Effect of environmental humidity on rate of thermal outgassing

This investigation presents a super-dry venting system that allows the rate of thermal outgassing of an aluminum chamber (length 2 m) to return rapidly to 1 × 10⁻¹³ mbar L s⁻¹ cm⁻² in 4 h without baking. A glove box and an air shower, which provided dehumidified environments with water vapor concentrations of 0.1 ppm and 5 ppm respectively, were utilized to assess the effect of environmental humidity on the rate of thermal outgassing. With super-dry nitrogen venting inside and exposure to the glove box, a thermal outgassing rate of q₁ ∼ 1 × 10⁻¹¹ mbar L s⁻¹ cm⁻² was achieved.     

Miniaturization of mass spectrometer-based leak detection technology-Technical note

Innovative pumping technology combining both, small-sized scroll- and turbomolecular pumps results in a substantial miniaturization of mass spectrometer-based leak-detector-systems, namely reduction of the outer dimensions to less than 30×30×15 cm and weight to less than 8 kg. To date this technique utilizes the Paul trap principle for leak detection with a sensitivity down to below 10⁻¹⁰ mbar l s⁻¹.     

Processing map for hot working characteristics of a wrought 2205 duplex stainless steel

Processing map on a wrought 2205 duplex stainless steel under hot compression conditions has been developed based on the dynamic material model theories in the range 1223–1473 K and 0.01–10 s⁻¹. The various domains in the map corresponding to different deformation characteristics have been discussed in combination of microstructural observations. The results show that the power dissipation efficiency (η) depends strongly on the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of austenite which plays a dominant role in microstructural evolution, while the ferrite phase mainly continues to exhibit relatively well-developed dynamic recovery (DRV) at large strain. The optimum hot working domain of wrought 2205 duplex stainless steel is obtained to be in the temperature range 1373–1473 K and at strain rate of 0.01 s⁻¹, with peak efficiency 50% occurring at about 1423 K, in which more uniform microstructure is developed due to the occurrence of complete DRX of austenite. The unstable hot working regimes are predicted by Prasad instability criterion, in good agreement with the macro-and microstructural observations. As predicted, flow instability, which are manifested as twinning, bands of flow localization and the absence of DRX in austenite are observed at lower temperatures and higher strain rates (1223–1273 K and 1–10 s⁻¹); in other cases, wedge cracking is responsible for instability phenomena observed at the temperature range 1373–1423 K and strain rate of 10 s⁻¹.     

Design modelling and measured performance of the vacuum system of the Diamond Light Source storage ring

A one-dimensional diffusion model of the Diamond Light Source storage ring vacuum system is described and its predictions are compared with actual measured static (without beam) and dynamic (with beam) pressures over more than 2000 A h of beam conditioning at 3 GeV. An average specific thermal outgassing yield of 1·10⁻¹¹ mbar l/(s cm²) during initial beam circulation is obtained, which reduces to 2·10⁻¹² mbar l/(s cm²) after an accumulated beam dose of 1000 A h and an elapsed time of 769 days. In the presence of stored electron beam, the pressure rises as expected due to photon stimulated desorption (PSD). The PSD yield reduces with beam dose according to a (−2/3) power law as was applied in the model. Predicted and measured dynamic pressures generally agree within a factor of 2 over the whole range of beam conditioning dose studied.     

Dynamic tensile behavior of multi phase high yield strength steel

Results of uni-axial tensile testing of multi phase 800 High Yield strength steel (MP800HY) at different strain rates (0.001–750 s⁻¹) are reported here. Flat specimens having gauge length 10 mm, width 4 mm and thickness 2 mm were tested to determine the mechanical properties of MP800HY under tensile loads. The quasi-static tests (0.001 s⁻¹) were performed on electromechanical universal testing machine, whereas, hydro-pneumatic machine and modified Hopkinson bar apparatus were used for testing at intermediate (5 s⁻¹, 25 s⁻¹) and high strain rates (250 s⁻¹, 500 s⁻¹, 750 s⁻¹) respectively. Based on the experimental results, the material parameters of existing Cowper–Symonds and Johnson–Cook models are determined. These models fit the experimental data well in the plastic zone. The fracture surfaces of the broken specimens are studied from their fractographs taken by scanning electron microscope (SEM).     

Industrialisation of the insulation vacuum barrier for the large hadron collider (LHC) magnet cryostats

The insulation vacuum (<10⁻⁴ Pa) of the large hadron collider magnet cryostats, thermally protecting the superconducting magnets which operate at 1.9 K in superfluid helium, is divided in to 214 m long segments separated by means of insulation vacuum barriers.The insulation vacuum barrier is a leak-tight stainless steel welded structure, composed of two concentric corrugated cylinders and one internal bellows linked together by a 6 mm thick central plate. As the vacuum barrier mechanically links the cryostat vacuum vessel operating at ambient temperature and the 1.9 K superconducting magnets, it is designed to have minimum heat conductivity. Conduction heat in-leak is intercepted at 65 K by a high-purity copper ring brazed onto the stainless steel central plate and thermally linked to a cryogenic line by a copper-aluminium soldering. The thermal performance has been experimentally validated by cryogenic testing.This paper presents the results obtained after industrialisation, manufacture and testing of prototypes and series units. Qualification of leak-tight welds in thin-sheet stainless steel (thickness 0.15-1.3 mm) has been carried out. Ultrasonic testing is performed on all brazing and soldering. Helium leak testing is performed, using dedicated tooling, to ensure a leak-tightness to a rate better than 10⁻⁹ Pa m³ s⁻¹.     

High-speed pumping to UHV

Development of a high-speed pumping system for ultra high vacuum (UHV) process dose not reduce only cost and waiting time for experiment and production, but also reduces CO₂ emission that is known as one of the serious causes in the global warming problem. Reduction of vapor water concentration in a purge gas line would be one of the most effective measures to reduce pumping time to UHV. We carried out control of water vapor in a nitrogen gas purge line in addition to surface treatments of chambers using buff polishing and electrolytic polishing, followed by measurement of outgassing rate of the chambers. Under the reasonable control of the water vapor, the pumping time to reach the pressure of 1 × 10⁻⁶ Pa was able to be shortened with two orders of the magnitude. And it was also found that the main residual gas in the chamber was hydrogen after pumping down with the low concentration of water vapor. The quality of residual gas was equivalent to the quality in a baked UHV system. The introduction of well controlled nitrogen gas to the vacuum system which was not baked out during its pumping has proved a pressure of 3 × 10⁻⁸ Pa for 24 h in the chamber without orifice.     

Transparent amorphous conductive Cd-In-Sb-O thin films for flexible devices

Transparent conductive amorphous Cd-In-Sb-O thin films were deposited on a flexible polyethylene naphthalate film by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The large Hall mobility of ∼26 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ was observed on the films with carrier density >10²⁰ cm⁻³. The carrier density varied from the order of 10²⁰ to 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ with increasing the oxygen partial pressure. The Hall mobility reached up to ∼17 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, even at carrier density of ∼10¹⁷ cm⁻³. Flexible transparent filed-effect transistor was also fabricated using the Cd-In-Sb-O thin films as a channel layer and the device performance was investigated. The device exhibited a field-effect mobility of ∼0.45 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and an on-off ratio of ∼10² at room temperature.     

Development of an ultra-high vacuum system for space application

The aim of this paper is to present the development of a very specific ultra-high vacuum system for the space application PHARAO. In order to reach the specified pressure (2.6×10⁻⁸ Pa) during 3 years in a self-contained system, specific solutions have been developed. A calculation of partial pressures of different chemical species (typically hydrogen, rare gases and cesium) in the different areas of the vacuum tube has been computed. Experiments have been also performed in order to verify the possibility of using different kind of materials (outgassing rates of bulk and porous titanium, silicon carbide reinforced aluminum, graphite, etc.) and pumping systems such as getters and a specially developed ion pump.     

Electrochemical synthesis of calcium carbonate coatings on stainless steel substrates

Calcite CaCO₃ has been electrocrystallized on stainless steel substrates by the galvanostatic cathodic reduction of aqueous calcium bicarbonate solutions. The deposition is controlled by pH changes occurring close to the cathode due to electrogeneration of base. The deposit morphology varies from facetted rhombs observed at low (1-20 mA cm⁻²) current densities to corner-rounded particles observed at high (40 mA cm⁻²) current densities.     

Protonic conduction in Ca-doped La2M2O7 (M = Ce, Zr) with its application to ammonia synthesis electrochemically

Complex oxides La_1.95Ca_0.05M₂O_7−δ (M = Ce, Zr) were prepared by sol-gel method and characterized by thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the sintered complex oxides as solid electrolyte, the conductivity was measured in various atmospheres, and ammonia was synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen at atmospheric pressure in the solid states proton conducting cell reactor by electrochemical methods. The rates of ammonia formation were up to 2.0 × 10⁻⁹ mol s⁻¹ cm⁻² for La_1.95Ca_0.05Zr₂O_7−δ and 1.3 × 10⁻⁹ mol s⁻¹ cm⁻² for La_1.95Ca_0.05Ce₂O_7−δ, respectively, at 520 °C.     

Optimized annular triode ion pump for experimental areas in the LHC

The large hadron collider will be the world next generation accelerator to be operational in 2007 at CERN. The UHV requirements force the installation of ion pumps in the experimental areas of ATLAS. Due to the unacceptable particle background that standards ion pumps may generate, a reduction in the amount of material constitutive of the pump body is required. Hence, a stainless steel 0.8 mm thick body annular triode ion pump has been designed. A pumping speed of ∼20 l/s at 10⁻⁹ mbar is provided by 15 pumping elements. Finite elements analysis and destructive tests have been performed in its design. Final vacuum tests results are shown.     

Contribution to carrier densities of the oxygen vacancy in a low-resistivity tin-doped indium oxide film by the hot-cathode plasma sputtering method

In order to clarify the contribution to carrier density by oxygen vacancies in tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films prepared on glass substrates by the hot-cathode plasma sputtering method, we have investigated the effect of annealing on the electrical properties of an ITO film with a resistivity of 1.0 × 10^− 4 Ω cm. A drastic decrease in carrier density from 2.0 × 10²¹ to 0.88 × 10²¹ cm^− 3 was found with gradual increase in the Hall mobility from 29 to 35 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1 for repeated annealing cycles, when the ITO film was exposed for one hour to 400 °C oxygen gas at atmospheric pressure. The results indicate that the contribution of oxygen vacancies to carrier density was ca. 1.12 × 10²¹ cm^− 3 for the ITO film with an overall carrier density of 2.0 × 10²¹ cm^− 3.     

Characteristics of a magnetron cold cathode gauge

The discharge characteristics of a cold-cathode gauge of the non-inverted magnetron type were studied in ultra-high vacuum. The experimental magnetron cell of length 56 mm and diameter 32 mm was made of stainless steel. The cathode with a diameter of 6 mm was placed along the anode axis. The diameter of the anode was 25 mm and the length was 50 mm. Discharge current versus voltage and magnetic field was measured in the pressure range between 1×10⁻⁸ and 1×10⁻⁶ mbar. It was found that the current at first slowly increased with increasing voltage, reached a maximum at a certain voltage, and decreased rapidly with further increase of the voltage. The voltage, at which the current reached the maximum, depended on the magnetic field density and slightly on the pressure. A novel type of a cold cathode gauge with a self-adjusting power supply is suggested.     

On the use of photoacoustic technique for monitoring the thermal properties of lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite-yttria stabilized zirconia two-layer systems

In this work, lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3 − δ) films deposited by spray-pyrolysis onto commercial yttria stabilized zirconia substrates were investigated by photothermal spectroscopy. It is shown that by using the thermal-electrical analogy model it is possible to obtain the thermal properties of two-layer composite systems simultaneously, without the need to spread them, and thus to evaluate the thermal mismatch between the substrate and the deposited film. The thermal diffusivity of the 8YSZ substrate was found to be 6.6 × 10⁻³ cm²s⁻¹, whereas for the La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3 − δ films it ranged between 0.47 and 9.26 × 10⁻⁴ cm²s⁻¹. We have found that for film thickness beyond 3.06 μm the thermal expansion coefficient becomes relevant, indicating that the optimum film deposition time lies between 10 and 20 min.     

Investigation of dry sliding wear properties of boron doped powder metallurgy 316L stainless steel

This paper describes wear behavior of powder metallurgy (PM) 316L stainless steel with additions of elemental boron with the aim of producing superior mechanical properties. The wear test of the samples is conducted using a pin specimen of PM 316L stainless steel doped with elemental boron and a steel disc specimen with hardness of 180 HV10. Densification achieved with boron addition due to the liquid phase formation up to 95% of theoretical density with 0.6 wt.% boron addition. Most mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and yield strength were improved with boron addition. The wear rate of PM 316L stainless steel decreased from 4.3 × 10⁻⁶ to 0.8 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm with the addition of 0.6 wt.% elemental boron. The abrasive-induced delamination wear dominated at the samples. Scanning electron microscopy observations of the worn surfaces revealed that plastic deformation occurred with delamination of surface layers in the sintered conditions.     

Chemical diffusion coefficient of lithium ion in Li3V2(PO4)3 cathode material

The kinetic properties of monoclinic lithium vanadium phosphate were investigated by potential step chronoamperometry (PSCA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method. The PSCA results show that there exists a linear relationship between the current and the square root of the time. The D?_Li values of lithium ion in Li_3-xV₂(PO₄)₃ under various initial potentials of 3.41, 3.67, 3.91 and 4.07 V (vs Li/Li⁺) obtained from PSCA are 1.26 × 10^− 9, 2.38 × 10^− 9, 2.27 × 10^− 9 and 2.22 × 10^− 9 cm²·s^− 1, respectively. Over the measuring temperature range 15-65 °C, the diffusion coefficient increased from 2.67 × 10^− 8 cm²·s^− 1 (at 15 °C) to 1.80 × 10^− 7 cm²·s^− 1 (at 65 °C) as the measuring temperature increased.     

Mobility of holes in a Si/Si0.8Ge0.2/Si metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor

Using all standard scattering mechanisms the hole mobility in a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor SiGe conduction channel at 17 K and room temperature was calculated. The mobility measurements were performed at different bath temperatures in the range of 4-300 K. The 4 K peak mobility at a sheet carrier concentration, n_h, of 2.1 × 10¹¹ cm^− 2 is 5100 cm² V⁻¹ s^− 1 while the 300 K mobility has a peak value of 350 cm² V⁻¹ s^− 1. By comparing between theory and measurements it is shown that the interface impurities and surface roughness more strongly limit the mobility than alloy scattering does.     

Silicon oxide synthesized using an atmospheric pressure microplasma jet from a tetraethoxysilane and oxygen mixture

Local deposition of SiO_x was studied using an atmospheric pressure very-high-frequency (VHF) inductive coupling microplasma jet (AP-MPJ) from a tetraethoxysilane ((Si(OC₂H₅)₄), TEOS) and oxygen mixture. The SiO_x obtained showed the dielectric constant of 3.8 with a low leakage current of the order of ∼ 10^− 6 A ·cm^− 2 up to 8 MV ·cm^− 1. Bottom-gated sputtered-ZnO thin-film transistors with a AP-MPJ SiO_x as a gated dielectric layer exhibited a relatively high field-effect mobility of 24 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1, a threshold voltage of 14 V and an on/off current ratio of ∼ 10⁴, a performance comparable to that of thermal silicon dioxide. The TFT performance was also obtained for the top-gated ZnO-TFTs with a field-effect mobility of 1.4 cm² ·V^− 1 s^− 1, a threshold voltage of − 1.9 V, and an on/off current ratio of ∼ 10³.     

The influence of a hot cathode vacuum gauge on the residual gas composition

The residual atmosphere of an UHV chamber is known to be influenced by the hot cathode gauge (HCG) via processes on the hot cathode and by ionisation. In the presence of such a gauge, some gases are pumped while several residuals are generated, depending on the condition of the chamber's inner surface, gauge parameters and gases that are released spontaneously or introduced on purpose.We analysed the influence of the HCG in three different cases of gas accumulation lasting typically for 1 h: (1) in the leak tight vessel, where the background outgassing from the walls was the only inflow Q_backg=1.6×10⁻⁸ mbar l H₂ s⁻¹, (2) during the constant nitrogen inflow in the vessel and (3) during the constant deuterium inflow. Both inflow values were in the order of 1×10⁻⁶ mbar l s⁻¹. The absolute total pressure in the 13 l system was monitored by a capacitance manometer. After the accumulation, the composition of the accumulated gases was analysed by a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), calibrated with the gases of interest. Regarding the operation of the HCG, an obvious difference is noted both in the pressure rise curves and QMS spectra. The generation of carbon-contained residuals by the HCG was evident, but the most unexpected was its pumping action: nitrogen content decreased from 99% (HCG off) to 62% (HCG on) and deuterium content decreased from 65% (HCG off) to only 2% (HCG on).