Alireza B. Parsa

The effect of stress, temperature and loading direction on the creep behaviour of Ni-base single crystal superalloy miniature tensile specimens

In the present work, we use a miniature test procedure to investigate the tensile creep behaviour of the single crystal superalloy ERBO1. We test precisely oriented [0 0 1], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1] creep specimens and determine the stress and the temperature dependence of characteristic creep rates in limited stress and temperature regimes, where the stress and temperature dependence of characteristic creep rates can be well described by power law and Arrhenius type of relations, with stress exponents n and apparent activation energies Qapp. n-values increase with stress and decrease with temperature. Qapp-values, on the other hand, increase with increasing temperature and decrease with increasing stress. Creep curve shapes gradually evolve from the high temperature low stress to the low temperature high stress (LTHS) regime. This implies that there is a gradual change in elementary deformation and softening mechanisms, which is qualitatively confirmed using transmission electron microscopy. While at high temperatures different loading directions only have a moderate influence on creep, there is a very strong effect of loading direction at low temperatures. The [1 1 0] tests show the fastest deformation rates and the shortest rupture times. In the LTHS creep regime, we confirm the double minimum (DM) type of creep behaviour, which was previously reported but never explained. Further work is required to rationalise DM-creep. The implications of this type of creep behaviour on scatter and on extrapolation of creep data is discussed in the light of previous results published in the literature.

Infrared transmission spectroscopy of charge carriers in self-assembled InAs quantum dots under surface electric fields

We present a study on the intersublevel spacings of electrons and holes in a single layer of InAs self-assembled quantum dots. We use Fourier transform infrared transmission spectroscopy via a density chopping scheme for direct experimental observation of the intersublevel spacings of electrons without any external magnetic field. Epitaxial, complementary-doped and semi-transparent electrostatic gates are grown within the ultra high vacuum conditions of molecular beam epitaxy to voltage-tune the device, while a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) serves as a back contact. Spacings of the hole sublevels are indirectly calculated from the photoluminescence spectrum by using a simple model given by Warburton et al [1]. Additionally, we observe that the intersubb and resonances of the 2DEG are enhanced due to the quantum dot layer on top of the device.