Cross sections for transfer ionization in ion-helium collisions

A simple model has been developed within the independent-particle model (IPM) based on the Bohr-Lindhard model and classical statistical model. Cross sections for transfer ionization of helium by ions A^q+ (q = 1-3) are calculated for impact energies between 10 and 6000 keV/u. The calculated cross sections are in good agreement with the experimental data of helium by He^(1-2)+ and Li^(1-3)+.     

Molybdenum L-shell X-ray production by 350-600 keV Xe (q = 25-30) ions

Molybdenum L-shell X-rays were produced by Xe^q+ (q = 25-30) bombardment at low energies from 2.65 to 4.55 keV/amu (350-600 keV). We observed a kinetic energy threshold of Mo L-shell ionization down to 2.65-3.03 keV/amu (350-400 keV). The charge state effect of the incident ions was not observed which shows that the ions were neutralized, reaching an equilibrium charge state and losing their initial charge state memory before production of L-shell vacancies resulted in X-ray production. The experimental ionization cross sections were compared with those from Binary Encounter Approximation theory. Taking into account projectile deflection in the target nuclear Coulomb field, the ionization cross section of Mo L-shell near the kinetic energy threshold was well described.     

Total cross sections for ionizing processes induced by proton impact on molecules of biological interest: A classical trajectory Monte Carlo approach

In the current work, we present a study of ionizing interactions between protons and molecular targets of biological interest like water vapour and DNA bases. Total cross sections for single and multiple ionizing processes are calculated in the independent electron model and compared to existing theoretical and experimental results for impact energies ranging from 10 keV/amu to 10 MeV/amu. The theoretical approach combines some characteristics of the classical trajectory Monte Carlo method with the classical over-barrier framework. In this “mixed” approach, all the particles are described in a classical way by assuming that the target electrons are involved in the collision only when their binding energy is greater than the maximum of the potential energy of the system projectile-target. We test our theoretical approach on the water molecule and the obtained results are compared to a large set of data and a reasonable agreement is generally observed specially for impact energies greater than 100 keV, except for the double ionization process for which large discrepancies are reported. Considering the DNA bases, the obtained results are given without any comparison since the literature is till now very poor in terms of cross section measurements.     

Electron excitation cross sections of atomic hydrogen by fully stripped projectile ions

Electron excitation of atomic hydrogen by fully stripped projectile ions (q = 1-8) is theoretically studied by using the boundary corrected continuum intermediate state approximation in the energy range of 20-1000 keV/amu. In this formalism, we have taken a distortion effect produced by the projectile charge. The present computed results for the excited states (n = 2, 3, 4) of hydrogen atom with proton impact is only compared with experiments and other theoretical results. In addition, other results for different charge states (q = 1-8) are displayed in tabular form to get a detail view of contribution from different sub-shells. We have also studied the behavior of saturation of the cross sections which should tend to a constant value as the projectile charge increase.     

Double excitation of helium in collisions with proton and antiproton impact in the energy range 50-500 keV

Double-electron excitation processes of helium atoms by proton and antiproton impact have been theoretically investigated using the four-body formalism of boundary corrected continuum intermediate state (BCCIS-4B) approximation in the energy range of 50-500 keV. In this formalism, the presence of the projectile in the exit channels is described by distorting the final bound state wave functions with coulomb waves (associated with the projectile-electron interactions). The results are in good agreement with the other theoretical and experimental results. Reasonably better agreements have been found in the intermediate and high energy regions. Contributions to the cross section of the different magnetic sub-shells are also analysed.     

Measurements of Lα, Lβ X-ray production cross sections of Bi by 17-40 keV electron impact

We present results of measurements of L_α, L_β X-ray production cross sections for the element Bi (Z = 83) by 17-40 keV electron impact. The target used in the experiment was prepared by evaporating the element Bi to the thick pure carbon substrate. The effects of multiple scattering of electrons when penetrating the target film, of electrons reflected from the thick pure carbon substrate and of bremsstrahlung photons produced by the impact of incident electrons on the target are corrected by means of Monte Carlo simulation. The experimental data, reported here for the first time in the energy region of 17-40 keV, are compared with the DWBA theory and the PWBA-C-Ex theory. They are in good agreement.     

Influence of the projectile charge state on the ionization probability of sputtered particles

We present a computational study of the effect of the projectile charge state on secondary ion formation in sputtering. A molecular dynamics simulation of an atomic collision cascade is combined with a kinetic excitation model including electronic friction and electron promotion in close atomic collisions. The model is extended to account for potential excitation following the bombardment with a highly charged ion (HCI). The spatial spreading of the excitation generated in the cascade is treated in an diffusive approach. The excitation energy density profile obtained this way is parametrized via an effective electron temperature, which is then used to calculate the ionization probability of each sputtered atom in terms of a simple charge exchange model. The results obtained for the impact of a 5 keV Ag atom onto a solid silver surface show that the average ionization probability increases from 4.7×10^-4 for a neutral projectile to 5.4×10^-4 for a highly charged projectile ion with a total ionization energy of 576 eV.     

Thermal desorption of helium from defects in nickel

Helium atoms, introduced into materials by helium plasma or generated by the (n, α) nuclear reaction, have a strong tendency to accumulate at trapping sites such as vacancy clusters and dislocations. In this paper, the effects of dislocations, single vacancies and vacancy clusters on the retention and desorption of helium atoms in nickel were studied. Low energy (0.1-0.15 keV) helium atoms were implanted in nickel with vacancies or dislocations without causing any displacement damage. He atoms, interstitial-type dislocation loops, and vacancy clusters were also introduced with irradiation damage by 5.0 keV helium ions. Helium thermal desorption peaks from dislocations, helium-vacancy clusters and helium bubbles were obtained by thermal desorption spectroscopy at 940 K, in the range from 900 to 1370 K, and at 1500 K, respectively. In addition, a thermally quasi-stable state was found for helium-vacancy clusters.     

Differential cross section measurements of the S(d,p)S reaction for nuclear reaction analysis purposes

Differential cross sections of the ³²S(d,p_{0,1,2,3,4-6,7}) reactions were determined for deuteron energies E_lab = 1975-2600 keV (in steps of 25 keV) and for detector angles between 140-170° in steps of 10°. A comparison of the experimental data with the existing ones and possible applications to nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) studies are discussed.     

Proton elastic scattering differential cross-section measurements of Sc

In the present study the differential cross sections of the ⁴⁵Sc(p,p)⁴⁵Sc reaction were measured. Two independent experiments were performed. At first a sandwiched thin ScBr₃ target was used for beam energies E_LAB = 2300-5500 keV (in steps of 25 and 50 keV) and for detector angles 140°, 160°, and 170°. Secondly a thick Sc₂O₃ sample was formed and irradiated for E_LAB = 3100-5500 keV with a detector placed at 140°, to validate the results of the first measurement.     

Incidence-angle dependent Cs incorporation in Si during low-energy bombardment: A dynamic computer simulation study

The implantation of Cs atoms in silicon was investigated by dynamic computer simulations using the Monte-Carlo code T-DYN that takes into account the gradual change of the target composition due to the Cs irradiation. The incorporation of Cs atoms was studied for incidence angles ranging from 0° to 85° and for four impact energies (0.2, 0.5, 1 and 3 keV). The total implantation fluences were (1-2) × 10¹⁷ Cs/cm², well above the values required to reach a stationary state. The steady-state Cs surface concentrations exhibit a pronounced dependence on impact angle and energy. At normal incidence, they vary between ∼0.57 (at 0.2 keV) and ∼0.18 (3 keV), but decrease with increasing incidence angle. Under equilibrium, the partial sputtering yield of Si exhibits the typical dependence on incidence angle, first increasing up to a maximum value (at ∼70°-75°) and declining sharply for larger angles. For all irradiation conditions a strongly preferential sputtering of Cs as compared to Si atoms is found, increasing with decreasing irradiation energy (from 4.6 at 3 keV to 7.2 at 0.2 keV) and for nearer-normal incidence.     

Non-dipole second order parameters of the photoelectron angular distribution for elements Z = 1-100 in the photoelectron energy range 1-10 keV

Presented here are the photoelectron angular distribution non-dipole parameters associated with the terms of the second order O [(kr)²] (k is the photon energy and r is the radius of the ionized atomic shell) for both unpolarized and linearly polarized radiation. The parameters are given for atomic shells with binding energies lower than 2 keV of all elements 1 ? Z ? 100 for four values of photoelectron energy in the range 1−10 keV. In this range, the second-order terms are shown to make a significant contribution (up to ∼30%) to the angular differential cross section. The inclusion of these terms becomes all the more important in calculations of the differential cross section ratio for the fixed geometry of angles which is measured experimentally in the case of linearly polarized radiation. The Dirac-Fock-Slater potential is used in the calculations. The hole left by the emitted electron is taken into account in the frozen orbital approximation.     

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.     

Sub-100 keV ion beam generation with a Van De Graaff accelerator using an external DC voltage supply

We present a method to produce stable proton and helium ion beams with energies of 10-100 keV from a 30-year-old Van De Graaff accelerator using an external stabilized DC voltage supply instead of the belt charging system. Requiring no other modifications, this makes an ideal system for ion irradiation with fluences up to 10¹⁵ ions/cm². Such ion energies and fluences are required in the emerging fields such as silicon micromachining using ion irradiation and we give examples of structures created with sizes as small as 200 nm.     

Helium desorption in He implanted tungsten at low fluence and low energy

The behaviour of helium in polycrystalline ³He implanted tungsten at low energy (60 keV) and low fluence (2 × 10¹³ cm⁻²) has been studied as a function of post-implantation annealing temperature until 1873 K by means of Nuclear Reaction Analysis. Helium desorption has been observed only from ∼1500 K, suggesting a helium trapping at mono-vacancies. Only ∼75% of the implanted helium has been released after the annealing during 1 h at high temperature (1873 K); besides, the desorption rate decreased from 1673 K. The presence of a second type of helium trapping site is likely to explain this strong helium retention.     

K-shell ionization cross sections of Cl and Lα, Lβ X-ray production cross sections of Ba by 6-30 keV electron impact

The absolute K-shell ionization cross sections of Cl and L_α, L_β X-ray production cross sections of Ba by 6-30 keV electron impact have been measured. The target was prepared by evaporating the thin film of compound BaCl₂ to the thick pure carbon substrate. The effects of multiple scattering of electrons penetrating the target films, electrons reflected from the thick pure carbon substrates and Bremsstrahlung photons produced when incident electrons impacted on the targets are corrected by using Monte Carlo method. For Ba L-shell X-ray characteristic peaks, the spectra were fitted by using spectrum-fitting program ALLFIT to extract more accurately the L_α and L_β peak counts. The experimental results, reported here for the first time in the energy region of 6-30 keV, were compared with some theoretical results developed recently.     

Li (i = 1-3) subshell X-ray production cross sections and fluorescence yields for some elements with 56 ? Z ? 68 at 22.6 keV

The L_k (k = l, α, β_1,4, β_3,6, β_2,15,9,10,7, γ_1,5 and γ_2,3,4) X-ray production (XRP) cross sections have been measured for six elements with 56 ? Z ? 68 at 22.6 keV incident photon energy using the EDXRF spectrometer. The incident photon intensity, detector efficiency and geometrical factors have been determined from the K X-ray yields emitted from elemental targets with 22 ? Z ? 42 in the same geometrical setup and from knowledge of the K XRP cross sections. The L₁ and L₂ subshell fluorescence yields have been deduced from the present measured L_k XRP cross sections using the relativistic Hartree-Fock-Slater (HFS) model based photoionization cross sections. The present deduced ω₁ (exp) values have been found to be, on an average, higher by 15% and 20% than those based on the Dirac-Hartree-Slater (DHS) model and the semi-empirical values compiled by Krause, respectively, for elements with 60 ? Z ? 68.     

Desorption of gold nanoclusters from gold nanodispersed targets by 200 keV Au5 polyatomic ions in the elastic stopping mode: Experiment and molecular-dynamics simulation

Au nanoislet targets (∅ 2-60 nm) were bombarded by 200 keV polyatomic ions (40 keV/atom), which deposit their energy mainly in the nuclear stopping mode: ∑(dE/dx)_n = 30 keV/nm and ∑(dE/dx)_e = 2 keV/nm. The matter desorbed in the form of nanoclusters was registered by TEM. The total transfer of matter was determined by neutron-activation analysis. The total yield of the ejected gold reached high values of up to 2.6 × 10⁴ atoms per Au₅ ion. The major part (2 × 10⁴ atoms per ion Au₅) of the emission is in the form of nanoclusters. The results are compared with the data of similar experiments with 1 MeV Au₅ (200 keV/atom) and other projectiles. The analysis of the experimental data and the comparison to molecular-dynamics simulation results of the desorption process show that the desorption of Au nanoislets is induced by their melting, build-up of pressure and thermal expansion.     

Cross section measurements of the Li(d,α0)He reaction

Differential cross-section measurements of the ⁶Li(d,α₀)⁴He reaction have been performed for deuteron energy between 900 and 2000 keV in steps of 25 keV. The reaction α particles were detected at four backward angles from 140° to 170° in steps of 10°. A qualitative discussion of the observed variations in the reaction cross sections through the influence of resonances in the d + ⁶Li compound system is presented. The results are also compared to existing data, when present, and are validated through benchmarking experiments using high-purity, thick, mirror-polished natural LiF and LiAlO₂ targets.