Polarization effects on the cross-section of ion-atom collisions

Coupled-channel cross-sections for electron capture, ionization and electron loss due to polarization effects are calculated. The maximum impact parameter for electron escape is analyzed within the classical framework. The probabilities of ionization and capture are analyzed simultaneously by a semi-empirical method. Differing from the n-body classical trajectory Monte Carlo method, the condition for electron escape is determined by Coulomb forces related to the two nuclei. This method can be used to calculate coupled-channel cross-sections rather than single-channel ones in other methods. Therefore the calculated results can be compared with experimental data directly. In the low energy range, neglecting the ionization effect, the single-capture cross-sections of hydrogen atoms induced by various partially-stripped ions were calculated. In the high energy range, neglecting the capture effect on ionization, the pure-ionization cross-sections of neon atoms induced by Ne^q+ (q = 4, 6, 8) and Ar^q+ (q = 4, 6, 8, 10) at an incident energy E = 1.05 MeV/u were calculated. Good agreement was found between our calculation and experimental data in the literature. This method had been partially applied for intermediate energy successfully.     

Interferences in electron emission from O2 by 30 MeV O impact

Interference structures in the ejected electron spectra for 30 MeV O^5,8+ + O₂ are investigated. The measured electron yields were studied for electron energies from 5 to 400 eV and observation angles of 30°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 150° with respect to the incident beam direction. Experimental molecular cross-sections were normalized to theoretical molecular one-center cross-sections revealing oscillatory structures suggestive of secondary interferences as evidenced by the independence on the observation angle. An oscillation interval for 30 MeV O^5,8+ + O₂ of Δk ∼ 4 a.u. is found, a value two times larger than that previously observed for 3 MeV H⁺ + N₂. No obvious evidence for primary Young-type interferences was seen.     

Interaction potentials for modeling of ion-surface scattering

Accurate potential data for system Ar⁺, С⁺, Cd⁺, Kr⁺, Ne⁺, Xe⁺, Zn⁺-Xe, Ar⁺-Ar and Ne⁺-Ne were obtained by analyzing the scattering cross-sections. These data extend the existing database of potentials obtained experimentally. To fit better the existing data, a new analytical form of the potential is proposed. The fitting errors analysis shows that the universal potential can be used only for the systems with nuclear charges Z > 18 and in the region where the distances of closest approach are less than R < 8 a_f (here a_f is the Firsov screening length (see below)). The model of individual potentials is suggested, which extends the region of potential application and minimizes the fitting errors.     

Separation of potential and kinetic electron emission from Si and W induced by multiply charged neon and argon ions

The total secondary electron emission yields, γ_T, induced by impact of the fast ions Ne^q+ (q = 2-8) and Ar^q+ (q = 3-12) on Si and Ne^q+ (q = 2-8) on W targets have been measured. It was observed that for a given impact energy, γ_T increases with the charge of projectile ion. By plotting γ_T as a function of the total potential energy of the respective ion, true kinetic and potential electron yields have been obtained. Potential electron yield was proportional to the total potential energy of the projectile ion. However, decrease in potential electron yield with increasing kinetic energy of Ne^q+ impact on Si and W was observed. This decrease in potential electron yield with kinetic energy of the ion was more pronounced for the projectile ions having higher charge states. Moreover, kinetic electron yield to energy-loss ratio for various ion-target combinations was calculated and results were in good agreement with semi-empirical model for kinetic electron emission.     

PL and XPS study of radiation damage created by various slow highly charged heavy ions on GaN epitaxial layers

Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, in conjunction with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to evaluate the surface damage of GaN layer by highly-charged Xe^q+ (18 ? q ? 30), Ar^q+ (6 ? q ? 16) and Pb^q+ (q = 25,35) ions. The intensity of PL emission of GaN layer, including near band-edge peak and yellow luminescence, decreases with increasing fluence and charge state of the incident ions. Finally the PL emission is completely quenched after irradiation to high fluences at high charge state. A new peak at 450 nm appeared in PL spectra of the specimens irradiated with Xe¹⁸⁺, Ar⁶⁺ and Ar¹¹⁺, indicating that radioactive recombination within donor-acceptor pairs (DAPs) during irradiation. After irradiation, XPS spectra show N deficient or Ga rich on GaN surface and XPS spectra of Ga3d core levels indicate spectral peak evidently shifts from a Ga-N to Ga-Ga and Ga-O bond. The relative content of Ga-N bond decreases and the content of Ga-Ga bond increases with the increase of ion fluence and ion charge state. The binding energy of Ga3d_5/2 electron corresponding to Ga-Ga bond of the irradiated GaN film is found to be smaller than that of metallic Gallium (Ga⁰), which can be attributed to irradiation damage.     

Pure ionization cross section of helium and ionization mechanism

Pure target ionization was investigated for 0.4-6.4 MeV C^q+(q = 1-4) + He and O^q+(q = 1-4) + He collisions. The double-to-single target ionization ratios R₂₁ were measured using coincidence techniques. We compare our results with existing experimental results and find they are in good agreement. The ratio R₂₁ is nearly independent of projectile charge state. The relation of R₂₁ ∼ V is analyzed using the over barrier model (OBM) and ionization probability, which is described in our extended over barrier model. Our calculation agrees well with the experimental results.     

Measurement of thermal neutron cross-sections and resonance integrals for Hf(n,γ)Hf and Hf(n,γ)Hf reactions at the Pohang neutron facility

The thermal-neutron cross-sections and the resonance integrals for the ¹⁷⁹Hf(n,γ)^180mHf and the ¹⁸⁰Hf(n,γ)¹⁸¹Hf reactions have been measured by the activation method. The high purity Hf and Au metallic foils within and without a Cd shield case were irradiated in a neutron field of the Pohang neutron facility. The gamma-ray spectra from the activated foils were measured with a calibrated p-type high-purity Ge detector.In the experimental procedure, the thermal neutron cross-sections, σ₀, and resonance integrals, I₀, for the ¹⁷⁹Hf(n,γ)^180mHf and the ¹⁸⁰Hf(n,γ)¹⁸¹Hf reactions have been determined relative to the reference values of the ¹⁹⁷Au(n,γ)¹⁹⁸Au reaction, with σ₀ = 98.65 ± 0.09 barn and I₀ = 1550 ± 28 barn. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results, the interfering reactions and necessary correction factors were taken into account in the determinations. The obtained thermal neutron cross-sections and resonance integrals were σ₀ = 0.424 ± 0.018 barn and I₀ = 6.35 ± 0.45 barn for the ¹⁷⁹Hf(n,γ)^180mHf reaction, and σ₀ = 12.87 ± 0.52 barn and I₀ = 32.91 ± 2.38 barn for the ¹⁸⁰Hf(n,γ)¹⁸¹Hf reaction. The present results are in good agreement with recent measurements.     

High energy primary knock-on process in metal-deuterium systems initiated by bombardment with noble gas ions

An experimental study confirms the possibility of nuclear fusion reactions initiating in metal-deuterium targets by bombarding them with ions that are not the reagents of the fusion reaction, in particular, with noble gas ions. The yields of (d,d) and (d,t) reactions were measured as functions of energy (0.4-3.2 MeV) and mass of incident ions (He⁺, Ne⁺, Ar⁺, Kr⁺ and Xe⁺). Irradiation by heavy ions produced a number of energetic deuterium atoms in the deuteride and deuterium + tritium metal targets. At ion energies of ∼0.1-1 MeV the d-d reaction yields are relatively high. A model of nuclear fusion reaction cross-sections in atomic collision cascades initiated by noble gas ion beam in metal-deuterium target is developed. The method for calculation tritium or deuterium recoil fluxes and the yield of d-d fusion reaction in subsequent collisions was proposed. It was shown that D(d,p)t and D(t,n)⁴He reactions mainly occur in energy region of the recoiled D-atom from 10 keV to 250 keV. The calculated probabilities of d-d and d-t fusion reactions were found to be in a good agreement with the experimental data.     

One and two electron transitions in multiply charged ions and helium collisions

In this paper, an extension of the already-developed and modified over-barrier model is presented to study theoretically one and two electron transitions between helium atoms and multiply charged ion collisions at a low-to-intermediate velocity (ν_Bohr ∼ 5ν_Bohr). It is found that the present model can partially reproduce the experimentally obtained velocity dependence of the absolute cross-sections which is also supported by the results of the classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) method.     

New local model for electronic energy loss and its application to computer simulations of channeling

We used the average of the Thomas-Fermi (TF) electron distribution instead of that of Hartree-Fock (HF) electron distribution as the screening length of an isolated atom. Based on the Firsov theory, we proposed a new Firsov formula of the electronic energy loss which has a simple form ΔE_e(E, b) ∞ S_e(E) exp(γb)/(1 + βb)⁶, where S_e(E) is the electronic stopping cross section, b = p/a, p and a are the impact parameter and the screening length, respectively, and β and γ are the fitting parameters. Using the present screening lengths with the shell effect and the new Firsov formula, the depth distributions of channeling were simulated by the ACOCT code for 20 keV B⁺ ions impinging along the [1 1 0] channel direction of silicon (1 1 0) surface. The ACOCT depth profiles of channeling using the new Firsov (solid) local model for the AMLJ potential are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

The influence of the charged back side on the transmission of highly charged ions through PC nanocapillaries

We have measured the fraction of the ions transmitted through nanocapillaries with their initial charge state for 200 keV Xe⁷⁺ ions impact on a polycarbonate (PC) foil with a thickness of 30 μm and a diameter of 150 nm. An Au film was evaporated on both the front and back side. It is found that more than 97% of the transmitted ions remain in their initial charge state. Then, the transmitted ion fraction and the characteristic tilt angle of 40 keV Xe⁷⁺ ions through this foil and another one with the same thickness and diameter, but evaporated by Au only on the front side, were measured. By comparing the results of these two foils, the influence of the ions deposited in the capillary exit region on the transmitted ion fraction and the characteristic tilt angle is studied. In comparison with the foil evaporated by Au on both sides, the maximum transmitted ion fraction of the foil evaporated by Au on the front side only is nearly 4 times smaller. Also, the characteristic tilt angle is slightly decreased. These results are discussed within the models for the guiding effect.     

Computer simulation of sputtering at the low index (1 0 0), (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces of Ni3Al in a STEM

The present study is relevant to the preferential Al sputtering and/or enhancement of the Ni/Al ratio in Ni₃Al observed by the scanning transmission electron microscopy fitted with a field emission gun (FEG STEM). Atomic recoil events at the low index (1 0 0), (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces of Ni₃Al through elastic collisions between electrons and atoms are simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) methods. The threshold energy for sputtering, E_sp, and adatom creation, E_ad, are determined as a function of recoil direction. Based on the MD determined E_sp, the sputtering cross-sections for Ni and Al atoms in these surfaces are calculated with the previous proposed model. It is found that the sputtering cross-section for Al atoms is about 7-8 times higher than that for Ni, indicating the preferential sputtering of Al in Ni₃Al, in good agreement with experiments. It is also found that the sputtering cross-sections for Ni atoms are almost the same in these three surfaces, suggesting that they are independent of surface orientation. Thus, the sputtering process is almost independent of the surface orientation in Ni₃Al, as it is controlled by the sputtering of Ni atoms with a lower sputtering rate.     

A high charge state all-permanent magnet ECR ion source for the IMP 320 kV HV platform

A 320 kV high voltage (HV) platform has been constructed at Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) to satisfy the increasing requirements of experimental studies in some heavy ion associated directions. A high charge state all-permanent magnet ECRIS-LAPECR2 has been designed and fabricated to provide intense multiple charge state ion beams (such as 1000 eμA O⁶⁺, 16.7 eμA Ar¹⁴⁺, 24 eμA Xe²⁷⁺, etc.) for the HV platform. LAPECR2 has a dimension of ∅ 650 mm × 560 mm. The powerful 3D magnetic confinement to the ECR plasma and the optimum designed magnetic field for the operation at 14.5 GHz makes it possible to obtain very good performances from this source. After a brief introduction of the ECRIS and accelerator development at IMP, the conceptual design of LAPECR2 source is presented. The first test results of this all-permanent magnet ECRIS are given in this paper.     

Monte Carlo study of ion-induced backward and forward secondary electron emission from thin Al foil

A direct Monte Carlo program has been developed to calculate the backward (γ_b) and forward (γ_f) electron emission yields from 20 nm thick Al foil for impact of C⁺, Al⁺, Ar⁺, Cu⁺ and Kr⁺ ions having energies in the range of 0.1-10 keV/amu. The program incorporates the excitation of target electrons by projectile ions, recoiling target atoms and fast primary electrons. The program can be used to calculate the electron yields, distribution of electron excitation points in the target and other physical parameters of the emitted electrons. The calculated backward electron emission yield and the Meckbach factor R = γ_f/γ_b are compared with the available experimental data, and a good agreement is found. In addition, the effect of projectile energy and mass on the longitudinal and lateral distribution of the excitation points of the electrons emitted from front and back of Al target has been investigated.     

On the double ionization of helium by very slow antiproton impact

Here we present experimental information on the cross section for double ionization of helium atoms by slow antiproton impact. It is used to discern between many advanced theoretical calculations. Earlier measurements of the ratio R between the double and single ionization cross sections for antiproton impact on helium show a persistent increase for the projectile energy decreasing from 10 MeV to 10 keV. The present data show that below 10 keV this increase stops and we give an upper limit to R.     

Proton sputtering from polycrystalline Al surface interacting with highly charged ions at grazing incidence angle

Sputtering processes of protons from a polycrystalline Al surface interacting with Ar^q+ (q = 3-14) ions at a grazing incidence angle (∼0.5°) were investigated. The intensity of protons (I_H) detected in coincidence with scattered Ar atoms was measured as a function of q. I_H saturated at q ? 10, although it increased rapidly with q at 3 ? q ? 8. The angular distribution of protons with low kinetic energy (?2 eV) began to deviate from the cosine distribution and assumed a rather flat equidistribution as q increased. To analyze the sputtering processes of protons at the grazing incidence angle, a modified model of the “above-surface potential sputtering model” was proposed by considering image acceleration of projectile ions.     

Stopping power of Au for Cu ions with energies below Bragg’s peak

The stopping power of Au for Cu in the energy range 6 < E < 25 MeV was measured using a secondary beam of low velocity heavy ions produced by elastic scattering of an energetic primary beam (typically ²⁸Si or ¹⁶O) on a natural Cu target. The results were compared to predictions of the Lindhard, Scharf and Schiott (LSS) theory, the binary theory (BT), and the unitary convolution approximation (UCA) and also to semi-empirical predictions such as the Northcliffe and Schilling tables and the SRIM2003 computer program.     

Near threshold vibrational excitation of molecules by positron impact: A projection operator approach

We report vibrational excitation (ν_i=0→ν_f=1) cross-sections for positron scattering by H₂ and model calculations for the (ν_i=0→ν_f=1) excitation of the C-C symmetric stretch mode of C₂H₂. The Feshbach projection operator formalism was employed to vibrationally resolve the fixed-nuclei phase shifts obtained with the Schwinger multichannel method. The near threshold behavior of H₂ and C₂H₂ significantly differ in the sense that no low lying singularity (either virtual or bound state) was found for the former, while a e⁺-acetylene virtual state was found at the equilibrium geometry (this virtual state becomes a bound state upon stretching the molecule). For C₂H₂, we also performed model calculations comparing excitation cross-sections arising from virtual (-iκ₀) and bound (+iκ₀) states symmetrically located around the origin of the complex momentum plane (i.e. having the same κ₀). The virtual state is seen to significantly couple to vibrations, and similar cross-sections were obtained for shallow bound and virtual states.     

Alpha induced reactions on Cd and Cd: An experimental study of excitation functions

Excitation functions of alpha induced reactions on enriched ¹¹⁴Cd and ¹¹⁶Cd targets, leading to the formation of the ^117m,119mSn, ^{114m₁,115m,116m,117m,g}In, ^115gCd isotopes, were studied by the stacked foil activation technique. Reaction cross-sections were measured from their respective thresholds up to E_α = 38.9 MeV. Quantification of induced isotopes has been made by gamma and X-ray spectrometry. The experimental cross-sections are compared, where available, with values reported previously in literature. Thick target yield for the medically important radionuclide ^117mSn is calculated based on discrete values of measured cross-sections.