abstract: Microelectronic industry is continuously moving in a trend requiring smaller and smaller devices and reduced form factors with time, resulting in new challenges. Reduction in device and interconnect solder bump sizes has led to increased current density in these small solders. Higher level of electromigration occurring due to increased current density is of great concern affecting the reliability of the entire microelectronics systems. This paper reviews electromigration in Pb- free solders, focusing specifically on Sn0.7wt.% Cu solder joints. Effect of texture, grain orientation, and grain-boundary misorientation angle on electromigration and intermetallic compound (IMC) formation is studied through EBSD analysis performed on actual C4 bumps. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. English 2013

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have been a subject of intense research interest in recent years. High thermal conductivity of graphene can be utilized for many thermal management applications. In spite of possessing very high electron mobility, graphene can’t be used as transistors because of the absence of band gap; however transition metal dichalcogenides are another class of two-dimensional van der Waals materials with inherent band gap and show a great promise for future nanoelectronic applications. But in order to tailor these properties for commercial applications, we should develop a better understanding of the effect of extrinsic factors like size, rough edges, grain boundaries, mass-impurities, interaction with substrate etc. on thermal and electrical transport. Most materials exhibit a smooth ballistic-to-diffusive type of thermal transport in which when the sample size is small as compared to mean-free-path of phonons the transport is ballistic, whereas, when the sample size is large as compared to phonon mean-free-path, phonons undergo multiple scattering events and the thermal transport becomes diffusive in nature. However, graphene exhibits an atypical thermal transport behavior where thermal conductivity shows an increasing logarithmic trend even for samples far greater than the mean-free-path of phonons. We show that this anomalous behavior can be attributed to the significant contribution coming from momentum-conserving normal phonon-phonon scattering. Secondly, graphene grain boundaries have been found to significantly reduce thermal conductivity even in the presence of substrates. In spite of numerous studies on the effect of grain boundaries (GBs) on thermal conductivity in graphene, there lacks a complete correlation between GB resistance and misorientation angle across graphene GBs. We show a direct correlation between thermal GB resistance and mismatch angles with low angle mismatch can be captured only by GB roughness, whereas, large mismatch angles will lead to the formation of a disordered patch at the interface and it could significantly deteriorate the overall thermal conductivity even in the presence of substrates. GBs are found to affect electrical transport in two-dimensional systems as well. Owing to the excellent electronic properties and compactness of these two-dimensional materials, high quality 2D heterojunctions are the subject of intense research interest in recent years. Graphene-MoS2 heterojuctions are found to form ohmic contacts and show great potential for future nanoelectronic applications. We show that the interface resistance in Gr-MoS2 heterojuctions can affect the overall resistance of the device if the channel (MoS2) length is small at low carrier densities, whereas, at high carrier densities interface resistance do not play much role in determining the resistance of the entire device. However, if graphene and MoS2 grains are misorientated then interface resistance can play a crucial role in determining the overall resistance of the device. We also show a weak dependence of misorientation angles on GB resistance across MoS2 grain boundaries.

This thesis deals with complex analysis of fine-grained magnesium alloy AZ91 prepared by ECAP process. Mechanical properties of investigated alloy in different states at various external conditions are compared. The structure of this material is inherently unstable therefore changes on microstructural and sub-microstructural level occur during thermal exposure and/or mechanical loading. These changes are analysed and quantified for investigated alloy in selected states in this thesis.

In recent years there has been a growing demand to produce lightweight high pressure die cast (HPDC) parts for structural applications to decrease vehicle mass and to reduce manufacturing costs. Due to the coupled rapid heat flow and complex flow/deformation that occur in the process, the formation of microstructure and defects in HPDC are still not fully understood. Developing a better understanding of microstructure formation is essential to enable advances in die design and process optimisation, as well as alloy development, to improve the quality and productivity of HPDC components. Therefore, this thesis aims to enhance this understanding by conducting detailed microstructural analysis of samples produced in controlled HPDC experiments. In the first series of experiments, various microstructure characterisation techniques were used to study salient HPDC microstructural features. The microstructures of castings were characterised at different length scales, from the scale of the casting to the scale of the eutectic interlamellar spacing. The results show that the salient as-cast microstructural features, e.g. externally solidified crystals (ESCs), defect bands, surface layer, grain size distribution, porosity and hot tears were similar for both two HPDC-specific Al alloys used, AlSi4MgMn and AlMg5Si2Mn. The formation of these features has been explained by considering the influence of flow and solidification during each stage of the HPDC process. The formation of defect bands is further studied by investigating the ratio between band thickness ( ) and average grain size in the band ( ). Suitable methods for measuring w and dsb in HPDC have been developed. The w/dsb relationship of defect bands has been investigated in HPDC specimens from a range of alloys, casting geometries and band locations within castings. The bands were measured to be 7-18 mean grains wide. This is substantial evidence that defect bands form due to strain localisation in partially solidified alloys during cold-chamber and hot-chamber HPDC. At the end of solidification, dilatant shear bands contain a higher eutectic volume fraction and/or porosity content than adjacent material. In the cross-section of the AM50 Mg alloy, the centrally-located band contains a much higher volume fraction of concentrated porosity than the second-outermost band and insignificant porosity was found in the outermost band. The level of porosity in bands was attributed to the relative difficulty of feeding shrinkage for each band location. As the feeding of material during the intensification stage is important for the reduction of porosity, the influence of intensification pressure (IP) and gate thickness on the transport of material through the gate during the latter stages of HPDC were investigated. Microstructural characterisation of the gate region indicated a marked change in feeding mechanism with increasing IP and gate size. Castings produced with a high IP and/or thick gate contained a relatively low fraction of total porosity and shear band-like features existed through the gate, suggesting that semi-solid strain localisation in the gate is involved in feeding during the pressure intensification stage. When a low IP is combined with a thin gate, no shear band was observed in the gate and feeding was less effective, resulting in a higher level of porosity in the HPDC component. As equiaxed primary crystals are subjected to intense shear during HPDC, their agglomeration and bending behaviour were investigated in the last series of experiment. Samples produced by near-static cooling, HPDC and Thixomoulding®, where the solidifying crystals experience different levels of mechanical stresses, were characterised. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to acquire grain misorientation data which is linked to the crystal agglomeration and bending behaviour during solidification. The number fraction of low-energy grain boundaries in HPDC and Thixomoulded samples was substantially higher than in ‘statically cooled’ samples. This is attributed to the much higher shear stresses and pressure applied on the solidifying alloy in HPDC and Thixomoulding, which promote crystal collisions and agglomeration. In-grain misorientations were found to be significant only in branched dendritic crystals which were subjected to significant shear stresses. This is related to the increased bending moment acting on long protruding dendrite arms compared to more compact crystal morphologies.

Inhomogeneous deformation fields arising from the grain-grain interactions in polycrystalline materials have been evaluated using a crystal plasticity finite element method and extensively compared to neutron diffraction measurements under fatigue crack growth conditions. The roles of intergranular deformation anisotropy, grain boundary damage, and non-common deformation mechanisms (such as twinning for hexagonal close packed crystals) are systematically evaluated. The lattice misorientation field can be used to determine the intragranular deformation behavior in polycrystals or to describe the deformation inhomogeneity due to dislocation plasticity in single crystals. The study of indentation-induced lattice misorientation fields in single crystals sheds lights on the understanding of the scale-dependent plasticity mechanisms. A two-scale micromechanical analysis is performed to study the lattice strain distributions near a fatigue crack tip. The experimental finding of vanishing residual intergranular strain in polycrystals as the increase of the fully reversed loading cycles suggests the intergranular damage be the dominant failure mechanism. Our model predictions are compared to in situ neutron diffraction measurements of Ni-based superalloys under fatigue crack growth conditions. Predicted and measured lattice strains in the vicinity of fatigue crack tips illustrate the important roles played by the intergranular damage and the surrounding plasticity in fatigue growth. Motivated by the synchrotron x-ray measurements of lattice rotation fields in single crystals under indentation, the effect of the orientation of slip systems on the 2D wedge indentation of a model single crystal is investigated. Furthermore, the crystallographic orientations of the indented solids are gradually rotated, resulting changes of lattice misorientation patterns under the indenter. These 2D simulations, as well as a 3D Berkovich indentation simulation, suggest a kinematic relationship between the lattice misorientation and crystalline slip fields. Advanced structural materials such as light-weighted materials, nanocrystalline metals/alloys, and hierarchically structured alloys often encounter unconventional deformation mechanisms. The convolution of crystalline slip and deformation twin are considered in the hexagonal close packed polycrystals. Specifically, we have determined the lattice strain distributions near fatigue crack tips in Zircaloy-4, and the role of tensile-twins on intergranular strain evolution in a wrought Mg alloy, which compare favorable to available neutron diffraction measurements.

abstract: Shock loading is a complex phenomenon that can lead to failure mechanisms such as strain localization, void nucleation and growth, and eventually spall fracture. The length scale of damage with respect to that of the surrounding microstructure has proven to be a key aspect in determining sites of failure initiation. Studying incipient stages of spall damage is of paramount importance to accurately determine initiation sites in the material microstructure where damage will nucleate and grow and to formulate continuum models that account for the variability of the damage process due to microstructural heterogeneity, which is the focus of this research. Shock loading experiments were conducted via flyer-plate impact tests for pressures of 2-6 GPa and strain rates of 105/s on copper polycrystals of varying thermomechanical processing conditions. Serial cross sectioning of recovered target disks was performed along with electron microscopy, electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), focused ion beam (FIB) milling, and 3-D X-ray tomogrpahy (XRT) to gain 2-D and 3-D information on the spall plane and surrounding microstructure. Statistics on grain boundaries (GB) containing damage were obtained from 2-D data and GBs of misorientations 25° and 50° were found to have the highest probability to contain damage in as-received (AR), heat treated (HT), and fully recrystallized (FR) microstructures, while {111} Σ3 GBs were globally strong. The AR microstructure’s probability peak was the most pronounced indicating GB strength is the dominant factor for damage nucleation. 3-D XRT data was used to digitally render the spall planes of the AR, HT, and FR microstructures. From shape fitting the voids to ellipsoids, it was found that the AR microstructure contained greater than 55% intergranular damage, whereas the HT and FR microstructures contained predominantly transgranular and coalesced damage modes, respectively. 3-D reconstructions of large volume damage sites in shocked Cu multicrystals showed preference for damage nucleation at GBs between adjacent grains of a high Taylor factor mismatches as well as an angle between the shock direction and the GB physical normal of ~30°-45°. 3-D FIB sectioning of individual voids led to the discovery of uniform plastic zones ~25-50% the size of the void diameter and plastic deformation directions were characterized via local average misorientation maps. Incipient transgranular voids revealed from the sectioning process were present in grains of high Taylor factors along the shock direction, which is expected as materials with a low Taylor factor along the shock direction are susceptible to growth due their accomodation of plastic deformation. Fabrication of square waves using photolithography and chemical etching was developed to study the nature of plasticity at GBs away from the spall plane. Grains oriented close to <0 1 1> had half the residual amplitudes than grains oriented close to <0 0 1>. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 2015

Understanding microstructural evolution in Friction Stir Welding (FSW) of steels is essential in order to understand and optimize the process. Ferritic steels undergo an allotropic phase transformation. This makes microstructural evolution study very challenging. An approach based on Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) and phase transformation orientation relationships is introduced to reconstruct pre-transformed grain structure and texture. Reconstructed pre-transformed and post-transformed grain structures and textures were investigated in order to understand microstructural evolution. Texture results show that there is evidence of shear deformation as well as recrystallization in the reconstructed prior austenite. Room temperature ferrite exhibits well-defined shear deformation texture components. Shear deformation texture in the room temperature microstructure implies that FSW imposes deformation during and after the phase transformation. Prior austenite grain boundary analysis shows that variant selection is governed by interfacial energy. Variants that have near ideal BCC/FCC misorientation relative to their neighboring austenite and near zero misorientation relative to neighboring ferrite are selected. Selection of coinciding variants in transformed prior austenite Σ3 boundaries supports the interfacial-energy-controlled variant selection mechanism.

Teacher absenteeism is a major concern in many school districts around the country. There have been numerous studies on the topic, but we as educators are still dealing with the problems of teacher absenteeism. To get a good understanding of teacher and administrator perceptions of this problem, a quantitative research approach was used. Quantitative data was gathered using a questionnaire with 28 Likert scale questions. One hundred teachers and three administrators participated in this part of the study. In addition, structured questions were used to interview three teachers and three administrators. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine which predictor variables presented in the demographic section of the questionnaire contributed to variation in the various dependent variables, e.g. attendance. All multiple regression analyses were performed at the .05 level of statistical significance. The t-test for attendance indicated that the predictor variable, age, was statistically significant and could be concluded that the older the teacher, the less absenteeism. The t-test for attendance indicated that the predictor variable, degree, was statistically significant and could be concluded that the higher the degree, the less absenteeism. The t-test for operating procedures indicated that the predictor variable, years of experience, was statistically significant and could be concluded that the more experience, the more familiar were teachers with the operating procedures of the school. The t-test for training indicated that the predictor variable, years experience, was statistically significant and could be concluded that the more experience, the more inclined regular teachers were for substitute teacher training. The survey responses revealed many similarities between the teachers and administrators. Teachers and administrators believe there is reduced student achievement taking place when there are substitute teachers in the classroom. Because of this, all teachers and administrators feel the need for extensive professional development for substitute teachers. Teachers and administrators agree that student attendance is affected by substitute teachers in the classrooms. From all points of view, it is strongly believed that operational procedures are greatly affected when several regular teachers are absent at the same time and substitutes are in their classrooms.

Le titane et ses alliages sont devenus des matériaux incontournables dans l'aéronautique, le domaine biomédical et l'industrie chimique et ce depuis le début des années 1950 en raison de haut rapport résistance/poids, une excellente biocompatibilité et une bonne résistance à la corrosion. La structure hexagonale du titane conduit à une anisotropie intrinsèque, due à la configuration atomique particulière et à une anisotropie extrinsèque, due à une texture marquée produite lors de leur élaboration. Le but de cette étude est d'améliorer la compréhension des mécanismes de déformation (glissement et maclage) dans le titane conduisant à cette anisotropie extrinsèque. Une technique d’essais interrompus in situ en MEB / EBSD a été utilisée lors la déformation plastique d’un alliage de titane T40 commercialement pur afin de suivre l'évolution de l'orientation cristalline et de la morphologie des grains au cours de la déformation sous différents types de chargement (traction, laminage, cisaillement). Cette technique permet de suivre l’apparition du maclage, la croissance et la forme des macles, l’interaction des variants de macles avec les grains voisins. Le Facteur de Schmid, l’orientation cristallographique, l'énergie de déformation plastique, et la déformation localisée liée à l’accommodation ont été calculés pour analyser l'activation du maclage, la croissance des macles, et la sélection de variant de macle. Des variants de macles avec un faible facteur Schmid, facteur qui exprime la force appliquée externe sur le plan de maclage et le long de la direction de maclage, ont été observés. Cela indique le facteur Schmid n'est pas très approprié pour prédire le maclage. Une règle de sélection de variant de maclage a été proposée sur la base de la consommation maximale d'énergie plastique. L'énergie plastique (on suppose le matériau comme étant rigide parfaitement plastique) consommée est calculée de la façon suivante : la déformation que produit chaque variant est exprimée du repère cristal au repère macroscopique ; la contrainte suit une loi de type Hall Petch, le diamètre des grains est alors défini comme la longueur maximale que peut prendre chaque variant dans le grain. Le variant qui consomme le plus d’énergie est activé le premier. Ces calculs sont en bon accord avec l'observation expérimentale : Les variants de macles sélectionnés étaient ceux conduisant à une consommation maximale de l'énergie plastique. Le libre parcours que peut prendre chaque variant est un critère pertinent puisque cela permet d’expliquer les différences observées dans un grain équiaxe ou un grain allongé en terme de nombre de variants présents et croissance des macles. Les essais interrompus in – situ montrent des chaines de macles ou paires de macles (propagation dans 2 ou plusieurs grains voisins). Une macle est activée en premier dans un grain, avec sa croissance, elle impose un champ de contrainte et un champ de déformation dans les grains voisins ce qui peut activer une macle dans les grains voisins. Les paires de macles ont un paramètre de Luster - Morris relativement élevé, ce qui traduit une bonne compatibilité entre les macles et une propagation facile de macle dans les grains voisins. Par une simple transformation du tenseur gradient de déplacement du variant utilisé dans le grain considéré on obtient la déformation imposée dans le grain voisin. Le variant de macle dans ce grain voisin pouvant accommoder le plus facilement la déformation imposée sera activé. Ceci montre que la déformation locale peut influencer l’activation et la sélection de variant de macle / Titanium and its alloys have become backbone materials for aerospace, biomedical field and chemical industries since the early 1950s because of the high strength-weight ratio, excellent biocompatibility, and good corrosion resistance. The hexagonal structure of titanium leads to an intrinsic anisotropy of the particular atomic configuration and extrinsic anisotropy of the texture to a product marked in their elaboration. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the deformation mechanisms (slip and twinning) in the titanium leading to the extrinsic anisotropy. Technical testing interrupted in situ SEM / EBSD was used in the plastic deformation of a commercially pure titanium alloy T40 to follow the crystal orientation and morphology of the grains during deformation under different types of loading (tension, rolling). This technique allows following the occurrence of twinning, growth and shape of the twins, the interaction of the twin variants with neighboring grains. Schmid factor, crystallographic orientation, plastic deformation energy, and localized strain accommodation were calculated to analyze the twin activation, the twin growth, and twin variant selection. Twinning variant with relatively low global Schmid factor, which resolves the externally applied force onto the twinning plane and along the twinning direction, were observed. That indicates the global Schmid factor is not very appropriate to predict twinning. A twinning variant selection rule was proposed based on the maximum plastic energy consumption. The plastic energy ( the material is assumed to be perfectly rigid plastic) consumed is calculated as follows: the deformation produced by each variant is expressed from crystal frame to macro frame; stress follows a Hall Petch type rule, the grain diameter is then defined as the maximum length that can take each variant in the grain. The variant which can consume the maximum of the externally imposed energy is expected to twin first. The calculation results show good agreement with the experimental observation: The selected twin variants were the one leading to maximum plastic energy consumption. The variant free path length relevant criterion so indicates the reason why the equiaxed grains and elongated grains have the difference in twin variant number and twinning variant growth. The interrupted in-situ investigation shows that the twin chains or twin pairs observed in this work are a sequential twinning behavior. A twin activated first, with its growth, it imposes a strain field and a stress field into its neighboring grains and possibly stimulate a twin in the neighboring grain. The twin pairs show a good alignment with a relatively high Luster-Morris parameter, which is a measure of the compatibility of twinning systems through a grain boundary. By the displacement gradient tensor transformation, the imposed strain into the neighboring grain was obtained. The twinning variant which can better accommodate the imposed strain can be activated. It indicates that the local strain can influence the twinning activation and variant selection

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