The economic importance of technical data has grown steadily over the past three decades. NIST took an important lead early in the effort to emphasize the pervasive use and increase the impact of reliable materials property data, and MSEL has been a prominent leader in responding to this need. By design, the scope of the MSEL effort is evolutionary and responds to the ever increasing advances in technology. Currently, MSEL has six project areas in the Data and Data Delivery program.

Crystallographic and Phase Equilibria Databases

In collaboration with Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe (FIZ, Germany), a CDROM version of the FIZ/NIST Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) has been released providing the full structural data, i.e., lattice parameters and atomic coordinates, for approximately 60,000 compounds. The long-standing collaboration between NIST and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) has continued with the completion of a new topical volume in the NIST/ACerS Phase Equilibria Diagrams series, the first of two planned volumes on electronic ceramics.

Contact: Vicky Lynn Karen

Phase Equilibria and Properties of Dielectric Ceramics

An integrated theoretical and experimental effort is under way to predict and measure phase equilibria and electronic behavior in dielectric oxide systems. This work includes relaxor ferroelectrics, dielectrics for cellular infrastructure and hand-held devices, and dielectrics for low temperature co-fired ceramics for applications in multilayer ceramic integrated circuit technology.

Contact: Terrell Vanderah

Phase Relationships in High Temperature Superconductors

Our effort to provide phase information critical to the development of practical superconductors is currently directed toward two important systems: Ba₂RCu₃O_7-x, where R is yttrium or a lanthanide, and MgB₂. For Ba₂RCu₃O_7-x, our work has focused on the phase relations in BaF₂-BaO-Y₂O₃-CuO_x-H₂O and the interactions of Ba₂RCu₃O_6+x with buffer layers, both of which are important for advances in the “BaF₂ ex situ” process and the “liquid-phase-epitaxy” process. For MgB₂, the enthalpy of formation, vapor pressure, and sources of variability have been determined.

Contact: Winnie Wong-Ng

Reaction Path Analysis in Multicomponent Systems

Many industrial processes rely on multicomponent diffusion to control the formation and dissolution of precipitate phases. We are developing a multicomponent diffusion mobility database for Ni-base superalloys that will be used, for example, to predict the formation of the γ' (ordered FCC) phase during the solidification of superalloys. A workshop, “High Throughput Analysis of Multicomponent Multiphase Diffusion Data,” was held in March 2003 to focus on the development of methods to extract diffusion data from multicomponent diffusion couples.

Contact: Carelyn Campbell

Evaluated Materials Property Data

Engineering designs utilizing advanced materials require reliable data. Elasticity, strength, toughness, hardness, creep, thermal expansion, conductivity, diffusivity, and durability are prominent among the data categories needed and desired for materials applications and development. Our project is directed both toward the development of evaluated databases of these properties for structural and superconducting ceramics and toward the establishment of the evaluation methodologies that form the foundation of reliable materials property data systems. A significant achievement in this effort is Data Evaluation Theory and Practice for Materials Properties, SP 960-11, the 11th NIST Recommended Practice Guide produced by MSEL.

Contact: Ronald Munro

Informatics and Visualization in Materials Data Delivery

The Internet, and the World Wide Web in particular, has become a dominant resource medium for technical information. We have undertaken a major commitment to make our extensive data collections available on-line. New efforts, now under way, will provide Web access to the MSEL lead-free solder materials property database and the diffusion data archive that is important for the processing of metal alloys. Additionally, the Internet will be used increasingly as a means of disseminating our technical publications in the form of electronic manuscripts.

Contact: Carlos Beauchamp