Higher microstructures

The dislocation density within the first 0.5 xm of the GaN film on the vicinal 6H-SiC(0001)si substrate was approximately 1x10 cm", as determined from initial plan view TEM analysis by counting the number of dislocations per unit area. This value is approximately an order of magnitude lower than that reported (43) for thicker GaN films deposited on sapphire(OOOl) substrates using low-temperature buffer layers. The dislocation density of the GaN film deposited on the vicinal 6H-SiC(0001)si substrate decreased rapidly as a function of thickness. In contrast, the on-axis wafers had less step and terrace features thus, the HT-AIN buffer layers on these substrates were of higher microstructural quality with smoother surfaces and fewer inversion domain boundaries. Consequently, the microstructural quality of the GaN films were better for on-axis growth as shown by the DCXRC data noted below. 

Fig. 5. Micrographs of the microstructure of fully hardened and tempered tool steels produced by the powder metallurgy technique, showing uniform distribution and fine carbide particles in the matrix, (a) M-42 (see Table 6) and (b) cobalt-free AlSl T-15 having a higher concentration of fine carbide...

One may now ask whether natural systems have the necessary structural evolution needed to incorporate high-performance properties. An attempt is made here to compare the structure of some of the advanced polymers with a few natural polymers. Figure 1 gives the cross-sectional microstructure of a liquid crystalline (LC) copolyester, an advanced polymer with high-performance applications [33]. A hierarchically ordered arrangement of fibrils can be seen. This is compared with the microstructure of a tendon [5] (Fig. 2). The complexity and higher order of molecular arrangement of natural materi-... 

The mechanism of chloroprene polymerization is summarized in Scheme 4.11. Coleman et ai9iM have applied l3C NMR in a detailed investigation of the microstructure of poly(chloroprene) also known as neoprene. They report a substantial dependence of the microstructure on temperature and perhaps on reaction conditions (Table 4.3). The polymer prepared at -150 °C essentially has a homogeneous 1,4-tra/rv-niicrostructure. The polymerization is less specific at higher temperatures. Note that different polymerization conditions were employed as well as different temperatures and the influence of these has not been considered separately. 

Microindentation hardness normally is measured by static penetration of the specimen with a standard indenter at a known force. After loading with a sharp indenter a residual surface impression is left on the flat test specimen. An adequate measure of the material hardness may be computed by dividing the peak contact load, P, by the projected area of impression1. The hardness, so defined, may be considered as an indicator of the irreversible deformation processes which characterize the material. The strain boundaries for plastic deformation, below the indenter are sensibly dependent, as we shall show below, on microstructural factors (crystal size and perfection, degree of crystallinity, etc). Indentation during a hardness test deforms only a small volumen element of the specimen (V 1011 nm3) (non destructive test). The rest acts as a constraint. Thus the contact stress between the indenter and the specimen is much greater than the compressive yield stress of the specimen (a factor of 3 higher). 

The microstructure and architecture of polymers can also gready influence die properties of die polymers. For example, poly(3-substituted thiophene)s could have three microstructure joints s-trans (head to tail), s-trans (head to head), and s-cis (head to tail) (Fig. 9.3). The regioregular head-to-tail poly(3-substituted thiophene)s exhibit higher electrical conductivity values and higher... 

This outcome was consistent with a hypothesis that structural deterioration could have been a byproduct of microorganism activity. The higher lipid content in the poorly preserved tissue suggests that those lipids are primarily extrinsic, that is, that they were produced by bacteria and/or fungi. As the food source for such microorganisms, the protein within the bone may have been substantially altered in concert with the microstructure deterioration. The quantification of the changes to the organic fraction became our next focus of research. 

Sol-gel techniques have been successfidly applied to form fuel cell components with enhanced microstructures for high-temperature fuel cells. The apphcations were recently extended to synthesis of hybrid electrolyte for PEMFC. Although die results look promising, the sol-gel processing needs further development to deposit micro-structured materials in a selective area such as the triple-phase boundary of a fuel cell. That is, in the case of PEMFC, the sol-gel techniques need to be expanded to form membrane-electrode-assembly with improved microstructures in addition to the synthesis of hybrid membranes to get higher fuel cell performance. 

Wood Hill (1991b) induced phase-separation in the clear glasses by heating them at temperatures above their transition temperatures. They found evidence for amorphous phase-separation (APS) prior to the formation of crystallites. Below the first exotherm, APS appeared to take place by spinodal decomposition so that the glass had an intercoimected structure (Cahn, 1961). At higher temperatures the microstructure consisted of distinct droplets in a matrix phase. 

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