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The main aim of this thesis was to design and develop new Aluminium based compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) using the high entropy alloy (HEA) concept, and to understand their evolution of microstructures during casting and also after the secondary process which is heat-treatment, and finally to evaluate their subsequent mechanical properties. Prior to the development of alloys, a computational technique ThermoCalc was used which helped in understanding the phase formation in various results. Use of thermodynamic physical parameters for predicting the stability of single-phase fields was done to assess their validity in predicting the compositional regions of the alloys developed. The first alloy developed is Al73.6Mg18Ni1.5Ti1.9Zr1Zn4 in at% (NiTiZrZn) CCA. The microstructure consists of the FCC as a primary phase with ~49% volume fraction along with β-AlMg and intermetallic (IM) phases including Al3Ni, Al3Ti, and Al3Zr. After casting, the microstructure showed some presence of eutectic structures. The Al3Ti, and Al3Zr IM phases seemed to precipitate early which led to less homogenization of Ti and Zr, causing deviation in the amount of these elements in the matrix. Further, the CCA was heat-treated at 375 oC for 24hrs and 48hrs and the evolution of microstructure along with its hardness and phase transformation characterisation was investigated. The second developed alloy was quaternary Al65.65Mg21.39Ag10.02Ni2.94 in at% (AgNi) CCA. In the as-cast state, the main phase (matrix) was FCC with ~64 % volume fraction along with BCC, β-AlMg and Al3Ni IM phases. There was a good level homogenization of all elements in the alloy. They were further heat- treated at 400 oC for 24 hrs and 48 hrs and were studied for any change in microstructure along with its hardness and thermal stability. This CCA had the highest hardness value from all developed CCAs. Lastly, in order to check how Ni affects the microstructure and properties of (AgNi) CCA, a ternary Al67.2Mg22.09Ag10.7 in at% (Ag) CCA was developed. The composition was kept such that it is exactly 97% by excluding the Ni. During the development of this alloy, the cast was cooled in two ways first being the normal cooled just like other CCAs and second being a fast cooling method. Both of these alloys consists of the FCC phase as a primary phase with 72% volume fraction along with BCC and β-AlMg. Both of them were also heat treated at 400 oC for 24 hrs and 48 hrs to evaluate any changes in microstructure and also to assess its hardness and thermal stability.

The thesis is dedicated to the synthesis, comprehensive material science and some sensing properties of SnO2-MetOx oxide systems (where MetOx are IVB and IIIB metal oxides). The study was performed in comparison with blank SnO2, and SnO2 doped with noble metals (Pd, Pt, Rh and their binary mixtures). Results of 8 ex-situ (TEM, HRTEM, XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, BET, XPS and element analysis), 5 in-situ (TGA, MS-analysis, DRIFT, TXRD, TPR) techniques and sensing properties characterization (DC measurements as a function of temperature and gas composition) are discussed regarding surface chemistry of SnO2 sensing phenomenon. The special attention is paid to the role of surface hydroxyls in the processes related with conductivity change of semiconductor adsorbents upon hydrogen chemisorption and oxidation in dry and humid air. / Los principales objetivos de la presente investigación fueron la síntesis de las sistemas oxídicos SnO2-MetOx (donde MetOx corresponde a los óxidos de grupos IVB y IIIB), el estudio extensivo de sus propiedades fisicoquímicas y sus propiedades como sensores de gases. La investigación se ha basado en la comparación de estos materiales con el SnO2 puro y el SnO2 dopado con metales nobles (Pd, Pt, Rh y sus combinaciones binarias). Resultados de 8 estudios ex-situ (TEM, HRTEM, XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, BET, XPS y MS-análisis de elementos), 5 estudios in-situ (TGA, MS-analysis, DRIFT, TXRD, TPR) y la caracterización de los sensores de gases (conductividad de los materiales semiconductores en función de la temperatura y los componentes de los gases compuestos) se analizan considerando las reacciones químicas superficiales del SnO2. Se ha prestado una especial atención en la participación de los grupos hidroxilo superficiales en el mecanismo de cambio de conductividad del adsorbente semiconductor durante la quimisorción u oxidación del hidrógeno en el aire seco o húmedo.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:46:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 07610.pdf: 4151963 bytes, checksum: 44edae9437590a9401a9113766dec153 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

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We investigate the electronic band structure of device relevant GaInNAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and veitical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) structures. We report photo-modulated reflectance (PR) studies under applied pressure and variable temperature that probe the influence of N-related states on the electronic structure of dilute nitrogen (N) III-V MQWs. The pressure and temperature dependence of the intersubband transitions within the MQWs is reduced by addition of N. By matching our experimental results with a theoretical model important predictions for the ground-state electron effective mass and conduction band offset as a function of N and pressure are made. We present results of angle- and temperature-dependent electro-reflectance (ER) measurements on a dilute-N GaInNAs VCSEL and show that these explain how the corresponding VCSEL device can operate over a such a wide range of temperatures. We argue that intrinsic properties of dilute-N QWs provide novel ways to design laser devices, especially in the crucial telecommunication range of wavelengths. We show how non-destructive ER and PR measurements can be used, in order to estimate the QW transition energy when it is coupled with the cavity mode (CM). The energy of the main exciton is determined by monitoring the amplitude and the phase of the PR spectra. The ER measurements are presented on the GaInNAs VCSEL described in the previous paragraph. Furthermore we present a growth characterisation study on a representative InGaAs/GaAs/AlAs/AlGaAs as-grown VCSEL structure, using PR spectroscopy as a function of position on a non-uniform wafer. We also show how temperature dependent PR and the appropriate lineshape model can be used to obtain a full picture of the relative movements between the gain and the CM over the full range of temperature. This information allows calculating the material gain in the temperature range of interest, independent from the effect of the CM and also provides an alternative method for characterising the growth, which can be applied to uniform wafers. PR and non-destructive ER can be used to identify regions suitable for fabrication into devices. For this reason modulation spectroscopy can be very useful for industry to reject wafers where good alignment between the CM and the QW does not occur and can thus save on the time consuming and expensive fabrication procedures.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:46:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:05:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP / FAPESP:99/12494-9

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:46:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 07610.pdf: 4151963 bytes, checksum: 44edae9437590a9401a9113766dec153 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:48:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 09307.pdf: 3599752 bytes, checksum: c720dc7c7bbb65919b1861882ea4796e (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP / FAPESP:01/08029-0