Raman spectroscopy of TiO2 thin films formed by hybrid treatment for biomedical applications.

The paper presents the results of the investigations of the surface layer obtained after application of the combined hybrid method of oxidation in a fluidized bed (FB) and deposition of the oxide coating by PVD technique. The material used in the study was Ti Grade 2. The process of diffusive saturation was carried out in a fluidized-bed reactor at the temperature of 640°C for 8h in air while the top oxide layer was obtained through PVD method - magnetron sputtering using TiO2 target and argon atmosphere with the pressure of 3×10(-2)mbar and the distance between the substrate to the target of 60mm. In order to determine changes in the properties that occur as a result of modification of the Ti surface, the following examinations were carried out by SEM-EDX, X-ray diffraction methods, Raman spectroscopy, Glow Discharge Optical Spectroscopy (GDOS) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The coatings obtained were characterized by zonal structure comprising the solution zone of Tiα(O) and oxide zone of TiO2 with modifications of rutile and anatase, depending on the oxidation method. It was found that formation of oxide layers using the hybrid method (FB+PVD) leads to limitation of defects in the oxide layer after fluidized-bed thermal treatment and obtaining a uniform, tight coating with improved corrosion properties which are important from the biomedical standpoint.

Fabrication and characterization of oxygen - diffused titanium using spectroscopy method.

A thin native oxide film that forms on the titanium surface makes contact with the bone tissue has been considered to be of great importance to successful osseointegration. The study investigated oxygen-diffused grade 2 titanium obtained by introducing oxygen into the titanium crystal lattice using thermal treatment in fluidized bed performed at 610°C and 640°C in 6, 8, 12h. The thermal treatment at different temperatures and different times led to the formation of a TiO2 rutile film on the titanium surface and a concentration gradient of oxygen into titanium (XRD/GID analyses and GDOS results). Moreover Raman spectroscopy results showed that the TiO2 film on the surface titanium was composed of two oxides (TiO2), i.e. anatase and rutile, for the analyzed variants of heat treatment. The aim of the present study was to establish the optimum conditions for obtaining oxygen-diffused TiO2 film. The results obtained in the study demonstrated that the use of a fluidized bed for titanium oxidation processes allows for obtaining uniform oxide layers with good adhesion to the substrate, thus improving the titanium surface to suit biomedical applications.

Stress analysis of zirconia studied by Raman spectroscopy at low temperatures.

The paper presents effect of low temperature upon location of selected Raman bands. The structural properties of pure zirconium pre-oxidized at 773K and 873K have been studied during cooling in the range of temperatures 273K and 93K by Raman spectroscopy. Analysis of the Raman band positions for the monoclinic phase of zirconia oxide was performed. Raman spectroscopy has shown that monoclinic phase of zirconia oxide undergoes a continuous band displacement, individual for each studied Raman mode. Registered shift is aimed towards the high frequency direction. Recorded Raman band displacement was employed to study stress state in zirconia oxide films grown on pure zirconium developed during control cooling. Presented results showed a good correlation between different thicknesses of the oxide scale.

The circumboreal tundra-taiga interface: late Pleistocene and Holocene changes.

Creating a global perspective on past treeline changes is problematic due to the varying methods and definitions used. A general lack of a detailed description of the modern treeline position and vegetation complicates any comparative analysis of the magnitude of the most important changes. However, one seemingly common factor in most regions was an extremely rapid dispersal of trees when climate warmed drastically from full glacial conditions. Most Arctic treelines reached their northernmost positions in the early Holocene and receded to present positions starting at about 5.8 ka. The early occupation of the northernmost sites in ice-free and early deglaciated areas was possible because of the close proximity of invading trees in nearby glacial refugia, particularly in Fennoscandia and northern Russia. In Canada, the Northwest Territories and Quebec-Labrador were out of phase with this general trend due to their late deglaciation. However, even here colonization was rapid, indicating that the tree species were present adjacent to the glaciers. Following this trend and based on the present evidence, we propose a scenario of a continuous but modest occupation of eastern Beringia by spruce during the late-Pleistocene instead of an exceptionally rapid spread of conifers from the glacial refugium south of the Laurentide ice sheet (2000 to 3000 km in about 200 years), which typically has been assumed. Macrofossil evidence of scattered occurrences of "exotic species" (for instance Siberian larch in central Sweden) far from their natural range limits in the early Holocene highlight the disparity between pollen and macrofossil analyses. It questions the validity of assigned pollen percentages to indicate the presence of a species within a region as these species were not observed in the pollen record. Thus, it is likely that trees were present at any given site well before the rise in pollen abundance. There is still a large potential to improve our knowledge about the environmental history of the circumboreal treeline areas. In particular, future research should concentrate not only on patterns of species displacement, but on finding the factors, apart from climate, which cause treeline shifts.