N Frangis | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

Well-orientated cubic boron nitride nanocrystals as studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.

In a boron nitride thin film, grown on a Si (100) substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, a striking nanostructure is observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It consists of cubic boron nitride nanocrystals with a rather good triangular shape, pointing always to the substrate. The nanocrystals are usually highly defected and present their own interesting internal structure. Texture formation is observed within a nanocrystal, with all the subgrains observed to have a common <011> axis, which is also approximately parallel to a <011> axis of the Si substrate, i.e. the nanocrystals are very well structurally orientated in relation to the Si substrate (self-organized). Dislocations and stacking faults are also found in the nanocrystals.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Structural models for twin interfaces in Pd thin films.

In a Pd thin film grown on a 6H-SiC (0001) substrate, several twin interfaces have been observed, classified as (1) {111}Sigma = 3 twin interfaces and (2) {221}Sigma = 3 twin interfaces. The first ones are coherent twin interfaces and in some cases exhibit steps of one or more atomic layers in height. The second ones are perpendicular to the first ones. They usually appear with a rigid-body displacement, but in some cases no displacement was observed. Models for the interfaces are proposed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Nanostructuring, compositional fluctuations, and atomic ordering in the thermoelectric materials AgPb(m)SbTe(2+m). The myth of solid solutions.

The nature of the thermoelectric materials Ag(1-x)Pb(m)SbTe(m+2) or LAST-m materials (LAST for Lead Antimony Silver Tellurium) with different m values at the atomic as well as nanoscale was studied with powder/single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Powder diffraction patterns of different members (m = 0, 6, 12, 18, infinity) are consistent with pure phases crystallizing in the NaCl-structure-type (Fmm) and the proposition that the LAST family behaved as solid solutions between the PbTe and AgSbTe2 compounds. However, electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies suggest the LAST phases are inhomogeneous at the nanoscale with at least two coexisting sets of well-defined phases. The minority phase which is richer in Ag and Sb is on the nanosized length scale, and it is endotaxially embedded in the majority phase which is poorer in Ag and Sb. Moreover, within each nanodomain we observe extensive long range ordering of Ag, Pb, and Sb atoms. The long range ordering can be confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Indeed, data collections of five different single crystals were successfully refined in space groups of lower symmetry than Fmm including P4/mmm and Rm. The results reported here provide experimental evidence for a conceptual basis that could be employed when designing high performance thermoelectric materials and dispel the decades long belief that the systems (AgSbTe2)(1-x)(PbTe)x are solid solutions.

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