Calculating the optimum pressure and temperature for vacancy minimization from theory; Niobium is an example

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical method to determine optimal pressure and temperature conditions for vacancy minimization in materials, demonstrated on Niobium by correlating self-resonance with vacancy reduction and experimental validation.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical approach to identify optimal conditions for vacancy reduction based on atomic vibration self-resonance, validated through experiments on Niobium.

Findings

Pressure-temperature treatment increased Niobium's critical temperature by 30%

Self-resonance correlates with vacancy reduction in atomic vibrations

Volume of Niobium increased after treatment

Abstract

Self-resonance in the atomic vibration occurs when the average wavelength of the phonon thermal vibration is equivalent or harmonic of the diameters of the atoms. It is suggested that applying pressure at temperature corresponding to the self-resonance should effectively reduce the number of vacancies. This theoretical prediction is tested on Niobium by measuring the magnetic susceptibility of the untreated and treated samples. The applied pressure-temperature treatment increased the critical temperature of Niobium by about 30 percent which was also accompanied with volume increase.