Crystallographic effects in low energy ion scattering due to local ion-atom neutralisation

New experiments on 1 keV ₄He⁺ ion scattering from Ni {100} and Ni {100} (√2 × √2)R45°?O surfaces show azimuthal anisotropies attributable to variations in ion neutralisation probability for different ion trajectories relative to the position of the surface atoms. These effects are shown to be compatible with a simple localised ion-atom neutralisation mechanism. The results indicate that local neutralization is an important process in substrate shadowing in low energy ion scattering studies of adsorbate structures.     

Study of proton resonances in 18Ne via resonant elastic scattering of 17F+p and its astrophysical implication

The proton resonant properties in ¹⁸Ne, which determine the reaction rate of the key stellar ¹⁴O(α,p)¹⁷F reaction, have been studied by using a technique of proton resonant elastic scattering of ¹⁷F+p. A 4.22 MeV/nucleon ¹⁷F radioactive ion (RI) beam was produced via a projectile-fragmentation reaction, and separated by a Radioactive Ion Beam Line in Lanzhou (RIBLL). By bombarding a thick (C_H2) _n target, the energy spectra of the recoiled protons were measured by two ΔE-E silicon telescopes at the center-of-mass scattering angles of θ _c.m.≈175°±5°, θ _c.m.≈152°±8°, respectively. Several proton resonances in ¹⁸Ne were observed clearly. A further R-matrix analysis of the experimental data is under way to determine the resonant parameters. The present work reports the preliminary results briefly.     

Cosmic rays of energies E 0≥1019 eV and the large-scale structure of the universe

Arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies E ₀≥10¹⁹ eV are analyzed in the supergalactic coordinates. It is shown that increased particle fluxes arrive from the supergalactic plane and regions symmetrically adjoining it at angles ±b _SG≈6.5°. Relatively high densities of clusters of galaxies and quasars, which are related to the large-scale structure of the universe, are observed in these regions.     

Ion-beam modification of track membrane surface

An ion-beam method to modify the track membrane surface is suggested. An ion gun based on a magnetron sputterer is developed. This gun provides ion energies in the range of 5 eV–1 keV, ion current density up to 0.8 mA/cm², and an ion beam aperture of 90 mm. After the track membrane surface has been irradiated by argon ions with an energy of 50–100 eV, the angle of surface-water contact decreases from 65°–75° to 10°–25°. If the irradiating ion energy is 300–800 eV, the angle of contact increases from 65°–75° to 90°–100°.     

Interaction of low energy (5–10 keV) argon atoms and ions with a Cu(100) surface; Ion fraction,ionization and neutralization

The ion fractions η⁺ of low energy (5–10 keV) argon particles scattered from a Cu(100) surface, are measured with a time of flight spectrometer. Neutral as well as charged projectiles are used. The scattering angle θ is 30°. The results for different angles of incidence ψ and crystal directions are reported. For scattering in the 〈100〉 direction, with a ψ-value of 15° and a primary energy E₀ of 5 and 10 keV, the ion fractions for the quasi single scattering peak, η⁺_QS, are 1.5 and 6.1% respectively. When E₀ is between 5 and 10 keV a reionization process with a constant reionization probability occurs during the violent interaction. This process, but also neutralization along the outgoing trajectory, determines η⁺_QS. With ions as projectiles, an energy difference of about 16 eV is observed between the quasi single scattering peaks in the spectra of all scattered particles and of ions only. The ion fraction for the quasi double scattering peak, η⁺_QD. depends largely upon E₀, indicating that the efficiency of the reionization process increases with E₀. A qualitative discussion of the data is given, using the reionization process and the interatomic neutralization processes along the trajectory of the scattered particles.     

Low energy (E0 < 10 keV) atom and ion scattering of neon from a Cu(100) surface; Ionization and neutralization

The ion fractions η⁺ of low energy (5–10 keV) neon particles scattered from a Cu(100) surface are measured with a time of flight spectrometer. These fractions are obtained for neutral as well as charged projectiles and for different crystal directions. The scattering angle θ was 30°. For a primary energy E₀ of 5 keV neutral projectiles have a value for η⁺ which is 30 times lower than for charged projectiles; these values are 0.15 and 4.5% respectively. For E₀ = 10 keV the values of η⁺ are about the same (~22%). Energy differences up to 22 eV, depending on E₀, are observed between the single scattering peaks in the ion spectra of charged and neutral projectiles but also between the single scattering peak in the spectra of all scattered particles and of ions, with ions as projectiles. A qualitative discussion of these data is given, involving charge transfer processes of noble gas particle and target atom. The data suggest that these neutralization processes can be described more adequately with interatomic neutralization processes along the trajectory than with Auger neutralization by conduction electrons.     

Acoustic perturbations in a pulsedRF-plasma

The response of a stationary weakly ionized plasma to a density perturbation in the neutral gas component was studied in a neon plasma with the following typical properties: electron density ¯N _e≈8×10¹² cm^?3, electron temperature on the axis of the vesselT _e0≈3.0 eV; neutral gas densityN _n≈1×10¹⁷cm^?3 and neutral gas temperatureT _n0≈600 °K. A neutral density perturbation, generated 50 cm apart from the plasma, produces a fluctuation in the ion density and a sharp spike in the differential voltage of a floating double probe. The experimental observations demonstrate the propagation of an ion sheath and of an electric field perturbation together with the neutral density perturbation. An interpretation of the plasma response to acoustic wave pulses has been proposed by Ingard and Schulz in a theory on acoustic wave modes in a weakly ionized gas. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical expectations.     

Mechanical behavior of microcrystalline aluminum-lithium alloy under superplasticity conditions

Aluminum-lithium alloy 1420, which, after equal-channel angular pressing, has a grain size of about 3 μm, is shown to possess superplasticity in a temperature range of T=320–395°C upon tension at a constant relative strain rate of 10⁻²–10⁻³ s⁻¹. The axial deformation at fracture can exceed 1800%. The data processing at such large deformations should be carried out using true strains ɛ_t and stresses σ_t. In the flow curve, a short stage of hardening is followed by a long softening stage. They can be described by the relation with a constant exponent n≈2 and activation energies U≈1 eV for the softening stage and U≈1.4 eV for the hardening stage. The deformation is supposed to be controlled by grain-boundary sliding at the stage of softening and by self-diffusion in the bulk of grains at the hardening stage. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 43, No. 5, 2001, pp. 833–838. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2001 by Myshlyaev, Prokunin, Shpeizman.     

Angular distribution of atoms sputtered from germanium by 1–20 keV Ar ions

The angular distribution of atoms sputtered from germanium under 1–20 keV Ar⁺ ion bombardment (normal incidence) has been studied experimentally and using computer simulations. A collector technique combined with Rutherford backscattering to analyze the distribution of collected material was used. In addition, the surface topography was under control. It was found that the experimental angular distribution of sputtered atoms (E ₀=3–10 keV) could be approximated by the function cos ⁿ θ with n≈ 1.65. Such a high value of n is connected with the surface scattering of ejected atoms and a noticeable contribution of backscattered ions to the formation of the sputter flux (the mass effect). The target surface was found to be practically flat even at ion fluencies ～10¹⁸ ions/cm². The results obtained are compared with data from the literature, including our recent data on Si sputtering.     

Production of ion and electron streams by pulsed-laser ablation of Ta and Cu

A Nd:YAG laser with 10⁹ W/cm ² pulse intensity, operating at 532 nm wavelength, is used to ablate Ta and Cu targets placed in vacuum. The ablation process generates a plasma in front of the target surface, which expands along the normal to target surface. The ion and electron emissions from the plasma were measured by Faraday cups placed at different angles with respect to the normal to target surface. In the range of laser intensities from 10⁷ to 10⁹ W/cm², the fast electron yield is lower than the ion yield and it increases at higher laser intensities. The ablation threshold, the emission yield, the ion and electron average energies and the plasma ion and electron temperatures were measured for ion and fast electron streams.     

Energy spectra of 6–32 keV neutral and ionized Ar and He scattered from Au targets; ionized fractions as functions of energy

The neutralization of ions is an important aspect of low energy ion scattering for surface analysis. Electrostatic energy analyzers (ESA) have been used almost exclusively in such work, and information on charge neutralization efficiencies is needed for quantitative interpretation of ESA data. In the past, the occurrence in low energy ion spectra of surface peaks and low backgrounds due to scattering from inside the solid has been attributed to preferential neutralization of ions which penetrate beyond the surface. In the work to be described, a time-of-flight technique was used to measure energy spectra of both neutral and ionized Ar and He scattered at 90° from a polycrystalline gold target. Incident energies of 6–32 keV were used. The energy spectra of neutral Ar scattered from polycrystalline gold exhibit sharp surface peaks, and double scattering shoulders, over this entire energy range. For He there is a gradual downward slope toward lower energy rather than a sharp surface peak. The behavior in both cases is attributed to large scattering cross-sections which cause a loss of beam particles during penetration. A calculation using a $\text{1}\text{r}{}^2$ potential illustrates this effect as a function of energy for helium. In the present experiments we find that the ion fraction of scattered argon does indeed depend on depth of penetration. This is in contrast to the behavior of He and H at higher energies, e.g. 100 keV, in which cases the charge state depends on emergent velocity but not on depth of penetration. The characteristic shapes of ion scattering spectra in this energy range appear to result from both neutralization and beam attenuation inside the target.     

Characterization of clean and oxidized (100)LaB6

We have studied clean and oxidized (100)LaB₆ grown from aluminum melts by making Auger, LEED, evaporation and work function measurements on well-defined surfaces. The clean surface shows no La enrichment when initially heated as high as 1700°C. Its LEED pattern is 1 × 1, indicating no surface reconstruction. Langmuir evaporation studies up to temperatures of 1700°C show only La and B evaporating non-congruently, and LaO. The activation energy for B evaporation from LaB₆ (and from CeB₆ and EuB₆ also) is abot 5.5 eV, very close to that from elemental B. The rare-earth activation energies, however, vary, being highest for the rare-earth whose pure metal vapor pressure is lowest. Oxidation was carried out at room temperature using O₂ pressures up to 10^?7 Torr and at 1000°C using O₂ pressures up to 10^?4 Torr. At room temperature oxygen adsorption proceeeds to a saturated value indicated from LEED behavior to be about one monolayer. It produces a monotonic work function increase, which also saturates (at 1.40 V), varying linearly with the oxygen uptake. Oxidation at 1000°C is much more extensive than at room temperature, involving at least several monolayers, and results in a work function increase of 2.42 V. Results are discussed in terms of a terminal plane composed of La atoms, and adsorbed oxygen which, when given sufficient mobility, prefers bonding to La atoms at sites atop the B octahedra.     

Measurement of fast desorption kinetics of D2, from tungsten by laser induced thermal desorption

A laser heating technique for studying fast surface processes has been applied in an initial study to the thermal desorption of D₂ from a polycrystalline tungsten sample. This technique is a means for measuring surface reactions at rates, concentrations, and temperatures that approach conditions of technical interest, but with the high degree of definition and control made possible with an ultrahigh vacuum apparatus. The method is analogous to the fast temperature jump method used for studying reactions in condensed phases, and can sort out elementary processes that have differing activation energies. The variation of total flux desorbed with maximum surface temperature reached and initial surface coverage serves, with the aid of a model kinetic rate expression, to determine the desorption rate parameters. It is shown that the desorption of D₂ from W at rates of 5 × 10⁷ monolayers/sec is governed by the same kinetics as obtained by extrapolating previous measurements made at a rate about 10⁵ times slower. The surface is subjected to a sufficiently fast and large temperature rise to desorb surface atoms or molecules in a time short compared to the range of flight times to a mass spectrometer detector. In this way the velocity distribution of the desorbing species may be determined. This along with the surface temperature history gives additional information on the reaction rate model and also whether the species are emerging in translational thermal equilibrium with the surface. In the present experiments a significant number of desorbatedesorbate collisions occur. Corrections are made for the collision effects in the interpretation of the data. It is shown how modifications of the technique can be made to substantially eliminate these effects. The present conditions were laser pulse width of 3 × 10^?8 sec and surface temperature rise of 300 to 3000 K.     

Nonlinear optical waveguides fabricated in Mg-doped LiNbO3 by swift heavy ion irradiation: anomalous photorefractive damage behavior

Using swift heavy fluorine ion irradiation, we have successfully fabricated optical waveguides in Mg-doped LiNbO₃ substrates. A systematic characterization of these structures has been carried out including refractive index profiles, propagation losses, nonlinear coefficients, and, specially, photorefractive optical damage. Step-like refractive index profiles with Δn _e ≈ 0.1 and Δn _o ≈ 0.2, propagation losses lower than 0.5 dB/cm and high nonlinear optical coefficients similar to those of the substrate have been obtained. Unexpectedly, the photorefractive damage is only moderately reduced with regard to the one presented in congruent LiNbO₃ waveguides. Specifically, light intensity damage thresholds I _th are only a factor 2 higher at RT and a factor 4 at 90 °C with regard to undoped waveguides. At this latter temperature, a remarkably high I _th = 30.000 W/cm² is reached. A final discussion on the observed anomalous optical damage behavior induced by swift heavy ion irradiation is also included.     

Features of the energy distribution of secondary particles upon the ion bombardment of graphite

The secondary emission of carbon atoms from the (0001) plane of graphite nanocrystallites bombarded with argon ions with energies of 1 and 10 keV and the incidence angle α = 45° is investigated. The unusual oscillating energy distributions of secondary C⁺ ions with main maxima E _max in the range of 40–60 eV and peaks corresponding to the energies E ₁ ≈ 20, 30, 70, 80, and 100 eV have been revealed. The C⁺ ion yield decreases, the energy spectrum increases, and the maximum E _max shifts to larger energies E ₁ with increasing emission angle (with respect to the normal to the surface). The secondary-ion emission from the (0001) face of graphite is numerically simulated with allowance for the charge exchange of secondary ions to obtain a qualitative explanation of the observed results.     

Measurement of the spin correlation parameter A00nn and the polarization A00n0 in elastic p-p scattering between 400 and 600 MeV

We have measured the spin correlation parameter A_00nn and the polarization A_00n0 for p-p elastic scattering in the c.m. angular range between 30° and 90° at seven energies between 400 and 600 MeV. The experiment was performed at SIN using a polarized beam and target and a fast on-line event reconstruction method. The results are compared with phase-shift predictions.     

Velocity dependence of azimuthal anisotropies in ion scattering from rhodium {111}

The scattering of He⁺, Ne⁺ and Ar⁺ ions from Rh {111} is measured as a function of the azimuthal angle of the primary ion for an incident polar angle of 70° from the surface normal and an inplane collection angle of 60°. In this case anisotropy is defined as the ratio of the yield of ions scattered having the azimuth of 〈110〉 to the yield of those having the azimuth of 〈211〉. The yield ratio for all particle types correlates with particle velocity. The ratio is ～ 1 at low velocities, decreases to ～ 0.2 at 8 × 10⁶$\text{cm}\text{s}$ and then increases to a value of 1.4 at 25 × 10⁶$\text{cm}\text{s}$. Molecular dynamics calculations have been performed for Ne⁺ ion scattering from Rh{111} in order to understand the changes in anisotropy with particle velocity. Qualitative agreement with the experimental results is obtained without having to account for neutralization. A neutralization probability that depends on the collision time improves the agreement between the calculated and experimental yield ratios. A velocity dependent probability will not affect the ratio of yields in two different azimuthal directions.     

1H NMR Study of Zeolite Water Structure and Broensted Acid Centers in Chabazite

The disordered structure of absorbed water in a highly porous zeolite chabazite Ca₂[Al₄Si₈O₂₄]·nH₂O (2 ≤ n ≤ 12.8) is studied from motionally narrowed ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra at room temperature. Concentration phase transitions were observed at n ≈ 8.3 and n ≈ 10.2. The transitions are accompanied by displacement of Ca²⁺ ions and variation of the Broensted acid centers at inner surface of zeolite pores.     

Ionized physical vapor deposited Al2O3 films: Does subplantation favor formation of α‐Al2O3?

The broad energy distributions of the condensing particles typically encountered in ion assisted vapor deposition techniques are often a drawback when attempting to understand the effect of the energetic bombardment on the film properties. In the current study, a monoenergetic Al⁺ beam generated by a filtered cathodic arc discharge is employed for the deposition of alumina (Al₂O₃) films at well defined Al⁺ ion energies between 4 eV and 200 eV at a substrate temperature of 720 °C. Structural analysis shows that Al⁺ energies of 40 eV or larger favor the formation of the thermodynamically stable α‐Al₂O₃ phase at the expense of other metastable Al₂O₃ polymorphs. The well defined ion energies are used as input for Monte‐Carlo based simulations of the ion–surface interactions. The results of these simulations reveal that the increase of the Al⁺ ion energy leads to an increase in the fraction of ions subplanted into the growing film. These findings underline the previously not considered role of subsurface processes on the phase formation of ionized physical vapor deposited Al₂O₃ films. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Argon (10 keV) scattered from structures,induced by bombarding a Cu(100) surface; ionization and neutralization

The ion fractions, η⁺, of 10 keV argon particles, scattered from a damaged copper surface, are measured with a time of flight spectrometer. The damage was introduced by bombardment with argon ions. The scattering angle was 30°. The results for different angles of incidence, ψ, are reported. For Ψ < 10° the ion fraction is relatively high (～27% for Ψ = 4°) and decreases as Ψ increases. For Ψ = 15° the value of η⁺ is 7%, whereas for 21° < Ψ < 27° the value of η⁺ appears to be constant (～14%). An explanation is given by assuming interatomic ionization as well as neutralization processes along the trajectory of the scattered particles. The number of step-atoms, induced by ion bombardment, is estimated to be about 2 × 10¹⁴/cm².