National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Plastic deformation of glassy ribbons of Fe80B20 leads to the partial destruction of the short-range compositional order of the material. The electrochemical potential measured between two electrodes made from glass ribbons of composition Fe40Ni40B20 shows a non-linear dependence of potential on the uniaxial deformation of one electrode. These effects explain the reduction of corrosion resistance of the glassy metallic alloys subjected to deformation.

The Gd2Fe14-xMxC compounds form solid solutions in the composition ranges x less-than-or-equal-to 1.0 for M = Cu or V and x less-than-or-equal-to 1.5 for M = Si or Ni The Curie temperatures increase when Fe is replaced by Ni, Cu and Si and decrease when this is substituted by V. The above behaviour is correlated with site occupancy of substitutional elements in P4(2)/mnmm-type lattice. The decrease of magnetizations, at 4.2 K as result of substitutions, is greater than that expected from simple dilution behaviour. The magnetic data are analysed in correlation with those obtained in corresponding borides.

The temperature dependence of the resistivity and magnetoresistance-elastoresistance of r.f.-sputtered Ni-Si thin films with variable silicon content (0-24 at.%) (determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy) annealed to 300 degrees C was measured. The films, investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, exhibit a polycrystalline structure of the Ni f.c.c. type with a disorder degree which increases with the silicon content and a metallic-type conduction mechanism. The ferromagnetic properties of Ni are still preserved in the Ni-Si thin films up to 8.8 at.% silicon content.

The competitive effects of iron substitution by silicon and of the interstitial nitrogen atoms on the structural and magnetic properties of R2Fe17-xSix compounds, with R=Y or Gd, are analysed. The values of Curie temperatures and of mean iron moments are correlated to the exchange interactions (between iron atoms) in the parent and nitrogenated compounds. The magnetic behaviour of iron is analysed on the basis of the mean field model and it is shown to present mainly a localized character in the interstitial compounds.

A model for conduction that fits SnO2 polycrystalline layers with a grain size below 50 nm is presented. Quantitative evaluations using bulk parameters, found in the literature, and the assumption that surface oxygen vacancies are sites for atmospheric oxygen chemisorption permit a simple formulation of the problem: conduction by homogeneously distributed electrons along cylindrical filaments. An expression for the mobility is proposed, in which diffuse surface scattering is taken into account. On its basis, a relationship between the electrical mobility and the concentration of the reducing gas is theoretically derived for the first time. The predictions of the model for the dependence of conductance, concentration of conduction electrons and their mobility on the reducing-gas concentration are compared with experimental data and found to be in good agreement.

The introduction of more reactive precursors for Pb and Sr (oxalates), as well as Ca (citrate) and the use of a Bi nitrate decomposition route, has increased the percentage of the high-T-c (2223) phase in the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O (BSCCO) system. Partial substitution of Bi(Pb) with Sb gives an almost single (2223) phase sample. In addition, a single (2212) phase sample is obtained when high purity Bi2O3 is used as a precursor, whereas Bi acetate leads to semiconducting behavior. The morphology of the samples is studied with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the stoichiometry with energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX), and the structure with x-ray diffraction (XRD), while the superconducting properties are investigated by de-resistivity, ac-susceptibility, and SQUID magnetometry techniques.

The orientation properties of some complexes of chromium (III) or cobalt (II) with oxygen-containing ligands are presented. The orientation obtained is mostly homeotropic. The possibility of anchoring by coordination of liquid crystal (LC) molecules to the transition metal ion within the alignment layer is discussed on the basis of spectroscopic arguments.

The problem of computing the neutron optics of curved-crystal spectrometers is reviewed. The conditions of focusing in scattering and the limitations to achievable resolutions are discussed. Experience with programs for resolution-intensity optimization is presented. Computational examples are given of high resolution configurations with bent crystals and open beams, showing significant intensity gain over conventional techniques. Quasi-elastic scattering measurements at energy transfer resolutions below 10 mu eV are shown to be feasible at high luminosity. Curved monochromators for high resolution neutron powder diffraction, combining the beam focusing onto sample with focusing in scattering, are also discussed.

CdO whisker crystals with micrometre thickness and length of up to 4.5 mm were grown by a simple technology described in previous publications of the authors. The whiskers grow on CdS crystal substrates, previously covered by a thin metal or silicon layer, on annealing in air at atmospheric pressure. The growth initiator used was Ag, Au, Al, Si, Mn, Ni, Pd or Pt. A study was carried out of the effect of impurities on the conditions and efficiency of growth, as well as on the morphology and composition of the whiskers obtained. The small crystals were examined using an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope, X-ray structural analysis and X-ray microanalysis. The maximum speed of growth obtained with Au was about 1 mm h-1. The whiskers grow with a face-centred cubic lattice. The largest crystals are in the form of a parallelipiped with facets of {100}. Data are obtained which support the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism of crystal growth. The possibility is also shown of growing whiskers on zinc or cadmium plates covered with a thin layer of Cu, Ag, Au or Al by applying the same technology.

The coherent one-phonon scattering cross section measured in time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffractometry is derived for any ratio between the sample-to-detector flight path and the total flight path. For the particular case of scattering by acoustic phonons in monocrystals, the differential cross section is described in terms of the scattering surface in four-dimensional space (Q(e,omega)), where HBARQ(e) is the momentum transfer for elastic scattering and HBARQ(e) is the energy transfer. This cross section is required in calculating the thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) correction for TOF neutron diffractometry.