Initial oxidation of zirconium : chemistry, atomic structure, transport and growth kinetics

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to uncover the chemical states and atomic structure of the initial oxide on zirconium and the oxygen transport kinetics through this oxide under electric field. This goal is important for enabling more accurate zirconium oxidation models, for example for nuclear reactor materials, as well as for assessing the mechanisms that govern the performance of zirconia based technologies, such as redox based resistive switching memory devices, gate dielectric for metal oxide semiconductor devices, and electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells ...