Effect of heat treatment on the structural and phase transformations and mechanical properties of TiNi alloy subjected to severe plastic deformation by torsion

Effect of annealing on the structural and phase transformations and mechanical properties of large-size samples of the Ti_49.4Ni_50.6 alloy preliminary subjected to severe plastic deformation by torsion under a high pressure (HPT) is studied. The study was performed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and measurements of mechanical properties. The annealing was found to result in the nanocrystallization of initial samples amorphized by HPT. In this alloy, the high-strength uniform nanostructured state is formed the size of nanocrystalline grains of which and the mechanical properties depend on the temperature and time of annealing.     

Nano- and micrometer-scale thin-film-interconnection failure theory and simulation and metallization lifetime prediction,Part 2: Polycrystalline-line degradation and bulk failure

The degradation and bulk failure of a polycrystalline interconnect line caused by vacancy electromigration along grain boundaries and vacancy-cluster nucleation at triple points in the bulk conductor are investigated within the general theory of the electromigration-induced degradation and failure of thin-film on-chip interconnect lines, presented in Part 1 [1]. The general equations are tailored to deal with vacancy electromigration, mechanical-stress generation, and void nucleation at triple points. Appropriate boundaryvalue problems are formulated, and numerical methods and procedures to solve them are developed and implemented in software. Computer simulations are performed to identify a pattern of electromigration failure at triple points. On this basis, (1) interconnect lifetime is investigated over wide ranges of variation of material, structural, geometric, and operating parameters, and (2) the current-density and temperature dependence—of the mechanical stress, vacancy concentration, and level of vacancy supersaturation at a triple point, and of void radius and time to nucleation-is examined and explained. The simulation results are found to agree well with previous experiments. This investigation could be seen as a natural continuation of our study of electromigration failures developed by multilevel-metallization systems as a result of interconnect failure near via junctions or at open ends [1]. Together they cover most mechanisms of electromigration failure suffered by metallization systems.     

Paradoxes of Severe Plastic Deformation

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) can lead to emergence of microstructural features and properties in materials which are fundamentally different from the ones well known for conventional cold deformation. In particular, the instances of unusual phase transformations resulting in development of highly metastable states associated with formation of supersaturated solid solutions, disordering or amorphization and their further decomposition during heating, high thermal stability of the SPD‐produced nanostructures, and the paradox of strength and ductility in some SPD‐processed metals and alloys are discussed.     

Quantum computers: Achievements,implementation difficulties,and prospects

A review of the principles of operation of quantum computers and their elements is presented. The radical advantage of quantum algorithms for processing information over the classical ones is discussed, quantum entanglement is considered as the basic resource of quantum computations, and the most promising and interesting proposals on realization of quantum computers on the basis of trapped ions, nuclear spins, quantum dots, superconducting structures, and others are described. This review reflects the materials of the report presented at the scientific session of the Department of Nanotechnologies and Information Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences on February 25, 2010.     

Kinetics of leaching of lead sulfate in sodium chloride solutions

A powder dissolution method is used to study the kinetics of leaching of lead sulfate from a lead cake in the temperature range 298–353 K and the concentration range 50–270 g/l of a sodium chloride solution. The results obtained are used to calculate the apparent activation energy (E _a = 12.41 kJ/mol); its value indicates that the process of leaching of lead sulfate from a lead cake occurs in a diffusion zone. This process is shown to be described by a first-order kinetic equation.     

High-temperature creep of alumosilicate concretes on phosphate binder

Results of high-temperature creep tests of alumosilicate concretes on a phosphate binder that consists of a mixture of electrocorundum, technical alumina, and pyrophillite are presented. The mixing liquid is H₃PO₄ and an alumochromophosphate binder. The creep tests have been performed using an installation created by BashNIPIstrom State Enterprise, which makes it possible to test three specimens in one cycle simultaneously. The experimental data on the deformation of the concretes as a function of the pressing pressure, the treatment temperature, and the test conditions (the time, the temperature, and the load) are presented. The present work is the first attempt to study the endurance of materials on phosphate binders under the joint action of high pressures and loads.