Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “ION BEAMS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

In-Plane Liftout and Push-to-Pull for In Situ Mechanical Testing of Irradiated Inconel X-750

A streamlined sample preparation method for nanomechanical testing is needed to improve the quality of specimens, reduce the cost, and increase the versatility of specimen fabrication. This work outlines an in-plane liftout focused ion beam (FIB) fabrication procedure to prepare electron-transparent specimens for in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) nanomechanical testing. Ion etching and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques were used to lift out a [110] oriented grain from a neutron-irradiated bulk X-750 alloy. Careful control of voltages and currents ensured precision. Top surface thinning sweeps prevented resurfacing and redeposition while dog-bone geometries were shaped with a 1:4 gauge width-to-milling pattern diameter ratio. Nanotensile testing in the TEM with a picoindenter allowed for the estimation of an ultimate tensile strength of 2.41 GPa, and inspection revealed a high density of bubbles in the X-750 matrix. The proposed fabrication procedure is significant for preparing samples from radioactive materials, studying complex structures that are orientation-dependent, and analyzing desired planar areas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydroxyl radical yields in the heavy ion radiolysis of water

Scavenging experiments coupled with Monte Carlo track structure and kinetics simulations have been used to determining and understand the yields of hydroxyl radicals in the radiolysis of water with protons and carbon ions. Carbon dioxide production from aerated formic acid solutions with concentrations ranging from 10-3 to 1 mol./dm3 was used as a probe of the time dependence of the hydroxyl radical yield from about 5 ns to 1 ?s. Numerical extrapolation of the results at slightly different ion energies in combination with data from gamma radiolysis experiments allows a systematic analysis of both track average and track segment yields, with considerable track chemistry found to occur on the nanosecond to microsecond time scale. Track chemistry calculations utilizing Monte Carlo track structure simulations and nonhomogeneous independent reaction times diffusion-reaction modeling of product yields reproduce experimental observations. Subsequently, the track simulation methods were used to predict hydroxyl radical kinetics in deaerated and aerated water at neutral pH. Taken with literature data for helium ion beam studies, the results offer insight into the potential for indirect radiation induced damage to biological systems for light ions with very different track structures.

38 - RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCL↗
DOE OSTI2026

Flash electropolishing for TEM: Reducing FIB‐induced defects in tungsten with protocols for new materials

Focused ion beam (FIB) milling has become the dominant approach for site-specific transmission electron microscopy (TEM) specimen preparation; however, FIB damage remains a critical limitation for reliable microstructural characterisation, particularly in radiation effects studies. Tungsten is especially susceptible to FIB damage due to its high nuclear stopping power, which promotes the formation and strong diffraction contrast of FIB-induced ‘black spot’ defects that are indistinguishable from very fine irradiation-induced loops/defects resulting from low to intermediate temperature neutron irradiation. In this work, flash electropolishing is systematically evaluated as a post-FIB treatment for minimising preparation-induced artefacts for TEM analysis of tungsten-based alloys. Using a range of non-, ion-, and neutron-irradiated tungsten materials, the effectiveness of flash electropolishing has been assessed through direct comparison with conventional FIB and plasma-FIB preparation including low-energy Ga, Ar, Xe ion cleaning. The results demonstrate that flash electropolishing effectively removes FIB-damaged layers and ‘black spot’ defects, thereby enabling reliable observation of irradiation-induced dislocation structures. Key processing parameters governing flash electropolishing quality – including lamella thickness, applied voltage, polishing duration, electrolyte chemistry, and cathode geometry – have been systematically evaluated, and clear criteria were established for determining when flash electropolishing is required to ensure reliable microstructural analysis. This work also provides practical guidance for implementing flash electropolishing as an artefact-controlled specimen-preparation approach for TEM characterisation of FIB-produced specimens. The systematic protocol can be extended to other, non-tungsten materials.

TEM sample preparation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Certification testing of production superconducting quarter-wave and half-wave resonators for $\mathrm{FRIB}$

We report the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is designed to accelerate ion beams to 200 MeV per nucleon with 46 superconducting radio-frequency cryomodules. The FRIB driver linac uses quarter-wave resonators and half-wave resonators; with a total of 324 resonators, the linac is currently the largest heavy ion accelerator in the world. Production of jacketed resonators began in January 2014 and was completed in December 2019. Dewar certification testing of all the cavities was done before they were installed into cryomodules. The experience and lessons from more than 5 years of FRIB resonator production and certification testing are analyzed and summarized in this paper.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement and Simulation of Ultra-Low-Energy Ion–Solid Interaction Dynamics

Ion implantation is a key capability for the semiconductor industry. As devices shrink, novel materials enter the manufacturing line, and quantum technologies transition to being more mainstream. Traditional implantation methods fall short in terms of energy, ion species, and positional precision. Here, we demonstrate 1 keV focused ion beam Au implantation into Si and validate the results via atom probe tomography. We show the Au implant depth at 1 keV is 0.8 nm and that identical results for low-energy ion implants can be achieved by either lowering the column voltage or decelerating ions using bias while maintaining a sub-micron beam focus. We compare our experimental results to static calculations using SRIM and dynamic calculations using binary collision approximation codes TRIDYN and IMSIL. A large discrepancy between the static and dynamic simulation is found, which is due to lattice enrichment with high-stopping-power Au and surface sputtering. Additionally, we demonstrate how model details are particularly important to the simulation of these low-energy heavy-ion implantations. Finally, we discuss how our results pave a way towards much lower implantation energies while maintaining high spatial resolution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Construction of St. Benedict

The Superallowed Transition Beta-Neutrino Decay Ion Coincidence Trap (St. Benedict) is currently under construction at the University of Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory. It is designed to measure the beta-neutrino angular correlation parameter in superallowed mixed beta-decay transitions between mirror nuclei in order to extract the Fermi-to-Gamow Teller mixing ratio and test theoretical corrections entering in the determination of the V ud element of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa quark mixing matrix. St. Benedict includes a large volume gas catcher to thermalize the radioactive ion beam from TwinSol, a differentially-pumped extraction system, a radiofrequency quadrupole ion cooler and buncher, and a Paul trap for the observation and detection of the β decay products. Finally, the status of each of these components will be presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Model for Radiolysis in a Flowing-Water Target during High-Intensity Proton Irradiation

At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), interactions between heavy-ion beams and beam-dump water will create a wide variety of radionuclides which can be accessed by a technique known as “isotope harvesting”. However, irradiation of water is always accompanied by the creation of numerous radical, ionic, and molecular radiolysis products. Some of the radiolysis products have sufficiently long lifetimes to accumulate in the irradiated water and affect the harvesting chemistry. Here we investigate the formation of hydrogen peroxide, molecular hydrogen, and molecular oxygen during a high-intensity proton irradiation of a flowing-water isotope-harvesting target and compare the experimental results to simulations. The simulations kinetically model the chemical reactions occurring in the homogeneous phase of radiolysis in flowing water and establish an “effective yield”. In both the experiment and simulations, the bulk quantities of H 2 , H 2 O 2 , and O 2 are considerably lower than predicted by primary radiolysis yields (escape yields), meaning that in the high beam intensity regime the homogeneous phase reactions have a considerable impact on the overall chemical composition of the water. Further, it could be shown that for radiation which is characterized by a limited linear energy transfer, such as the here applied protons, the bulk outcome of the microscopic kinetic modeling could be estimated by a simplified steady-state model.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Contact-free reversible switching of improper ferroelectric domains by electron and ion irradiation

Focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to reversibly switch improper ferroelectric domains in the hexagonal manganite ErMnO 3 . Surface charging is achieved by local ion (positive charging) and electron (positive and negative charging) irradiation, which allows controlled polarization switching without the need for electrical contacts. Polarization cycling reveals that the domain walls tend to return to the equilibrium configuration obtained in the as-grown state. The response of sub-surface domains is studied by FIB cross-sectioning, enabling imaging in the direction perpendicular to the applied electric field. The results clarify how the polarization reversal in hexagonal manganites progresses at the level of domains, resolving both domain wall movements and the nucleation and growth of new domains. Our FIB-SEM based switching approach is applicable to all ferroelectrics where a sufficiently large electric field can be built up via surface charging, facilitating contact-free high-resolution studies of the domain and domain wall response to electric fields in 3D.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nanoscale imaging of He-ion irradiation effects on amorphous TaO x toward electroforming-free neuromorphic functions

Resistive switching in thin films has been widely studied in a broad range of materials. Yet, the mechanisms behind electroresistive switching have been persistently difficult to decipher and control, in part due to their non-equilibrium nature. Here, we demonstrate new experimental approaches that can probe resistive switching phenomena, utilizing amorphous TaO x as a model material system. Specifically, we applied scanning microwave impedance microscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy as direct probes of conductance and electronic structure, respectively. These methods provide direct evidence of the electronic state of TaO x despite its amorphous nature. For example, CL identifies characteristic impurity levels in TaO x , in agreement with first principles calculations. We applied these methods to investigate He-ion-beam irradiation as a path to activate conductivity of materials and enable electroforming-free control over resistive switching. However, we find that even though He-ions begin to modify the nature of bonds even at the lowest doses, the films' conductive properties exhibit remarkable stability with large displacement damage and they are driven to metallic states only at the limit of structural decomposition. Finally, we show that electroforming in a nanoscale junction can be carried out with a dissipated power of <20 nW, a much smaller value compared to earlier studies and one that minimizes irreversible structural modifications of the films. Importantly, the multimodal approach described here provides a new framework toward the theory/experiment guided design and optimization of electroresistive materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Automation and optimization of stopping and range of ions in matter simulation runtime

Prior to every ion implantation experiment a simulation of the ion range and other relevant parameters is performed using Monte-Carlo based codes. Although increasing computing power has improved the speed of these calculations, the demands on Monte-Carlo codes are also increasing, requiring evaluation of the optimal number of simulations while ensuring accuracy within threshold bounds. We evaluate the “Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter” (SRIM) code due to its widespread usage. We show how dividing simulations into multiple parallel simulations with different random seeds can lead to calculation speedup and find lower bounds for the required number of ion traces simulated based on an exemplar system of a Ga focused ion beam and a high energy C beam as used in high linear energy transfer testing. Here our results indicate simulations can yield results within the underlying data accuracy of SRIM at 10X and 100X shorter simulation time than the SRIM default values.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

HIBP Applications to Advance Understanding of Plasma Transport Physics (2011-2017) (and subsequently titled) Development of Beam Measurements to Advance Understanding of Transients and Improve Validation (2017-2020) (Final Technical Report)

This is the Final Technical Report for the DoE Measurement Innovation (previously Diagnostic Development) grant DE-SC0006077 titled HIBP Applications to Advance Understanding of Plasma Transport Physics (2011-2017), and subsequently titled Development of Beam Measurements to Advance Understanding of Transients and Improve Validation (2017-2020). The grant was funded by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) for the period 1 May 2011–17 July 2020. Work performed through the grant has resulted in diagnostic innovations and new measurement capabilities that will improve understanding of transport, magnetic equilibrium, and electric fields in magnetically confined plasmas. We have developed novel hardware and advanced techniques to expand beam-based diagnostic capabilities, and extend measurements to new operating regimes. Some have been realized using a Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) having traditional features, while other applications have joined our innovations with subsets of advantageous HIBP features. This work has established smaller, more economical detection systems and, in doing so, may enable substantial extension of scenarios in which beam-based diagnostics are deployed. Key Measurement Innovations include: Computer Models and Simulations of HIBP Applications-Computer modeling and simulating of HIBP applications is central to predicting interaction of beam particles with plasmas, designing diagnostic systems, and anticipating measurement characteristics. We have extended the capability and improved measurement fidelity of the HIBP diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed field pinch (RFP); simulated feasibility of HIBP operation in the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX) optimized stellarator; and investigated the plausibility of HIBP measurements in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. We have also developed a new technique that uses ion optics to model a finite phase-space beam. It yields more realistic (than traditional method) estimates of sample volume characteristics, which influence measurement resolution and sensitivity. Extension of Diagnostic Capabilities and Measurements on the MST RFP-Capabilities have been extended using the first and only HIBP installation on an RFP. Challenges associated with operation of the diagnostic on MST include the three-dimensional nature of particle trajectories, temporal topology and amplitude changes in the plasma equilibrium, and strong particle and radiative emission from the plasma. We have addressed these challenges through development of detailed and higher precision diagnostic simulations, calibrated subtraction of noise to resolve secondary ion signals, and implementation of hardware that enables higher fidelity measurement of plasma fluctuations. Development of New Hardware and Measurement Techniques - We have advanced beam-based measurement capabilities via development of new detectors and techniques to determine the poloidal magnetic flux ψ in the plasma, and enable placement of detectors close to the plasma and thus allow a smaller and less expensive diagnostic. We have demonstrated measurement of ψ, an ability that was made possible by development of highly effective noise reduction techniques. We also modeled the effect of non-ideal and instrumentation effects by developing a virtual (simulated) diagnostic. Application of beam-based diagnostics on various devices and multiple magnetic configurations (e.g. stellarator, tokamak, and reversed field pinch) enables investigation of critical physics issues and measurements resulting in the broad parameter space data needed to test and validate theory & modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

BlueSTEAl: A pair of silicon arrays and a zero-degree phoswich detector for studies of scattering and reactions in inverse kinematics

BlueSTEAl, the Blue (aluminum chamber of) Silicon TElescope Arrays for light nuclei, has been developed to study direct reactions in inverse kinematics, as well as scattering and breakup reactions using radioactive ion beams. It is a detector system consisting of a pair of annular silicon detector arrays and a zero-degree phoswich plastic scintillator. For typical binary reaction studies in inverse kinematics, light ions are detected by the Si array in coincidence with heavy recoils detected by the phoswich placed at the focal-plane of a zero-degree magnetic spectrometer. The Si array can also be used to detect light nuclei such as beryllium and carbon with clear isotope separation, while the phoswich can also be placed at zero degrees without a spectrometer and used as a high-efficiency beam counting monitor with particle identification capability at the rate of up to ~5 × 10 4 particles per second. This paper reports on the capabilities of BlueSTEAl as determined by recent experiments performed at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute. Furthermore, the device is also anticipated to be used in future experiments at other radioactive ion beam facilities.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

In situ observation of short- and long-timescale material property evolution under extreme conditions

Directly observing the evolution of material performance in-situ under extreme conditions remains a great challenge. Emergent behavior, such as the transition from incubation to steady state void swelling, is often difficult to capture in these conditions. To fill this gap, transient grating spectroscopy (TGS) has been used to collect multi-property information in-situ under high temperature exposure to ion beam irradiation. This all-optical method returns elastic and thermal transport properties with second-scale time resolution. Here, recent work using this methodology to track the evolution of Ni-based solid-solution alloys using the in situ ion irradiation TGS (I3TGS) beamline will be described. Tracking material property evolution during long exposure times (hours) provides a clear indication of when void swelling has occurred. On short timescales (seconds to minutes), observing rapid changes in thermoelastic properties as defect generation is initiated allows a unique window into bulk transient defect populations which are otherwise difficult to observe.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Degradation Diagnostics from the Subsurface of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes

Despite the long-established rocking-chair theory of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), developing novel characterization methodology with higher spatiotemporal resolution facilitates a better understanding of the solid electrolyte interphase studies to shape the reaction mechanisms. In this work, we develop a Xenon ion plasma focused ion beam (Xe + PFIB)-based characterization technique to probe the cross-sectional interface of both ternary cathode and graphite anode electrodes, with the focus on revealing the chemical composition and distribution underneath the electrode surface by in-depth analysis of secondary ions. Particularly, the lithium fluoride is detected in the pristine cathode prior to contact with the electrolyte, reflecting that the electrode degradation is in the form of the loss of lithium inventory during electrode preparation. This degradation is related to the hydrolysis of the cathode material and the decomposition of the PVDF binder. Here, through the quantitative analysis of the transition-metal degradation products, manganese is found to be the dominant element in the newly formed inactive fluoride deposition on the cathode, while no transition metal signal can be found inside the anode electrode. These insights at high resolution implemented via a PFIB-based characterization technique not only enrich the understanding of the degradation mechanism in the LIBs but also identify and enable a high-sensitivity methodology to obtain the chemical survey at the subsurface, which will help remove the capacity-fade observed in most LIBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Optimized manufacturing process for multilayer two-dimensional focusing mirrors in laboratory X-ray applications

Recent advances in laboratory X-ray applications require high-performance optical components that achieve exceptional imaging resolution and beam uniformity within compact experimental setups. Montel mirrors have become a preferred solution due to their unique dual-reflection focusing mechanism and a space-efficient design. Here, in this study, we present an effective manufacturing process for producing Montel mirrors tailored to focus laboratory X-ray beams. The mirrors were fabricated from single-crystal silicon substrates, chosen for their high mechanical stability and compatibility with precision polishing techniques. Our approach begins with the integration of a deterministic chemo-mechanical polishing (CMP)-based pre-shaping step followed by ion beam figuring (IBF), significantly improving manufacturing efficiency. Subsequently, our custom-developed advanced metrology and IBF techniques were employed for fabricating an off-axis, elliptical cylinder Montel mirror system with a 6-mrad total slope, with stringent optical specifications. While post-IBF processes, including multilayer coating, dicing, and gluing, introduced minor surface errors, yet their impact on performance remained negligible. The Montel mirrors manufactured with the optimized process exhibited significantly improved beam uniformity and a reduced focal spot size. These findings validate our approach as a viable solution for high-precision Montel mirror fabrication and facilitate further advancements in laboratory X-ray applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nanomechanical testing of freestanding polymer films: in situ tensile testing and Tg measurement

Abstract A method for small-scale testing and imaging of freestanding, microtomed polymer films using a push-to-pull device is presented. Central to this method was the development of a sample preparation technique which utilized solvents at cryogenic temperatures to transfer and deposit delicate thin films onto the microfabricated push-to-pull devices. The preparation of focused ion beam (FIB)-milled tensile specimens enabled quantitative in situ TEM tensile testing, but artifacts associated with ion and electron beam irradiation motivated the development of a FIB-free specimen preparation method. The FIB-free method was enabled by the design and fabrication of oversized strain-locking push-to-pull devices. An adaptation for push-to-pull devices to be compatible with an instrumented nanoindenter expanded the testing capabilities to include in situ heating. These innovations provided quantitative mechanical testing, postmortem TEM imaging, and the ability to measure the glass transition temperature, via dynamic mechanical analysis, of freestanding polymer films. Results for each of these mentioned characterization methods are presented and discussed in terms of polymer nanomechanics. Graphic Abstract

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simulating Magnetized Electron Cooling for EIC with JSPEC

We present a possible electron cooling configuration for the proposed Electron Ion Collider (EIC) facility, developed using a Nelder-Mead Simplex optimization procedure built into JSPEC, an electron cooling code developed at Jefferson Lab. We show the time evolution of the emittance of the ion beam in the presence of this cooler evaluated assuming the ion distribution remains Gaussian. We also show that bi-gaussian distributions emerge in simulations of ion macro-particles. We show how intra-beam scattering can be treated with a core-tail model in simulations of ion macro-particles. The Sirepo/JSPEC* and Sirepo/Jupyter** apps will be presented, with instructions enabling the community to reproduce our simulations.

Coleman, S. J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cryo-FIB for TEM Investigation of Soft Matter and Beam Sensitive Energy Materials

Primarily driven by structural biology, the rapid advances in cryogenic electron microscopy techniques are now being adopted and applied by materials scientists. Samples that inherently have electron transparency can be rapidly frozen (vitrified) in amorphous ice and imaged directly on a cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), however this is not the case for many important materials systems, which can consist of layered structures, embedded architectures, or be contained within a device. Cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) lift-out procedures have recently been developed to extract intact regions and interfaces of interest, that can then be thinned to electron transparency and transferred to the cryo-TEM for characterization. Several detailed studies have been reported demonstrating the cryo-FIB lift-out procedure, however due to its relative infancy in materials science improvements are still required to ensure the technique becomes more accessible and routinely successful. Here, we review recent results on the preparation of cryo-TEM lamellae using cryo-FIB and show that the technique is broadly applicable to a range of soft matter and beam sensitive energy materials. We then present a tutorial that can guide the materials scientist through the cryo-FIB lift-out process, highlighting recent methodological advances that address the most common failure points of the technique, such as needle attachment, lift-out and transfer, and final thinning.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗