New Class of High Temperature Pseudo-Amorphous Oxide Materials

摘要

Non-crystalline materials can be synthesized using a variety of techniques such as thermal evaporation, sputtering, glow-discharge decomposition, chemical vapor deposition, melting and quenching and from polymeric precursor solutions. Among these, solution based synthesis of amorphous oxide materials are well known in the literature. This process is advantageous over other processes because glasses can be formed at lower temperatures by atomic or molecular level mixing of the components in solution. In oxide systems, the molecular design approach has been so far limited to synthesis of crystalline materials. Principals of Applied Thin Films, Inc (ATFI) have discovered new solution derived non- crystalline oxide materials which can resist crystallization up to temperatures as high as 1400 degrees C, wherein the precursor species are molecularly designed. Under three years AFOSR program ATFI has carried out investigation on this new class of high temperature amorphous materials in order to further understand the precursor chemistry, pyrolysis process and basis of high temperature metastability of the solid product. Research work is also performed in developing technological applications based on the fundamental studies on the properties.