Graphite-bearing polycrystalline olivine and polycrystalline clinopyroxene with submicron to micron grain size were successfully sintered from a single crystal of naturally occurring olivine (Fo88–92Fa12–8: Mg1.76–1.84Fe0.16–0.24SiO4) and a single crystal of naturally occurring clinopyroxene (Di99Hed1: Ca0.92Na0.07Mn0.01Mg0.93Fe0.01Al0.06Si2O6). The milled powders of both these crystals were si...

Part I of this thesis investigates the ."seed selection through ion channeling" process, employed to modify the grain size and crystallographic texture of polycrystalline Si thin films deposited on SiO 2. In each of the three experiments, polycrystalline Si films prepared by the low-pressure chemical-vapor deposition technique were used as the starting material. Si self-implantation, at a fixed...