The free electron behavior in InN is studied on the basis of decoupled bulk and surface accumulation electron densities in InN films measured by contactless optical Hall effect. It is shown that the variation in the bulk electron density with film thickness does not follow the models of free electrons generated by dislocation-associated nitrogen vacancies. This finding, further supported by transmission electron microscopy results, indicates the existence of a different thickness-dependent doping mechanism. Furthermore, we observe a noticeable dependence of the surface electron density on the bulk density, which can be exploited for tuning the surface charge in future InN based devices.

A sublimation-recondensation process is presented for high quality AlN (0001) crystals at a high growth rate by employing 4H-SiC substrates with a predeposited epilayer. It is based on the coalescence of well oriented AlN microrods, which evolve from the apex of 2H-SiC pyramids grown out of hexagonal pits formed by thermal etching of the substrate during a temperature ramp up. This process yields stress-free 120-mu m-thick AlN single crystals with a dislocation density as low as 2x10(6) cm(-2).

A method based on focused ion beam milling and analytical electron microscopy to investigate the nature of the tool-chip interface is presented. It is employed to study tool-chip interfaces of the rake face of a (Ti0.83Si0.17)N coated PCBN insert after turning of case-hardened steel. Analytical electron microscopy shows the presence of a smeared adhered layer on the coating, which consists of steel elements from the work-piece, oxygen, and Si and N, most likely originating from the coating.

We present a study on the role of dislocations and impurities for the unintentional n-type conductivity in high-quality InN grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The dislocation densities and H profiles in films with free electron concentrations in the low 10(17) cm(-1) and mid 10(18) cm(-3) range are measured, and analyzed in a comparative manner. It is shown that dislocations alone could not account for the free electron behavior in the InN films. On the other hand, large concentrations of H sufficient to explain, but exceeding substantially, the observed free electron densities are found. Furthermore, enhanced concentrations of H are revealed at the film surfaces, resembling the free electron behavior with surface electron accumulation. The low-conductive film was found to contain C and it is suggested that C passivates the H donors or acts as an acceptor, producing compensated material in this case. Therefore, it is concluded that the unintentional impurities play an important role for the unintentional n-type conductivity in InN. We suggest a scenario of H incorporation in InN that may reconcile the previously reported observations for the different role of impurities and dislocations for the unintentional n-type conductivity in InN.

We investigate the deformation of epitaxial Ti3 Si C2 (0001) Ti Cx (111) (x∼0.67) nanolaminates deposited by magnetron sputtering. Nanoindentation and transmission electron microscopy show that the Ti3 Si C2 layers deform via basal plane slip and intrusion into the TiC layers, suppressing kink-band and pile-up deformation behaviors analogous with monolithic Ti3 Si C2. This remarkable response to indentation is due to persistent slip in the TiC layers and prevention of gross slip throughout the nanolaminate by the interleaving Ti3 Si C2 layers. Hardness and Young's modulus were measured as ∼15 and ∼240 GPa, respectively.

Single-crystal NaCl-structure Al0.68Cr0.32N thin films were deposited onto MgO(0 0 1) substrates. The films exhibit cube-on-cube epitaxial growth with an initial pseudomorphic strained layer before complete relaxation into an isotropic lattice parameter of 4.119 Å as shown by symmetric high-resolution X-ray diffraction and asymmetric reciprocal space maps. The relaxation proceeds via a threading dislocation network as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Films of 900 nm thickness have a hardness of 32.4 ± 0.5 GPa, an elastic modulus of 460.8 ± 5 GPa, and a room-temperature resistivity of 2.7 × 103 O cm as determined by nanoindentation and four-point probe measurements, respectively. © 2007 Acta Materialia Inc.