Charge state distribution studies of SrF3, MnF3 and CaF3 molecules using single and double stripping in a Tandem accelerator

High energy beams of high ion currents from a Tandem accelerator are a common requirement in nuclear physics, materials science and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) research. In many cases, molecular beams are chosen from the ion source to achieve a high ion source yield for the negative ions, or, as for AMS, to suppress isobaric interference. For this reason we have studied the use of consecutive stripper foils, double stripping, to increase the ion yield in conjunction with increased energy of injected molecular beams through a Tandem accelerator. By this method we could achieve a shift in the yield towards higher charge states.     

Molecular dynamics simulations to explore the effect of chemical bonding in the keV bombardment of Si with C60, Ne60 and Ne60 projectiles

Depth profiling experiments using secondary ion spectrometry (SIMS) have shown effects that are characteristic to the pairing of the projectile with a Si target. Previous molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that this unusual behavior is due to the fact that strong covalent bonds are formed between the C atoms in the projectile and the Si atoms in the target, which result in the implantation of carbon into the solid. The focus of this paper is to understand how the formation of chemical bonds affects the net sputtered yield. The results of molecular dynamics simulations of the keV bombardment of Si with C₆₀, Ne₆₀ and ¹²Ne₆₀ at normal incidence are compared over a range of incident kinetic energies from 5 to 20 keV. The net yields with Ne₆₀ and ¹²Ne₆₀ are significantly greater than with C₆₀ at all incident kinetic energies, with ¹²Ne₆₀ having the largest values. Application of the mesoscale energy deposition footprint (MEDF) model shows that the initial deposition of energy into the substrate is similar with all three projectiles. Snapshots of the initial pathway of the projectile atoms through the substrate show a similar lateral and vertical distribution that is centered in the region of the energy footprint. Therefore, the reason for the reduced yield with C₆₀ is that the C atoms form bonds with the Si atoms, which causes them to remain in the substrate instead of being sputtered.     

Electron spectroscopies and their use for materials characterization

We present here a general overview of electron spectroscopies from a practical point of view. The most frequently used ones are described and the type of structural information they can provide on materials is explained in relation to the physical processes on which they are based. Furthermore, we explore critically and in detail various tools that have been developed to allow a systematic solving of structures by these spectroscopies.     

An empirical expression for total scattering cross sections of normal hydrocarbons, and experimental total cross sections of C2H2 and C3H4

The total electron scattering cross sections (TCS) of C₂H₂ and C₃H₄ have been obtained for 200-4500 eV electrons by measuring the attenuation of the electron beam through a gas cell. An empirical expression is deduced to express the TCS of normal hydrocarbons as a function of the number of atomic constituencies in the hydrocarbon and the electron energy.     

Development of secondary ion mass spectroscopy using medium energy C60 ion impact

In this paper, we report time-of-flight (TOF) secondary ion mass spectroscopy using primary C₆₀ ions with an energy range from several tens of keV to several hundreds of keV. Application of the spectroscopy to the analysis of a poly(amino acid) film revealed that characteristic peaks, necessary for identification of the amino acid in proteins, show higher intensities for medium energy C₆₀ (120 keV and 540 keV ) impacts than those for low energy C₆₀ (30 keV ) impacts. This finding demonstrates that medium energy C₆₀ ion impacts are useful for highly sensitive characterization of amino acids.     

Surface modification of SUS304 stainless steel by atmospheric pressure Ar/N2/O2 plasma

The surface characteristics of SUS304 stainless steel are investigated before and after surface modification by Ar/N₂/O₂ plasma under atmospheric pressure conditions. It was found that plasma treatment of a stainless steel plate has a significant effect on the wettability, contact angle, and free energy of the SUS304 surface. The contact angle and surface free energy were analyzed. The optimal surface modification parameters are a power of 1000 W, a torch-to-sample distance of 80 mm, a treatment time of 300 s, and an oxygen content of 1.5 wt%. Under these processing conditions, a contact angle of just 1.60° was obtained. The surface morphology, surface element composition, and surface roughness of the treated SUS304 specimens were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results show that the optimal surface modification conditions lead to the formation of fine, uniformly distributed crystallites in the SUS304 microstructure. Moreover, compared to the untreated surface, the treated surface had a significantly lower carbon content and a more uniform distribution of surface peaks.     

Unimolecular isomerization from (CH3)3CNC to (CH3)3CCN induced by infrared free electron laser

Irradiation of IR Free Electron Laser at Tokyo University of Science (FEL-TUS) to t-butyl isonitrile ((CH₃)₃CNC) in the gas phase induced the isomerization reaction to trimethylacetonitrile ((CH₃)₃CCN). From the kinetic analyses, the isomerization reaction was attributed to the IR multiphoton activated unimolecular process. The wide frequency tunability of FEL-TUS enabled us to reveal that the excitation of the NC as well as the CN stretching motion efficiently drove the isomerization.     

Electron impact ionization of N4+ and N5+

A new crossed beams apparatus for measuring absolute electron impact ionization cross-sections of multiply charged ions is described. First measurements are also reported which deal with N⁴⁺ and N⁵⁺. The results are in good agreements with those previously obtained by the Oak Ridge group. For N⁵⁺ a non-negligible signal is observed below the ground state ionization threshold. It is attributed to the presence of ions in metastable states. From the semi-empirical Lotz formula, the population of ions in those states is estimated to be approximately 3%.     

Enhanced oxygen vacancy aggregation and colloid production in Al2O3

Optical luminescence and absorption measurements on Al₂O₃ (sapphire) electron irradiated at temperatures between 200 and 270°C with and without an applied electric field have been used to identify an oxygen vacancy aggregation process leading to the formation of aluminium colloids. This process, which is only observed when an electric field is applied during irradiation, occurs within the volume and is considered as a possible precursor for RIED. The results help to clarify the observed similarity between RIED and colloid production, and help to provide an explanation for the observation of gamma alumina in sapphire which has suffered RIED.     

Interaction of energetic clusters (Au3, Au400 and C60) with organic material and adsorbed gold nanoparticles

Using molecular dynamics simulations (MD), this contribution compares the interaction of three energetic clusters (Au₃, Au₄₀₀ and C₆₀) with a hybrid surface of crystalline polyethylene (PE) covered by a layer of gold nanoparticles. This model system mimics the situation encountered in metal-assisted secondary ion mass spectrometry. The chosen impact points are representative of the PE surface, the metal particles and the frontier between the metal and the polymer. The simulations show the differences between the impact over the Au nanoparticle and the polymer surface, in terms of projectile penetration, crater formation and sputtering yield of PE and gold species. For C₆₀ and Au₃ projectiles, a simple correlation is found between the quantity of energy deposited in the top polymeric layers and the quantity of sputtered polymer material, including all the impact points. The results obtained with Au₄₀₀ do not fit on this line, indicating that other physical parameters are prevalent. The mechanistic view of the interaction provided by the MD helps explain the differences. In short, while C₆₀ and Au₃ quickly break apart, creating energetic recoils and severing many bonds in the surface, Au₄₀₀, with the largest total momentum by far (∼10 times larger than the others) and the lowest energy per atom (25 eV), tends to act and implant in the solid as a single entity, pushing the polymeric material downwards and breaking few bonds in the surface.     

Electron Density and Optical Emission Measurements of SF6/O2 Plasmas for Silicon Etch Processes

This work investigates internal plasma process parameters using a hairpin resonance probe and optical emission spectroscopy. The dependence of electron density and atomic fluorine on the percentage of oxygen in an SF6 /O2 discharge was measured using these methods. An RIE Oxford Instruments 80 plus chamber was used for the experiments. Two different process powers (100 W and 300 W) at a constant pressure (100 mTorr) were used, and it was found that the optical emission intensity of the 703.7 nm and 685.6 nm lines of atomic fluorine increased rapidly as oxygen was added to the SF6 discharge, reached their maximum at an O2 fraction of 20% and then decreased with further addition of oxygen. The plasma electron density was also strongly influenced by the addition of O2 .     

Determination of Electron Swarm Parameters in Pure CHF3 and CF4 by a Time-Resolved Method

The density-normalized effective ionization coefficient (α-η)/N (α and η are the ionization and attachment coefficients respectively), the electron drift velocity V e and density-normalized longitudinal diffusion coefficient ND L in trifluoromethane (CHF3 ) and carbon tetrafluoride (CF4 ) were measured using a pulsed Townsend technique over a wide E/N range. From the plots of (α-η)/N, we have derived the limiting field strength, (E/N) lim , which is valid for the analysis of insulation characteristics and applications to power equipment. Comparisons of the electron swarms parameters between CHF3 and CF4 have been performed, and the global warming potential (GWP) is also taken into account.     

Electron impact excitation of the 6s S1/2 state of In atom at small scattering angles

We measured the differential cross sections (DCSs) for the electron-impact excitation of the resonance transition 5p²P_1/2-6s²S_1/2 of In atom at small scattering angles using a crossed electron-atom beam technique. The incident electron energies were E₀ = 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 eV, while the small scattering angles ranged from 1° to 10° in steps of 1°. The forward scattering function method has been used for normalizing the generalized oscillator strengths (GOS) to the known optical oscillator strength and obtaining the absolute DCS values.     

Comparative study of silicate glasses containing Bi2O3, PbO and BaO: Radiation shielding and optical properties

The radiation shielding and optical properties of xBi₂O₃:(100-x)SiO₂, xPbO:(100-x)SiO₂ and xBaO:(100-x)SiO₂ glass systems (where 30 ? x ? 70 is the composition by weight%) have been investigated. Total mass attenuation coefficients (μ_m) of glasses at 662 keV were improved by increasing their Bi₂O₃ and PbO content, which raised the photoelectric absorption in glass matrices. Raising the BaO content to the same fraction range, however, brought no significant change to μ_m. These results indicate that photon is strongly attenuated in Bi₂O₃ and PbO containing glasses, and but not in BaO containing glass. The results from the optical absorption spectra show an edge that was not sharply defined; clearly indicating the amorphous nature of glass samples. It is observed that the cutoff wavelength for Bi₂O₃ containing glass was longer than PbO and BaO containing glasses.     

Surface modification of MgAl2O4 and oxides with heavy ions of fission fragments energy

In this paper we report on results of surface modification in several candidate materials for inert matrix fuel hosts (MgAl₂O₄, MgO and Al₂O₃) induced by (0.5–5) MeV/amu Kr, Xe and Bi ion bombardment in the fluence range of 2 × 10¹⁰–10¹² ions/cm². The size and shape of nanoscale hillock-like defects, each of which was created by the impact of a single ion, have been studied by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. It was found that mean hillock height on sapphire and spinel surfaces depends linearly on the incident electronic stopping power. The hillocks are highest in MgAl₂O₄, having a lower threshold for the lattice disorder in the bulk material via relaxation of electronic excitations. As a possible reason for the hillocks formation, the plastic deformation due to the defects created by the Coulomb explosion mechanism in the target subsurface layer is suggested.     

Ion implantation doping and electrical conductivity enhancement of C60 films

Pristine C₆₀ films sublimed onto sheet mica were implanted with 20 keV K⁺ ions and I⁺ ions at doses of 1.0 × 10¹⁶/cm², 3.0 × 10¹⁶/cm² and 5.0 × 10¹⁶/cm², and with 20 keV Ar⁺ ions at a dose of 5.0 × 10¹⁶/cm². The distributions of dopants were studied using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). The temperature dependence of sheet resistivity of the films was investigated applying a four-probe system. It was proposed that the conductivity enhancement of K⁺ implanted C₆₀ films was due to the implanted ions in the films, while for I⁺ implanted C₆₀ films, both implanted I⁺ ions and irradiation effects of the ions contributed to the enhancement of conductivity.     

加速器质谱测量60Fe方法的模拟研究

长寿命的放射性核素⁶⁰Fe在天体物理学等许多研究领域中有重要科学意义。利用高能量的HI-13串列加速器质谱（AMS）系统和高性能的Q3D磁谱仪,初步研究了⁶⁰Fe的测量方法。通过优化测量条件,利用⁵⁸Fe和⁵⁸Ni分别模拟⁶⁰Fe和⁶⁰Ni,获得了仪器压低同量异位素的能力。结果表明,通过ΔE-Q3D系统结合四阳极气体电离室技术,将Ni的干扰压低了10¹¹。化学方法压低Ni的干扰为10⁴。可以预测⁶⁰Fe/Fe的探测灵敏度为10^-15。     

Thermophysical properties of NpO2, AmO2 and CmO2

The information on thermal and mechanical properties of the minor actinide dioxides: NpO₂, AmO₂ and CmO₂, is still very scarce, and a large uncertainty exists because of difficulties related to their fabrication and manipulation. Prognosis based on a set of the sound physical models and the similarity principle can be useful in this situation. Using the combination of the macroscopic and microscopic approaches developed earlier for thermodynamic properties of actinide dioxides, and the Klemmens model for their thermal conductivity, a few relationships bounding the main thermophysical properties of the actinide dioxides were deduced. These relationships were applied for the calculation of the isochoric and isobaric heat capacity, the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient, the isothermal bulk elastic modulus and the thermal conductivity of NpO₂, AmO₂ and CmO₂ in a large temperature range. A rather satisfactory agreement with the available experimental data and recommendations was demonstrated.     

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.