Bias-temperature instabilities of polysilicon gate HfO/sub 2/ MOSFETs

Bias-temperature instabilities (BTI) of HfO/sub 2/ metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) have been systematically studied for the first time. NMOS positive BTI (PBTI) exhibited a more significant V/sub t/ instability than that of PMOS negative BTI (NBTI), and limited the lifetime of HfO/sub 2/ MOSFETs. Although high-temperature forming gas annealing (HT-FGA) improved the interface quality by passivating the interfacial states with hydrogen, BTI behaviors were not strongly affected by the technique. Charge pumping measurements were extensively used to investigate the nature of the BTI degradation, and it was found that V/sub t/ degradation of NMOS PBTI was primarily caused by charge trapping in bulk HfO/sub 2/ rather than interfacial degradation. Deuterium (D/sub 2/) annealing was found to be an excellent technique to improve BTI immunity as well as to enhance the mobility of HfO/sub 2/ MOSFETs.     

Rapid pyrolysis of brown coal and oil shale

A brown coal, peat and oil shale were subjected to a rapid pyrolysis process and medium-heat-value gases together with tar were collected. The char residue was of high activity and suitable for gasification to create a two-stage gasification system. The coal-tar is used for manufacturing liquid fuels and chemicals.     

Solvent extraction of oil from soybean flour II— pilot plant and two-solvent extractions

The process of grinding soybeans to a fine flour and extracting the flour with hexane was studied on a pilot plant scale. The crude oil from the pilot plant study had 15 ppm phosphorus and was suitable for physical refining after a light acid pretreatment and bleaching. The refined oil showed a Lovibond color of 1.4 yellow and 0.3 red. The pilot plant study also showed that grinding of the soybeans and the separation of solid from miscella were the most difficult steps in solvent extraction with fine flour. A laboratory study on separation of miscella from meal by aqueous ethanol reduced the hold-up volume, but it did not remove all the miscella. A test with betacarotene showed that only the miscella outside the flour particles was displaced. Aqueous ethanol solutions used as a second solvent extracted additional nontriglyceride materials (primarily phospholipids) from the meal. Also, the free fatty acid content of the oil was increased with aqueous ethanol solution wash. The quality of the extracted crude oil was lowered by using a second solvent, but it had the advantage of needing only one centrifugation to separate miscella from meal.     

Deformation of metallic glasses with special emphasis in supercooled liquid region

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Effect of strain rate on compressive behavior of a Pd40Ni40P20 bulk metallic glass

Mechanical deformation of Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ was characterized in compression over a wide strain rate range (3.3×10⁻⁵ to 2×10³ s⁻¹) at room temperature. The compression sample fractured with a shear plane inclined 42 degree with respect to the loading axis, in contrast to 56 degree for the case of tension. This suggests the yielding of the material deviates from the classical von Mises yield criterion, but follows the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. Fracture stress as well as strain was found to decrease with increasing applied strain rate. The compressive stress (1.74 GPa) was also found to be higher than the tensile fracture stress at a quasi-static strain rate. Close examination of the stress–strain curves revealed that localized shear might have occurred at a compressive stress of about 1.4 GPa, much lower than the “apparent” yield stress of 1.74 GPa. However, the stress of 1.4 GPa for shear band initiation is almost the same as the fracture stress measured at a dynamic strain rate of 5×10² s⁻¹. These results suggested that the fracture of a bulk metallic glass is sensitive to the applied loading rate.     

Effects of CCEP and Sc on superplasticity of Al–5.6Mg–0.7Mn alloys

Trace amount (0.3?wt%) of scandium is added to Al–5.6Mg–0.7Mn alloy to form uniformly distributed Al₃Sc precipitates for producing a fine-grained and stable microstructure at high temperature through cross-channel extrusion process. Superplasticity and hot workability of the Sc-containing Al–5.6Mg–0.7Mn alloy, after extrusion, are also examined. The result indicates that Al–5.6Mg–0.7Mn alloys with and without 0.3?wt% Sc after extrusion of six passes at 300°C, fine-grained structures were observed with grain sizes of 1–2?µm and improvement of mechanical properties. Furthermore, Al₃Sc phase can effectively retard recrystallization to increase the thermal stability and remain equiaxed. The elongation of Al–5.6Mg–0.7Mn alloy with Sc addition to failure is extended to 873% maximum at high temperature of 450°C at strain rate of 1?×?10^?1?s^?1after six passes in the CCEP.     

Direct measurements of shear band propagation in metallic glasses – An overview

A series of experimental efforts have recently made in an attempt to gain understanding of shear band propagation in metallic glasses. It was found that plastic flow serration observed in compression was actually caused by successive (intermittent) shear along a single shear plane, not random shear band emission. Several experimental techniques, including conventional Instron, attaching linear voltage differential transducer, strain gage, and high-speed camera, were employed to investigate shear band propagation during flow serration. The test results showed that the shear band propagation consisted of the acceleration, deceleration, and the final arrest. The maximum velocity of a propagating shear band was about 4 mm s^?1, which corresponds to a high strain rate of about 10⁵ s^?1. The viscosity of a propagating shear band was evaluated to be only about 1 × 10⁴–5 × 10⁵ Pa s, indicating the shear band was very fluidic. Video images capture from a high-speed camera also revealed that the shear was simultaneous, rather than in a progressive fashion.     

Solid-State Phase Relationships in the Calcia-Titania-Zirconia System at 1200°C

Phase relationships were investigated in the CaO–TiO₂–ZrO₂ system at 1200°C for compositions containing <50 mol% CaO using X-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis. The existence of two previously reported ternary phases, zirconolite (CaZrTi₂O₇) and calzirtite (Ca₂Zr₅Ti₂O₁₆), was confirmed. Each of these phases exhibited a significant range of homogeneity between TiO₂ and ZrO₂, while maintaining a nearly constant concentration of CaO. The ternary solubilities of the constituent binary phases were found to be small (typically <1 mol%), with the exceptions of the perovskites (CaTiO₃ and CaZrO₃). These latter phases displayed mutual solubilities of at least 22 mol% but exhibited significant variations in composition from grain to grain. Thermodynamic equilibrium was clearly not established in several samples, although most of the phase relationship information obtained was self-consistent.     

Hot plate welding of polypropylene. Part I: Crystallization kinetics

The crystalline structure formation in the heat affected zone during hot plate welding has a great influence on the performance of the welded semi-crystalline polymers. The quiescent and flow induced crystallization of polypropylene was investigated experimentally. A simplified, phenomenological crystallization model was developed, which can describe the crystal formation from completely melted and partially melted polymer. Predictions obtained from the model were compared with experimental results.