Minghui Ding

The carboxyl-terminated 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) diffusion barrier was prepared onto a Si substrate via molecular self-assembly and graft modification technology. The SAM was afterward coated with a copper film via radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. In order to study the thermal stability of the diffusion barrier, the sample was subsequently annealed for 60 min in an Ar environment at the temperatures of 350 °C, 400 °C, 450 °C, 500 °C, and 550 °C. The results revealed that carboxyl modification enabled one to increase the barrier breakdown temperature of the APTMS diffusion barrier layer by about 100 °C, which was sufficient to effectively inhibit the copper diffusion at 500 °C.

α-Fe₂O₃ fusiform nanorods were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method employing the mixture of FeCl₃·6H₂O and urea as raw materials. The samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–DRS). Its visible-light photocatalytic performances were evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization methylene blue (MB) in visible light irradiation. It was found that pure phase α-Fe₂O₃ nanorods with a length of about 125 nm and a diameter of 50 nm were successfully synthesized. The photocatalytic decolorization of MB results indicated that α-Fe₂O₃ nanorods showed higher photocatalytic activity than that of commercial Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles—these are attributed to its unique three-dimensional structure and lower electron-hole recombination rate.

In the paper, by using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputter technology, the HfC coating grew on a 316L stainless steel substrate in an Ar atmosphere at various substrate bias voltages from 0 to −200 V. From the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments, the HfC coatings were well crystallized and (111) preferential growth had been successfully obtained by controlling bias voltage at −200 V. Nanoindentation experimental results for the prepared HfC coatings indicated that they possessed the maximum nanohardness due to the formation of the (111) orientation. The results of electrochemical measurements displayed that 316L stainless steel (316L) coated with the HfC coatings had better corrosion resistance than bare 316L. With the bias voltage increasing to −200 V, adhesion of the 316L substrate with the HfC coating could be greatly improved, as well as corrosion resistance. The antithrombogenicity of the HfC coatings was identified by platelet adhesive and hemolytic ratio assay in vitro. It was shown that the hemocompatibility of coated 316L had been improved greatly compared with bare 316L and the HfC coatings possessed better antithrombogenicity with the bias voltage elevating above −150 V.

The tensile behavior of composite laminate structures repaired by bonding external patches was studied in the paper. Two different types of patches including wedge patches and inverted wedge patches were used and failure mechanisms, failure load and strength predictions were studied. A convenient and fast method of building 2-D finite element modeling (FEM) of laminate structure repaired was proposed and the strength of repaired laminate structures was calculated by FEM. The results showed that more than 80% tensile strength of the undamaged laminate could be recovered by bonding patch repairs. Moreover, the results indicated that the strength of inverted wedge patches repair were higher than that of wedge patches repair. FEM simulation results indicated that high stress concentration was found along the edges of invert patches and the most weakness part located in the adhesive bondline. FEM analysis results showed that the strength predicted matched well with the test strength.

Ta-Si-N (10 nm)/Ti (20 nm) bilayer film has been designed with the purpose of using as diffusion barrier in copper interconnection. Ta-Si-N/Ti bilayer diffusion barriers were deposited on the substrate of n-type (100) silicon wafer using radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, followed by in situ deposition of copper. To investigate the thermal stability of the Ta-Si-N/Ti diffusion barriers, annealing was subsequently conducted in N₂ gas for 60 min and annealing temperatures were chosen at 600°C, 650°C, 700°C, 750°C, and 800°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that Ta-Si-N layer grown on the Ti layer exhibited an amorphous phase. The results indicated that Ta-Si-N/Ti film can prevent copper diffusion at 750°C. After annealing at 750°C, the production of Ti-Si layer can effectively decrease contact resistance between barrier and silicon.

In this work, a high quality thin-walled aluminum alloy casting with large thickness mutation and thin-walled parts accounting for 70% was manufactured by vacuum differential pressure casting. The influence of pouring temperatures on casting defects of the shell casting was investigated by numerical simulation software ProCAST and detection of the testing casting. The results indicated that the mobility of the molten metal was improved with pouring temperature increased from 680 to 750°C. In addition, as pouring temperature increased, the shrinkage of liquid metal in solidification process increased, which could lead to porosity shrinkage defects. The filling results were not good when the pouring temperature was set between 680 and 720°C. Meanwhile, the feeding channels were blocked during the solidification except using pouring temperature of 740°C. The optimized pouring temperature was chosen for 740°C according to the numerical simulation results. The fluorescence detection, X-ray detection, mechanical performance testing and metallographic observation results showed that the casting with fine microstructure and comprehensive mechanical properties could meet the aviation standards and be applied in aircraft engine.