Increasing Ga Content Research Articles

Response of blue light in different proportions on the growth & flowering in sunflower

Due to the light sensitivity of sunflowers, regulating spectral composition holds significant potential for optimizing sunflower growth and flowering to meet market demands. In this study, sunflower plants were exposed to white light (W200, control) and three levels of blue light (B40R80Fr80 with blue light intensity of 40 µmol m−2 s−1; B67R67Fr67 with blue light intensity of 67 µmol m−2 s−1; B100R50Fr50 with blue light intensity of 100 µmol m−2 s−1) under an overall irradiance level of 200 µmol m−2 s−1 for 60 days. The aim was to investigate the effects on sunflower morphology regulation, leaf growth, and flowering. Results demonstrated that the growth of sunflowers under B40R80Fr80 treatment with 20 % blue light inhibited plant height compared with B67R67Fr67 and B100R50Fr50 treatments. The highest total leaf dry weight was observed in sunflower leaves under the B100R50Fr50 treatment. Leaves under B67R67Fr67 treatment enhanced activities of Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, and soluble starch synthase, along with a 10.4 % increase in Rubisco activity compared with B100R50Fr50 treatment. The sucrose and starch content under B67R67Fr67 treatment increased by 41.0 % and 19.1 % than those of B100R50Fr50 treatment, respectively. Sunflower plants under B67R67Fr67 treatment significantly improved flower disk diameter and No. of petal per flower compared with W200 treatment. Phenotype-assisted transcriptome analysis revealed that B67R67Fr67 treatment on sunflower leaves had positive effects on circadian rhythm-related genes associated with flowering [CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)], compared with B100R50Fr50 treatment. Additionally, four genes related to GA metabolism were identified for flower development regulation; LOC110884159 and LOC110890361 (GID1B) were up-regulated under B67R67Fr67 treatment. Sunflower leaves under B67R67Fr67 treatment increased GA content and induced the GA pathway related to circadian rhythm, compared with those of B100R50Fr50 treatment. Consequently, the implementation of B67R67Fr67 treatment led to improved circadian rhythm and GA pathway activation, resulting in induced flowering to fulfill market demands for sunflowers.

Thermoluminescence properties of β-ray irradiated LuAGG:Ce nanophosphors prepared by sol-gel method for potential applications in dosimetry

In this paper, Lu2.97Al5–xGaxO12:Ce0.03 (x = 0, 1, 2, 3) nanophosphors were synthesized using sol-gel method and calcined at 1100 °C for 3 h. The effect of Ga content on the structural, photoluminescence (PL), and notably thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve, dose response, repeatability and fading properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that all synthesized samples were crystallized in a pure garnet phase. The PL emission spectra exhibited a broad emission band corresponding to the 5 d → 4f (2F5/2, 2F7/2) transition of Ce3+ ions in the garnet lattice. Furthermore, a significant decrease in emission intensity was observed upon increasing Ga content. The TL characteristics of nanopowders irradiated with β-rays revealed a significant effect of Ga content on the peak position, shape and intensities of TL Glow curves, which can be explained by the reduction of the energy gap and the distribution of trap levels. The dose response linearity in the range of 0.125–100 Gy was examined for different Ga content, revealing a good linear behavior for x = 0 and 1 Ga. Additionally, samples prepared with x = 0, 1, and 2 Ga exhibited a high level of repeatability across a batch of 10 samples. Also, fading studies were performed for 128 h and revealed strong fading in samples synthesized with x = 0 and 1 Ga. These results suggest potential applications of Lu3Al5O12:Ce and Lu3Al4Ga1O12:Ce in ionizing radiation dosimetry.

Effect of Ga on microstructure and properties of Ag50CuSn12 and Al2O3/oxygen-free copper welds

The effects of Ga on the properties of Ag50CuSn12 and brazed joints were studied. The results show that Ga can reduce the melting temperature of the Ag50CuSn12 and improve its wettability. With the increase of Ga content, the spreading area of the solder increases first and then decreases. And the spreading area is the largest when the content of Ga is 3 wt%, which is 48% higher than that without Ga. Ga plays an important role in grain refinement of weld microstructure. The size of the block particles in the weld decreases accompanied by the increase of Ga. The fine strip grains increase is evenly distributed. The refinement effect is also the best when the Ga content is 3 wt%. For this reason, the shear strength of the brazed joint of Al2O3 and oxygen-free copper increases first and then decreases. When the Ga content is 3 wt%, the shear strength is the highest, which is 2.2 times that of the joint without Ga.The analysis suggests that the incorporation of Ga lowers the melting point of the solder, improves its oxidation resistance, and reduces its surface tension and viscosity, thereby enhancing its wettability and diffusivity. However, excessive Ga can hinder the solder's spread.

Ga/Al ratio induced afterglow behavior of Ce3+:GAGG scintillation ceramics

This work investigated the optical and scintillation properties of cerium-doped gadolinium aluminum gallium garnet (Ce:GAGG) ceramics with different gallium-to-aluminum (Ga/Al) ratios. The optical transmittance, fluorescence spectra, fluorescence lifetime, light yield, scintillation decay, and afterglow characteristics of the ceramic samples were studied. The experimental results reveal that the decay time of Ce:GAGG ceramic is significantly decreased with the increase of Ga content. The mean decay time of 60 ns is achieved when the Ga/Al ratio is 3:2 in our experiment. The light yield of ceramics varies from 12,140 to 44,825 ph/MeV with the change of Ga content, and the highest light yield is achieved when the Ga/Al ratio is 2.4:2.6. Noteworthy fluctuation in the afterglow performance is affected by the Ga content significantly. The afterglow intensity of the sample with Ga/Al = 2:3 is approximately 0.5 % of its initial intensity after the X-ray excitation was turned off for 5 s. The formation mechanism of defects which is related with the afterglow behaviors were investigated and discussed.

Influence of {Ce3+ – Mg2+} pairs on the photo- and thermally stimulated luminescence of Mg2+ co-doped Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12:Ce single crystals

Single crystals of Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12:Ce,Mg with different concentration of Mg2+ ions varying from 0 to 0.029 at.% are investigated by the X-ray diffraction, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence, and thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) methods in a wide temperature range (77–510 K). The origin and structure of the luminescence centers are considered. The influence of Mg2+ ions on the structure of the Ce3+-related excited state, the processes taking place in this state, and the TSL characteristics is clarified. At low temperatures, the photoluminescence optical quenching in close {Ce3+ - Mg2+} pairs is found to be responsible for the light yield reduction accompanied with the acceleration of the luminescence decay kinetics. At room temperature, the luminescence quenching can be additionally caused by the thermal ionization of the 5d1 excited state of Ce3+ ion, whose probability increases with the increasing Ga content. The conclusion is made that in order to create the fast scintillator with the maximum light yield, the concentration of intrinsic crystal lattice defects in Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12:Ce,Mg should be minimized, the optimum composition of the host should be chosen, and the balance between the concentrations of the doped Mg2+ and Ce3+ ions should be optimised.

Magnetic compensation in sputtered ferrimagnetic Mn 4−x Ga x N thin films

Fully compensated ferrimagnets are attracting increasing attention for spintronics. Here we report a series of Mn 4−x Ga x N ferrimagnetic thin films grown on (100)-oriented MgO by magnetron sputtering. A small tetragonal distortion with c/a = 0.99 leads to perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with a [001] easy axis. The magnetisation decreases with increasing Ga content up to x = 0.18, where the magnetic moment is close to zero at room temperature. It increases with further increase of x, indicating the magnetic compensation composition has been crossed and the dominant sublattice has switched from Mn on the corner sites, where it is progressively replaced by nonmagnetic Ga, to noncollinear Mn on the face-centered sites. Compensation found at 235 K in a remanent scan of the x = 0.18 film is confirmed by measurements of the anomalous Hall effect and interpolation of the inverse coercivity. This work establishes the conditions for thin film growth of Mn 4−x Ga x N that could be used for room-temperature ferrimagnetic spintronics. The behaviour of thin films is compared with that of bulk material.

Effect of non-stoichiometric Ga content on the microstructure and optical transparency of terbium gallium garnet ceramics

The use of Faraday isolators in high-power lasers is currently a high-priority research topic and terbium gallium garnet (Tb3Ga5O12, TGG) transparent ceramic is a magneto-optical material with great potential for applications in the visible and near-infrared ranges. In this paper, the effect of chemical composition adjustment on the microstructure and properties of Tb3Ga5(1+x)O12 ceramics (where x is the non-stoichiometric index corresponding to the percentage difference in the amount of Ga used in the synthesis with respect to its content in the stoichiometric compound) was investigated. Powders obtained from starting materials of different stoichiometry were found to have similar morphology. However, the relative densities of the ceramics after pre-sintering in air increase with increasing Ga content. After the HIP post-treatment, the optimal properties with an in-line transmittance of 78.5 % (1.5 mm thick) at 1064 nm, and the Verdet constant of the ceramics with x = 0.8 % reaches −134.1 rad T−1 m−1 at 633 nm.

Novel compounds in the Sc-rich part of the systems Sc-{Co,Pd,Pt}-Ga: Structure and bonding

The present paper comprises a detailed structural analysis of two novel compounds in the Sc-Co-Ga system: τ3-Sc50Co13Ga3 (space group Fm-3; ε-Mg26-xAg7+x type), and τ4-Sc6Co1.73+x+yGa1-x (space group Immm; x=0.43; y=0.14; Ho6Co2Ga derivative type). Although alloys in the isothermal section are oxygen-free, the alloy of τ3, prepared for single crystal growth via partial melting in an alumina crucible, contained a minor amount of oxygen and can be considered as oxygen-stabilized Sc50Co13Ga3O1.1 (WDX-data). A search for homologous compounds in the systems Sc-{Pd,Pt}-Ga prompted the existence of two compounds Sc54{Pd,Pt,Ga}17, which from X-ray single crystal analyses proved both to be isotypic with the Hf54Os17-type structure (space group Immm). Whereas Sc54(Pd0.652Ga0.348)17 has a very limited homogeneity region at 850°C, Sc54(Pt1-xGax)17 exhibits at 850°C a large homogeneity region (0<x<0.28) extending from Ga-rich Sc76Pt17.2Ga6.8≡Sc54(Pt0.72Ga0.28)17 to novel binary Sc54Pt17. Interestingly, against the usual trend of solution hardening, hardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness all decrease with increasing Ga-content: this effect is less pronounced for Sc54(Pd1-xGax)17 than for Sc54(Pt1-xGax)17 and is in line with DFT calculations indicating a weakening of bonding with increasing Ga content, thereby overcompensating the solution hardening effect. DFT modeling showed a common bonding feature for all the studied compounds – a strong electron localization inside the Sc6 octahedra, stacking of which leads to the formation of Mackay icosahedra in Sc54(Pd1-xGax)17, Sc54(Pt1-xGax)17, and Sc50Co13Ga3. The band structure of Sc6Co2.25Ga0.625 and Sc50Co13Ga3 indicates their metallic behavior, while Sc54(Pd1-xGax)17 and Sc54(Pt1-xGax)17 show distinct semimetal features. All investigated compounds in this work show similar trends in Bader charge distribution with a positively charged Sc-sublattice and a negatively charged sublattice formed by transition metals (Co, Pd, Pt) and Ga.

Effect of Ga substitution on grain orientation and magnetostrictive properties of polycrystalline CoFe2O4 ceramics prepared by the solid-state method

As a kind of magnetostrictive ceramics, cobalt ferrites are widely concerned because of its large magnetostriction and high resistivity, which are ideal for high-frequency applications. But, the high driving magnetic field due to the high magnetocrystalline anisotropy limits the practical applications of cobalt ferrites, thus, it is a still a challenge to find a balance between high magnetostriction properties and low driving magnetic fields. In this work, we investigated the effects of partially substitution of Ga3+ for Fe3+ on grain orientation and magnetic properties, attempting to maintain high magnetostriction while reducing the driving magnetic field. The CoFe2-xGaxO4 (x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) with single-phase spinel structure were prepared by the conventional solid-state method. The saturation magnetization MS increased with the increase of Ga concentration, meanwhile the coercivity Hc and magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K1 significantly decreased, which indicates the better soft magnetic characteristics of the Ga-doped cobalt ferrites. The oriented CoFe2-xGaxO4 samples were obtained using magnetic field orientation technique during the powder forming process. The <001> preferred orientation was achieved in CoFe2O4 samples. However, the <001> orientation degree decreased with the substitution of Ga, and the preferred orientation has changed into <111> at x=0.15. The Ga substitution affected the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and grain orientation, thereby affecting the magnetostrictive properties. As for the non-oriented samples, although the maximum magnetostrictive strain slightly decreased with Ga substitution, while there was a significant drop in the magnetostrictive saturation field. However, the magnetostriction of the oriented samples decreased significantly with the substitution of Ga due to the change of grain orientation from <001> to <111>.

Luminescence and scintillation properties of fast Ce,Mg:Lu2YGaxAl5-xO12 ceramic scintillators fabricated from co-precipitated powders

Ce,Mg:Lu2YGaxAl5-xO12 (x = 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3) ceramic scintillators were fabricated by oxygen sintering combined with air annealing using nano-powders synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The Ce3+ 5d1 → 4f (2F5/2, 2F7/2) luminescence band was blue shifted with increasing Ga content due to the decrease in the crystal field splitting of the 5d levels. At room temperature (RT), the decrease of photoluminescence decay time and scintillation decay time was observed with increasing Ga content. At 662 keV γ-rays, the sample Ga2 exhibited high light yield (LY) of 28,700 photons/MeV, fast scintillation decay times of 17.7 ns (17 %) + 45.7 ns (83 %), and good time resolution of ∼220 ps. At RT, the decrease of LY value for the samples Ga2.5 and Ga3 could be attributed to the larger thermal ionization of the excited Ce3+ centers.

Investigation of group 13 elements as potential candidates for p-type dopants in the narrow-gap thermoelectric semiconductor α-SrSi2

AbstractTo investigate the possibility of p-type doping of α-SrSi2, a promising as an eco-friendly thermoelectric material, the energy changes of substitutions of the Si site of α-SrSi2 by group 13 elements were evaluated using first-principles calculations. It is found that Ga doping was the most energetically favorable dopant while In is the most unfavorable. We examined the synthesis of Ga- and In-doped α-SrSi2 using the vertical Bridgeman method and investigated their thermoelectric properties. The Ga atoms were doped to α-SrSi2 successfully up to 1.0 at. %, while In atoms could not be doped as suggested by calculations. For experimental prepared Ga-doped samples, the carrier density was observed to increase with Ga doping, from 3.58 × 1019 cm−3 for undoped α-SrSi2 to 4.49 × 1020 cm−3 for a 1.0 at. % Ga-doped sample at 300 K. The temperature dependence of carrier concentrations was observed to change from negative to positive with increasing Ga content. In addition, the temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient was also observed to change from negative to positive with increasing Ga content. The results indicate that α-SrSi2 undergoes a semiconductor–metal transition with Ga doping. The power factor for the undoped sample was quite high, at 2.5 mW/mK2, while the sample with 0.3 at. % Ga had a value of 1.1 mW/mK2 at room temperature.

Investigation of the structure, rheology and 3D printing characteristics of corn starch regulated by glycyrrhizic acid

This study aimed to construct a novel corn starch-glycyrrhizic acid (CS-GA) ink and systematically investigate the effects of GA on the water distribution, microstructure, rheology and 3D printing properties of CS hydrogels. The results showed that the CS chains could form strong hydrogen bonds with GA molecules, inhibit the formation of short-range ordered structure of CS and reduce the content of B-type starch. The low-field nuclear magnetic results showed that the introduction of GA could increase bound water content in CS-GA hydrogels. With the increase of GA content, the CS-GA hydrogel changed from CS-dominated to a GA-dominated gel network system. Rheological results showed that all samples exhibited typical shear thinning behavior. High GA concentration was beneficial to increasing the self-supporting properties and thixotropic recovery of CS-GA hydrogels. Compared with the pure CS hydrogel, the 3D printing characteristics of CS-GA hydrogels were significantly enhanced due to the increased bound water content and the enhancement of rheological properties. At 40 % GA content, CS-GA hydrogel showed the highest printing accuracy of 96.4 % ± 0.30 %. The printed product could perfectly replicate the preset model. Therefore, this study provided a theoretical basis for regulating starch's rheology and 3D printing characteristics and developing novel food-grade 3D printing inks.

Effect of Alloy Elements on the Performance of Al Sacrificial Anode

Al-Bi-Ga alloy is a good sacrificial anode material, but research on its electrochemical performance in seawater, freshwater, and soil is limited. This article focuses on Al-Bi-Ga-Pb-In and Al-Bi-Ga-Sn-In alloys. The working potential, current efficiency, and corrosion morphology of aluminum alloys under constant current conditions were studied through electrochemical performance testing, microstructure observation, and composition detection. The influence of alloy elements (Bi, Ga, Pb) on the electrochemical performance of aluminum alloys was analyzed. The results indicate that the dissolution morphology of Al-Bi-Ga-Sn-In is better than that of Al-Bi-Ga-Pb-In, and the distribution of Bi element in Al-Bi-Ga-Sn-In is more extensive. The destruction of the oxide film on the surface of aluminum alloy is more uniform, exhibiting better dissolution morphology; As the Bi content increases, the corrosion rate shows a trend of first increasing, then decreasing, and then increasing. The current efficiency first decreases and then increases, usually stopping and rebounding around 4.5%; Ga can increase the corrosion rate and reduce the surface impedance value; When the Ga content is greater than 0.10%, the corrosion rate significantly increases; As the Ga content increases, the current efficiency first decreases and then increases, then stops decreasing and rebounds around 0.2%.

Soft magnetostrictive materials: Enhanced magnetostriction of Fe‐based nanocrystalline alloys via Ga doping

Soft magnetostrictive materials, having a combination of high soft magnetic properties and substantial magnetostriction, are highly sought for a wide range of applications. Nonetheless, a trade‐off relationship exists between soft magnetic properties and magnetostriction in single‐phase crystalline alloys due to their inherent magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In this study, we introduce the soft magnetostrictive material based on conventional Fe‐based nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys whose structure quenches magnetocrystalline anisotropy, infused with Ga. All the samples exhibited nanocrystallization behavior and solid‐solution α‐Fe(Ga) was precipitated as a nanocrystalline phase. The net magnetostriction increased with increasing Ga content, concurrently maintaining high magnetic sensitivity with or without Ga addition. As a consequence of this compatibility of properties, the Ga‐doped sample exhibited a magnetostriction susceptibility 1.77 times higher than that of the base alloy. The soft magnetostrictive materials proposed in this study are poised for potential deployment in vibration energy harvesters and strain sensors.

Thermoelectric Properties of High‐Entropy Wolframite Oxide: (CoCuNiFeZn)1−xGaxWO4

Herein, the synthesis of high‐entropy wolframite oxide (CoCuNiFeZn)1‐xGaxWO4 through standard solid‐state route followed by spark plasma sintering and their structural, microstructural, and thermoelectric (TE) properties are investigated. X‐ray diffraction pattern followed by patterns matching refinement shows a monoclinic structure with the volume of the unit cell decreasing with increasing Ga content. The optical bandgap for these oxides shows a cocktail effect in high‐entropy configuration. The Seebeck coefficient indicates electrons as dominating charge carriers with a nondegenerate behavior. The electrical resistivity decreases with increasing temperature depicting a semiconducting nature. Thermal conductivity in high‐entropy samples (κ ≈ 2.1 W m−1 K−1 @ 300 K) is significantly lower as compared to MgWO4 (κ ≈ 11.5 W m−1 K−1 @ 300 K), which can be explained by the strong phonon scattering due to large lattice disorder in high‐entropy configuration. The TE figure of merit zT increases with Ga doping via modifying all three TE parameters positively.

A first-principles study on Ga stabilized δ-Pu phase stability based on structural and electronic properties

The high temperature face-centered-cubic delta phase of plutonium (FCC δ-Pu) is metallurgically important in industrial applications and can be stabilized at room temperature by alloying with small amounts of gallium (Ga). Therefore, it is of fundamental interest to elucidate the factors that govern the δ-Pu-Ga interactions via the electronic structure to understand the stabilization mechanism of the FCC phase. We employed density functional theory to systematically model the change in the structural and electronic properties with increasing Ga concentrations of δ-Pu-Ga alloys. The results indicate that structural optimizations with an applied cubic symmetry constraint are sufficient to describe the alloy properties. The variations in Pu-Pu and Pu-Ga bond lengths and the lattice disorder induced by the Ga substitution at Pu sites are in qualitative agreement with previously published experimental EXAFS data. Additionally, in accordance with the experimental results, the atomic volume decreases as the Ga concentration increases. The alloyformation energydecreasesas the Ga concentrationincreases, indicating an increase in stability and an exothermic alloying reaction. The Pu-Ga electronic interaction is governed principally by hybridization between the Pu 6d and Ga 4p states, with decreasing Pu 5f states at the Fermi energy with increasing Ga content due to the increase of Ga-Pu-Ga bonds within the lattice.

Structure and stripe domain of melt-spun HoMn6Sn6-xGax ribbons

Topological magnetic skyrmions are expected to become a new generation of information carrier units, and exploring new magnetic skyrmion host materials and their magnetic domain structures is critical. This paper prepared HoMn6Sn6-xGax ribbons by melt-spinning and annealing and studied the effects of the second phase and doping Ga on the structure and magnetic domain of the ribbons. The results show that doped Ga only replaces the Sn sites in the HoMn6Sn6 phase, and the maximum substitution rate of Ga in the HoMn6Sn6 phase is close to 1/6. The unequal substitution of crystal positions causes the lattice to bear considerable compressive stress and negative strain. With an increase in doped Ga content, the lattice constant and cell volume of the HoMn6Sn6-xGax phase gradually decrease, and the substitution positions also change from mainly occupying Sn(2c) sites to occupying Sn(2e) and Sn(2d) sites simultaneously. Doping Ga enhances the preferential orientation in the grains, Ga occupying Sn(2d) sites enhances 〈009〉 orientation, and occupying Sn(2e) sites contributes to the enhancement in 〈204〉 orientation. Whether doped with Ga or not, the ribbons have stable stripe domains with HoMn6Sn6 structure. Increasing Ga content from x = 0.3 to x = 1.6 decreases the spin reorientation temperature, Curie temperatures, and the difference between the two temperatures.

Soy protein isolate-citrus pectin-gallic acid ternary composite high internal phase Pickering emulsion for delivery of β-carotene: Physicochemical, structural and digestive properties

The structure properties, stability and β-carotene slow-release mechanism of soybean protein isolate-citrus pectin-gallic acid complex (SPI-CP-GA) stabilized high-internal phase Pickering emulsion (HIPPE) were investigated. The results showed that compared with the SPI-CP binary complex, the turbidity of the SPI-CP-GA ternary complex increased from 2.174 ± 0.001 to 3.027 ± 0.001, the surface wettability was increased, the infrared peaks was blue-shifted, changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, and the equilibrium interfacial tension of particles increased from 10.77 ± 0.02 mN/m to 13.46 ± 0.03 mN/m, the complex was more stable. When the GA was 2.0 mg/mL, the encapsulation efficiency of β-carotene was higher. With increased GA concentration and oil phase volume fraction (φ), the apparent viscosity and viscoelastic behavior of HIPPE performed well, forming a stable gel network structure. After 30 days of storage, there was no oil separation in the sample group with GA concentration of 2.0 mg/mL and φ = 0.7, and the stability was strong. After gastrointestinal digestion, the particle size of the HIPPE decreased from 13.51 ± 0.86 μm to 7.70 ± 0.68 μm, the free fatty acid (FFA) release rate was 22.03%, and the bioaccessibility of β-carotene was 6.67 ± 0.19%, and the sustained-release effect was obvious. These results indicated that the SPI-CP-GA ternary complex is a potential stabilizer for HIPPE, and providing theoretical guidance for the design of protein-polysaccharide-polyphenol stabilized HIPPE.

Characterization of Cu(In,Ga)(Te,S)2 thin films grown on stainless steel foil substrates

In this study, Cu(In,Ga)(Te,S)2 (CIGTS) thin films with [Ga]/([In] ± [Ga]) atomic ratios in the ranges of 0.22–0.28 and 0.50–0.67 were fabricated using a two-stage technique. During the first stage of the technique, in one set of samples, Cu, In and Ga layers were deposited by electrodeposition on a Mo coated stainless steel (SS) foil substrate forming a SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga precursor structure. For another set of samples, a Te layer was also deposited by e-beam evaporation on the SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga structure forming a SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga/Te precursor structure. During the second stage, SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga and SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga/Te stacks were reacted using rapid thermal annealing (RTA) for 5 min at 600 °C with or without presence of S vapors to produce CIGTS series thin films. SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga stack under S atmosphere yielded CuInGaS2 with a Ga-In gradient across the thickness by RTA process. SS/Mo/Cu/In/Ga/Te stack reacted without S in the reaction atmosphere yielded the CuInGaTe2 compound. When S was present, the same stack with top Te layer yielded only CuInGaS2 compound. When, however, already formed CuInGaTe2 compound layers were heated in S environment at 400 °C, some Te could be retained in the films in the form of elemental Te. Gallium and In grading in various reacted films were evaluated by x-ray diffraction, secondary-ion mass spectrometry and EDS. CIGTS films showed highly (112) preferred oriented chalcopyrite phase and with the increase of Ga content, shifts were observed in the XRD peak positions demonstrating Ga inclusion in the lattice. Gibbs free energy calculations were used to explain the preferred reaction of S with metallic constituents when both S and Te were present for reaction.

Effects of Ga on the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of β-Ti-45Nb alloy by experiments and ab initio calculations

This work aims to investigate the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of four novel β-type (100-x)(Ti–45Nb)-xGa alloys (x = 2, 4, 6, 8 wt%) for implant applications by means of experimental and theoretical (ab initio) methods. All alloys retain the bcc β phase in the solution-treated and quenched state while the lattice parameter decreases with increase in Ga content. This is due to its smaller atomic radius compared to Ti and Nb, in line with the present density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Tensile and microhardness tests indicate a clear strengthening effect with increasing Ga content, with yield strengths in the range 551 ÷ 681 MPa and microhardness in the range 174 ÷ 232 HV0.1, mainly attributed to grain refinement and solid solution strengthening. Ga also positively affects ductility, with a maximum value of tensile strain at fracture of 32%. Non-destructive ultrasonic measurements and DFT calculations reveal that the bulk modulus is unaffected by the Ga presence. This phenomenon might be due to the fact that Ga introduced bonding and anti-bonding electron low energy states which balance the average bond strength among the atoms in the metallic matrix. Nevertheless, the introduction of new Ga–Ti super sp-like bonding orbitals along the [110] and [−110] directions in the Ga neighborhood could explain the increase of the Young's modulus upon Ga addition (73 ÷ 82.5 GPa) that was found experimentally in the present work. Hence, Ga addition to Ti–45Nb leads to a suitable balance between increased strength and low Young's modulus.