Kazuyuki Kohama

On process–structure–property interconnection in anti-phase synchronised twin-wire GMAW of low carbon steel

The paper investigates process–structure–property interconnection in anti-phase synchronised twin-wire gas metal arc welded low carbon steel samples wherein process variation is achieved by using similar and dissimilar currents and diameters at lead and trail wires. Scanning electron microscopy and microhardness measurements are used as characterisation techniques. The investigation offers new observations on heat generation and distribution in twin-wire welding that affect weld bead and microstructure formation due to changes in arc phenomenon and molten metal flow in weld pool. Use of dissimilar currents facilitates effective utilisation of heat. The two-stage arcing in twin-wire welding facilitates slow heating and cooling that leads to weld metal and heat affected zone softening. A combination of polygonal ferrite, pearlite and bainite with varying compositions is observed across the weldment. A higher current value and larger wire diameter at the lead wire leads to coarsening of the grains thereby reducing the hardness.

Improvement of smooth surface of RuO2 bottom electrode on Al2O3 buffer layer and characteristics of RuO2/TiO2/Al2O3/TiO2/RuO2 capacitors

Ruthenium oxide (RuO2) thin films, which are deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) with a Ru(EtCp)2 precursor and oxygen plasma, exhibit a smoother surface [root mean square (RMS) roughness <1 nm] on ionic Al2O3 and TiO2 buffer layers than on a covalent SiO2 buffer layer (RMS roughness of RuO2: 2.5 nm). The Al2O3 and TiO2 buffer layers which have some charges enable us to prolong the duration time of the Ru(EtCp)2 precursor on the buffer layer and cause the nucleation of RuO2 to occur uniformly. The RuO2 film deposited on the Al2O3 buffer layer by PE-ALD (hereafter “PE-ALD-RuO2”) was used as the bottom electrode for a metal-insulator-metal with a TiO2/Al2O3/TiO2 (TAT) insulator. RuO2/TAT/RuO2 capacitors on the Al2O3 and TiO2 buffer layers had a low enough leakage current density (J) (on the order of ∼10−8 A/cm2), unlike RuO2/TAT/RuO2 capacitors on the SiO2 buffer layer and TiN/TAT/TiN capacitors. These results suggest that the different J properties must be related to the surface r...

Formation of nanocrystalline silicon in SiO x by soft X-ray irradiation at low temperature

The low-temperature formation of nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) in SiO x film is one of the key technologies in the realization of Si-based photonics and memories. We proposed a low-temperature nc-Si formation method with soft X-ray irradiation. The nc-Si formation depended on the Si/O atomic ratio in the pristine SiO x film. The Si-rich regions in SiO x films with Si/O ratios higher than 0.67 were crystallized by atomic migration via electron excitation with soft X-ray irradiation at a photon energy near the core level of Si 2p. nc-Si with a mean size of 20 nm was formed by soft X-ray irradiation at a low temperature of 660 ?C.

Formation of nc-Si in SiOx by flash lamp anneling

The formation of nanocrystal silicon (nc-Si) in SiOx is one of the key technologies for the realization of high-quality solar cells. The SiOx films were deposited on a quartz substrate by a reactive sputtering. The Si/O ratio of the SiOx films were changed from 0.56 to 2.07. The nc-Si in SiOx film was characterized by Raman scattering spectroscopy. The Crystalline fractions of all samples after FLA were almost 100%. The size of nc-Si was estimated to 9 nm by Raman peak position. It is shown that the grain size of nc-Si was not changed by the Si/O ratio. On the other hand, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of Raman peak due to crystal phase was changed by the Si/O ratio of SiOx film.

In Situ Observation of Semisolid Fe-2.5C-1.5Si Gray Cast Iron

Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron evaluated in previous works exhibited promising potential as semisolid raw material presenting low levels of maximum stress and viscosity, similar to Al-Si alloys. This work is intended to investigate phase transformations and liquid phase formation for the Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron in order to understand the performance of the alloy during the semisolid processing. Thus in situ heating experiments via high temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy were performed to analyze the solid-to-liquid transition. At room temperature alloy presented a matrix of pearlite and ferrite with type D flake graphite. During the heating process the main transformations observed were graphite precipitation on the austenite grain boundaries, graphite precipitates and flakes graphite growing and coarsening with the increasing of temperature and the beginning of melt around 1140°C. Coarsened flakes at high temperatures resulted in a liquid continuous network after melting, thereby the liquid phase was formed surrounding and wetting homogeneously the solid phase. This favors the detachment of grains from each other and leads to the intended solid globules immersed in liquid.