Crystal Growth and Characterization in the Development of Thin Films

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 6983

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Lecturer University of Bradford Faculty of Engineering Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
Interests: nanomaterials; welding and joining; solidification; thin films; coatings

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Guest Editor
School of Engineering andInformatics, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Interests: Microstructural characterization; Diffusion bonding; Nanostructured coatings; Surface modification; Tribology
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Guest Editor
German-Jordanian University, Amman، Madaba Street, Madaba 11180, Jordan
Interests: manufacturing; production; materials science and engineering

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Guest Editor
King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Interests: joining technologies; materials characterizations; alloying; surface science and analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue "Crystal Growth and Characterization in the Development of Thin Films" is to address current challenges in crystal growth for surface engineering and tribology applications.

For this issue, we invite contributions from researchers working in  areas of crystal growth and the development of novel thin films, epitaxy, interface and surface analysis, surface characterization, tribological characterization, the study of relevant properties (including morphology, physical, chemical, optical, self-healing, etc.), and growth materials (thin films and nanostructure). Research may also include process optimization of the parameters describing crystal structure and innovative application of crystal growth technology and thin films.

Considering your outstanding contributions in this fascinating research field, I would like to cordially invite you to submit a paper to this Special Issue.

Dr. Kavian Cooke
Prof. Tahir Irfan Khan
Dr. Anas M. Atieh
Dr. Abdulaziz Alhazaa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • grain growth
  • grain size
  • nucleation
  • solid-state structures
  • microstructural characterization
  • wear testing
  • friction
  • tribology
  • mechanical testing
  • crystal growth
  • perovskite
  • epitaxial growth

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 2729 KiB  
Communication
Diffusion Bonding of Al7075 to Ti-6Al-4V by Spark Plasma Sintering and Using a Copper Interlayer
by Abdulaziz Alhazaa, Hamad Albrithen, Mahmoud Hezam, Muhammad Ali Shar, Ibrahim Alhwaimel, Yasser Alharbi and Claude Estournes
Crystals 2022, 12(9), 1293; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst12091293 - 14 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1283
Abstract
Sheets of aluminum 7075 and titanium Ti-6Al-4V alloys were successfully joined using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. A copper foil was placed as an interlayer between the two surfaces. The bonding was made at 480 °C, 500 °C, and 520 °C with [...] Read more.
Sheets of aluminum 7075 and titanium Ti-6Al-4V alloys were successfully joined using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. A copper foil was placed as an interlayer between the two surfaces. The bonding was made at 480 °C, 500 °C, and 520 °C with a holding time of 10 min and under a uniaxial pressure of 5 MPa and 10 MPa. The obtained bonds were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS). It was found that copper diffused away through Al7075 and formed Al2Cu intermetallics but was not present at the joint region. The investigation of the fractured surfaces using X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the joint region contained TiAl3, TiAl2, and Ti3Al intermetallic compounds. The presence of the Cu foil was believed to hinder the formation of Al3Ti observed in previous studies by allowing more Ti to diffuse into the Al side. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Growth and Characterization in the Development of Thin Films)
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9 pages, 3472 KiB  
Article
Electrical Properties and Thermal Annealing Effects of Polycrystalline MoS2-MoSX Nanowalls Grown by Sputtering Deposition Method
by Doo-Seung Um, Mi-Jin Jin, Jong-Chang Woo, Dong-Pyo Kim, Jungmin Park, Younghun Jo and Gwan-Ha Kim
Crystals 2021, 11(4), 351; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11040351 - 29 Mar 2021
Viewed by 1755
Abstract
Straightforward growth of nanostructured low-bandgap materials is a key issue in mass production for electronic device applications. We report here facile nanowall growth of MoS2-MoSX using sputter deposition and investigate the electronic properties of the nanowalls. MoS2-MoSX [...] Read more.
Straightforward growth of nanostructured low-bandgap materials is a key issue in mass production for electronic device applications. We report here facile nanowall growth of MoS2-MoSX using sputter deposition and investigate the electronic properties of the nanowalls. MoS2-MoSX nanowalls become gradually thicker and taller, with primarily (100)-plane growth directions, with increasing deposition time. Nanowalls combine with nearby walls when a rapid thermal annealing (RTA, 200 °C–500 °C) process is applied. All samples have conventional low-bandgap semiconductor behavior with exponential resistance increase as measurement temperature decreases. The 750 nm-thick MoS2-MoSX nanowalls have a sheet carrier mobility of up to 2 cm2·V−1·s−1 and bulk carrier concentration of ~1017–1019 cm−3 range depending on RTA temperature. Furthermore, perpendicular field-dependent magnetoresistance at 300 K shows negative magnetoresistance behavior, which displays resistance decay by applying a magnetic field (MR ratio in the −1 % range at 5 T). Interestingly, 400 °C RTA treated samples show a resistance upturn when applying an external magnetic field of more than 3 T. Our research suggests tuneability of MoS2 nanowall size and mesoscopic electronic transport properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Growth and Characterization in the Development of Thin Films)
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Graphical abstract

11 pages, 2770 KiB  
Article
X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Depth Profiling of As-Grown and Annealed Titanium Nitride Thin Films
by Monzer Maarouf, Muhammad Baseer Haider, Qasem Ahmed Drmosh and Mogtaba B. Mekki
Crystals 2021, 11(3), 239; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11030239 - 27 Feb 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3112
Abstract
Titanium nitride thin films were grown on Si(001) and fused silica substrates by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. Post-growth annealing of the films was performed at different temperatures from 300 °C to 700 °C in nitrogen ambient. Films annealed at temperatures above 300 [...] Read more.
Titanium nitride thin films were grown on Si(001) and fused silica substrates by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. Post-growth annealing of the films was performed at different temperatures from 300 °C to 700 °C in nitrogen ambient. Films annealed at temperatures above 300 °C exhibit higher surface roughness, smaller grain size and better crystallinity compared to the as-grown film. Bandgap of the films decreased with the increase in the annealing temperature. Hall effect measurements revealed that all the films exhibit n-type conductivity and had high carrier concentration, which also increased slightly with the increase in the annealing temperature. A detailed depth profile study of the chemical composition of the film was performed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirming the formation of Ti-N bond and revealing the presence of chemisorbed oxygen in the films. Annealing in nitrogen ambient results in increased nitrogen vacancies and non-stoichiometric TiN films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Growth and Characterization in the Development of Thin Films)
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