in WPC declined with increasing treatment temperature.

Investigation of the role of Ca(OH)2 in the catalytic Alkaline Thermal Treatment of cellulose to produce H2 with integrated carbon capture

The Alkaline Thermal Treatment(ATT)of biomass is one of the few biomass conversion processes that has a potential for BECCS(bio-energy with carbon capture and storage).Combining in-situ carbon capture withcreates a carbon-neutral process that has the potential to be carbon-negative.This study has shown that the conversion of cellulose tosuppressedcan be achieved through the reforming of gaseous intermediates in a fixed bed of 10%Ni/ZrO2.Reforming occurs at low temperatures≤773 K,which could allow for improved sustainability.

Microstructural Characteristic of Montmorillonite and Its Thermal Treatment Products

The montmorillonite was studied by differen t methods, such as chemical analysis, DAT, TG, X RD, IR, AFM and MAS NMR. The experimental results show that the hydroxyl in octa hedra sheets begins dehydrating when the thermal treatment temperature reaches 659℃, but th e layer structure remains the same,and the corresponding Al(Ⅵ) is turned into Al(Ⅳ) in octahedra sheets. When the temperature reaches 900℃, the layer struct ure of montmorillontite is destroyed, and the new mineral phase μ-cordierite i s found. When the temperature reaches 1200℃, the μ-cordierite phase loses its stability, and decomposes into cristobalite phase and mullite phase.Meanwhile, the recrystallization phenomenon in thermal treatment products is obvious. There is a small quantity of Al Ⅵ signal in MAS NMR spectrum, corresponding to Al of mullite. When the temperature reaches 1350℃, the cristobalite and mullite phases reduce slightly, and more Fe-cordierite phase appears, corresponding to Fe-cordierite spectrum in XRD and MAS NMR.

Spatially resolved micron-scale wrinkle structures at asphaltene films induced by mild thermal treatment and its impact on emulsion stability

Mild thermal treatment is an important partial upgrading technique to enable bitumen pipeline transportation,but no attention has been paid to the impact of mild thermal treatment on the emulsification behavior of emerging partially upgraded bitumen.Asphaltene compounds are active emulsion stabilizers in bitumen oil.The emulsion stabilizing capacity of bitumen asphaltenes was investigated,before and after a mild thermal treatment at 400℃.The structural morphology and mechanical property of the asphaltene interfacial films were analyzed by using a combination of cryo-SEM,Langmuir trough,and Brewster angle microscopy.The thermal treatment significantly enhanced the emulsion stabilizing capacity of bitumen asphaltenes;the interfacial films formed by the thermally treated asphaltene samples appeared to be rougher and thicker with more abundant micron-scale wrinkle structures.The interfacial corrugation may intensify the mechanical stability/flexibility of the asphaltene films and consequently strengthen the stability of emulsion droplet.

Preparation and thermal treatment of Pd/Ag composite membrane on a porousα-alumina tube by sequential electroless plating technique for H_2 separation

Pd/Ag/α-Al2O3 composite membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy techniques （ICP-AES）. Effects of annealing time, Ag content, and air treatment on the hydrogen permeation flux and morphology of the alloys were investigated. The results of the investigation showed that the prepared type of tube had a good potential as substrate for membrane preparation. In addition, a uniform defect-free alloy was prepared by annealing at 550 ℃ in H2 atmosphere. The permeation results showed an increase in H2 permeation flux by increasing the Ag content and the annealing time. In addition, the air treatment of the prepared membranes at 400 ℃ for 1 h changed the morphology of the alloy and substantially enhanced the hydrogen flux.

Influence of Thermal Treatment on the Structure and Thermal Properties of Kaolin Modified Polyester Fibers

Modified polyester fibers were obtained using 2% and 6% of kaolin blends through melt spinning.The influences of two thermal treatments maintaining the original tension(180 ℃×2 min and 200 ℃×1 min)on the structure and properties of fiber were compared.The changes of grain size and crystallinity of fiber were investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD).The changes of thermal properties of fibers were analyzed using dynamic mechanical analyzer(DMA).The results show that the crystalline structure of kaolin modified polyester fiber doesn't change with the thermal treatment.With the kaolin content increasing,the grain size of fiber changed.The higher the thermal treatment temperature is,the higher the crystallinity of fiber is.There are two glass-transition temperatures for kaolin modified:the lower one is the glass-transition temperature of polyester fiber matrix,and the higher one is derived from the heterogeneous blend of polyester matrix and nano kaolin.The higher the kaolin content is,the higher the glass-transition temperature is.Thermal treatment could increase the compatibility of polyester matrix and nano kaolin.There was only one glass-transition temperature for the thermal treatment fiber,and the heat resistance of fiber was improved.Thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry(TGA-DSC)results of kaolin modified polyethylene terephthalate(PET)matrix indicate that the decomposition temperature of PET fibers,kaolin modified PET fibers,and thermal treated fibers were little different within 40%-60% of weight loss rate range.

Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Properties of TEMPO Oxidized Cellulose Film for the Flexible Substrate of Solar Cell

The 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl(TEMPO)oxidized cellulose film(TOCF)has been attempted to be used as a substrate in electronic and optoelectronic devices,but the changes in the TOCF properties before and after annealing treatment have usually been neglected during device fabrication.In this study,TOCF was treated in different atmospheres(air,vacuum,and N2)and at different temperatures,and the properties were investigated.The results indicate that the optical properties are slightly affected by atmosphere and temperature;only slight transmittance loss and haze increase have been observed when TOCF is exposed to an air atmosphere at temperatures of above 120℃.In contrast to the slight effects on the optical properties,cellulose degradation and a loss of film strength have been observed regardless of the atmosphere used when placed at temperatures of above 100℃.Specifically,TOCF was exposed to air,followed by N2 and vacuum atmospheres.Additional Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR)and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)results showed that increasing the temperature had no significant effect on the structure of TOCF.Therefore,the annealing temperature should be controlled at a temperature of lower than 100℃and a vacuum atmosphere is preferred.

End-of-life vehicles processing,towards a thermal treatment of auto shredder residue

All over the world,the management of End-of-life Vehicles(ELV) and Automobile Shredder Residue(ASR) is an increasing issue for the car industry.The setting up of several environmental directives,among others the notion of extended producer responsibility,encourage car manufacturers to find alternatives solutions to waste disposal.For 2017,China aims for the recyclability and energy recovery of 95% of total weight of used cars,and in order to reach this rate,the development of some ASR thermal processes could be envisaged.With this research,an overview of ELV management was given and the different solutions about ASR thermal treatment were presented.It is showed that in spite of its big heterogeneity,the high heating value of ASR makes pyrolysis and gasification very interesting,compared to incineration or disposal of in landfills.

Influence of coke rate on thermal treatment of waste selective catalytic reduction(SCR)catalyst during iron ore sintering

Waste selective catalytic reduction(SCR)catalyst as a hazardous waste has a significant impact on the environment and human health.In present study,a novel technology for thermal treatment of waste SCR catalyst was proposed by adding it to sinter mix for iron ore sintering.The influences of coke rate on the flame front propagation,sinter microstructure,and sinter quality during sintering co-processing the waste SCR catalyst process were studied.In situ tests results indicated the maximum sintering bed temperature increased at higher coke rate,indicating more liquid phase generated and higher airflow resistance.The sintering time was longer and the calculated flame front speed dropped at higher coke rate.Sinter microstructure results found the coalescence and reshaping of bubbles were more fully with increasing coke rate.The porosity dropped from 35.28%to 25.66%,the pore average diameter of large pores decreased from 383.76μm to 311.43μm.With increasing coke rate,the sinter indexes of tumbler index,productivity,and yield,increased from 33.2%,9.2 t·m^(-2)·d^(-1),28.9%to 58.0%,36.0 t·m^(-2)·d^(-1),68.9%,respectively.Finally,a comprehensive index was introduced to systematically assess the influence of coke rate on sinter quality,which rose from 100 to 200 when coke rate was increased from 3.5%(mass)to 5.5%(mass).

Alteration of diaspore by thermal treatment

Diaspore （α-AlOOH） was heated at various temperatures from 300 to 1 000 ℃ for 2 h. The alteration of diaspore by thermal treatment was investigated by differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The mechanism of thermal decomposition of diaspore was discussed according to the Coats-Redfern （equation.） It is found that after thermal treatment at 500 ℃, diaspore is transformed entirely to corundum （（α-Al2O3）.） Combined with the mass loss ratio obtained from the thermogravimetric analysis data, the activation energies for the thermal treatment of diaspore are calculated as Ea=10.4 kJ/mol below 400 ℃ and Eb=47.5 kJ/mol above 400 ℃, respectively, which is directly related to the structural alteration of diaspore during the thermal treatment. The results indicate that the thermal decomposition of diaspore is conducted primarily by means of an interfacial reaction.

The effects of radio frequency atmospheric pressure plasma and thermal treatment on the hydrogenation of TiO_(2) thin film

The effects of radio frequency(RF)atmospheric pressure(AP)He/H_(2)plasma and thermal treatment on the hydrogenation of TiO_(2)thin films were investigated and compared in this work.The color of the original TiO_(2)film changes from white to black after being hydrogenated in He/H_(2)plasma at160 W(gas temperature~381℃)within 5 min,while the color of the thermally treated TiO_(2)film did not change significantly even in pure H_(2)or He/H_(2)atmosphere with higher temperature(470℃)and longer time(30 min).This indicated that a more effective hydrogenation reaction happened through RF AP He/H_(2)plasma treatment than through pure H_(2)or He/H_(2)thermal treatment.The color change of TiO_(2)film was measured based on the Commission Internationale d’Eclairage L*a*b*color space system.Hydrogenated TiO_(2)film displayed improved visible light absorption with increased plasma power.The morphology of the cauliflower-like nanoparticles of the TiO_(2)film surface remained unchanged after plasma processing.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the contents of Ti3+species and Ti-OH bonds in the plasma-hydrogenated black TiO_(2)increased compared with those in the thermally treated TiO_(2).X-ray diffraction(XRD)patterns and Raman spectra indicated that plasma would destroy the crystal structure of the TiO_(2)surface layer,while thermal annealing would increase the overall crystallinity.The different trends of XRD and Raman spectra results suggested that plasma modification on the TiO_(2)surface layer is more drastic than on its inner layer,which was also consistent with transmission electron microscopy results.Optical emission spectra results suggest that numerous active species were generated during RF AP He/H_(2)plasma processing,while there were no peaks detected from thermal processing.A possible mechanism for the TiO_(2)hydrogenation process by plasma has been proposed.Numerous active species were generated in the bulk plasma region,accelerated in the sheath region,and bumped toward the TiO_(2)film,which will react with the TiO_(2)surface to form OVs and disordered layers.This leads to the tailoring of the band gap of black TiO_(2)and causes its light absorption to extend into the visible region.

Effects of Thermal Treatments on Helium Retention and Thermal Desorption Behaviors in a V-4Ti Aalloy

Vanadium alloys are considered as the promising first wall and structure materials of the future fusion reactors owing to their perfect low neutron-induced radioactivity and good high temperature performance. Helium retention and thermal desorption behaviors are key issues for the applications of vanadium alloys in fusion reactors since helium can be produced by helium discharge cleaning and neutron transmutation. A. van Veen groupt investigated helium trapping and thermal desorption mechanisms in vanadium alloys by using 1 keV helium ion irradiation to the fluence of 10^13～10^14He/cm^2, and the influenee of pre-annealing treatments on helium trapping. Two group of peaks were found at the thermal helium desorption spectrum. They thought one was due to helium-vacancyimpurity clusters and the other was corresponding to helium trapping into pre-existing traps, such as fine-size precipitates.