Review of solution growth techniques for 4H-SiC single crystal

Silicon carbide(SiC),a group IV compound and wide-bandgap semiconductor for high-power,high-frequency and high-temperature devices,demonstrates excellent inherent properties for power devices and specialized high-end markets.Solution growth is thermodynamically favorable for producing SiC single crystal ingots with ultra-low dislocation density as the crystallization is driven by the supersaturation of carbon dissolved in Si-metal solvents.Meanwhile,solution growth is conducive to the growth of both N-and P-type SiC,with doping concentrations ranging from 10^(14)to 10^(19)cm^(-3).To date,4-inch 4H-SiC substrates with a thickness of 15 mm produced by solution growth have been unveiled,while substrates of 6 inches and above are still under development.Based on top-seeded solution growth(TSSG),several growth techniques have been developed including solution growth on a concave surface(SGCS),melt-back,accelerated crucible rotation technique(ACRT),two-step growth,and facet growth.Multi-parameters of the solution growth including meniscus,solvent design,flow control,dislocation conversion,facet growth,and structures of graphite components make high-quality single crystal growth possible.In this paper,the solution growth techniques and corresponding parameters involved in SiC bulk growth were reviewed.

Formation of Pd-Ni Based Bulk Metallic Glasses

Bulk metallic glasses are prepared in Pd4o.sNi4o.sSixP19-x （x = 0-14 at.%） alloys by a combination of flux treatment and water quenching technique. It is found that the thermal stability of the Pd4o.sNi4o.sSixP19=x glassy alloys depends on the addition of Si content. Among the Pd4o.sNi4o.sSixP19=x glassy alloys studied, the Pd4o.sNi4o.sSisPls bulk metallic glass exhibits the largest supercooled liquid region （△T = 119 K） and the highest activation energy of crystallization （283.3k J/tool）, showing enhanced glass formation ability and extraordinary glassy thermal stability.

Fabrication,magnetostriction properties and applications of Tb-Dy-Fe alloys:a review

As an excellent giant-magnetostrictive material, Tb-Dy-Fe alloys(based on Tb0.27-0.30Dy0.73-0.70Fe1.9-2Laves compound) can be applied in many engineering fields, such as sonar transducer systems, sensors, and micro-actuators. However, the cost of the rare earth elements Tb and Dy is too high to be widely applied for the materials. Nowadays, there are two different ways to substitute for these alloying elements. One is to partially replace Tb or Dy by cheaper rare earth elements, such as Pr, Nd, Sm and Ho; and the other is to use non-rare earth elements, such as Co, Al, Mn, Si, Ce, B, Be and C, to substitute Fe to form single MgCu_2-type Laves phase and a certain amount of Re-rich phase, which can reduce the brittleness and improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy. This paper systemically introduces the development, the fabrication methods and the corresponding preferred growth directions of Tb-Dy-Fe alloys. In addition, the effects of alloying elements and heat treatment on magnetostrictive and mechanical properties of Tb-Dy-Fe alloys are also reviewed, respectively. Finally, some possible applications of Tb-Dy-Fe alloys are presented.

Measurement of temperature inside die and estimation of interfacial heat transfer coefficient in squeeze casting

As an advanced near-net shape technology, squeeze casting is an excellent method for producing high integrity castings. Numerical simulation is a very effective method to optimize squeeze casting process, and the interfacial heat transfer coefficient(IHTC) is an important boundary condition in numerical simulation. Therefore, the study of the IHTC is of great significance. In the present study, experiments were conducted and a "plate shape" aluminum alloy casting was cast in H13 steel die. In order to obtain accurate temperature readings inside the die, a special temperature sensor units(TSU) was designed. Six 1 mm wide and 1 mm deep grooves were machined in the sensor unit for the placement of the thermocouples whose tips were welded to the end wall. Each groove was machined to terminate at a particular distance(1, 3, and 6 mm) from the front end of the sensor unit. Based on the temperature measurements inside the die, the interfacial heat transfer coefficient(IHTC) at the metal-die interface was determined by applying an inverse approach. The acquired data were processed by a low pass filtering method based on Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). The feature of the IHTC at the metal-die interface was discussed.

Numerical simulation on vacuum solution heat treatment and gas quenching process of a low rhenium-containing Ni-based single crystal turbine blade

Numerical heat-transfer and turbulent flow model for an industrial high-pressure gas quenching vacuum furnace was established to simulate the heating, holding and gas fan quenching of a low rhenium-bearing Ni-based single crystal turbine blade. The mesh of simplified furnace model was built using finite volume method and the boundary conditions were set up according to the practical process. Simulation results show that the turbine blade geometry and the mutual shielding among blades have significant influence on the uniformity of the temperature distribution. The temperature distribution at sharp corner, thin wall and corner part is higher than that at thick wall part of blade during heating, and the isotherms show a toroidal line to the center of thick wall. The temperature of sheltered units is lower than that of the remaining part of blade. When there is no shelteration among multiple blades, the temperature distribution for all blades is almost identical. The fluid velocity field, temperature field and cooling curves of the single and multiple turbine blades during gas fan quenching were also simulated. Modeling results indicate that the loading tray, free outlet and the location of turbine blades have important influences on the flow field. The high-speed gas flows out from the nozzle is divided by loading tray, and the free outlet enhanced the two vortex flow at the end of the furnace door. The closer the blade is to the exhaust outlet and the nozzle, the greater the flow velocity is and the more adequate the flow is. The blade geometry has an effect on the cooling for single blade and multiple blades during gas fan quenching, and the effects in double layers differs from that in single layer. For single blade, the cooing rate at thin-walled part is lower than that at thick-walled part, the cooling rate at sharp corner is greater than that at tenon and blade platform, and the temperature at regions close to the internal position is decreased more slowly than that close to the surface. For multiple blades in single layer, the temperature at sharp corner or thin wall in the blade that close to the nozzles is much lower, and the temperature distribution of blades is almost parallel. The cooling rate inside the air current channel is lower than that of at the position near blade platform and tenon, and the effect of blade location to the nozzles on the temperature field inside the blade is lower than that on the blade surface. For multiple blades in double layers, the flow velocity is low, and the flow is not uniform for blades in the second-layer due to the shielding of blades in the first-layer. the cooling rate of blades in the second-layer is lower than that in the first-layer. The cooling rate of blade close to the nozzles in the first-layer is the higher than that of blade away from the nozzles in the second-layer, and the temperature distribution on blades in the same layer is almost parallel. The cooling rate in thin wall position of blade away from the nozzles is larger than that in tenon of the blade closer to the nozzles in the same layer. The cooling rate for blades in the secondlayer is much lower both in thin wall and tenon for blades away from the nozzles.

Cellular automaton simulation of peritectic solidification of a C-Mn steel

A cellular automaton model has been developed to simulate the microstructure evolution of a C-Mn steel during the peritectic solidification. In the model, the thermodynamics and solute diffusion of multi-component systems were taken into account by using Thermo-Calc and Dictra software package. Scheil model was used to predict the relationship between the solid fraction and the temperature, which was used to calculate the movement velocity of the L/δ and the L/γ interfaces. A mixed-mode model in multi-component systems was adopted to calculate the movement velocity of the δ/γ interface. To validate the cellular automaton model, the variation of manganese distribution was studied. The simulated results showed a good agreement with experimental results reported in literatures. Meanwhile, the simulated growth kinetics of peritectic solidification agreed well with the experimental results obtained using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). The model can simulate the growth kinetics of the peritectic solidification and the distribution of concentrations of all components in grains.

Numerical simulation of microstructure evolution and microsegregation of U-Nb alloy during solidification process

In this work, a cellular automaton model has been developed to simulate the microstructure evolution of U-Nb alloy during the solidification process. The preferential growth orientation, solute redistribution in both liquid and solid, solid/liquid interface solute conservation, interface curvature and the growth anisotropy were considered in the model. The model was applied to simulate the dendrite growth and Nb microsegregation behavior of U-5.5 Nb alloy during solidification, and the predicted results showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The effects of cooling rates on the solidification microstructure and composition distribution of U-5.5 Nb were investigated by using the developed model. The results show that with the increase of the cooling rate, the average grain size decreases and the Nb microsegregation increases.

A study of metal/die interfacial heat transfer behavior of vacuum die cast pure copper

High pressure die casting copper is used to produce rotors for induction motors to improve efficiency.Experiments were carried out for a special"step-shape"casting with different step thicknesses.Based on the measured temperature inside the die,the interfacial heat transfer coefficient(IHTC)at the metal/die interface during vacuum die casting was evaluated by solving the inverse problem.The IHTC peak value was 4.5×10^3-11×10^3 W·m^-2·K^-1 under the basic operation condition.The influences of casting pressure,fast shot speed,pouring temperature and initial die surface temperature on the IHTC peak values were investigated.Results show that a greater casting pressure and faster shot speed could only increase the IHTC peak values at the location close to the ingate.An increase of pouring temperature and/or initial die surface temperature significantly increases the IHTC peak values.

Superomniphobic surfaces for easy-removals of environmentalrelated liquids after icing and melting

Superhydrophobic surfaces often lose the easy-removal ability of liquids during icing&melting cycles due to the impalement phenomena of air pockets.Especially for the most common mixed liquids in normal life,their difficult-removals after icing and melting have brought colossal troubles in the fields of aviation,energy,biomedicine,etc.Here we adopt the ultrafast laser to fabricate the optimal micro-nanostructured surfaces,realizing excellent superomniphobicity for seven environmental-related liquids.It is demonstrated that different droplets on the surfaces recover well to the original Cassie-Baxter state after melting,and can be removed easily at low tilted angles.The ice adhesion strengths of the seven liquids as low as 5 kPa and the micro-nanostructure durability ensure the long-term easy-removal after icing.Compared with the ice adhesion strength of untreated surfaces(264.4±17.6 kPa),those of our designed surfaces have decreased by over 50 times.Icing and melting processes are investigated to reveal the easy-removal mechanisms that specifically distributed solutes and bubbles after icing impact downwards significantly to accelerate the recovery of the Cassie–Baxter state during melting.A series of environmental-related durability experiments including continuous icing&melting cycles,long-term salt spray,and high-pressure water jet impact further demonstrate the surfaces promising for real applications.

Dual-Material Electron Beam Selective Melting:Hardware Development and Validation Studies

Electron beam selective melting(EBSM) is an additive manufacturing technique that directly fabricates three-dimensional parts in a layerwise fashion by using an electron beam to scan and melt metal powder. In recent years, EBSM has been successfully used in the additive manufacturing of a variety of materials. Previous research focused on the EBSM process of a single material. In this study, a novel EBSM process capable of building a gradient structure with dual metal materials was developed, and a powder-supplying method based on vibration was put forward. Two different powders can be supplied individually and then mixed. Two materials were used in this study: Ti6Al4 V powder and Ti47Al2Cr2 Nb powder. Ti6Al4 V has excellent strength and plasticity at room temperature, while Ti47Al2Cr2 Nb has excellent performance at high temperature, but is very brittle. A Ti6Al4V/Ti47Al2Cr2 Nb gradient material was successfully fabricated by the developed system. The microstructures and chemical compositions were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis. Results showed that the interface thickness was about 300 μm. The interface was free of cracks, and the chemical compositions exhibited a staircase-like change within the interface.

Fabrication,properties,and applications of open-cell aluminum foams:A review

Open-cell metallic foams or porous metals have a distinctive combination of excellent structural performance and superior functional characteristics,such as their light weight,energy absorption,sound absorption,heat dissipation,and electromagnetic shielding.As a primary representative of metallic foams,aluminum foam has developed into a new engineering material with many unique applications in the fields of aerospace,automotive industry,petrochemical industry,building materials,and etc.This paper summarizes the fabrication methods,properties,and applications of open-cell aluminum foams.The current status and development trends are also introduced.

Experimental study and cellular automaton simulation on solidification microstructure of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy

The solidification microstructure of Mg-Gd-YZr alloy was investigated via an experimental study and cellular automaton(CA)simulation.In this study,stepshaped castings were produced,and the temperature variation inside the casting was recorded using thermocouples during the solidification process.The effects of the cooling rate and Zr content on the grain size of the Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy were studied.The results showed that the grain size decreased with an increase in the cooling rate and Zr content.Based on the experimental data,a quantitative model for calculating the heterogeneous nucleation rate was developed,and the model parameters were determined.The evolution of the solidification microstructure was simulated using the CA method,where the quantitative nucleation model was used and a solute partition ceoefficient was introduced to deal with the solute trapping in front of the solid-liquid(S/L)interface.The simulation results of the grain size were in good agreement with the experimental data.The simulation also showed that the fraction of the eutectics decreased with an increasing cooling rate in the range of 2.6-11.0℃·s^(-1),which was verified indirectly by the experimental data.

Phase-field-lattice Boltzmann simulation of dendrite growth under natural convection in multicomponent superalloy solidification

The thermosolutal convection can alter segregation pattern,change dendrite morphology and even cause freckles formation in alloy solidification.In this work,the multiphase-field model was coupled with lattice Boltzmann method to simulate the dendrite growth under melt convection in superalloy solidification.In the isothermal solidification simulations,zero and normal gravitational accelerations were applied to investigate the effects of gravity on the dendrite morphology and the magnitude of melt flow.The solute distribution of each alloy component along with the dendrite tip velocity during solidification was obtained,and the natural convection has been confirmed to affect the microsegregation pattern and the dendrite growth velocity.In the directional solidification simulations,two typical temperature gradients were applied,and the dendrite morphology and fluid velocity in the mushy zone during solidification were analyzed.It is found that the freckles will form when the average fluid velocity in the mushy zone exceeds the withdraw velocity.

Localized in‑situ deposition:a new dimension to control in fabricating surface micro/nano structures via ultrafast laser ablation

Controllable fabrication of surface micro/nano structures is the key to realizing surface functionalization for various applications.As a versatile approach,ultrafast laser ablation has been widely studied for surface micro/nano structuring.Increasing research eforts in this feld have been devoted to gaining more control over the fabrication processes to meet the increasing need for creation of complex structures.In this paper,we focus on the in-situ deposition process following the plasma formation under ultrafast laser ablation.From an overview perspective,we frstly summarize the diferent roles that plasma plumes,from pulsed laser ablation of solids,play in diferent laser processing approaches.Then,the distinctive in-situ deposition process within surface micro/nano structuring is highlighted.Our experimental work demonstrated that the in-situ deposition during ultrafast laser surface structuring can be controlled as a localized micro-additive process to pile up secondary ordered structures,through which a unique kind of hierarchical structure with fort-like bodies sitting on top of micro cone arrays were fabricated as a showcase.The revealed laser-matter interaction mechanism can be inspiring for the development of new ultrafast laser fabrication approaches,adding a new dimension and more fexibility in controlling the fabrication of functional surface micro/nano structures.