The Progress of a Microbeam Facility in the Institute of Plasma Physics

The progress of a microbeam facility in the institute of Plasma Physics was discussed in this paper.This kind of equipment can supply single-particle beam which may be implanted into cells in micrometer-radius and measured by a new outstanding detector among global microbeam systems.Measurements by some plain targets showed that the highest current after the accelerator tube can be larger than 20μA ,the H2^ current before the second bending magnet is near 0.9μA ,the current after the second bending magnet is near 0.8μA,and the current of the beam line(after a 2-mm diameter aperture)is near 0.25nA which is enough for the single-particle microbeam experiment.It took scientists 3 months to do their microbeam experiment after setting up the qccelerator beam line and get the microbeam from this equipment.Two pre0collimators were installed between the 2-mm diameter aperture and the collimator to survey the beam.Tracks on the CR39 film ectched in the solution of NaOH showed that the beam can go through the collimator including a 10μm diameter aperture and the 3.5μm thick vacuum sealing film(Mylar).A new method,which is called optimization of the beam quality,was put forward in this paper,in order to get smaller diameter of beam-spot in microbeam system.     

Determination of the local gold contact morphology on a photoactive polymer film using nanobeam GISAXS

Grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering is performed with a nanometer sized X-ray beam (nGISAXS) to probe the local gold contact morphology on a photoactive polymer film. By evaporation a 50 nm thick gold contact is installed on a diblock copolymer film, which consists of a non-conducting poly(styrene) (PS) and a semi-conducting poly(paraphenylene) (PPP) block. The region around the edge of the gold contact of 200 μm is probed with nGISAXS by scanning the sample position in steps of 1 μm with respect to the X-ray beam. The diblock copolymer film has a densely packed micellar structure with a characteristic distance between adjacent micelles of 19 nm which is unaffected by the gold deposition. The gold contact exhibits a tail region which extends its lateral dimension. For the full extended surface area of the gold contact with its tails an interdiffusion of gold into the diblock copolymer film is observed. For comparison imaging ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy measurements are performed.     

The PTB single ion microbeam for irradiation of living cells

At the PTB's ion accelerators, a new microbeam facility is now in operation that is capable of delivering single ions, for example, to the nuclei of individual living cells. The wide range of proton and ⁴He²⁺ ion energies affords LET-values between 3 and 200 keV/μm. A beam diameter of less than 2 μm outside the vacuum system has been measured and a targeting accuracy of better than 2 μm has been determined. In contrast to other microbeam facilities operated for radiobiological research using mechanical collimators in front of the target to define the beam, the PTB facility utilises beam focusing by quadrupole magnets. The microbeam has a unique ion optical design that incorporates a 90° bending magnet in the beam transport system. This design has the advantage of providing a microbeam basically without scattered particles. Every ion reaching the target is detected by a thin scintillating foil and a photomultiplier tube with efficiency close to 100%. Presently up to 1500 single cells per hour can be automatically irradiated with a chosen number of particles. Procedures and results of first cell irradiations are described as an example.     

Shielding calculation for the thickness of the SR facility safety shutter

The safety shutter of the SR （synchrotron radiation） facility located at the front end of the facility is an indispensable component for radiation protection. Its thickness is decided by the gas bremsstrahlung produced in the SR facility storage ring by the interaction of electrons with the residual gas molecules in the vacuum chamber of the storage ring. In the calculation, the 3.5GeV, 300mA electron beam and a 15 m long insertion-device straight section （0.133 μPa） were taken into account, and the safety shutter was assumed to be located 12 m away from the end of the straight section. The EGSnrc code based on the Monte-Carlo method and empirical formulas were used, respectively, to calculate the thickness to satisfy the shielding requirement of the safety shutter at the front end of the SR facility, and the results were compared and the availability of EGSrlrc was proved.     

Development of a real-time beam current monitoring system for microbeam scanning-PIXE analysis using a ceramic channel electron multiplier

Microbeam scanning-PIXE (micro-PIXE) analysis is a useful method for obtaining information of multi-elemental distribution in samples by two-dimensional images of sample surfaces such as mammalian cells, tissues, and other environmental monitoring species. In addition to elemental distribution information, quantitative analysis is in demand for further investigations of environmental and biomedical studies concerning heavy metals accumulated in terms of cells and sub-cellular organelles. To make quantitative analysis possible, a real-time beam monitoring system that gives a precise number of ions, and an output independent from a sample that enables one to keep a beam resolution of micrometer size is required. In this paper, we report on the development of beam current monitoring. The beam current was monitored using a ceramic channel electron multiplier (CEM) to detect secondary electrons induced from a 50 nm thick carbon film (10 μg/cm²). This carbon film was attached to a sample holder, which was set at the targeted sample position. The output value of the CEM was proportional to the Faraday cup installed just after the sample position. The beam resolution was measured using off-axis STIM by scanning a copper grid, and was estimated at 1.79 and 1.72 μm for the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, sufficient for routine micro-PIXE analysis.     

On the comparison of three methods of assessing beam quality for broad beam in vitro cell irradiation

The interaction of charged particles with living matter has recently attracted increasing interest in the field of biomedical applications such as hadron therapy, radioprotection and space radiation biology. Particle accelerators are particularly useful in this area.In vitro radiobiological studies with a broad beam configuration require beam homogeneity. The goal is to produce a dose distribution given to a cell population that is as close to uniform as possible.In this paper, we compare the results of three devices used to assess the beam quality for broad beam irradiation: a passivated implanted planar silicon (PIPS) particle detector, a position-sensitive solid state detector, which is camera-like, and a solid state nuclear track detector (CR39).The first device is a PIPS detector of 300 μm nominal depletion depth and an entrance window with a thickness of about 500 Å. It is collimated with a 0.5 mm aperture and mounted in air on an XY moving table as close as possible to the exit window of the beam line.The second device is a CMOS position-sensitive detector (technological process 0.6 μm AMS CUA), 112 × 112 pixels, with 153 × 153 μm² pixel size. It allows the user to rapidly obtain dose uniformity over a surface of 1 × 1 cm². During uniformity and dose rate assessment it is placed in air at the PIPS location.For both detectors, beam profile was obtained for various proton fluxes (from ∼5 × 10⁴ to 10⁶ particles cm⁻² s⁻¹). Preliminary tests were made with CR39 using 4 MeV He⁺⁺ ions.Results are analysed using Poisson distribution and cell hit probability.     

The external beam microprobe facility in Florence: Set-up and performance

An external beam microprobe facility, based on a quadrupole doublet supplied by Oxford Microbeam Ltd, has been installed on a new beamline at the 3 MV single-ended Van de Graaff accelerator in Florence. The goal was to obtain a beam with a spot size on target of 10–20 μm and a current in the order of at least 1 nA, in order to allow PIXE, PIGE and RBS elemental analysis in air or in a helium atmosphere. The beam was extracted from the vacuum lines through a 0.1 μm thick Si₃N₄ window to minimise lateral straggling. The design goals have been successfully achieved; the measurements of the beam spot characteristics in vacuum as well as in air and in helium atmosphere, are here reported.     

Development of an in-air RBS technique using a metal capillary

We have developed a simple Rutherford backscattering spectroscopic (RBS) method to analyze sample depth profiles in air. To avoid excessive energy loss of projectile ions in air, we have used a 3 MeV proton beam extracted into air with a metal capillary. Using this capillary, we were able to extract a sufficiently large proton beam current to perform in-air RBS and in-air PIXE without requiring any window, such as a thin film, between a vacuum chamber and air. We have validated our technique by analyzing the depth profiles for Au foils of various thicknesses, 0.25, 0.75, and 2.5 μm. A comparison of the experimental results with a simple theoretical calculation indicates that this technique is useful for analyzing the depth profile of any specimen in air.     

中能衍射极限环中电阻壁和高频系统阻抗计算与优化

在衍射极限环中,由于采用了高梯度小孔径磁铁,真空盒尺寸相对于第3代同步辐射光源大幅减小,全环阻抗明显增大,因此在设计阶段需要对真空元件阻抗进行精准的评估与模型优化。本文计算了中能衍射极限环的多层电阻壁阻抗,针对衍射极限环给出了优化的电阻壁的材料选择;利用数值模拟程序,完成了对高频腔与三次谐波腔的设计、优化与阻抗计算;分析了由电阻壁阻抗、高频腔和三次谐波腔中的高次模引起的束流不稳定性,并对不稳定性问题提出了抑制方案。     

A method for analysis and profiling of boron,carbon and oxygen impurities in semiconductor wafers by recoil atoms in heavy ion beams

A method based on identification of recoil atoms in heavy ion beams, by using a (ΔE, E) measuring system, is described. The two parameter (ΔE, E) spectra, obtained with the aid of a computer, shows a good separation between carbon and oxygen recoils originating from a 300 μ;m thick silicon wafer bombarded with a 70 MeV sulphur beam. Profiling depths 10–20 μm and sensitivities close to 10¹⁶ atoms/cm are estimated.     

Activation cross sections of deuteron-induced nuclear reactions on hafnium

Experimental excitation functions for deuteron-induced reactions up to 20 MeV on high purity natural hafnium were measured with the activation method using a stacked foil irradiation technique. Metallic hafnium foils with thickness of 10 μm were stacked together with 50 μm thick aluminium and 12 μm thick titanium foils. The aluminium foils served as energy absorber while the titanium foils were used to monitor the energy and intensity of the bombarding deuteron beam. From a detailed remeasurement of the complete excitation function of the ^natTi(d,x)⁴⁸V monitor reaction it was possible to adopt the proper incident energy and beam intensity by comparing the results with the recommended values. High resolution off-line gamma-ray spectrometry was applied to assess the activity of each foil. From the measured activity independent and/or cumulative elemental or isotopic cross section data for production of Ta, Hf and Lu radioisotopes by (d,x) reactions were determined. No experimental cross section data have been published earlier for these reactions in the investigated energy region. The work focuses on the production of ^177gLu that one of the promising radionuclides for small tumor therapy due to appropriate average energy of the emitted β-particles and the main gamma-rays that are suitable for detection by gamma-camera.The presented experimental data and results predicted by the TALYS theoretical code are compared. Thick target yields for production of the investigated radionuclides were calculated from a fit to our experimental excitation curves.     

Energy loss of 450–2400 kev protons in Havar,Kapton and aluminized Mylar foils

The energy loss of 450–2400 keV protons in common exit foils used in external beam setups has been determined. The measured foils consisted of 2.4 μm Havar, 9.9 μm Kapton and 3.5 μm and 6.6 μm aluminized (40 nm Al) Mylar. Good agreement with the calculations by using Bragg's rule and the Andersen and Ziegler parameters was found in the higher energy region. At energies ? 1000 keV, the results are higher ( ? 6%) than the calculated values. A rapid decrease of the energy loss in the Mylar foils under proton exposure was detected.     

Thick Lithium Metal Target for Fast Neutron Production

A high flux fast neutron was produced by the (d, n) reaction of a lithium metal target. A thick lithium layer for the target was prepared by a simple method of melt-coating on a copper plate. The fast neutron (>9 MeV) flux at a distance of 6mm from the target was (9.0±1.6)×l0⁶ n/cm²·sec·μA with use of a 2.0 MeV deuteron beam. A flux of 2.7×10⁹ n/cm²·sec was obtained by bombarding the target with the deuteron beam of 300 μA.     

CSRm Ultra-High Vacuum System

The new accelerator project （ HIRFL-CSR ） constructed at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou （HIRFL） is approaching completion. It is a multipurpose cooler-storage-ring system, consisting of a maim ring （CSRm）, an experimental ring （CSRe） and two transfer beam lines. The UHV system of CSRm is the most representative subsystem in the project. To minimize the beam loss due to charge exchange of the heavy ions with the residual gas molecules, the pressure of the CSRm vacuum system should reach 3.5 × 10^-9 Pa （N2 equivalent） and the pressure of 8 × 10^-10 Pa is expected for very heavy ion such as uranium to make its lifetime longer than 50 s in the ring. Now, the vacuum system of CSRm has been completed and a pressure less than 5 × 10^-10 Pa has been obtained. In this paper the layout of the CSRm vacuum system, the vacuum equipment in CSRm, the treatment method for the CSRm vacuum chambers, and the installation and operation of the system will be reported.     

Behavior of tungsten with exposure to deuterium plasmas

Four kinds of tungsten (W) materials, i.e. (1) foil of 50 μm thick (f-W), (2) polycrystalline (Pc-W) with grain size of ∼3 μm, (3) recrystallized (Re-W) with grain size of ∼50 μm and (4) vacuum plasma spraying (VPS-W) coatings, were irradiated employing linear plasma generators, with fluxes ?1 × 10²² D/m²/s and energies ?100 eV/D. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe blister formation at the surfaces. The SEM surface morphology and cross section observation indicates that blister formation is related to the microstructure and surface state of different material grades. Results of trapping and deuterium retention measured by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) show also a close correlation between the retention and the microstructure and surface state.     

激光加载下准等熵压缩实验用铝/氟化锂复合双台阶靶的研制

本文提出了一种激光加载下准等熵压缩实验用铝/氟化锂复合双台阶靶的加工技术。采用金刚石车削在1.5 mm厚的氟化锂晶体表面加工两个10 μm高度的台阶,然后利用电子束蒸发在氟化锂台阶面镀厚度为几十μm的高致密纯铝膜,再通过金刚石车削工艺将镀铝面车削成平面,最后在氟化锂晶体另一面蒸镀剩余反射率低于1%的增透膜,最终获得高质量的铝/氟化锂复合双台阶靶。采用NT1100白光干涉仪、电子比重计、电子能谱、X射线衍射仪、扫描电镜等设备对靶参数进行测量,研究各工艺对靶参数的影响。     

Surface Effect on Void Swelling Behavior of Stainless Steel

The nucleation and growth of voids have been observed successively in different thickness specimens of Type 316 stainless steel electron-irradiated at 550°C in a high voltage electron microscope. In a bulk representative 1.5 μm thick specimen, the void number density increases rapidly and saturates during the initial stage of irradiation and then decreases with following dose by void coalescence. The swelling increases proportionally with (dpa)^1-5 up to about 30 dpa. In a thin specimen, of 0.4 μm thickness, on the other hand, the void number density increases continuously with dose up to about 25 dpa. The swelling of the thin specimen showed a tendency to saturation due to the disappearance of voids at the specimen surfaces. The difference in swelling behavior between the 1.5 and 0.4;μm thick specimens can be ascribed to the different effects of the specimen surfaces, which serve as a dominant sink for both radiation-produced point defects and dislocations.     

Non-contact Air Holding Mechanism for Inspection of Pipe Inner Walls

Inspection of pipe inner wall is the most important problem for nuclear power plant. At present there are no non-contact holding technique for the inspection system. For that purpose, we are developing a non-contact inspection system. This paper describes a “first” prototype model of the holder using air pressure, and results of preliminary experiment on air pressure distribution, holding attitude and static holding stiffness. In prototype mechanisms, when the supplied air pressure was 1.2MPa the angle of inclination was within 1', and the holding stiffness was 2 N/μm(air film thickness 100 μm).     

Thermal Shock Behavior of SiC Coatings for Fusion Reactor Applications

Graphite substrate ISEM-3 whose thermal expansion coefficient is close to that of SiC and graphite substrate AXF-5Q1 whose thermal expansion coefficient is larger than that of SiC were coated with 50–200 μm thick CVD-SiC. On the AXF-5Q1 graphite substrate SiC could not be completely coated. Additionally HSC-SiC, which has SiC conversion layer of 800 μm thickness and whose thermal expansion coefficient of the graphite substrate is close to that of SiC, was also tested. Thermal shock test was carried out by electron beam of accelerating voltage of 10 kV, beam current of 50–200 mA, beam diameter of about 10 mmø and heating time of a single pulse of 30 s. Crack was not observed on the CVD-SiC coating on the ISEM-3 graphite even at 200 mA (about 2.5kW/cm²) and hole of about 1 mm in diameter was observed and the graphite substrate was revealed. Additionally for thermal cycle test (1,000 times, ΔT=950°C), the crack or spalling was not observed on the CVD-SiC coating. It was found that for the HSC-SiC the hole was only observed with the single pulse of 200 mA and the crack was not observed. Thus the HSC-SiC also may be a candidate as the first wall of the fusion reactors.     

PIXE、SEM与切片技术相结合研究低能离子注入种子的浓度-深度分布

用质子激发X荧光分析和扫描电子显微镜与切片技术相结合对能量为 2 0 0keV的钒离子注入花生后的浓度 -深度分布进行了测定 ,注入剂量为 9× 10 16/cm2 。结果显示 ,钒离子注入花生后的浓度 -深度分布与离子注入金属、半导体中的分布有明显的差异 :离子的射程歧离很大 ,少数离子的射程延伸到很深的区域。这种分布特征可能与植物种子具有疏松的结构有关。