Die Methode der Reaktiven Abscheidung wurde benutzt, um zu untersuchen ob und in welcher Weise das Silicidwachstum mittels einer Monolage aus Sb, d.h. mittels eines surfactant (surface active agent), gesteuert werden kann. Hierzu wurden unter UHV-Bedingungen die Metalle Mn, Ti und Ni auf geheizte Si(001) bzw. Si(001)-Sb Substrate abgeschieden. Die Probenanalyse erfolgte durch LEED, RBS, XRD, SEM, TEM und AFM. Die Theorie zum surfactant-gesteuerten Wachstum wird vorgestellt und auf das System des reaktiven Silicidwachstums übertragen. Die Probenanalysen zeigen, dass eine Monolage von Sb in der Lage ist das Wachstum der drei untersuchten Silicide zu beeinflussen. Für das System der Höheren Mangansilicide kommt es zu einer Erhöhung der Inseldichte um bis zu zwei Größenordnungen und zu Änderungen in den Orientierungsbeziehungen der Silicidinseln. Beim Wachstum der Titansilicidschichten konnte durch das surfactant die pinhole-Bildung unterdrückt werden. Das dritte untersuchte Silicid ist das Nickeldisilicid. In diesem Fall wird der Ort der Keimbildung von der Si-Oberfläche in das Volumen des Si-Substrates verschoben, d.h. die Oberfläche wird vollständig passiviert, zusätzlich treten neue Orientierungsbeziehungen auf.

Im Rahmen dieser Diplomarbeit erfolgte die Charakterisierung von dünnen Co-Al-Si-Schichten durch elektrische Messungen, RBS, REM, TEM, AES, MOKE sowie temperaturabhängige Messungen des spezifischen elektrischen Widerstandes. Es wurde die Phasenbildung in diesem ternären System und die Beeinträchtigung der Phasenbildung im System Co-Si in Abhängigkeit des Al-Gehaltes betrachtet. Die Co-Al-Schichten wurden duch Magnetronsputtern auf Si(001)-Substraten abgeschieden und im Temperaturbereich von 500°C bis 900°C getempert (30s).

GaAs-based nanowires are attractive building blocks for the development of future (opto)electronic devices owing to their excellent intrinsic material properties, such as the direct band gap and high electron mobility. A pre-requisite for the implementation of novel functionalities on a single Si chip is the monolithic integration of the nanowires on the well-established Si complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) platform with precise control of the nanowire growth process. The self-catalyzed (Ga-assisted) growth of GaAs nanowires on Si(111) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy has offered the possibility to obtain vertical nanowires with predominant zinc blende structure, while potential contamination by external catalysts like Au is eliminated. Although the growth mechanism is fairly well understood, control of the nucleation stage, the nanowire number density and the crystal structure has been proven rather challenging. Moreover, conventional growth processes are typically performed at relatively high substrate temperatures in the range of 560-630 °C, which limit their application to the industrial Si platform. This thesis provides two original methods in order to tackle the aforementioned challenges in the conventional growth processes. In the first part of this thesis, a simple surface modification procedure (SMP) for the in situ preparation of native-SiOx/Si(111) substrates has been developed. Using a pre-growth treatment of the substrates with Ga droplets and two annealing cycles, the SMP enables highly synchronized nucleation of all nanowires on their substrate and thus, the growth of exceptionally uniform GaAs nanowire ensembles with sub-Poissonian length distributions. Moreover, the nanowire number density can be tuned within three orders of magnitude and independent of the nanowire dimensions without prior ex situ patterning of the substrate. This work delivers a fundamental understanding of the nucleation kinetics of Ga droplets on native-SiOx and their interaction with SiOx, and confirms theoretical predictions about the so-called nucleation antibunching, the temporal anti-correlation of consecutive nucleation events. In the second part of this thesis, an alternative method called droplet-confined alternate-pulsed epitaxy (DCAPE) for the self-catalyzed growth of GaAs nanowires and GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axial nanowire heterostructures has been developed. DCAPE enables nanowire growth at unconventional, low temperatures in the range of 450-550 °C and is compatible with the standard Si-CMOS platform. The novel growth approach allows one to precisely control the crystal structure of the nanowires and, thus, to produce defect-free pure zinc blende GaAs-based nanowires. The strength of DCAPE is further highlighted by the controlled growth of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axial quantum well nanowires with abrupt interfaces and tunable thickness and Al-content of the AlxGa1-xAs sections. The GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axial nanowire heterostructures are interesting for applications as single photon emitters with tunable emission wavelength, when they are overgrown with thick lattice-mismatched InxAl1-xAs layers in a core-shell fashion. All results presented in this thesis contribute to paving the way for a successful monolithic integration of highly uniform GaAs-based nanowires with controlled number density, dimensions and crystal structure on the mature Si platform. / GaAs-basierte Nanodrähte sind attraktive Bausteine für die Entwicklung von zukünftigen (opto)elektronischen Bauelementen dank ihrer exzellenten intrinsischen Materialeigenschaften wie zum Beispiel die direkte Bandlücke und die hohe Elektronenbeweglichkeit. Eine Voraussetzung für die Realisierung neuer Funktionalitäten auf einem einzelnen Si Chip ist die monolithische Integration der Nanodrähte auf der etablierten Si-Metall-Oxid-Halbleiter-Plattform (CMOS) mit präziser Kontrolle des Wachstumsprozesses der Nanodrähte. Das selbstkatalytische (Ga-unterstützte) Wachstum von GaAs Nanodrähten auf Si(111)-Substrat mittels Molekularstrahlepitaxie bietet die Möglichkeit vertikale Nanodrähte mit vorwiegend Zinkblende-Struktur herzustellen, während die potentielle Verunreinigung der Nanodrähte und des Substrats durch externe Katalysatoren wie Au vermieden wird. Obwohl der Wachstumsmechanismus gut verstanden ist, erweist sich die Kontrolle der Nukleationsphase, Anzahldichte und Kristallstruktur der Nanodrähte als sehr schwierig. Darüber hinaus sind relativ hohe Temperaturen im Bereich von 560-630 °C in konventionellen Wachstumsprozessen notwendig, die deren Anwendung auf der industriellen Si Plattform begrenzen. Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert zwei originelle Methoden um die bestehenden Herausforderungen in konventionellen Wachstumsprozessen zu bewältigen. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit wurde eine einfache Prozedur, bezeichnet als surface modification procedure (SMP), für die in situ Vorbehandlung von nativem-SiOx/Si(111)-Substrat entwickelt. Die Substratvorbehandlung mit Ga-Tröpfchen und zwei Hochtemperaturschritten vor dem Wachstumsprozess ermöglicht eine synchronisierte Nukleation aller Nanodrähte auf ihrem Substrat und folglich das Wachstum von sehr gleichförmigen GaAs Nanodraht-Ensembles mit einer sub-Poisson Verteilung der Nanodrahtlängen. Des Weiteren kann die Anzahldichte der Nanodrähte unabhängig von deren Abmessungen und ohne ex situ Vorstrukturierung des Substrats über drei Größenordnungen eingestellt werden. Diese Arbeit liefert außerdem ein grundlegendes Verständnis zur Nukleationskinetik von Ga-Tröpfchen auf nativem-SiOx und deren Wechselwirkung mit SiOx und bestätigt theoretische Voraussagen zum sogenannten Nukleations-Antibunching, dem Auftreten einer zeitlichen Anti-Korrelation aufeinanderfolgender Nukleationsereignisse. Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit wurde eine alternative Methode, bezeichnet als droplet-confined alternate-pulsed epitaxy (DCAPE), für das selbstkatalytische Wachstum von GaAs Nanodrähten und GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axialen Nanodraht-Heterostrukturen entwickelt. DCAPE ermöglicht das Nanodrahtwachstum bei unkonventionell geringeren Temperaturen im Bereich von 450-550 °C und ist vollständig kompatibel mit der Standard-Si-CMOS-Plattform. Der neue Wachstumsansatz erlaubt eine präzise Kontrolle der Kristallstruktur der Nanodrähte und folglich das Wachstum von defektfreien Nanodrähten mit phasenreiner Zinkblende-Struktur. Die Stärke der DCAPE Methode wird des Weiteren durch das kontrollierte Wachstum von GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axialen Quantentopf-Nanodrähten mit abrupten Grenzflächen und einstellbarer Dicke und Al-Anteil der AlxGa1-xAs-Segmente aufgezeigt. Die GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs axialen Nanodraht-Heterostrukturen sind interessant für den Einsatz als Einzelphotonen-Emitter mit einstellbarer Emissionswellenlänge, wenn diese mit gitterfehlangepassten InxAl1-xAs-Schichten in einer Kern-Hülle-Konfiguration überwachsen werden. Alle Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit tragen dazu bei, den Weg für eine erfolgreiche monolithische Integration von sehr gleichförmigen GaAs-basierten Nanodrähten mit kontrollierbarer Anzahldichte, Abmessungen und Kristallstruktur auf der industriell etablierten Si-Plattform zu ebnen.

In dieser Arbeit wurden zunächst zwei Charakterisierungsmethoden zur zerstörungsfreien Detektion von Voids in lokalen Rückseitenkontakten bei PERC Solarzellen vorgestellt, die akustische Mikroskopie und die Computertomografie. Beide Messmethoden wurden anhand von Proben mit unterschiedlichen Al-Pasten getestet und mit beiden Messmethoden können Voids sehr gut erkannt werden. Zur Vermeidung von Voidbildung konnte der positive Einfluss der Siliziumbeimischung in die Al-Paste bestätigt werden. Desweiteren konnte anhand unterschiedlicher RTP Feuerprofile gezeigt werden, dass durch eine verlangsamte Aufheizphase die Bildung von Voids deutlich reduziert werden kann, während die Abkühlphase nur einen geringen Einfluss auf die Voidbildung zeigt. Mithilfe eigens hergestellter Al-Pasten, mit unterschiedlichen Al-Partikelgrößen, wurde gezeigt, dass Al-Pasten mit einer Mischung aus kleinen und großen Al-Partikeln ebenfalls einen positiven Einfluss auf die Ausbildung von Voids haben können.

Masters of Science / This study was conducted to investigate hydrogeochemical processes controlling the evolution of groundwater chemistry and their influence on water quality in the Heuningnes Catchment. The role or influence of hydrogeochemical processes in groundwater quality in aquifer systems remains poorly understood. One of the ways of improving such understanding is to employ different techniques to explore key processes that govern groundwater quality in aquifer systems. Therefore, the present study investigated hydrogeochemical processes of groundwater resources and identified key processes that explained its quality from a spatiotemporal perspective. The quantitative approach that provides the ability to assess relationships between variables both spatially and temporally was applied. Groundwater sampling was done on four occasions during July 2017, October 2017, March 2018, and July 2018. Identification of hydrogeochemical processes controlling the evolution of groundwater chemistry and quality was done using various complementary tools. These tools included classification of the main water types, evaluation of water-rock interaction by means of stoichiometry analysis and bivariate correlation plots, inverse geochemical modelling, and statistical analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis and factor analysis). Physical parameters were measured in situ, while water samples were collected from boreholes, piezometers, springs, and artesian boreholes for laboratory analysis for major ions analysis. Descriptive and bivariate statistical methods were used to summarise and evaluate the strength of the relationship between variables, while multivariate statistical methods were applied to group similar samples based on their chemical compositions. Tri linear Piper diagrams were generated to characterize water type based on double normalizing the proportions of cations and anions, while correlation and stoichiometric analysis were applied to identify hydrogeochemical processes influencing groundwater chemistry. The results generated from the trilinear Piper diagrams confirmed the dominance of sodium and chloride ions in waters of the Heuningnes Catchment. Groundwater of a Na/Cl type is typical for a coastal aquifer characterised by saline, deep ancient groundwater. The lower parts of the Catchment were characterised by saline groundwater. The results indicated that shallow groundwater samples within the study area were more mineralised as compared to deep groundwater with EC values ranging between 20.8 and 2990 mS/m, with waters within the Table Mountain Group region (TMG), recording the lowest values. Deep groundwater for boreholes and artesian boreholes located upstream in the Catchment was fresh and yielded some of the lowest EC values recorded with an EC value below 50 mS/m. Generally, EC values increased from the upper TMG region of the Catchment towards the Bokkeveld shale region downstream and were highest during the dry season of 2018. The results indicated strong geological influences on water chemistry. Bivariate correlation and stoichiometric analysis identified cation exchange, adsorption, evaporation, weathering of carbonates, sulphates and silicate minerals as processes influencing the chemistry of groundwater in the Heuningnes Catchment. The Saturation Index (SI) results showed a change of calcite, dolomite, aragonite, gypsum, anhydrite, halite, melantinterite, siderite and sylvite from being undersaturated to oversaturated at some areas for the different seasons along the flow path. The mass-balance modelling results indicated that ion exchange and reverse ion exchange processes were more dominant at low elevations along the same flow path during the dry periods. However, at high elevations along the flow path, silicate weathering was the dominant process taking place. The findings of this study demonstrated the influence of hydrogeochemical processes in changing the water chemistry along the flow paths. In conclusion, the study showed the value of utilising various assessment tools as complementary techniques to improve the understanding about hydrogeochemical processes, and its influence on evolution of groundwater chemistry and quality. Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made for future studies; the sample points or sample boreholes in the study Catchment should be increased; and to have more sampling trips to enable better comparison between the possible processes

This thesis work is focused on the influence of process parameters during gas atomization on the thermal spraying properties of a Ni-Cr-B-Si hardfacing alloy. The metal powder alloy, known as 1-60-20, is produced by Höganäs AB. There have been problems with insufficient fusing during flame spraying of this particular alloy sometimes, even though the chemical composition is always within spec. This has lead to a theory that the difference in performance is caused by differences in parameters during gas atomization. Several gas-gas and gas-water atomizations with varying parameters were performed at the Höganäs Pilot Centre. The powder samples were then analyzed by sieving, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and finally tested by powder welding. The results show that by increasing the cooling rate during gas atomization the formation of unstable Ni-borides is possible for this alloy. If these Ni-borides will enhance the fusing properties of the alloy is unknown. According to the literature studied, it should however improve the fusing properties.

Aluminium Al-Mg-Si alloys are the most commonly used in automotive and construction industry. Hexagonal ’-phase is one of the metastable phases occured in this type of alloys. Unlike classic square -phase, this ’-phase is characterized by different crystalographic orientation to the matrix and shape. Standard method used for identification of aluminium alloys is scanning electron microscopy (SEM), because of its quickness and efficiency, but in case of very thin or damaged structures (as a result of metallographic process) it’s insufficient. Scanning low energy electron microscopy (SLEEM) can be appropriate for identification of mentioned precipitates due to its physical principles resulting in many advantages compared to SEM. So the most important benefits are interaction volume reduction (which leads to improvement of surface sensitivity), increase of material contrast (ability to change matrix / precipitates contrast) as well as crystalographic contrast.

ermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) is a common method for surface analysis of adsorbed molecules. In chapter 1 the work deals with the theoretical background of this method and shows the principles of a desorption process influenced by subsurface diffusion. Chapter 2 first shows application of TDS for detection of surface molecules and determination of binding energy.Experiments were mainly focused on ditermination of surface adsorbents and impurities on Si wafers. The second part of chapter 2 describes desorption of atoms of a Ga layer on Si surface and their subsurface diffusion. A Ga diffusion process was also observed by with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and numerically simulated.

Ett nytt sätt att aktivera cellulosa för kemisk modifiering med hjälp av en miljövänlig process har utvecklats innan starten av detta projekt. Två versionen av den nyskapade betain-baserade jonvätskan, BBIL har syntetiserats, en som använder mesylat som motjon, M-BBIL och en som använder acetat, A-BBIL. Innan yt-initierad Ringöppningspolymerisation (SI-ROP) kan göras på den aktiverade cellulosan är det av intresse att undersöka hur jonvätskorna kommer påverka polymerisationen.  Det katalytiska beteendet hos både M-BBIL och A-BBIL testades på två olika polymerisationsreaktioner. Först testades ROP av ε-CL. Resultaten visade att ingen av jonvätskorna kunde visa någon samkatalytisk förmåga när de användes tillsammans med katalysatorerna MSA och DPP. När A-BBIL användes på egen hand ansågs den vara ineffektiv då termisk nedbrytning hämmade polymerisation vid temperaturer över 85oC. M-BBIL kunde dock uppnå bra kinetik då den användes vid 160oC. Den andra reaktionen som testades var coROP av ftalsyraanhydrid-cyklohexenoxid (PACHO) samt ftalsyraanhydrid-limonenoxid (PALO). Båda sampolymerisationer lyckades polymerisera med hjälp av M-BBIL, med endast mindre mängder av homopolymerisation av epoxiden under rätt förhållanden. Reaktionen visade sig dock vara mycket känslig för vatten och mer arbete krävs för att optimera reaktionen och nå högre molekylvikter. Tester för att försöka ympa PACHO polymerer på cellulosa som först hade aktiverats och sedan modifierats för att ha ftalsyraanhydrid på ytan visade sig också vara mycket känsliga för vatten. En lyckad ympning kunde dock uppnås genom att utföra reaktionen i ett delvist torkat, hydrofobt lösningsmedel. / A new way of activating cellulose for chemical modification using green processing conditions has been developed before the start of this thesis. Two versions of the novel betaine-based ionic liquid, BBIL has been synthesised, one using mesylate as a counter-ion, M-BBIL and one using acetate, A-BBIL. Before surface initiated-Ring Opening Polymerisation (SI-ROP) onto the activated cellulose can proceed, it is of interest to investigate the effects that the ionic liquids will have on the polymerization behaviour. The catalytic behaviour of both M-BBIL and A-BBIL were tested on two different polymerisation reactions. Firstly, ROP of ε-CL was tested. The results showed that neither ionic liquid could show any co-catalytic behaviour when used in combination with the catalysts MSA and DPP. When used on their own, A-BBIL was concluded to be ineffective since thermal degradation inhibited polymerisation at temperatures above 85oC. M-BBIL could however achieve good kinetics when used at 160oC. The second reaction that was tested was the coROP of phthahlic anhydridecyclohexene oxide (PACHO) and phthalic anhydride-limonene oxide (PALO). Both copolymerisations could successfully be polymerised using M-BBIL, with only minor amounts of homopolymerisation of the epoxide if the right conditions were used. The reactions were however shown to be highly sensitive to water and more optimization is needed to reach higher molecular weights. Tests of trying to graft the PACHO polymers onto cellulose that had first been activated and then modified with phthalic anhydride moieties was also shown to be highly sensitive to water. Successful grafting could however be achieved by performing reaction in partially dried hydrophobic solvents.

A diagnosis procedure is an algorithm to detect and locate (isolate) faulty components in a dynamic process. In 1994 the California Air Resource Board released a regulation, called OBD II, demanding a thorough diagnosis system on board automotive vehicles. These legislative demands indicate that diagnosis will become increasingly important for automotive engines in the next few years. To achieve diagnosis, redundancy has to be included in the system. This redundancy can be either hardware redundancy or analytical redundancy. Hardware redundancy, e.g. an extra sensor or extra actuator, can be space consuming or expensive. Methods based on analytical redundancy need no extra hardware, the redundancy here is generated from a process model instead. In this thesis, approaches utilizing analytical redundancy is examined. A literature study is made, surveying a number of approaches to the diagnosis problem. Three approaches, based on both linear and non-linear models, are selected and further analyzed and complete design examples are performed. A mathematical model of an SI-engine is derived to enable simulations of the designed methods.