Electrical conductivity in lead zirconate titanate ceramic containing niobium oxide as impurity showed a marked increase when it was reduced in hydrogen atmosphere. X-ray photoelectron spectra were used to investigate the chemical behaviour of the reduction products. Depth profiling for reduced Nb-doped PZT indicated the presence of metallic Pb, whereas Zr, Ti and Nb did not exhibit any change in the valency. The amount of PbO showed a marked increase on the surface compared to that of inner layers in the samples. On the basis of the observed results the increase in the electrical conductivity is correlated to the oxygen vacancies produced because of the reduction in hydrogen.
The reactive aspect of pulsed laser induced vaporization has been explored via synthesis of tungsten carbide films from an unreacted sintered mixture of the W -C system. Using low-angle x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), it is shown that stoichiometry and the extent of chemical compound formation in the deposited films depend upon the laser fluence. Two cases with energy density 20 J/cm2 and 40 J/cm2 are discussed and compared. An attempt has been made to illustrate the mechanism behind the reactive aspect of the deposition.
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