SiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> layer formation during plasma sputtering of Si and SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> targets

Deposition of SiO _x layers of variable composition onto silicon wafers was performed by co-sputtering of spaced Si and SiO₂ targets in argon plasma. Coordinate dependences of the thickness and refractive index of separately deposited Si and SiO₂ layers and the SiO _x layer grown during co-sputtering of targets were determined using optical techniques. It was shown that the SiO _x layer composition is not equal to a simple sum of thicknesses of separately deposited Si and SiO₂ layers. The coordinate dependences of the Si and SiO₂ layer thicknesses were calculated. To fit the calculated and experimental data, it is necessary to assume that no less than 10% of silicon is converted to dioxide during co-sputtering. A comparison of the coordinate dependences of the IR absorbance in SiO₂ and SiO _x layers with experimental ellipsometric data confirmed the presence of excess oxygen in the SiO _x layer. Taking into account such partial oxidation of sputtered silicon, composition isolines in the substrate plane were calculated. After annealing of the SiO _x layer at 1200°C, photoluminescence was observed in a wafer area predicted by calculations, which was caused by the formation of quantum-size Si nanocrystallites. The photoluminescence intensity was maximum at x = 1.78 ± 0.3, which is close to the composition optimum for ion-beam synthesis of nanocrystals.     

Influence of DTH Hammer Impact Energy on Drilling-with-Casing System Performance

Water well drilling-with-casing equipment is described in the article. Construction diagrams and field test results of series-production and new drilling-with-casing DTH hammers possessing higher impact energy are analyzed. The economic study of water well drilling cost in geological conditions of the Republic of Altai is performed.     

Numerical study of polyethylene burning in counterflow: Effect of pyrolysis kinetics and composition of pyrolysis products

The burning behavior of polyethylene in the counterflow of oxidizing air has been studied numerically with a coupled model describing feedback heat and mass transfer between gas‐phase flame and polymeric solid fuel. A 2‐dimensional elliptic equation in axisymmetric formulation (revealing the cylindrical shape of the polymer sample used in the experiment) has been employed to simulate heat transfer in solid fuel, and a set of 1‐dimensional hyperbolic equations has been used to determine the solid‐to‐gas conversion degree of the pyrolysis reaction. Four sets of products compositions and two modifications for the kinetic parameters of solid fuel pyrolysis reaction have been taken into account. Gas‐phase formulation is presented by set of 1‐dimensional conservation equations for multi‐component flow with detailed kinetic mechanism of combustion. The profiles of temperature and species concentrations in the flame zone have been calculated and compared with the results of experimental study of combustion of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene. Higher hydrocarbon composition (dodecane) has been found to show the best agreement between the temperature and species concentration profiles with the measurements, especially for the low‐level mass fractions of the by‐product components—propylene, butadiene, and benzene.     

A Thin-Film Platform for Chemical Gas Sensors

In the study, a technique for formation of planar microheaters that make it possible to heat an active zone to a temperature higher than 500°С is proposed and successfully implemented. The developed heating elements are distinguished by low power consumption, short response time, and extremely high resistance to impact loads. The synthetic approaches used in the work (anodic oxidation, photolithography, and magnetron sputtering) feature manufacturability and scaling simplicity. This makes planar heating elements a promising platform based on which semiconductor and thermocatalytic sensors of toxic and explosive gases may be created.     

A Compact High-Voltage Power Supply for an Accelerating Installation

A compact high-voltage power supply for an accelerating installation that uses high-frequency (25 kHz) voltage conversion is described. The power supply provides a variable voltage of 5 to 100 kV at a load current of up to 250 A and three independently variable voltages of 0–100 V (100 mA), 0–2000 V (5 mA), and 1–15 kV (50 A), which are required for operating the cold-cathode ion source used in the installation. The output-voltage ripple is <0.05%. The power-supply efficiency is no less than 70%.     

Combined Methods of Analysis of Metal-Containing Raw Material (Review)

Methods of analysis of reusable metal-containing material (RMR) are considered in the review: X-ray fluorescence, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and atomic emission and mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. Peculiarities of the applied methods are shown, and a method of analysis with consideration of the specificity of RMR should be developed for every object. In the most cases, the methods of sample processing harmonized with the applied method of analysis and sample content.     

effect of the parameters of AlN/GaN/AlGaN and AlN/GaN/InAlN heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas on their electrical properties and the characteristics of transistors on their basis

The effect of the layer thickness and composition in AlGaN/AlN/GaN and InAlN/AlN/GaN transistor heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas on their electrical and the static parameters of test transistors fabricated from such heterostructures are experimentally and theoretically studied. It is shown that the use of an InAlN barrier layer instead of AlGaN results in a more than twofold increase in the carrier concentration in the channel, which leads to a corresponding increase in the saturation current. In situ dielectric-coating deposition on the InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructure surface during growth process allows an increase in the maximum saturation current and breakdown voltages while retaining high transconductance.