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At least 1,423 records · Page 79

Development of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters for High Precision Measurements of Calorimetric Re-187 and Ho-163 Spectra

The measurement of calorimetric spectra following atomic weak decays, beta (b) and electron capture (EC), of nuclides having a very low Q-value, can provide an impressively high sensitivity to a non-vanishing neutrino mass. The achievable sensitivity in this kind of experiments is directly connected to the performance of the used detectors. In particular an energy resolution of a few eV and a pulse formation time well below 1 microsecond are required. Low temperature Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters (MMCs) for soft X-rays have already shown an energy resolution of 2.0 eV FWHM and a pulse rise-time of about 90 ns for fully micro-fabricated detectors. We present the use of MMCs for high precision measurements of calorimetric spectra following the beta-decay of Re-187 and the EC of Ho-163. We show results obtained with detectors optimized for Re-187 and for Ho-163 experiments respectively. While the detectors equipped with superconducting Re absorbers have not yet reached the aimed performance, a first detector prototype with a Au absorber having implanted Ho-163 ions already shows excellent results. An energy resolution of 12 eV FWHM and a rise time of 90 ns were measured.

Ranitzsch, P. C.-O.↗

Magnetoelectric effect in Fe-embedded BaTiO{sub 3} single crystal

In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the magnetoelectric effect in a multilayered structure of Fe-BaTiO{sub 3}-Fe, with 70 A BaTiO{sub 3} (BT) sandwiched between 2 layers of implanted Fe, which was further treated by swift heavy ion (Ag{sup +15}) induced ion beam mixing/annealing. Due to this specific experimental procedure, condition of atomic orbital overlap between the Fe and Ti atoms could be favored in Fe-implanted BT crystal, showing a magnetoelectric effect arising from interfacial bonding at Fe/BT interface, as proposed by Duan et al.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 047201 (2006)]. Results are successfully interpreted in terms of magnetostriction behavior of polycrystalline Fe.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnetic properties of Fe implanted SrTiO{sub 3} perovskite crystal

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The results of investigations of magnetic properties of Fe implanted SrTiO{sub 3} are presented. • The measurements of the temperature dependence of the magnetization were performed. • Ferromagnetic hysteresis loops in Fe implanted SrTiO{sub 3} were observed at low temperatures. • Superparamagnetic behavior of the samples at high temperatures was revealed. • It was shown that the magnetization of the samples depends on the fluency of implantation. - Abstract: The results of investigations of magnetic properties of SrTiO{sub 3} perovskite crystal implanted with 40 keV Fe ions at the fluencies between 0.5 × 10{sup 17} and 1.5 × 10{sup 17} ion/cm{sup 2} are presented. It has been revealed that high-fluency implantation with Fe ions results in the formation of a granular metal particulate composite in the irradiated near-surface layer of SrTiO{sub 3} substrate, which exhibits remarkable ferromagnetic behavior. The measurements of the temperature dependence of the magnetic moment showed that the samples exhibit blocking temperature at about 350 K, above which a superparamagnetic behavior has been observed. Ferromagnetic ordering and magnetic hysteresis loops were observed in Fe implanted SrTiO{sub 3} at the temperatures lower than 350 K. It has been shown that the magnetization of the ferromagnetic state depends on the fluency of implantation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Erosion of Extraction Electrodes of Ion Sources due to Sputtering

The effects upon erosion due to implanted atoms in extraction electrodes of an ion source have been investigated through calculating the sputtering yields with a Monte Carlo simulation code, ACAT. The results obtained with ACAT have indicated that the sputtering yields of extraction electrodes are substantially affected by the retention of implanted atoms depending upon the mass ratio of electrode materials and extracted ions from the source plasma. The enhanced erosion takes place as the heavier ion beam species like phosphor is implanted into lighter electrode material like carbon. Additional mixing of materials arising from ion source operation, such as hot cathode materials evaporation onto a carbon extraction electrode, can shorten the lifetime of the extraction electrodes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Evaluation of hydrogen isotope exchange methodology on adsorbents for tritium removal

The Savannah River National Laboratory has demonstrated a potential process that can be used to remove tritium from tritiated water using Pt-catalyzed molecular sieves. The process is an elemental isotope exchange process in which H{sub 2} (when flowed through the molecular sieves) will exchange with the adsorbed water, D{sub 2}O, leaving H{sub 2}O adsorbed on the molecular sieves. Various formulations of catalyzed molecular sieve material were prepared using two different techniques, Pt-implantation and Pt-ion exchange. This technology has been demonstrated for a protium (H) and deuterium (D) system, but can also be used for the removal of tritium from contaminated water (T{sub 2}O, HTO, and DTO) using D{sub 2} (or H{sub 2}). (authors)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Low thermal budget dopant activation in shallow junctions of implanted Si via Tunable plasma enhanced annealing

Low thermal budget (LTB) annealing has become increasingly critical for shallow junctions as semiconductor devices are scaled down. Plasma Enhanced Annealing (PEA) has emerged as a promising LTB annealing process, however its mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, arsenic and boron implanted silicon wafers were subjected to helium or argon ion bombardment generated by annealing plasmas under controlled ion energies and doses in a home-built annealing reactor. The structural and electrical changes were characterized by four-point probe measurements, secondary ion mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. A pronounced reduction in sheet resistance, accompanied by a decrease in the damage layer thickness demonstrates the surface selective annealing capability of PEA process. Comparative studies using He and Ar plasmas and related ion bombardment reveal a dependence of activation efficacy on both ion species and the dopant implantation profile. Furthermore, a multi-step annealing mechanism is proposed, consisting of an initial (low dose) structural recovery stage followed by the generation of “extended” defects and concluded at large doses by an enhanced dopant activation. The proposed annealing kinetics are thought to be controlled by ion flux, dose and energy. Finally, these results highlight PEA as an effective, surface-selective, LTB approach for shallow-dopant activation and near surface annealing, and provide mechanistic insights into PEA processes.

dopant activation↗

Probing the carrier concentration profiles in phosphorus-implanted germanium using infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry with photon energy in the 0.045–0.65 eV range was used to investigate germanium samples implanted with 30 keV phosphorus ions and annealed at 700 °C. The infrared response of implanted layers is dominated by free carrier absorption which is modeled using a Drude oscillator. The carrier concentration profiles were modeled using an error function, and compared with those obtained by electrochemical capacitance-voltage profiling and secondary ion mass spectrometry. In the flat region of the carrier concentration profile, average carrier concentration and mobility of 1.40 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} and 336 cm{sup 2}V{sup −1}s{sup −1}, respectively, were obtained. A phosphorus diffusivity of ∼1.2 × 10{sup −13} cm{sup 2}/s was obtained. The mobility versus carrier concentration relationships obtained for the implanted samples are close to the empirical relationship for bulk Ge.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Specific features of the ion-beam synthesis of Ge nanocrystals in SiO{sub 2} thin films

The systematic features of the formation of Ge nanocrystals in SiO{sub 2} thin films implanted with Ge{sup +} ions and then subjected to high-temperature annealing (1130°C) are studied in relation to hydrostatic pressure. It is established that annealing at atmospheric pressure is accompanied by the diffusion of Ge atoms from the implantation region to the Si substrate and does not induce the formation of Ge nanocrystals. An increase in pressure during annealing yields a deceleration in the diffusion of germanium into silicon and is accompanied by the formation of twinned lamellae at the Si/SiO{sub 2} interface (at pressures of ~10{sup 3} bar) or by the nucleation and growth of Ge nanocrystals (at pressures of ~10{sup 4} bar) in the SiO{sub 2} film. The results are discussed on the basis of the concept of a change in the activation volume of the formation and migration of point defects under conditions of compression.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Maskless implants of 20 keV Ga{sup +} in thin crystalline silicon on insulator

A nano-sized ion beam apparatus has been used as maskless lithography to implant 20 keV Ga{sup +} ions into a 26 nm thick silicon crystalline film on insulator. The ion beam, with about 5 nm standard deviation, delivered few hundred ions during a single shot. Circular areas with nominal diameter of 20 or 50 nm were irradiated to a fluence of 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14}/cm{sup 2}. Transmission electron microscopy evidenced that the damaged regions are characterized by an irregular contour with many disordered filaments. Damage extends across the layer thickness and fast Fourier transform analysis indicates that implantation causes the amorphization of a region which extends beyond the nominal diameter. In situ annealing experiments demonstrated that the disordered filamentary regions disappear in the 250-450 Degree-Sign C temperature range and the interfaces with the surrounding crystalline regions sharpen. A temperature as high as 600 Degree-Sign C is required to fully re-crystallize the amorphous core of the implanted dots. Reordering occurs by multi-orientation lateral solid-phase epitaxial growth and the breaking of (111) and (101) interfaces, due to the formation of twins, triggers a fast crystallization kinetics. Rapid thermal annealing (890 Degree-Sign C-10 s) completely crystallizes the amorphous regions, twins are absent and small cluster of defects remains instead. Preliminary scanning capacitance measurements indicate that the implanted atoms, after crystallization, are electrically active. The implant method is then a viable processing step for the doping of non-bulk fully depleted ultra-thin-body MOSFET.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structure and magnetic properties of irradiated Fe/Fe oxide core-shell nanoclusters

A cluster deposition method was used to produce a film of loosely aggregated particles of Fe-Fe3O4 core-shell nanoclusters with an 8 nm iron core size and 2 nm oxide shell thickness. The film of particles on a silicon substrate was irradiated with 5.5 MeV Si2+ ions to a fluence of 1016 cm-2 near room temperature, and computer simulations based on the SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) code show that the implanted Si species stops near the film-substrate interface. The ion irradiation creates a structural change in the film with corresponding chemical and magnetic changes. X-ray diffraction shows that the core size and chemistry stay the same but the shell becomes FeO that grows to a thickness of 17 nm. Helium ion microscopy shows that the previously separate particles have densified into a nearly continuous film. Major loop magnetic hysteresis measurements show a decrease in saturation magnetization that we attribute to the presence of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) FeO shell. First-order reversal curve measurements on the irradiated film performed with a vibrating sample magnetometer show that the AFM shell prevents the particles from interacting magnetically, leading to low coercivity from the iron core and little bias field from the core interactions. These results, and others reported previously on different compositions (Fe3O4 or FeO+Fe3N nanoclusters), show that the ion irradiation behavior of nanocluster films such as these depends strongly on the initial nanostructure and chemistry.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Temperature-dependent cavity swelling in dual-ion irradiated Fe and Fe-Cr ferritic alloys

Fe-Cr ferritic-martensitic (FM) steels are promising structural material candidates for fusion and advanced fission reactors due to their attractive mechanical properties and volumetric swelling resistance. However, significant discrepancies exist regarding the effect of solutes and irradiation temperature on cavity swelling under ion versus neutron irradiation conditions. In this study, simultaneous dual ion irradiations (8 MeV Ni 3+ ions and energy-degraded 3.5 MeV He 2+ ions) were used to quantify the cavity swelling behavior in ultra-high purity Fe and Fe-Cr alloys (3-14 wt.% Cr), Fe-10 wt.% Cr-780 wt.ppm C, and Eurofer97 FM steel. The irradiations were conducted over a wide temperature range (400-550°C) with a mid-range dose of ~30 displacements per atom (dpa) and 0.1 appm/dpa He implantation rate. Here, using state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we reveal that pure Fe has a ~50°C lower peak swelling temperature difference than Fe-Cr alloys, which is attributed to higher vacancy mobility in pure Fe. Chromium solute appears to strongly suppress cavity swelling in Fe-Cr alloys for temperatures below ~470°C, but seems to have little effect or slightly enhances swelling above ~470°C. Cavities were observed in all the irradiated samples between 400-550°C. This indicates that the narrow temperature range of observable cavities reported in prior ion irradiated Fe-Cr ferritic alloy studies is likely an artifact associated with the use of low ion energies (<5 MeV), which leads to pronounced near-surface and implanted ion effects that suppress cavity swelling even at midrange depths (particularly at high temperatures).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Contorted acene ribbons for stable and ultrasensitive neural probes

Organic materials that conduct both electrons and ions are integral to implantable bioelectronics because of their conformable nature. There is a dearth of these materials that are highly sensitive to cations, which are the majority ions on the surface of neurons. This manuscript offers a solution using an extended ribbon structure that is defect-free, providing high electronic mobility along its fused backbone, while the edge structure of these ribbons promotes high ionic conductivity. We incorporated these mixed ion/electron conductors into neural probes and implanted them in a rodent brain where they offer a suite of useful properties: high cation sensitivity, stability over several weeks after implantation, and biocompatibility. These materials represent an innovative class of implantable biosensors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ion-Beam Synthesis of the Crystalline Ge Phase in SiO{sub x}N{sub y} Films upon Annealing under High Pressure

The nucleation of the crystalline Ge phase in SiO{sub x}N{sub y} films implanted with Ge{sup +} ions with the energy 55 keV to doses of 2.1 × 10{sup 15}–1.7 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup –2} and then annealed at a temperature of T{sub a} = 800–1300°C under pressures of 1 bar and 1–12 kbar is studied. From analysis of the Raman spectra, it is concluded that amorphous Ge precipitates increase in size upon hydrostatic compression at a temperature of 1000°C. Raman scattering at optical phonons localized in Ge nanocrystals is observed only after annealing of the samples with the highest content of implanted atoms at a temperature of 1300°C. In the photoluminescence spectra, a peak is observed at the wavelength ∼730 nm. The peak is considered to be the manifestation of the quantum-confinement effect in nanocrystals ∼3 nm in size.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Atomistic simulation of Er irradiation induced defects in GaN nanowires

Classical molecular dynamics simulation was used to irradiate a GaN nanowire with rear-earth erbium (Er). Ten cumulative irradiations were done using an ion energy of 37.5 keV on a 10 × 10 nm²surface area which corresponds to a fluence of 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻². We studied the location and types of defects produced in the irradiation. Er implantation leads to a net positive (expansion) strain in the nanowire and especially at the top region a clear expansion has been observed in the lateral and axial directions. The lattice expansion is due to the hydrostatic strain imposed by a large number of radiation induced defects at the top of the NW. Due to the large surface-to-volume ratio, most of the defects were concentrated at the surface region, which suggests that the experimentally observed yellow luminescence (YL) in ion implanted GaN NWs arises from surface defects. We observed big clusters of point defects and vacancy clusters which are correlated with stable lattice strain and the YL band, respectively.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Distribution and Characterization of Iron in Implanted Silicon Carbide

Analytical electron microscopy (AEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy-ion channeling (RBS-C) have been used to characterize single crystal 6h-silicon carbide implanted at room temperature with 160 keV 57 Fe ions to fluences of 1, 3, and 6 x 10 16 ions/cm 2 . Best correlations among AEM, RBS, and TRIM calculations were obtained assuming a density of the amorphized implanted regions equal to that of crystalline SiC. No iron-rich precipitates or clusters were detected by AEM. Inspection of the electron energy loss fine structure for iron in the implanted specimens suggests that the iron is not metallically-bonded, supporting conclusions from earlier conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) studies. In-situ annealing surprisingly resulted in crystallization at 600°C with some redistribution of the implanted iron.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Solar Ion Processing of Itokawa Grains: Reconciling Model Predictions with Sample Observations

Analytical TEM observations of Itokawa grains reported to date show complex solar wind ion processing effects in the outer 30-100 nm of pyroxene and olivine grains. The effects include loss of long-range structural order, formation of isolated interval cavities or "bubbles", and other nanoscale compositional/microstructural variations. None of the effects so far described have, however, included complete ion-induced amorphization. To link the array of observed relationships to grain surface exposure times, we have adapted our previous numerical model for progressive solar ion processing effects in lunar regolith grains to the Itokawa samples. The model uses SRIM ion collision damage and implantation calculations within a framework of a constant-deposited-energy model for amorphization. Inputs include experimentally-measured amorphization fluences, a Pi steradian variable ion incidence geometry required for a rotating asteroid, and a numerical flux-versus-velocity solar wind spectrum.

Christoffersen, Roy↗

Optical switching and photoluminescence in erbium-implanted vanadium dioxide thin films

Vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) is under intensive consideration for optical switching due to its reversible phase transition, which features a drastic and rapid shift in infrared reflectivity. Classified as an insulator–to–metal transition, the phase transition in VO{sub 2} can be induced thermally, electrically, and optically. When induced optically, the transition can occur on sub-picosecond time scales. It is interesting to dope VO{sub 2} with erbium ions (Er{sup 3+}) and observe their combined properties. The first excited-state luminescence of Er{sup 3+} lies within the wavelength window of minimal transmission-loss in silicon and has been widely utilized for signal amplification and generation in silicon photonics. The incorporation of Er{sup 3+} into VO{sub 2} could therefore result in a novel photonic material capable of simultaneous optical switching and amplification. In this work, we investigate the optical switching and photoluminescence in Er-implanted VO{sub 2} thin films. Thermally driven optical switching is demonstrated in the Er-implanted VO{sub 2} by infrared reflectometry. Photoluminescence is observed in the thin films annealed at ∼800 °C or above. In addition, Raman spectroscopy and a statistical analysis of switching hysteresis are carried out to assess the effects of the ion implantation on the VO{sub 2} thin films. We conclude that Er-implanted VO{sub 2} can function as an optical switch and amplifier, but with reduced switching quality compared to pure VO{sub 2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗