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At least 307 records · Page 17

Neutron, gamma ray and post-irradiation thermal annealing effects on power semiconductor switches

Experimental data showing the effects of neutrons and gamma rays on the performance characteristics of power-type NPN bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), and static induction transistors (SITs) are given. These three types of devices were tested at radiation levels which met or exceeded the SP-100 requirements. For the SP-100 radiation requirements, the BJTs were found to be most sensitive to neutrons, the MOSFETs were most sensitive to gamma rays, and the SITs were only slightly sensitive to neutrons. Postirradiation thermal anneals at 300 K and up to 425 K were done on these devices and the effectiveness of these anneals are also discussed.

Schwarze, G. E.↗

Investigation of Coincidence Counting for Improving Minimal Detectable Activity of 110m Ag in Single Particle Gamma Analysis

Post-irradiation examination (PIE) of fuel particles from the fourth Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program irradiation (AGR-5/6/7) is being performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Tristructural isotropic (TRISO)-coated particles and associated compacts for the AGR-5/6/7 experiment fabricated by BWX Technologies Nuclear Operations Group were formed into a graphite matrix compact and irradiated at the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. At ORNL, particles are deconsolidated from the graphite matrix compact and individually scanned for emitted gamma rays with the Irradiated Microsphere Gamma Analyzer (IMGA). The IMGA system comprises a single high purity germanium (HPGe) detector, an automated particle handling vacuum system, and an ORTEC DSPEC-50 digital spectrometer for gamma ray analysis. IMGA quantifies gamma ray-emitting fission product inventories of individual TRISO particles, and these inventories can be compared with the measured average inventories per particle and radionuclide inventories predicted by AGR-5/6/7 physics calculations to determine if a particle experienced radionuclide release. Details on IMGA data collection methods can be found in the literature. The TRISO particle’s SiC layer provides structural support, as well as a barrier for fission product release during irradiation or subsequent safety testing. A weakened or compromised SiC layer can be identified by the release of radionuclides, such as 137 Cs, which is detected by IMGA. However, select radionuclides, such as 90 Sr, 110 mAg, and 154 Eu have been shown to migrate through an intact SiC layer. Measurement of the radionuclide 110 mAg is significant as its release has been shown to be particularly sensitive to in-reactor conditions (e.g., temperature) with broad variable particle to-particle release behaviors observed within a single compact. As such, 110 mAg activity is often used for particle selection for comprehensive PIE as bounding 110 mAg retention particles are hypothesized to represent limits in particle behaviors within a compact. As TRISO particle fuel PIE activities continue over time, IMGA measurements of the 110 mAg inventory are eventually hindered because of its relatively short half-life (~250 days). As the fuel ages from its end of irradiation (EOI) date, the measurement uncertainty and minimum detectable activity (MDA) of 110m Ag increase because the detector background continuum begins to dominate. For particles from the second AGR irradiation experiment (AGR-2), the 110m Ag MDA was above 20% of the calculated average particle inventory after approximately five half-lives, and 110m Ag activity was no longer measurable with IMGA after approximately seven half-lives. Therefore, coincidence counting approaches have been explored to determine feasibility of leveraging new approaches to overcome limitations associated with increasing MDA over time.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Displacement Damage in Bipolar Linear Integrated Circuits

Although many different processes can be used to manufacture linear integrated circuits, the process that is used for most circuits is optimized for high voltage -- a total power supply voltage of about 40 V -- and low cost. This process, which has changed little during the last twenty years, uses lateral and substrate p-n-p transistors. These p-n-p transistors have very wide base regions, increasing their sensitivity to displacement damage from electrons and protons. Although displacement damage effects can be easily treated for individual transistors, the net effect on linear circuits can be far more complex because circuit operation often depends on the interaction of several internal transistors. Note also that some circuits are made with more advanced processes with much narrower base widths. Devices fabricated with these newer processes are not expected to be significantly affected by displacement damage for proton fluences below 1 x 10(exp 12) p/sq cm. This paper discusses displacement damage in linear integrated circuits with more complex failure modes than those exhibited by simpler devices, such as the LM111 comparator, where the dominant response mode is gain degradation of the input transistor. Some circuits fail catastrophically at much lower equivalent total dose levels compared to tests with gamma rays. The device works satisfactorily up to nearly 1 Mrad(Si) when it is irradiated with gamma rays, but fails catastrophically between 50 and 70 krad(Si) when it is irradiated with protons.

Rax, B. G.↗

Photonuclear Production of 67 Cu From Gallium

Copper-67 is a radioisotope of interest for medical imaging and therapy as well as for under- standing stellar and interstellar evolution pertaining to the formation of proton-rich nuclei. Since 67 Cu decays 100% to 67 Zinc, understanding this reaction can shed light on the abundance of this and other p-nuclei elements in the universe. Here, the photonuclear production of 67 Cu from 71 Ga and natural gallium is examined as an alternative to its photoproduction from zinc. Two research and development production runs were performed at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility using an electron linac. During the first run, an 805-W, 30.9-MeV beam was used to irradiate a 1-mm tungsten radiator to create a bremsstrahlung flux. The resulting gamma photons irradiated 50.9 g of natural gallium encased in a graphite crucible for 24.2 h; 7.02 Bq/W∙s∙kg of 67 Cu activity was produced. During the second run, a 4380-W, 31.5-MeV beam was used for 12.0 h on the same target containing 60 g of natural gallium; 6.41 Bq/W∙s∙kg of 67 Cu activity was produced. Because of the difficulties in spectroscopically differentiating 67 Cu from 67 Ga, prior to each run, an isotopically pure 71 Ga disk was irradiated using a 100-W beam for 1 h, at the same respective energies. Finally, these baseline irradiations allowed for separation of 67 Cu from 67 Ga in the spectroscopic measurements of the natural gallium targets.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

M-FISH Analysis of Chromosome Aberrations in Human Fibroblast Cells After In Vitro Exposure to Low- and High-LET Radiation

The recently commercialized multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (m-FISH) technique, which allows human chromosomes to be painted in 24 different colors, was used to analyze chromosome aberrations in diploid human fibroblast cells after in vitro radiation exposure. Confluent flasks of a normal primary fibroblast cell line (AG 1522) were irradiated at high dose rates with either gamma rays or 200 MeV/nucleon Fe ions (LET = 440 keV/micron), incubated at 37 C for 24 hours after exposure, and subsequently subcultured. A chemically induced premature chromosome condensation technique was used to collect chromosome samples 32 hours after subculture. Results showed that the fraction of exchanges which were identified as complex, i.e. involving misrejoining of three or more DSB, were higher in the Fe-irradiated samples compared with the gamma-irradiated samples, as has been shown previously using FISH with one or two painted chromosomes . The ratios of complex/simple type exchanges were similar for samples irradiated with 0.7 Gy and 3 Gy of Fe ions, although exchanges involving five or more breaks were found only in 3 Gy irradiated samples. The fraction of incomplete exchanges was also higher in Fe- than gamma-irradiated samples. Data on the distribution of individual chromosome involvement in interchromosomal exchanges will be presented.

Wu, Honglu↗

Gamma-radiation-induced negative nonlinear absorption in quartz glass

The effect of ionizing radiation on the nonlinear optical properties of materials needs to be considered for applications that employ high-power laser pulses in extreme radiation environments. The Heraeus Infrasil302 optical quartz glass was irradiated by gamma rays, and its nonlinear absorption was measured using the open-aperture Z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses. Irradiation results in a negative nonlinear absorption coefficient whose magnitude increases with irradiation dose. Nonlinear absorption coefficients of -0.78, -1.14, -1.29, and -1.88~ × ~10 -13 m/W are measured for gamma doses of 600 krad, 1.2 Mrad, 3.6 Mrad, and 10 Mrad, respectively. Thermal annealing restores the optical properties of quartz-glass to their unirradiated values. It is suggested that metallic impurities introduced by the manufacturing process have a role in inducing saturated absorption in irradiated quartz glass, which manifests as negative nonlinear absorption coefficient, and is demonstrated by comparing Infrasil302 quartz results to equivalent irradiated measurements for Spectrosil2000 quartz.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Gamma-Ray-Induced Formation of Uranyl Peroxide Cage Clusters

Aqueous solutions of lithium uranyl triperoxide, Li 4 [UO 2 (O 2 ) 3 ] (LiUT), were irradiated with gamma rays at room temperature and found to form the uranyl peroxide cage cluster, Li 24 [(UO 2 )(O 2 )(OH)] 24 (Li–U 24 ). Raman spectroscopy and 18 O labeling were used to identify the Raman-active vibrations of LiUT. With these assignments, the concentration of LiUT was tracked as a function of radiation dose. A discrepancy between monomer removal and cluster formation suggests that the reaction proceeds by the assembly of an intermediate. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to separate Raman spectra into components and resulted in the identification of a unique intermediate species. Much of the conversion appears to be driven by water radiolysis products, particularly the hydroxyl radical. Furthermore, this differs from the 18 O-labeled copper-catalyzed formation of U 24 , which progresses at a steady rate with no observation of intermediates. Li–U 24 in solution decomposes at high radiation doses resulting in a solid insoluble product similar to Na-compreignacite, Na 2 (UO 2 ) 6 O 4 (OH) 6 ·7H 2 O, which contains uranyl oxyhydroxy sheets.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impacts of Neodymium Complexation on Radiolysis of Tetramethyl Diglycolamide (TMDGA) in Aqueous Solutions

Hydrophilic diglycolamides (DGA) ligands have been explored for use as stripping agents in various lanthanide and actinide partitioning processes.1 The separation of lanthanide fission products and transplutonic actinides can serve multifaceted advantages, in that the separation of neutron poisoning rare earth element (REE) fission products from the minor actinides in used nuclear fuel (UNF) can be mutually beneficial to the fundamental research behind REE separations and UNF separations. Considerable efforts have been devoted to understanding the radiation chemistry of hydrophilic DGAs. However, recent studies with lipophilic DGAs have shown that metal ion complexation can promote significant changes in their radiolytic susceptibility.2,3 These effects have been attributed to various parameters, including delocalization of electron density, the presence of radiolytically more susceptible counter ions, and steric hindrance. As such, it is pivotal for these complexation effects to be more thoroughly probed to establish mechanistic knowledge for their effects on hydrophilic DGA molecules. Here we present a time-resolved electron pulse and accumulated gamma dose irradiation study on neodymium ion complexes of tetramethyl diglycolamide (TMDGA) under aqueous solution conditions. References (1) Rostaing, C.; Poinssot, C.; Warin, D.; Baron, P.; Lorrain, B. Development and Validation of the EXAm Separation Process for Single Am Recycling. Procedia Chem. 2012, 7, 367–373. https://doi.org/doi: 10.1016/j.proche.2012.10.057. (2) Horne, G. P.; Conrad, J. K.; McLachlan, J. R.; Rotermund, B. M.; Cook, A. R.; Celis-Barros, C.; Mezyk, S. P. Impact of Lanthanide Complexation and Temperature on the Chemical Reactivity of N,N,N’,N’-Tetraoctyl Diglycolamide (TODGA) with the Dodecane Radical Cation. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2023, Under Review. (3) Kimberlin, A.; Saint-Louis, G.; Guillaumont, D.; Camès, B.; Guilbaud, P.; Berthon, L. Effect of Metal Complexation on Diglycolamide Radiolysis: A Comparison between Ex Situ Gamma and in Situ Alpha Irradiation. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. PCCP 2022, 24 (16), 9213–9228. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cp05731f.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Irradiation-Induced Grain Growth of gamma-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 at Cryogenic Temperatures

This work reports the first observations of grain growth under irradiation of Fe oxides, specifically maghemite gamma-Fe2O3 and magnetite Fe3O4. The Fe oxide thin films were grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition and irradiated in-situ in a Transmission Electron Microscope at - 223°C using 1 MeV Kr2+ ions up to 8.75 x 10^19 ions/m^2 to study grain growth kinetics under irradiation. Grain growth at such low temperatures appears to follow kinetics that can be accounted for by the thermal spike model developed for metals in the literature. The corresponding activation energies were calculated and compared with other oxides. The results demonstrate that gamma-Fe2O3, despite its larger initial grain size, exhibits surprisingly fast grain growth in comparison with Fe3O4, likely due to the presence of iron vacancies in the crystal structure that facilitate faster atomic diffusion under irradiation.

Kretov, Dmitrii↗

Effects of gamma, electron beam, and X-ray irradiation on the plastic components of a universal bone cement mixer medical device

Due to market and regulatory pressures, many healthcare manufacturers are considering alternatives to cobalt-60 gamma radiation, including accelerator-based electron beam (E-beam) and X-ray radiation for product sterilization. In this work, the effects of irradiation on a representative medical product, comprised of eight distinct polymer materials, were directly compared for three radiation technologies – cobalt-60 gamma, E-beam, and X-ray – at four dose levels (15, 25, 50, and 70 kGy). The objective was to determine how radiation effects (deleterious or beneficial) are influenced by source and dose level, with the specific goal of determining whether E-beam radiation and/or X-ray radiation could be viable alternatives to gamma radiation for device sterilization. Here, the specific product considered is a single-use medical device for orthopedic surgery, the Stryker Instruments MixeVac III bone cement mixer, which is currently sterilized using gamma radiation from cobalt-60 sources. Following ASTM International standards and input from the manufacturer, we characterized the effects of the three radiation sources on product functionality as well as on the mechanical and optical properties of the constituent polymers. Results indicate that although measurable differences in properties between the standard gamma irradiated materials and the alternative E-beam and X-ray irradiated materials were observed, those differences were small. Statistically significant differences were noted in the case of yellowness index for polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, and polycarbonate, and in the case of tensile elongation at break for high impact polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. In general, the results of this study support the viability of E-beam and X-ray radiation as alternative options to cobalt-60 gamma radiation for sterilization of Stryker single-use universal bone cement mixer medical devices.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Influence of Metal Ion Complexation on the Radiolytic Longevity of Butyramide Extractants under Direct Dissolution Process Conditions

The direct dissolution of voloxidized used nuclear fuel (UNF) into an organic solution–comprised of diluent and specialized extractants–poses a promising alternative to the traditional liquid–liquid solvent extraction approach to reprocessing UNF. However, moving to direct dissolution removes the presence of a concentrated nitric acid aqueous phase, which has been shown to significantly influence the radiolytic longevity of extractants in conventional extraction flowsheets. Given the limited knowledge of radiation effects under direct dissolution conditions, here we present a time-resolved and dose-accumulation study on the impact of direct dissolution conditions on the radiolytic longevity of two candidate butyramide extractants, N,N-di(2-ethylhexyl) butyramide (DEHBA) and N,N-di(2-ethylhexyl)isobutyramide (DEHiBA), in pre-equilibrated n-dodecane solvent in the presence and absence of process-relevant metal ions, specifically, uranium and rhenium. Loss G(DEHBA) and G(DEHiBA) values were found to be comparable to each other, with an average of 0.37 ± 0.02 μmol J –1 , and to previous data from the γ irradiation of DEHBA and DEHiBA under conventional solvent extraction conditions. Rhenium, and by extension technetium, extraction had a modest decrease (~10%) in the overall radiolytic stability of DEHiBA only, despite >2× observed increases in chemical kinetic reactivity of the corresponding complexes with the n-dodecane radical cation. Uranium loading, on the other hand, significantly improved the lifetime of both ligands (>30%) under γ irradiation, with a greater stabilization observed for DEHBA over DEHiBA. The observed radioprotective effect afforded by uranium loading is fortuitous for the longevity of direct dissolution solvent.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Recovery of damage in rad-hard MOS devices during and after irradiation by electrons, protons, alphas, and gamma rays

This paper reports on the recovery properties of rad-hard MOS devices during and after irradiation by electrons, protons, alphas, and gamma rays. The results indicated that complex recovery properties controlled the damage sensitivities of the tested parts. The results also indicated that damage sensitivities depended on dose rate, total dose, supply bias, gate bias, transistor type, radiation source, and particle energy. The complex nature of these dependencies make interpretation of LSI device performance in space (exposure to entire electron and proton spectra) difficult, if not impossible, without respective ground tests and analyses. Complete recovery of n-channel shifts was observed, in some cases within hours after irradiation, with equilibrium values of threshold voltages greater than their pre-irradiation values. This effect depended on total dose, radiation source, and gate bias during exposure. In contrast, the p-channel shifts recovered only 20 percent within 30 days after irradiation.

Brucker, G. J.↗

Evaluation of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors as Radiosensitizers for Proton and Light Ion Radiotherapy

Significant opportunities remain for pharmacologically enhancing the clinical effectiveness of proton and carbon ion-based radiotherapies to achieve both tumor cell radiosensitization and normal tissue radioprotection. We investigated whether pretreatment with the hydroxamate-based histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) SAHA (vorinostat), M344, and PTACH impacts radiation-induced DNA double-strand break (DSB) induction and repair, cell killing, and transformation (acquisition of anchorage-independent growth in soft agar) in human normal and tumor cell lines following gamma ray and light ion irradiation. Treatment of normal NFF28 primary fibroblasts and U2OS osteosarcoma, A549 lung carcinoma, and U87MG glioma cells with 5–10 µM HDACi concentrations 18 h prior to cesium-137 gamma irradiation resulted in radiosensitization measured by clonogenic survival assays and increased levels of colocalized gamma-H2AX/53BP1 foci induction. We similarly tested these HDACi following irradiation with 200 MeV protons, 290 MeV/n carbon ions, and 350 MeV/n oxygen ions delivered in the Bragg plateau region. Unlike uniform gamma ray radiosensitization, effects of HDACi pretreatment were unexpectedly cell type and ion species-dependent with C-12 and O-16 ion irradiations showing enhanced G0/G1-phase fibroblast survival (radioprotection) and in some cases reduced or absent tumor cell radiosensitization. DSB-associated foci levels were similar for proton-irradiated DMSO control and SAHA-treated fibroblast cultures, while lower levels of induced foci were observed in SAHA-pretreated C-12 ion-irradiated fibroblasts. Fibroblast transformation frequencies measured for all radiation types were generally LET-dependent and lowest following proton irradiation; however, both gamma and proton exposures showed hyperlinear transformation induction at low doses (≤25 cGy). HDACi pretreatments led to overall lower transformation frequencies at low doses for all radiation types except O-16 ions but generally led to higher transformation frequencies at higher doses (>50 cGy). The results of these in vitro studies cast doubt on the clinical efficacy of using HDACi as radiosensitizers for light ion-based hadron radiotherapy given the mixed results on their radiosensitization effectiveness and related possibility of increased second cancer induction.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Gamma, electron beam and X-ray irradiation effects on polymers in an advanced bone cement mixer device

The medical device industry has been investigating ways to increase the use of alternatives to cobalt-60 gamma radiation and ethylene-oxide gas sterilization, such as electron beam (E-beam) and X-ray radiation, due to regulatory and market pressures. One impediment to switching to E-beam or X-ray technology for sterilization is the lack of data on the effects of these radiation sources on medical device polymers. To provide such data this work considers irradiation and testing of a common single-use medical bone cement mixing system, the Stryker Advanced Cement Mixer (ACM®), that is composed of seven polymer materials. The ACM® devices considered here were processed to sterilization-relevant doses (15, 25, 50, and 70 kGy) using three radiation technologies: gamma, E-beam, and X-ray. The system and its polymer components were tested for product functionality, as well as mechanical and visual properties to determine how exposure effects may be influenced by radiation technology and dose level. We found that although there were instances of statistically significant differences in effects between the gamma-irradiated products and those irradiated with E-beam and X-ray, those effects were negligible in terms of retained functionality of the product and retained mechanical properties of the polymer components. Overall, results of this study demonstrate that, for of the effects studied, E-beam and X-ray are viable alternatives to cobalt-60 gamma radiation for sterilization of the polymer-based device investigated.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗