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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.

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At least 1,189 records · Page 66
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Development of an in situ ion irradiation scanning electron microscope

An in situ ion irradiation scanning electron microscope (I 3 SEM) has been developed, installed, and integrated into the Ion Beam Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories. The I 3 SEM facility combines a field emission, variable pressure, scanning electron microscope, a 6 MV tandem accelerator, high flux low energy ion source, an 808 nm-wavelength laser, and multiple stages to control the thermal and mechanical state of the sample observed. The facility advances real-time understanding of materials evolution under combined environments at the mesoscale. As highlighted in multiple examples, this unique combination of tools is optimized for studying mesoscale material response in overlapping extreme environments, allowing for simultaneous ion irradiation, implantation, laser bombardment, conductive heating, cooling, and mechanical deformation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Redistribution of Erbium and Oxygen Recoil Atoms and the Structure of Silicon Thin Surface Layers Formed by High-Dose Argon Implantation through Er and SiO{sub 2} Surface Films

Using analytical high-resolution electron microscopy, the Si structure and the redistribution of Er and O recoil atoms embedded in thin (~10 nm) surface layers by Ar{sup +} implantation with an energy of 250–290 keV and a dose of 1 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup –2} through Er and SiO{sub 2} films, respectively, and subsequent annealing are studied. It is established that Si recrystallization fails at a distance of ~20 nm from the surface, where the erbium concentration of 5 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup –3} critical for failure is achieved at T = 950°C. It disproves the generally accepted model of Er-atom transfer by the recrystallization front into SiO{sub 2} on the surface. Instead, it is shown that the redistribution of O recoil atoms to the initial oxide during annealing for immobile Er atoms provides the formation of surface-inhomogeneous erbium phases in such a way that the oxygen-enriched Er–Si–O phase turns out to be concentrated in the oxide, while the depleted Er–Si phase remains in Si. It explains the partial loss of implanted Er after removal of the oxide together with the Er–Si–O phase. It was shown that the formation of a high density of microtwins (locally up to 10{sup 13} cm{sup –2}) is associated with the formation of Ar bubbles and clusters, which is atypical for (100)–Si recrystallization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Interaction between magnetic moments and itinerant carriers in $d^0$ ferromagnetic SiC

Elucidating the interaction between magnetic moments and itinerant carriers is an important step to spintronic applications. In this work, we investigate magnetic and transport properties in d0 ferromagnetic SiC single crystals prepared by postimplantation pulsed laser annealing. Magnetic moments are contributed by the p states of carbon atoms, but their magnetic circular dichroism is different from that in semi-insulating SiC samples. The anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance indicate the influence of d 0 spin order on free carriers. The ferromagnetism is relatively weak in N-implanted SiC compared with that in Al-implanted SiC after annealing. The results suggest that d 0 magnetic moments and itinerant carriers can interact with each other, which will facilitate the development of SiC spintronic devices with d 0 ferromagnetism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Segmented YSO scintillation detectors as a new β -implant detection tool for decay spectroscopy in fragmentation facilities

A newly developed segmented YSO scintillator detector was implemented for the first time at the RI-beam Factory at RIKEN Nishina Center as an implantation-decay counter. The results from the experiment demonstrate that the detector is a viable alternative to conventional silicon-strip detectors with its good timing resolution and high detection efficiency for β particles. A Position-Sensitive Photo-Multiplier Tube (PSPMT) is coupled with a 48 × 48 segmented YSO crystal. To demonstrate its capabilities, a known short-lived isomer in 76 Ni and the β decay of 74 Co were measured by implanting those ions into the YSO detector. The half-lives and γ-rays observed in this work are consistent with the known values. The β -ray detection efficiency is more than 80 % for the decay of 74 Co.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Development of GaAs solar cells

Solar cells and mesa diodes were fabricated by the implantation of zinc or beryllium ions into n-type gallium arsenide. Annealing temperatures above 750 C (zinc) or 650 C (beryllium) were found to produce 50% to 100% activation of the implanted ions. Junction depths of about 0.4 micron were produced by 600 keV zinc implants or 70 keV beryllium implants. P-layer sheet resistance was about 150 ohms for 2 x 10 to the 15th power cm/2 zinc or 1 x 10 to the 15th power cm/2 beryllium implants. This is sufficiently low for efficient solar cell fabrication. Contacting procedures were improved to yield reproducibly adherent, low resistance front and back contacts.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2012

Three-dimensional Chemical Imaging of Embedded Nanoparticles using Atom Probe Tomography

Analysis of nanoparticles is often challenging especially when they are embedded in a matrix. Hence, we have used laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT) to analyze the Au-nanoclusters synthesized in situ using ion beam implantation in single crystal MgO matrix. APT analysis along with scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) indicated that the nanoparticles have an average size ~ 8 - 12 nm. While it is difficult to analyze the composition of individual nanoparticles using STEM, APT analysis can give three dimensional compositions of the same. It was shown that the maximum Au-concentration in the nanoparticles increases with increasing particle size, with a maximum Au-concentration of up to 50%.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Continuously controlled optical band gap in oxide semiconductor thin films

The optical band gap of the prototypical semiconducting oxide SnO 2 is shown to be continuously controlled through single axis lattice expansion of nanometric films induced by low-energy helium implantation. While traditional epitaxy-induced strain results in Poisson driven multidirectional lattice changes shown to only allow discrete increases in bandgap, we find that a downward shift in the band gap can be linearly dictated as a function of out-of-plane lattice expansion. Our experimental observations closely match density functional theory that demonstrates that uniaxial strain provides a fundamentally different effect on the band structure than traditional epitaxy-induced multiaxes strain effects. In conclusion, charge density calculations further support these findings and provide evidence that uniaxial strain can be used to drive orbital hybridization inaccessible with traditional strain engineering techniques.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Minority anion substitution by Ni in ZnO

We report on the lattice location of implanted Ni in ZnO using the β{sup −} emission channeling technique. In addition to the majority substituting for the cation (Zn), a significant fraction of the Ni atoms occupy anion (O) sites. Since Ni is chemically more similar to Zn than it is to O, the observed O substitution is rather puzzling. We discuss these findings with respect to the general understanding of lattice location of dopants in compound semiconductors. In particular, we discuss potential implications on the magnetic behavior of transition metal doped dilute magnetic semiconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influence of helium bubbles on the bulk equation of state of gold under static compression

Nuclear materials often evolve into two-phase systems comprising a bulk matrix with dispersed inert-gas bubbles. The presence of these bubbles can have consequences to the thermomechanical response of materials and is a key life-limiting factor in some nuclear fuel forms. Understanding the behavior of these two-phase, bubble-matrix systems is, thus, important to improved predictive models and frameworks for many nuclear materials applications. While temperature excursions of these two-phase systems have been characterized, fewer studies have focused on the evolution of inert-gas bubbles under pressure. Here, in this paper, we use x-ray tools to interrogate a He-implanted gold foil to determine the pressure-dependent evolution of the individual components (Au matrix + bubbles), and we compare that total pressure dependence to theoretical equation-of-state descriptions based on mixing rules.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Suppression of boron diffusion using carbon co-implantation in DRAM

Highlights: • The impact of Ge + C co-implantation on dopant diffusion was investigated. • DIBL and V{sub TH} variation was improved by Ge + C co-implantation. • The V{sub TH} mismatch and the write characteristics were improved in the DRAM device. - Abstract: In this paper, germanium pre-amorphization implantation (PAI) and carbon co-implantation (Ge + C co-IIP) were applied to suppress boron diffusion. The corresponding characteristics were investigated in terms of the dopant diffusion, device performance, and its application to dynamic random access memory (DRAM). A shallow dopant profile was indicated and the threshold voltage (V{sub TH}) was reduced by approximately 45 mV by Ge + C co-IIP. In the DRAM device, the V{sub TH} mismatch of the sense amplifier NMOS pairs was reduced by approximately 15% and the write characteristics were improved two-fold.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Local formation of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond by swift heavy ions

We exposed nitrogen-implanted diamonds to beams of swift heavy ions (∼1 GeV, ∼4 MeV/u) and find that these irradiations lead directly to the formation of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, without thermal annealing. We compare the photoluminescence intensities of swift heavy ion activated NV{sup −} centers to those formed by irradiation with low-energy electrons and by thermal annealing. NV{sup −} yields from irradiations with swift heavy ions are 0.1 of yields from low energy electrons and 0.02 of yields from thermal annealing. We discuss possible mechanisms of NV center formation by swift heavy ions such as electronic excitations and thermal spikes. While forming NV centers with low efficiency, swift heavy ions could enable the formation of three dimensional NV{sup −} assemblies over relatively large distances of tens of micrometers. Further, our results show that NV center formation is a local probe of (partial) lattice damage relaxation induced by electronic excitations from swift heavy ions in diamond.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

New method for level-lifetime measurements with thick scintillators

Level lifetimes provide key insight into the structure of atomic nuclei and serve as stringent tests of theoretical descriptions. Though several methods for determining level lifetimes exist for both reaction measurements and decay studies, here the focus is on techniques involving the direct measurement of time differences between population and subsequent depopulation of excited states. The techniques presented herein are broadly applicable across multiple timing ranges, but the approach is specifically described for the βγ timing method. A multi-step, amplitude-dependent time walk correction was employed to address the data analysis complications that arise from using thick scintillators for electron detection. Further, additional corrections for the depth of the interaction must also be performed when the parent isotope has been implanted into the detector. Techniques are presented for performing these time walk and depth of interaction corrections. Subsequently, a new Monte Carlo method utilizing measured detector responses obtained from the data, coupled with chi-square minimization, is presented for extracting excited state lifetimes ≳ 100 picoseconds. The framework of this Monte Carlo method is developed for the decay of a state in 68 Zn with a known 1.6 ps half life, which is considered prompt given the detection sensitivity of the technique, and then benchmarked using two other excited states in neutron-rich Ni isotopes with 120(34) ps and 1.05(3) ns half lives. Using this new method which takes into account the thick scintillator used, these same half lives were measured to be 135(10) ps and 1.04(24) ns, respectively. The overall good agreement demonstrates the validity of the technique.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Thermodynamics of an austenitic stainless steel (AISI-348) under in situ TEM heavy ion irradiation

The stability of the face-centred cubic austenite (γ-Fe) phase in a commercial stainless steel (AISI348) was investigated through in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with heavy ion irradiation at 1073 K up to a fluence of 1.3×10 17 ions·cm -2 (corresponding to a dose of 46 dpa). The γ-Fe phase was observed to decompose at a fluence of around 7.8×10 15 ions·cm -2 (3 dpa) when a new phase nucleated and grew upon increasing irradiation dose. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis (MVSA) were used to characterise the irradiated specimens. The combination of such experimental techniques with calculated equilibrium phase diagrams using the CALPHAD method led to the conclusion that the new phase formed upon irradiation is the body-centred cubic Cr-rich α 0 phase. At the nanoscale, precipitation of M 23 C 6 (τ-carbide) was also observed. The results indicate that ion irradiation can assist the austenitic stainless steel to reach a non-equilibrium state similar to a calculated equilibrium state observed at lower temperatures in which, under conventional conditions, is suppressed due to kinetic restrictions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Impact of composition modification induced by ion beam Coulomb-drag effects on the nanoindentation hardness of HT9

Accelerator-based ion irradiation is commonly used to simulate neutron damage, in lieu of neutron irradiation due to limited availability of fast flux facilities and little to no activation of the samples. Neutron atypical effects, however, must be recognized and their impact minimized in order to achieve the most accurate microstructural evolution under ion bombardment. Mechanical property changes, which arise from the synergy of numerous radiation-induced changes, are especially susceptible to these neutron atypical effects. Of these effects, a recently studied neutron atypical effect, arising from Coulomb-drag of vacuum contaminants and subsequent compositional alteration, was shown to substantially suppress swelling. Through the use of an ion beam filtering system, the resulting void swelling was shown to closely match neutron irradiation data. In this study, the impact of compositional modification via Coulomb-drag on the mechanical property changes is examined through the use of nanoindentation on a ferritic/martensitic alloy, HT9, irradiated with and without the use of the ion beam filtering system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dopant characterization in self-regulatory plasma doped fin field-effect transistors by atom probe tomography

Fin field-effect transistors are promising next-generation electronic devices, and the identification of dopant positions is important for their accurate characterization. We report atom probe tomography (APT) of silicon fin structures prepared by a recently developed self-regulatory plasma doping (SRPD) technique. Trenches between fin-arrays were filled using a low-energy focused ion beam to directly deposit silicon, which allowed the analysis of dopant distribution by APT near the surface of an actual fin transistor exposed to air. We directly demonstrate that SRPD can achieve a boron concentration above 1 x 10{sup 20} atoms/cm{sup 3} at the fin sidewall.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Tailoring interfacial exchange coupling with low-energy ion beam bombardment: Tuning the interface roughness

By ascertaining NiO surface roughness in a Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}/NiO film system, we were able to correlate the effects of altered interface roughness from low-energy ion-beam bombardment of the NiO layer and the different thermal instabilities in the NiO nanocrystallites. From experiment and by modelling the temperature dependence of the exchange bias field and coercivity, we have found that reducing the interface roughness and changing the interface texture from an irregular to striped conformation enhanced the exchange coupling strength. Our results were in good agreement with recent simulations using the domain state model that incorporated interface mixing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Formation mechanisms of embedded nanocrystals in SiN{sub x}

We have investigated the formation of embedded nanocrystals (NCs) in SiN{sub x} using Ga{sup +} focused-ion beam irradiation of SiN{sub x} membranes, followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). During irradiation, redeposition is enhanced by developing side walls, leading to enhanced near-surface [Ga] and [Si]. Subsequent RTA leads to the formation of Si and Ga NCs embedded in SiN{sub x}. When the ratio of the irradiated area to the sidewall area is increased, redeposition is limited, and SiN{sub x} and GaN NCs are also apparent. We discuss the effect of limited redeposition on NC formation and the catalytic effect of Ga on Si NC nucleation and growth.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhancement of the magnetic interfacial exchange energy at a specific interface in NiFe/CoO/Co trilayer thin films via ion-beam modification

A series of ferromagnetic Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}(55 nm)/antiferromagnetic CoO (25 to 200 nm)/ferromagnetic Co (55 nm)/SiO{sub 2}(substrate) trilayer thin films were fabricated by ion-beam assisted deposition in order to understand the role of ion beam modification on the interfacial and interlayer coupling. The microstructural study using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray reflectometry, and polarised neutron reflectometry showed that ion-beam modification during the deposition process led to an oxygen-rich Co/CoO nanocomposite interface region at the bottom layer. This interface caused a high exchange bias field for the ferromagnetic cobalt. However, the exchange bias for top permalloy ferromagnet remained low, in line with expectations from the literature for the typical interfacial energy. This suggest that the ion-beam enhancement of the magnetic exchange bias is localized to the Co/CoO interface where local microstructural effects provide the dominant mechanism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗