In this paper, we report on investigation concerning the substrate-dependent thermal conductivity (k) of Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin-films processed at low temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering. The thermal conductivity of AlN films grown at low temperature (<200 °C) on single-crystal silicon (Si) and amorphous silicon nitride (SiN) with thicknesses ranging from 100 nm to 4000 nm was measured with the transient hot-strip technique. The k values for AlN films on SiN were found significantly lower than those on Silicon consistently with their microstructures revealed by X-ray diffraction, high resolution scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The change in k was due to the thermal boundary resistance found to be equal to 10 × 10⁻⁹ Km²W⁻¹ on SiN against 3.5 × 10⁻⁹ Km²W⁻¹ on Si. However, the intrinsic thermal conductivity was determined with a value as high as 200 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹ whatever the substrate.

Ti-6Al-4V and Mg-AZ31 were bonded together using the Transient Liquid Phase Bonding Process (TLP) after coating both surfaces with zinc. The zinc coatings were applied using the screen printing process of zinc paste. Successful bonds were obtained in a vacuum furnace at 500 °C and under a uniaxial pressure of 1 MPa using high frequency induction heat sintering furnace (HFIHS). Various bonding times were selected and all gave solid joints. The bonds were successfully achieved at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min. The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) line scan confirmed the diffusion of Zn in both sides but with more diffusion in the Mg side. Diffusion of Mg into the joint region was detected with significant amounts at bonds made for 20 min and above, which indicate that the isothermal solidification was achieved. In addition, Ti and Al from the base alloys were diffused into the joint region. Based on microstructural analysis, the joint mechanism was attributed to the formation of solidified mixture of Mg and Zn at the joint region with a presence of diffused Ti and Al. This conclusion was also supported by structural analysis of the fractured surfaces as well as the analysis across the joint region. The fractured surfaces were analyzed and it was concluded that the fractures occurred within the joint region where ductile fractures were observed. The strength of the joint was evaluated by shear test and found that the maximum shear strength achieved was 30.5 MPa for the bond made at 20 min.

Scanning tunneling microscopy images confirm electron difraction studies that the zinc-blende $\mathrm{GaN}(001)\mathrm{\text{−}}4\times$ reconstruction consists of rows aligned along $[110]$ with a spacing along $[1\overline{1}0]$ of $4a$. Dual-bias imaging shows a 180° shift of the corrugation maximum position between the profiles of empty and occupied states, in agreement with surface simulations based on the $4\times 1$ linear tetramer model of Neugebauer et al. [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3097 (1998)]. Electronic structure calculations predict a surface band gap of 1.1 eV, close to the measured value of 1.14 eV and the previously predicted value (1.2 eV). Despite the successes of this model, high-resolution images reveal an unexpected $3\times$ periodicity (not seen in diffraction) along the $[110]$ row direction, indicating the need for a $4\times 3$ model, and putting into question the existence of linear Ga tetramers.

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.

In this work, we investigate the potential of exploiting TiO₂ thin films as sensing layers on silicon micro-electromechanical systems for the detection of gamma radiations. All samples are exposed to gamma rays produced by ⁶⁰Co, with different doses ranging from 0 kGy to 40 kGy. Properties of silicon coated with a 200-nm-thick layer of TiO₂ grown at 200 °C by atomic layer deposition are studied before and after its gamma irradiation using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is carried out on functionalized microcantilevers to measure the resonance frequency shift (Δf ₀) resulting from irradiation of the TiO₂ thin film. XRD results show a change in the films from a mixture of rutile and anatase phases to an anatase phase upon irradiation. Spectroscopic ellipsometry results show a change with a fixed pattern in the film thickness, roughness, void, and optical constants with different irradiation doses. This pattern appears as Δf ₀ in AFM, where the response of sensors to doses between 0 kGy and 20 kGy was linear. The values of Δf ₀ are convenient to control parameters for the proposed dosimeter, which is characterized by the reproducibility and sensitivity of measurements. The maximum detectable linear effect of the proposed dosimeter was found at a dose of 20 kGy. This makes a 200-nm thin layer of TiO₂ coated on a microcantilever surface, a possible candidate for dosimetry for the range lower than 20 kGy applications, such as in personal dosimeters.

In this study, a sensing device employing a gold-coated quartz tuning fork (QTF) modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of L-cysteine was evaluated for the sensitive detection of Cu²⁺ ions in aqueous solutions. Three copper (II) salts, CuSO₄, CuCl₂, and Cu(NO₃)₂, at four different concentrations (10⁻¹², 10⁻¹⁰, 10⁻⁸, and 10⁻⁶ M) in small (100 μL) water sample amounts were each used as analytes to investigate the influence of their counterions in the detection of the Cu²⁺ ions. It was found that, among the counterions, the sulfate anion had the largest effect upon the detection of Cu²⁺ in water, in the following order: SO₄²⁻ > Cl⁻ > NO₃⁻. The lower limit of detection of the Cu²⁺ ions detected was in the 10⁻¹² M range. The frequency shifts measured with the QTFs relative to deionized water were inversely proportional to the concentration/mass of the analytes. Density functional theory calculations were conducted to understand the effect of the counterions on the respective electronic interaction energies for the apparent host–guest binding of the analytes with L-cysteine and with gold surface-bound L-cysteine molecules. Gas phase (both with and uncorrected BSSE) and solution phase interaction energies (ΔIE) calculated at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ and ωB97XD levels of theory showed that the stability for the complexes were in the following order: [L-cysteine]⊃[CuSO₄] > [L-cysteine]⊃[CuCl₂] > [L-cysteine]⊃[Cu(NO₃)₂], which supports our experimental findings, as they were in the same order as the experimentally observed order for the copper salts tested: CuSO₄ > CuCl₂ > Cu(NO₃)₂.