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Title: Evaluating electrically insulating films deposited on V-4% Cr-4% Ti by reactive CVD

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/543273· OSTI ID:543273
;  [1]
  1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

Previous CaO coatings on V-4%Cr-4%Ti exhibited high-ohmic insulator behavior even though a small amount of vanadium from the alloy was incorporated in the coating. However, when the vanadium concentration in the coatings is > 15 wt%, the coating becomes conductive. When the vanadium concentration is high in localized areas, a calcium vanadate phase that exhibits semiconductor behavior can form. To explore this situation, CaO and Ca-V-O coatings were produced on vanadium alloys by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and by a metallic-vapor process to investigate the electrical resistance of the coatings. Initially, the vanadium alloy specimens were either charged with oxygen in argon that contained trace levels of oxygen, or oxidized for 1.5-3 h in a 1% CO-CO{sub 2} gas mixture or in air to form vanadium oxide at 625-650{degrees}C. Most of the specimens were exposed to calcium vapor at 800-850{degrees}C. Initial and final weights were obtained to monitor each step, and surveillance samples were removed for examination by optical and scanning electron microscopy and electron-energy-dispersive and X-ray diffraction analysis; the electrical resistivity was also measured. The authors found that Ca-V-O films exhibited insulator behavior when the ratio of calcium concentration to vanadium concentration R in the film was > 0.9, and semiconductor or conductor behavior for R < 0.8. However, in some cases, semiconductor behavior was observed when CaO-coated samples with R > 0.98 were exposed in liquid lithium. Based on these studies, the authors conclude that semiconductor behavior occurs if a conductive calcium vanadate phase is present in localized regions in the CaO coating.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
543273
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER-0313/21; ON: DE97008798; TRN: 97:020314
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Fusion materials semiannual progress report for the period ending December 31, 1996; PB: 296 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English