Selective isobar suppression for accelerator mass spectrometry and radioactive ion-beam science

A new method of selective isobar suppression by photodetachment in a radio-frequency quadrupole ion cooler is being developed at HRIBF with a twofold purpose: (1) increasing the AMS sensitivity for certain isotopes of interest and (2) purifying radioactive ion beams for nuclear science. The potential of suppressing the ³⁶S contaminants in a ³⁶Cl beam using this method has been explored with stable S^? and Cl^? ions and a Nd:YLF laser. In the study, the laser beam was directed along the experiment’s beam line and through a RF quadrupole ion cooler. Negative ³²S and ³⁵Cl ions produced by a Cs sputter ion source were focused into the ion cooler where they were slowed by collisions with He buffer gas; this increased the interaction time between the negative-ion beam and the laser beam. As a result, suppression of S^? by a factor of 3000 was obtained with about 2.5 W average laser power in the cooler while no reduction in Cl^? current was observed.     

Ion beam induced modifications in electron beam evaporated aluminum oxide thin films

Al₂O₃ thin films find wide applications in optoelectronics, sensors, tribology etc. In the present work, Al₂O₃ films prepared by electron beam evaporation technique are irradiated with 100 MeV swift Si⁷⁺ ions for the fluence in the range 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻² and the structural properties are studied by glancing angle X-ray diffraction. It shows a single diffraction peak at 38.2° which indicates the γ-phase of Al₂O₃. Further, it is observed that as the fluence increases up to 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻² the diffraction peak intensity decreases indicating amorphization. Surface morphology studies by atomic force microscopy show mean surface roughness of 34.73 nm and it decreases with increase in ion fluence. A strong photoluminescence (PL) emission with peak at 442 nm along with shoulder at 420 nm is observed when the samples are excited with 326 nm light. The PL emission is found to increase with increase in ion fluence and the results are discussed in detail.     

Proton beam induced luminescence of silicon dioxide implanted with silicon

Light emission from a silicon dioxide layer enriched with silicon has been studied. Samples used had structures made on thermally oxidized silicon substrate wafers. Excess silicon atoms were introduced into a 250-nm-thick silicon dioxide layer via implantation of 60 keV Si⁺ ions up to a fluence of 2 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻². A 15-nm-thick Au layer was used as a top semitransparent electrode. Continuous blue light emission was observed under DC polarization of the structure at 8-12 MV/cm. The blue light emission from the structures was also observed in an ionoluminescence experiment, in which the light emission was caused by irradiation with a H₂⁺ ion beam of energy between 22 and 100 keV. In the case of H₂⁺, on entering the material the ions dissociated into two protons, each carrying on average half of the incident ion energy. The spectra of the emitted light and the dependence of ionoluminescence on proton energy were analyzed and the results were correlated with the concentration profile of implanted silicon atoms.     

Modification of poly(ether ether ketone) by ion irradiation

Poly(ether ether ketone) was irradiated with 3.0 MeV Si²⁺, 3.25 MeV Cu²⁺ and 4.8 MeV Ag²⁺ ions to the fluences from 10¹² to 10¹⁴ cm⁻² and the effects of irradiation were studied using ERDA, RBS and FTIR methods. The irradiation leads to release of hydrogen from the PEEK surface layer modified by the ion beam. The release is mild for low ion fluences but it becomes more pronounced at the ion fluences above 10¹³ cm⁻². At highest ion fluences the hydrogen concentration falls to 20-35% of its initial value. In contrast to hydrogen no significant oxygen release was observed. The kinetic of the hydrogen release is similar for the three ion species. FTIR measurement shows deep structural changes of the polymer structure resulting from the ion irradiation.     

Laser annealing in combination with mass spectroscopy, a technique to study deuterium on tokamak carbon samples, a tool for detritiation

In this study, a method is presented based on mass spectroscopy to measure the areal density of deuterium on a graphite surface exposed to tokamak discharges. The studied sample was cut from a bumper limiter exposed in the TEXTOR tokamak and annealed by a 1 J Excimer laser (KrF). The energy used was 400 mJ cm⁻², which is below the threshold for ablation, 1 J cm⁻². The release of HD and D₂ was measured by a mass spectroscopy set-up and no other species released from the sample were detected in this experiment. The amount of D released from the sample after 20 laser pulses was measured to 7 × 10¹⁶ D atoms per cm⁻² (for this particular sample) and most of the hydrogen at the surface was released in the first pulse, as checked by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) techniques, which gave changes of the amount of deuterium before and after laser annealing. The sensitivity in this experiment was 5 × 10¹⁴ atoms per cm⁻² for HD and 5 × 10¹³ atoms per cm⁻² for D₂.     

Controlling the density distribution of SiC nanocrystals for the ion beam synthesis of buried SiC layers in silicon

The depth distribution of SiC nanocrystals formed during high-dose implantation of carbon ions into silicon at conditions suitable for the ion beam synthesis of buried SiC layers in silicon is studied in this paper. For implantation temperatures of 400–600°C and dose rates of 10¹² − 10¹³ C⁺/cm²s, SiC precipitates in crystalline silicon are observed to be of approximately equal size, independent of the depth position beneath the surface. Ballistic destruction of small precipitates and difficulties in precipitate growth are thought to be responsible for the observed narrow size distribution. The destruction of precipitates may lead to the simultaneous release of a superthreshold concentration of carbon atoms resulting in a carbon-induced amorphization of the silicon host lattice. The local reduction of the number density of SiC nanocrystals involved with this amorphization can be used to tailor discontinuous depth distributions of oriented SiC precipitates providing ideal starting conditions for the synthesis of well-defined single-crystalline SiC layers in silicon.     

Swift heavy ion induced modifications of fullerene C70 thin films

Modifications of the C₇₀ molecule (fullerene) under swift heavy ion irradiation are investigated. C₇₀ thin films were irradiated with 120 MeV Au ions at fluences from 1 × 10¹² to 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm². The energetic ion impacts lead to the destruction of the C₇₀ molecule. To investigate the stability of C₇₀ fullerene, the damage cross-section and radius of the damaged cylindrical zones are evaluated by fitting the evanescence of C₇₀ vibration modes recorded by Raman spectroscopy. Conductivity measurements together with Raman and optical absorption studies revealed that an irradiation fluence of 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm² results in complete amorphization of the carbon structure of the fullerene molecules.     

On the understanding of positive and negative ionization processes during ToF-SIMS depth profiling by co-sputtering with cesium and xenon

In this paper, ionization processes of secondary ions during ToF-SIMS dual beam depth profiling were studied by co-sputtering with 500 eV cesium and xenon ions and analyzing with 25 keV Ga⁺ ions. The Cs/Xe technique consists in diluting the cesium sputtering/etching beam with xenon ions to control the cesium surface concentration during ToF-SIMS dual beam depth profiling. Several depth profiles of a H-terminated silicon wafer were performed with varying Cs beam concentration and the steady state Si, Xe and Cs surface concentrations were measured in situ by Auger electron spectroscopy. It was found that the implanted Cs surface concentration increases with the Cs fraction in the beam from 0% for the pure Xe beam to a maximum Cs surface concentration for the pure Cs beam. Secondly, the variation of the silicon work function, due to the Cs implantation, was measured in situ and during depth profiling as the shift of the secondary ion kinetic energy distributions. Finally, the positive and negative elemental ion yields generated by the Ga analysis beam were recorded and modeled with respect to varying Cs/Xe mixture. We found that the Si⁻ and the Cs⁻ yields increase exponentially with the decrease of the silicon’s work function while that of Cs⁺ and Si⁺ decrease exponentially, as expected by the electron tunneling model.     

Ion induced segregation in gold nanostructured thin films on silicon

We report a direct observation of segregation of gold atoms to the near surface regime due to 1.5 MeV Au²⁺ ion impact on isolated gold nanostructures deposited on silicon. Irradiation at fluences of 6 × 10¹³, 1 × 10¹⁴ and 5 × 10¹⁴ ions cm⁻² at a high beam flux of 6.3 × 10¹² ions cm⁻² s⁻¹ show a maximum transported distance of gold atoms into the silicon substrate to be 60, 45 and 23 nm, respectively. At a lower fluence (6 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻²) transport has been found to be associated with the formation of gold silicide (Au₅Si₂). At a high fluence value of 5 × 10¹⁴ ions cm⁻², disassociation of gold silicide and out-diffusion lead to the segregation of gold to defect - rich surface and interface regions.     

Radiosensitivity of hepatoma cell lines and human normal liver cell lines exposed in vitro to carbon ions and argon ions at the HIRFL

Human hepatoma (SMMC-7721) and normal liver (L02) cells were irradiated with γ-rays, ¹²C⁶⁺ and ³⁶Ar¹⁸⁺ ion beams at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). By using the Calyculin-A induced premature chromosome condensation technique, chromatid-type breaks and isochromatid-type breaks were scored separately. Tumor cells irradiated with heavy ions produced a majority of isochromatid break, while chromatid breaks were dominant when cells were exposed to γ-rays. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for irradiation-induced chromatid breaks were 3.6 for L02 and 3.5 for SMMC-7721 cell lines at the LET peak of 96 keVμm⁻¹¹²C⁶⁺ ions, and 2.9 for both of the two cell lines of 512 keVμm⁻¹³⁶Ar¹⁸⁺ ions. It suggested that the RBE of isochromatid-type breaks was pretty high when high-LET radiations were induced. Thus we concluded that the high production of isochromatid-type breaks, induced by the densely ionizing track structure, could be regarded as a signature of high-LET radiation exposure.     

Cu and Y ion beams by a new LIS generator

In this work, we present the experimental results of a laser ion source (LIS) implemented for ion accelerators. A KrF excimer laser beam operating at 248 nm was focused on a solid target mounted inside a vacuum chamber in order to obtain the plasma. The laser energy was fixed at 11.5 mJ/pulse. The ion components of the plasma were extracted and accelerated up to 160 keV per charge state by a double gap system formed in two different stages. The beam cross section was circular, 1.5 cm in diameter. Using Cu and Y disks, as laser targets, we produced ion beams containing 1.2 × 10¹¹ ions/pulse (0.7 × 10¹¹ ions/cm²). Applying a total accelerating voltage of 60 kV we obtained an increase in ion dose up to 3.4 × 10¹¹ ions/pulse, (2 × 10¹¹ ions/cm²) for the Cu target and up to 6.3 × 10¹¹ ions/pulse (3.5 × 10¹¹ ions/cm²) for the Y target. The characterization of the plasma was performed using a Faraday cup for the electromagnetic properties, and a pepper pot system for the geometric ones. At 60 kV accelerating voltage and 5.5 mA output current the normalized beam emittance resulted in 0.22 π mm mrad for the Cu target, while under the same accelerating voltage, but with 7.4 mA output current, the normalized beam emittance resulted in 0.14 π mm mrad for the Y target.     

Laser photodetachment neutraliser for negative ion beams

We outline a speculative design for a photodetachment neutraliser for a negative ion neutral beam system, with neutralisation efficiency of 95% or more. The practical difficulties are enormous. The ion beam must pass through an optical cavity capable of reflecting the light many times. For 500 reflections, the laser optical power output ∼800 kW, giving circulating power ∼400 MW. All sources of light loss combined need to be kept to 0.2% or less per pass. The losses due to photodetachment itself, and due to Thomson scattering in the beam plasma are negligible. A key task is to maintain the reflectance of the mirrors above 99.97% for long periods of operation, protecting all the components from thermal and neutron damage, and from caesium, sputtered atoms and other contamination. A diode-pumped Nd-doped YAG laser can have overall electrical-to-light (“wall-plug”) efficiency up to 25%. A DEMO concept reactor such as the EU Power Plant Conceptual Study (PPCS) Model B requires 270 MW heating power. If this is all provided by neutral beams, then a laser neutraliser might reduce the electrical power consumption for this from 900 MW to 520 MW.     

Physical Startup of the TWAC Storage Ring

C⁶⁺ ions with energy 200 MeV/nucleon have been accumulated in the chamber of the ring magnet of the U-10 proton synchrotron used as a storage ring in the TWAC setup. A C⁴⁺ ion beam from the laser source was first accelerated in the I-3 injector up to 1.3 MeV/nucleon and in the UK booster synchrotron up to final energy with periodicity 3.5 sec. Ions have been accumulated in U-10 using the multiple charge-exchange injection scheme C⁴⁺ C⁶⁺. An increase in the ion intensity in the accumulator has been observed during several injection cycles. Experimental data on the attained parameters of the accumulated beam are presented, and the status of the optimization of the accumulation regime is discussed.     

Effect of N and C ion beam bombardment on the optical and structural characteristics of ethylene-norbornene copolymer (TOPAS)

Ion bombardment is a suitable tool to modify the optical properties of polymers. In the present study the effect of ion bombardment on the optical absorption of ethylene-norbornene copolymer (TOPAS) was studied using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and Raman spectroscopy. Polymer samples were bombarded with 60 keV C⁴⁺ and N⁴⁺ ion beams to various fluences ranging from 1.0 × 10¹³ to 1.0 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻². The indirect and direct band gaps have been determined. The values of direct band gaps have been found to be greater than the corresponding values of the indirect band gaps. Activation energy has been investigated as the function of ion fluences. The number of carbon atoms per conjugated length is determined according to modified Tauc’s equation. The correlation between the optical band gap, activation energy for optical transition and the number of carbon atoms per conjugated length as well as chemical structure changes induced by ion beams irradiation have been discussed in the case of ethylene-norbornene copolymer.     

Effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on structural, optical and electrical properties of Cd2SnO4 thin films

Transparent conducting cadmium stannate thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis method on Corning substrate at a temperature of 525 °C. The prepared films are irradiated using 120 MeV swift Ag⁹⁺ ions for the fluence in the range 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻² and the structural, optical and electrical properties were studied. The intensity of the film decreases with increasing ion fluence and amorphization takes place at higher fluence (1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻²). The transmittance of the films decreases with increasing ion fluence and also the band gap value decreases with increasing ion fluence. The resistivity of the film increased from 2.66 × 10⁻³ Ω cm (pristine) to 5.57 × 10⁻³ Ω cm for the film irradiated with 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻². The mobility of the film decreased from 31 to 12 cm²/V s for the film irradiated with the fluence of 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻².     

Physical and chemical response of 145 MeV Ne ion irradiated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polymer

Characterization of ion induced modifications in the physical, chemical and structural properties of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polymer induced by 145 MeV Ne⁶⁺ ions has been carried out by FTIR, UV-Visible, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction. Heavy ion irradiation was carried out under a vacuum of ∼10⁻⁶ torr at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata, India using a low beam current (∼15 nA). Ion fluences of 10¹⁰, 10¹¹, 10¹², 10¹³ ions/cm² were used. The optical band gap (E_g), calculated from the absorption edge of the UV-Vis spectra of these films in 200-800 nm region varied from 2.167 eV to 1.512 eV for virgin and irradiated samples. In FTIR spectra appreciable changes have been observed after irradiation, indicating the molecular fragmentation, cross-linking, formation of unsaturated groups and free radicals. DSC thermograms give information about the thermal stability and type of thermal reactions (exothermic/endothermic) on the application of heat to the polymer. XRD analyses show slight shift of peak position and significant changes in peak intensity. XRD results show a decrease of ∼4.12% in crystallite size of irradiated sample at the higher fluence of 10¹² ions/cm².     

Deposition of polycrystalline Si thin films on glass substrates by direct negative Si ion beam deposition

Polycrystalline Si (Poly-Si) thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by direct negative Si (Si⁻) ion beam deposition. The glass substrate temperature was kept constant at 500 °C for all depositions. Prior to deposition, the ion energy spread and ion-to-atom arrival ratio were evaluated as a function of the ion beam energy.The Si⁻ ion energy spread was less than 10% regardless of the ion energy, while the ion-to-atom arrival ratio increased proportionally from 1.3 to 1.6 according to the ion beam energy.Atomic force microscopy images showed that a relatively rough surface was obtained at 50 eV of Si⁻ ion energy and it is also concluded that the Si⁻ ion beam irradiation at 50 eV is effective to deposit Si thin film with small grains as shown in Fig. 3.     

Study of Al measurement on the Shanghai Mini-cyclotron based AMS

We present a modification to the ¹⁴C-dedicated SMCAMS (Shanghai mini-cyclotron based AMS) system to allow the measurement of ²⁶Al for biomedical applications with the existing devices. This is accomplished by determining the turn number, harmonic number and RF frequency theoretically and then making the appropriate orbit programming and beam optics calculation and experimental adjustments. The tests were conducted using pencil graphite (for the carbon pilot beam), Al₂O₃ powder and metal aluminum to accelerate ions with mass number of 24, 25, 26 and 27. The frequency response curves for those ions are shown. Finally, the Al₂O₃ standard sample with a known isotope ratio of 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ is measured. The ²⁶Al⁻ ions are detected and its frequency response curve shows the peak of ²⁶Al⁻ though very weak is well separated from the most neighboring interfering molecular ions ²⁵MgH⁻.     

Swift heavy ion induced modifications of optical and microstructural properties of silver–fullerene C60 nanocomposite

In this paper, we study the optical and microstructural properties of silver–fullerene C₆₀ nanocomposite and their modifications induced by swift heavy ion irradiation. Silver nanoparticles embedded in fullerene C₆₀ matrix were synthesized by co-deposition of silver and fullerene C₆₀ by thermal evaporation. The nanocomposite thin films were irradiated by 120 MeV Ag ions at different fluences ranging from 1 × 10¹² to 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm². Optical absorption studies revealed that the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles showed a blue shift of ～49 nm with increasing ion fluence up to 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm². Transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to quantify particle size and metal atomic fraction in the nanocomposite film. Growth of Ag nanoparticles was observed with increasing ion fluence. Raman spectroscopy was used to understand the effect of heavy ion irradiation on fullerene matrix. The blue shift in plasmonic wavelength is explained by the transformation of fullerene C₆₀ matrix into amorphous carbon.     

Flux dependent MeV ion induced modification of nano-Ag/Si system

Thin films of Ag (1.5 nm thick) are grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates using evaporation method in high vacuum condition and due to non-wetting nature of silver, isolated islands of mean size ≈12.0 nm have been formed on the surface. Au²⁺ (1.5 MeV) ions have been used to irradiate the above systems at various fluences (5 × 10¹³-1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻²) at an impact angle of 5° and at a flux of 6.3 × 10¹² cm⁻² s⁻¹ (corresponding to a beam current density of 2.0 μA cm⁻² for Au²⁺ ions). Ion beam induced embedding is observed to begin at a fluence of 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² for this high flux whereas low flux irradiations (current density ≈ 0.02 μA cm⁻²) of Au²⁺ ions under similar irradiation conditions did not yield embedding (impact angle 5°). High resolution transmission electron microscopy measurement showed no mixing in the form of silicide formation. These results are compared with high flux modifications in Au/Si system.