https://www.tcd.ie/Physics/people/Graham.Cross/SF%20Poster%202011/Schuh-ActaMater07-Mechanical%20behaviour%20of%20amorphous%20alloys.pdf

Mechanical behavior of amorphous alloys

Modeling hardness of polycrystalline materials and bulk metallic glasses

Using tabulated thermodynamic data, a comprehensive investigation of the thermo-dynamic stability of binary oxides in contact with silicon at 1000 K was conducted. Reactions between silicon and each binary oxide at 1000 K, including those involving ternary phases, were considered. Sufficient data exist to conclude that all binary oxides except the following are thermodynamically unstable in contact with silicon at 1000 K: Li2O, most of the alkaline earth oxides (BeO, MgO, CaO, and SrO), the column IIIB oxides (Sc2O3, Y2O3, and Re2O3, where Re is a rare earth), ThO2, UO2, ZrO2, HfO2, and Al2O3. Of these remaining oxides, sufficient data exist to conclude that BeO, MgO, and ZrO2 are thermodynamically stable in contact with silicon at 1000 K. Our results are consistent with reported investigations of silicon/binary oxide interfaces and identify candidate materials for future investigations.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0884291400010384

Thermodynamic stability of binary oxides in contact With silicon

Atomic-level structure and structure–property relationship in metallic glasses

The elastic properties, elastic models and elastic perspectives of metallic glasses

Bulk metallic glass formation in binary Cu-rich alloy series – Cu100−xZrx (x=34, 36, 38.2, 40 at.%) and mechanical properties of bulk Cu64Zr36 glass

Formation and properties of new Ni-based amorphous alloys with critical casting thickness up to 5 mm

M–Si–N and M–Si (M=Mo, Ta, or W) thin films, reactively sputtered from M5Si3 and WSi2 targets, are examined as diffusion barriers for aluminum metallizations of silicon. Methods of analysis include electrical tests of shallow-junction diodes, 4He + + backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and secondary-ion-mass spectrometry. At the proper compositions, the M–Si–N films prevent Al overlayers from electrically degrading shallow-junction diodes after 10 min anneals above the melting point of aluminum. Secondary-ion-mass spectrometry indicates virtually no diffusivity of Al into the M–Si–N films during a 700 °C/10 h treatment. The stability can be partially attributed to a self-sealing 3-nm-thick AlN layer that grows at the M–Si–N/Al interface, as seen by transmission electron microscopy.

/pdf/amorphous-mo-ta-or-w-si-n-diffusion-barriers-for-al-4hslzvuam0.pdf

Amorphous (Mo, Ta, or W)-Si-N diffusion barriers for Al metallizations

Block polymer self-assembly typically translates molecular chain connectivity into mesoscale structure by exploiting incompatible blocks with large interaction parameters (χ ij ). In this article, we demonstrate that the converse approach, encoding low-χ interactions in ABC bottlebrush triblock terpolymers (χ AC ≲ 0), promotes organization into a unique mixed-domain lamellar morphology, which we designate LAM P . Transmission electron microscopy indicates that LAM P exhibits ACBC domain connectivity, in contrast to conventional three-domain lamellae (LAM 3 ) with ABCB periods. Complementary small-angle X-ray scattering experiments reveal a strongly decreasing domain spacing with increasing total molar mass. Self-consistent field theory reinforces these observations and predicts that LAM P is thermodynamically stable below a critical χ AC , above which LAM 3 emerges. Both experiments and theory expose close analogies to ABA′ triblock copolymer phase behavior, collectively suggesting that low-χ interactions between chemically similar or distinct blocks intimately influence self-assembly. These conclusions provide fresh opportunities for block polymer design with potential consequences spanning all self-assembling soft materials.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2017/06/05/1701386114.full.pdf

Manipulating the ABCs of self-assembly via low-χ block polymer design.

Si23N43 (b3) and Ti35Si13N52 (c3), are synthesized by reactively sputtering a Ti5Si3 or a Ti3Si target, respectively. The silicon-lean film (c3) has a columnar structure closely resembling that of TiN. As a diffusion barrier between a shallow Si n+p junction diode and a Cu overlayer, this material is effective up to 700 °C for 30 min annealing in vacuum, a performance similar to that for TiN. The silicon-rich (b3) film contains nanocrystals of TiN, randomly oriented and embedded in an amorphous matrix. A film of (b3) maintains the stability of the same diode structure up to 850 °C for 30 min in vacuum. This film (b3) is clearly superior to TiN or to (c3). Similar experiments performed with Al instead of Cu overlayers highlight the importance of the thermodynamic stability of a barrier layer and demonstrate convincingly that for stable barriers the microstructure is a parameter that directly determines the barrier performance.

Carol M. Garland

Papers

Bulk metallic glass formation in binary Cu-rich alloy series – Cu100−xZrx (x=34, 36, 38.2, 40 at.%) and mechanical properties of bulk Cu64Zr36 glass

Formation and properties of new Ni-based amorphous alloys with critical casting thickness up to 5 mm

Amorphous (Mo, Ta, or W)-Si-N diffusion barriers for Al metallizations

Manipulating the ABCs of self-assembly via low-χ block polymer design.

Effect of Si in reactively sputtered Ti-Si-N films on structure and diffusion barrier performance