Localized melting

Fig. 4. Scanning electron micrograph of 5-p.m diameter Zn powder. Neck formation from localized melting is caused by high-velocity interparticle coUisions. Similar micrographs and elemental composition maps (by Auger electron spectroscopy) of mixed metal coUisions have also been made.

The writing process, that is, the transition crystalline — amorphous, is caused by briefly (<50 100 ns) heating up the selected storage area (diameter (( )) ca 0.5—1 Hm) by a laser pulse to a temperature above the melting point of the memory layer (Eig. 15, Record), such that the film locally melts. When cooled faster than a critical quench rate (10 -10 ° K/s), the formation of crystalline nuclei is suppressed and the melted area sohdifies into the amorphous (glass-like) state. 

RF (radio frequency) welding Utilizes specific bands of radio frequency waves which are directed through specially constructed tooling to form localized melting/joining of certain dielectric thermoplastic materials. Can be used to form hermetic seals. Also known as high frequency or dielectric welding. 

Prior studies of dynamic compaction of powders to achieve high density compacts have devoted effort to development of models of localization of mechanical energy on the surfaces of powders to explain observations of local melting. Unfortunately, the models that have been developed are too narrowly focused and do not realistically consider basic materials response aspects of shock-compression processes. The models fail to account for the substantial observations that show results demonstrating that melting is not the universal, dominant process. 

It is particularly significant that no evidence is found for localized melting at particle interfaces in the inorganic materials studied. Apparently, effects commonly observed in dynamic compaction of low shock viscosity metals are not obtained in the less viscous materials of the present study. To successfully predict the occurrence of localized melting, it appears necessary to develop a more realistic physical model of energy localization in shock-compressed powders. 

Reports of kinetic studies do not always include an explicit statement as to whether or not the reactant melted during reaction or, indeed, if this possibility was investigated or even considered (cf. p. 1). This aspect of behaviour is important in assessing the mechanistic implications of any data since reactions in a homogeneous melt, perhaps a eutectic, usually proceed more rapidly than in a crystalline solid. It is accepted that the detection of partial or localized melting can be experimentally difficult, but, in the absence of relevant information, it is frequently impossible to decide whether a reported reaction proceeds in the solid phase. 

Surface Damage and Reaction Rates. Erosion of surfaces resulting in higher surface area and removal of inhibiting impurities are two effects of cavitation on solids in liquid media, both of which lead to increased reaction rates. The high temperatures and pressures are sufficient to deform and pit metal surfaces (even cause local melting of some metals) and to fracture many nonmetal lie solids, in particular, brittle materials. 

There are a number of possible explanations for the formation of more than one photodimer. First, due care is not always taken to ensure that the solid sample that is irradiated is crystallographically pure. Indeed, it is not at all simple to establish that all the crystals of the sample that will be exposed to light are of the same structure as the single crystal that was used for analysis of structure. A further possible cause is that there are two or more symmetry-independent molecules in the asymmetric unit then each will have a different environment and can, in principle, have contacts with neighbors that are suited to formation of different, topochemical, photodimers. This is illustrated by 61, which contrasts with monomers 62 to 65, which pack with only one molecule per asymmetric unit. Similarly, in monomers containing more than one olefinic bond there may be two or more intermolecular contacts that can lead to different, topochemical, dimers. Finally, any disorder in the crystal, for example due to defective structure or molecular-orientational disorder, can lead to formation of nontopochemical products in addition to the topochemical ones formed in the ordered phase. This would be true, too, in those cases where there is reaction in the liquid phase formed, for example, by local melting. 

Both solid-solid and solid-gas types of reactions lead from solid reactants to a solid product without the use of solvents. Solvent-less processes, however, are not necessarily solid-state processes. Indeed, it has been argued [8d,e] that many solid-state syntheses cannot be regarded as bona fide solid-solid reactions because they occur with the intermediary of a liquid phase, such as a eutectic phase or a melt, or may require destruction of the crystals prior to reaction. This latter situation is often observed, for instance, in the case of reactions activated by co-grinding, since the heat generated in the course of the mechanochemical process can induce local melting at the interface between the different crystals, or when kneading, i.e. grinding in the presence of small amounts of solvent, takes place (vide infra). 

Feenstra et al. (1987a) developed an in-situ "tip DOS flattening" procedure. This procedure uses field emission current to locally heat up the end of the tip, which eventually causes a local melting and recrystallization. Details of this process is as follows ... 

Schematically, the steps in this process are shown in Fig. 14.4. At the beginning, the local radius of the tip end is small. Field emission can be easily established. A high current though the tip end then causes local melting. The local curvature at the end of the tip suddenly decreases. The field emission current is then reduced dramatically. The tip end recrystallizes to have a relatively large radius. Feenstra et al. (1987a) observed that the tips prepared in this way always provide reproducible tunneling spectra, although atomic-resolution topographic images are generally not observed.

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