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At least 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Influence of Surface Treatment on the Interfacial and Mechanical Performance of Metal-Insert Overmolded Composites

Structural composites with metal inserts are gaining increasing interest enabling light weight design for energy efficiency, provide insulation, corrosion protection without compromising mechanical integrity. Such over molded metal-polymer composites show strong potential in many automotive and aerospace component parts, e.g. car bumper, chassis, door, brackets, fasteners, etc. Despite several advantages, metal-polymer dissimilar interface remains a weak spot in structural design, requiring further investigation to improve interfacial interlocking. The current work focuses on enhancing the metal-polymer adhesion between stainless steel inserts and polymer matrices (e.g. acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS), and polyamide 66 (PA66) through surface treatment via chemical etching and mechanical roughening. In the chemical etching process, metal substrates were treated with aqua regia solution for different time intervals to evaluate surface roughness measured by water contact angle and morphology analysis. For mechanical roughening approach, metal inserts were subjected to blasting for surface abrasion. Treated samples were also functionalized with aminosilane coupling agent which showed successful grafting on the surface measured by water contact angle. Metal inserts with micro level surface roughness through etching exhibited significant 21% improvement in adhesion strength compared to untreated inserts; however, the effect of silane treatment on the interfacial strength was found to be highly matrix dependent.

Saha, Subhabrata [ORNL] (ORCID:000000033966064X)↗
NASA NTRS1973

Characteristics of tracks of ions of 14 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 36 in common rock silicates.

Identification of heavy ion tracks in minerals by measurements of track etch rates and total etchable track lengths were irradiated with beams of Si, Cl, Ti, Fe, Zn, and Kr at energies up to 10.35 MeV/nucleon. Nine minerals commonly used to study fossil cosmic ray tracks in meteorites and lunar samples. From measurements of etched track length as a function of residual range, response curves for various minerals were determined as a function of ionization rate, using the expression previously derived by Price et al. (1968). These curves increase smoothly with ionization rate instead of rising abruptly at some critical value as was previously thought. It is shown that the track etch rate concept accounts qualitatively for total etchable track length distributions, but that the positions of the peaks of different elements in these histograms occur at shorter lengths for fossil tracks than for fresh tracks. Annealing data indicate that, at maximum lunar surface temperatures, tracks in olivine, orthopyroxenes, and feldspars may be significantly shortened, whereas tracks in clinopyroxenes will not be affected.

Price, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Residual stresses in boron/tungsten and boron/carbon fibers

By measuring the change in fracture stress of 203 micrometer diameter fibers of boron on tungsten (B/W) as a function of fiber diameter as reduced by chemical etching, it is shown that the flaws which limit B/W fiber strength are located at the surface and in the tungsten boride core. After etching to a diameter of 188 micrometers m virtually all fiber fractures were caused by core flaws, the average strength being 4.50 GN/sq m. If both the surface and core flaws are removed, the fracture strength, limited by flaws in the boron itself, is approximately 6.89 GN/sq m. This was measured on B/W fibers which were split longitudinally and had their cores removed by chemical etching. The longitudinal residual stress distribution was determined for 102 micrometer diameter B/W and B/C fibers.

Behrendt, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effects of ultrathin oxides in conducting MIS structures on GaAs

Schottky barrier-type GaAs baseline devices (semiconductor surface etched and then immediately metalized) and GaAs conducting metal oxide-semiconductor devices are fabricated and characterized. The baseline surfaces (no purposeful oxide) are prepared by a basic or an acidic etch, while the surface for the MIS devices are prepared by oxidizing after the etch step. The metallizations used are thin-film Au, Ag, Pd, and Al. It is shown that the introduction of purposeful oxide into these Schottky barrier-type structures examined on n-type GaAs modifies the barrier formation, and that thin interfacial layers can modify barrier formation through trapping and perhaps chemical reactions. For Au- and Pd-devices, enhanced photovoltaic performance of the MIS configuration is due to increased barrier height.

Childs, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Improved process control for VMOS FET's

Method is applied in middle of fabrication process: (a) after mask region is formed, diffused-boron region is etched; (b) etching is left incomplete for ion implantation; (c) boron ions are implanted into region to define accurately crucial geometry of V-groove; (d) groove is etched to completion, forming two well-defined diffusion regions that serve as source and drain of transistor. Remaining process is conventional.

Jhabvala, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Adhesive bonding of ion beam textured metals and fluoropolymers

An electron bombardment argon ion source was used to ion etch various metals and fluoropolymers. The metal and fluoropolymers were exposed to (0.5 to 1.0) keV Ar ions at ion current densities of (0.2 to 1.5) mA/sq cm for various exposure times. The resulting surface texture is in the form of needles or spires whose vertical dimensions may range from tenths to hundreds of micrometers, depending on the selection of beam energy, ion current density, and etch time. The bonding of textured surfaces is accomplished by ion beam texturing mating pieces of either metals or fluoropolymers and applying a bonding agent which wets in and around the microscopic cone-like structures. After bonding, both tensile and shear strength measurements were made on the samples. Also tested, for comparison's sake, were untextured and chemically etched fluoropolymers. The results of these measurements are presented.

Mirtich, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1969

Method for the preparation of inorganic single crystal and polycrystalline electronic materials

Large area, semiconductor crystals selected from group 3-5 compounds and alloys are provided for semiconductor device fabrication by the use of a selective etching operation which completely removes the substrate on which the desired crystal was deposited. The substrate, selected from the same group as the single crystal, has a higher solution rate than the epitaxial single crystal which is essentially unaffected by the etching solution. The preparation of gallium phosphide single crystals using a gallium arsenide substrate and a concentrated nitric acid etching solution is described.

Groves, W. O.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Mechanical and chemical effects of ion-texturing biomedical polymers

To determine whether sputter etching may provide substantial polymer surface texturing with insignificant changes in chemical and mechanical properties, an 8 cm beam diameter, electron bombardment, argon ion source was used to sputter etch (ion-texture process) nine biomedical polymers. The materials included silicone rubber, 32% carbon impregnated polyolefin, polyoxymethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, UHMW polyethylene with carbon fibers (10%), and several polyurethanes (bioelectric, segmented, and cross linked). Ion textured microtensile specimens of each material except UHMW polyethylene and UHMW polyethylene with 10% carbon fibers were used to determine the effect of ion texturing on tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopy was used to determine surface morphology changes, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis was used to analyze the near surface chemical changes that result from ion texturing. Ion energies of 500 eV with beam current densities ranging from 0.08 to 0.19 mA/sq cm were used to ion texture the various materials. Standard microtensile specimens of seven polymers were exposed to a saline environment for 24 hours prior to and during the tensile testing. The surface chemical changes resulting from sputter etching are minimal in spite of the often significant changes in the surface morphology.

Weigand, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Adhesive bonding of ion beam textured metals and fluoropolymers

An electron-bombardment argon ion source was used to ion-etch various metals and fluoropolymers. The metal and fluoropolymers were exposed to (0.5 to 1.0)-keV Ar ions at ion current densities of 0.2 to 1.5 mA/sq cm for various exposure times. The resulting surface texture is in the form of needles or spires whose vertical dimensions may range from tenths to hundreds of micrometers, depending on the selection of beam energy, ion current density, and etch time. The bonding of textured surfaces is accomplished by ion-beam texturing mating pieces of either metals or fluoropolymers and applying a bonding agent which wets in and around the microscopic conelike structures. After bonding, both tensile and shear strength measurements were made on the samples. Also tested, for comparison's sake, were untextured and chemically etched fluoropolymers. The results of these measurements are presented in this paper.

Mirtich, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

CVD-produced boron filaments

A technique for producing boron filaments with an average tensile strength of 6.89 GPa has been developed which involves longitudinal splitting of the filament and core (substrate) removal by etching. Splitting is accomplished by a pinch wheel device which continuously splits filaments in lengths of 3.0 m by applying a force to the side of the filament to create a crack which is then propagated along the axis by a gentle sliding action. To facilitate the splitting, a single 10 mil tungsten substrate is used instead of the usual 0.5 mil substrate. A solution of hot 30% hydrogen peroxide is used to remove the core without attacking the boron. An alternative technique is to alter the residual stress by heavily etching the filament. Average strengths in the 4.83-5.52 GPa range have been obtained by etching an 8 mil filament to 4 mil.

Wawner, F. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

XPS study of interface formation of CVD SiO2 on InSb

The interfacial chemistry of CVD SiO2 films deposited on thin native oxides grown on InSb substrates is examined using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and a relatively benign chemical etching technique for depth profiling. An intensity analysis of XPS spectra is used to derive the compositional structure of the interfaces obtained in the SiO2/native oxide/InSb system. Peak positions in these spectra are used to follow the change in substrate surface potential during the etch sequence, and to establish the chemical nature of the species formed during deposition and subsequent processing. Reaction of the substrate with oxygen resulted in an In-rich native oxide and 1-2 monolayers of excess elemental Sb at the native-oxide/substrate interface, incompletely oxidized silane reduced the native oxide, leaving less than 1 monolayer of elemental In at the SiO2/native oxide interface. Etch removal of this thin In-rich layer leads to a change in the substrate surface potential of 0.06 eV, corresponding to a net increase in positive charge. The results are consistent with simple thermodynamic considerations; they are also compared to previously reported studies of deposited dielectrics on III-V compound semiconductors.

Vasquez, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Industrial ion source technology

In reactive ion etching of Si, varying amounts of O2 were added to the CF4 background. The experimental results indicated an etch rate less than that for Ar up to an O2 partial pressure of about .00006 Torr. Above this O2 pressure, the etch rate with CF4 exceeded that with Ar alone. For comparison the random arrival rate of O2 was approximately equal to the ion arrival rate at a partial pressure of about .00002 Torr. There were also ion source and ion pressure gauge maintenance problems as a result of the use of CF4. Large scale (4 sq cm) texturing of Si was accomplished using both Cu and stainless steel seed. The most effective seeding method for this texturing was to surround the sample with large inclined planes. Designing, fabricating, and testing a 200 sq cm rectangular beam ion source was emphasized. The design current density was 6 mA/sq cm with 500 eV argon ions, although power supply limitations permitted operation to only 2 mA/sq cm. The use of multiple rectangular beam ion sources for continuous processing of wider areas than would be possible with a single source was also studied. In all cases investigated, the most uniform coverage was obtained with 0 to 2 cm beam overlay. The maximum departure from uniform processing at optimum beam overlap was found to be +15%.

Kaufman, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Spindt cold cathode electron gun development program

A thin film field emission cathode array and an electron gun based on this emitter array are summarized. Fabricating state of the art cathodes for testing at NASA and NRL, advancing the fabrication technology, developing wedge shaped emitters, and performing emission tests are covered. An anistropic dry etching process (reactive ion beam etching) developed that leads to increasing the packing density of the emitter tips to about 5 x 10 to the 6th power/square cm. Tests with small arrays of emitter tips having about 10 tips has demonstrated current densities of over 100 A/sq cm. Several times using cathodes having a packing density of 1.25 x 10 to the 6th power tips/sq cm. Indications are that the higher packing density achievable with the dry etch process may extend this capability to the 500 A/sq cm range and beyond. The wedge emitter geometry was developed and shown to produce emission. This geometry can (in principle) extend the current density capability of the cathodes beyond the 500 A/sq cm level. An emission microscope was built and tested for use with the cathodes.

Spindt, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Development of passive radiation detectors of improved sensitivity

The future development of a solid track high energy particle detector is discussed. The goal is to improve the sensitivity and lower the threshold of the detector. One most widely used material for such purpose is a plastic commercially known as CR-39. A scheme is presented which involves changing the formula of the monomer, diethylene glycol-bis-allyl carbonate. This is to be accomplished by substituting some heteroatoms for H and substituting sulfur atoms for oxygen in the ether linkages. Use of a new plasticizer to make the etched surface clearer than what has been accomplished as of today is suggested. Possible improvement in acquiring better tracks and increasing the ratio of V sub T/V sub B was planned. This is to be accomplished by changing the composition of the etchants, etching time, and etching temperature.

Chakrabarty, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Plastic deformation of a magnesium oxide 001-plane surface produced by cavitation

An investigation was conducted to examine plastic deformation of a cleaved single-crystal magnesium oxide 001-plane surface exposed to cavitation. Cavitation damage experiments were carried out in distilled water at 25 C by using a magnetostrictive oscillator in close proximity (2 mm) to the surface of the cleaved specimen. The dislocation-etch-pit patterns induced by cavitation were examined and compared with that of microhardness indentations. The results revealed that dislocation-etch-pit patterns around hardness indentations contain both screw and edge dislocations, while the etch-pit patterns on the surface exposed to cavitation contain only screw dislocations. During cavitation, deformation occurred in a thin surface layer, accompanied by work-hardening of the ceramic. The row of screw dislocations underwent a stable growth, which was analyzed crystallographically.

Hattori, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Partial analysis of experiment LDEF A-0114

Due to delays in manifesting the return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility from space, attention was concentrated on extracting the maximum information from the EIOM-2 (oxygen interaction with materials experiment) flown on STS-8 in September 1983. An analysis was made of the optical surfaces exposed during that flight and an assessment made of the effect of the 5 eV atomic oxygen upon their physical and chemical properties. The surfaces studied were of two types: high-purity thin films sputtered or evaporated onto 2.54-cm diam lambda/20 fused silica optical flats, and highly polished bulk samples. Rapid etching of carbon and carbonaceous surfaces was observed with polycarbonate CR-39 showing the largest etch of any substrate flown and measured. Of the metals tested, only osmium and silver showed large effects, the former being heavily etched and the later forming a very thick layer of oxide. The first measurable effects on iridium, aluminum, nickel, tungsten and niobium thin films are reported.

Gregory, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Process For Patterning Dispenser-Cathode Surfaces

Several microfabrication techniques combined into process cutting slots 100 micrometer long and 1 to 5 micrometer wide into tungsten dispenser cathodes for traveling-wave tubes. Patterned photoresist serves as mask for etching underlying aluminum. Chemically-assisted ion-beam etching with chlorine removes exposed parts of aluminum layer. Etching with fluorine or chlorine trifluoride removes tungsten not masked by aluminum layer. Slots enable more-uniform low-work function coating dispensed to electron-emitting surface. Emission of electrons therefore becomes more uniform over cathode surface.

Garner, Charles E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Material growth and characterization for solid state devices

During the period of this research grant, the process of liquid phase electroepitaxy (LPEE) was used to grow ternary and quaternary alloy III-V semiconductor thin films. Selective area growth of InGaAs was performed on InP substrates using a patterned sputtered quartz or spin-on glass layer. The etch back and growth characteristics with respect to substrate orientation were investigated. The etch back behavior is somewhat different from wet chemical etching with respect to the sidewall profiles which are observed. LPEE was also employed to grow epitaxial layers of InGaAsP alloys on InP substrates. The behavior of Mn as an acceptor dopant was investigated with low temperature Hall coefficient and photoluminescence measurements. A metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy system was partially complete within the grant period. This atmospheric pressure system will be used to deposit III-V compound and alloy semiconductor layers in future research efforts.

Collis, Ward J.↗