Analysis of microscopic parameters of surface charging in polymer caused by defocused electron beam irradiation

The relationship between microscopic parameters and polymer charging caused by defocused electron beam irradiation is investigated using a dynamic scattering-transport model. The dynamic charging process of an irradiated polymer using a defocused 30 keV electron beam is conducted. In this study, the space charge distribution with a 30 keV non-penetrating e-beam is negative and supported by some existing experimental data. The internal potential is negative, but relatively high near the surface, and it decreases to a maximum negative value at z = 6 μm and finally tend to 0 at the bottom of film. The leakage current and the surface potential behave similarly, and the secondary electron and leakage currents follow the charging equilibrium condition. The surface potential decreases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. The total charge density increases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. This study shows a comprehensive analysis of microscopic factors of surface charging characteristics in an electron-based surface microscopy and analysis.     

非聚焦电子束照射SiO2薄膜带电效应

采用考虑电子散射、俘获、输运和自洽场的三维数值模型, 模拟了低能非聚焦电子束照射接地SiO₂薄膜的带电效应. 结果表明, 由于电子的迁移和扩散, 电子会渡越散射区域产生负空间电荷分布. 空间电荷呈现在散射区域内为正, 区域外为负的交替分布特性. 对于薄膜负带电, 电子会输运至导电衬底形成泄漏电流, 其暂态过程随泄漏电流的增加趋于平衡. 而正带电暂态过程随返回二次电子的增多而趋于平衡. 在平衡态时, 负带电表面电位随薄膜厚度、陷阱密度的增大而降低, 随电子迁移率、薄膜介电常数的增大而升高;而正带电表面电位受它们影响较小.     

低能电子束照射接地绝缘薄膜的负带电过程

为揭示低能电子束照射接地绝缘薄膜的负带电过程及其机理,建立了同时考虑电子散射与电子输运的计算模型,综合Monte Carlo方法和有限差分法进行了数值模拟,获得了内部空间电荷、泄漏电流和表面电位随电子束照射的演化规律.结果表明,入射电子因迁移、扩散效应会超越通常的散射区域产生负空间电荷分布,并经过一定的渡越时间后到达接地基板,形成泄漏电流,负带电暂态过程则随着泄漏电流的增加而趋于平衡.在平衡状态下,泄漏电流随电子束能量和电流而增大;薄膜净负电荷量和表面电位随膜厚而增加、随电子迁移率的增大而降低,随着电子束 关键词： 绝缘薄膜 电子束照射 带电效应 数值模拟     

The surface potential of insulating thin films negatively charged by a low-energy focused electron beam

We report on the surface potential characteristics in the equilibrium state of the grounded insulating thin films of several 100 nm thickness negatively charged by a low-energy (<5 keV) focused electron beam, which have been simulated with a newly developed two-dimensional self-consistent model incorporating electron scattering, charge transport and charge trapping. The obtained space charge is positive and negative within and outside the region, respectively, where the electron and hole densities are greater than the trap density. Thus, the surface potential is relatively high around the center, then it decreases to a maximum negative value and finally tends to zero along the radial direction. The position of the maximum value is far beyond the range of e-beam irradiation as a consequence of electron scattering and charge transport. Moreover, a positive electric field can be generated near the surface in both radial and axial directions. The surface potential at center exhibits a maximum negative value in the condition of the ～2 keV energy non-penetrating e-beam in this work, which is supported by some existing experimental data in scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the surface potential decreases with the increase in beam current, trap density and film thickness, but with the decrease in electron mobility.     

电介质/半导体结构样品电子束感生电流瞬态特性

电子束照射下电介质/半导体样品的电子束感生电流(electron beam induced current,EBIC)是其电子显微检测的重要手段.结合数值模拟和实验测量,研究了高能电子束辐照下SiO2/Si薄膜的瞬态EBIC特性.基于Rutherford模型和快二次电子模型研究电子的散射过程,基于电流连续性方程计算电荷的输运、俘获和复合过程,获得了电荷分布、EBIC和透射电流瞬态特性以及束能和束流对它们的影响.结果表明,由于电子散射效应,自由电子密度沿入射方向逐渐减小.由于二次电子出射,净电荷密度呈现近表面为正、内部为负的特性,空间电场在表面附近为正而在样品内部为负,导致一些电子输运到基底以及一些出射二次电子返回表面.SiO2与Si界面处俘获电子导致界面附近负电荷密度高于周围区域.随电子束照射样品内部净电荷密度逐渐降低,带电强度减弱.同时,负电荷逐渐向基底输运,EBIC和样品电流逐渐增大,电场强度逐渐减小.由于样品带电强度较弱,表面出射电流和透射电流随照射基本保持恒定.EBIC、透射电流及表面出射电流均随束流呈现近似正比例关系.对于本文SiO2/Si薄膜,透射电流随束能的升高逐渐增大并接近于束流值,EBIC在束能约15 keV时呈现极大值.     

电子辐照聚合物带电特性多参数共同作用的数值模拟

电子辐照聚合物样品的带电特性是扫描电子显微镜成像、电子束探针微分析以及空间器件辐照效应等领域的一个重要研究课题. 通过建立基于蒙特卡罗方法的电子散射和时域有限差分法的电子输运的数值模型, 并采用高效的多线程并行计算, 模拟了电子非透射辐照聚合物样品的带电特性, 得到了带电稳态下的样品底部泄漏电流密度、表面负电位以及样品总电荷密度等带电特征量受入射电子能量、入射电流密度、样品材料的电子迁移率、样品厚度等相关参数共同作用的影响. 结果表明, 一个参数的变化使表面负电位增强时, 其他参数对负电位的影响将增强. 样品的带电稳态特征量在同一个电流平衡的模式下受参数影响的变化是单调的. 当电流平衡模式发生变化时, 如在入射电子能量较低的条件下, 样品内部的总电荷量会随着样品厚度的增大而先增加后减小, 出现局部极大值. 样品底部的泄漏电流密度随着入射电流密度的增大而近线性成比例地增大. 研究结果对于揭示电子辐照聚合物的带电规律及微观机理、预测不同条件下的样品带电状态具有重要科学意义.     

Characteristics of charge and discharge of PMMA samples due to electron irradiation

In this study, using a comprehensive numerical simulation of charge and discharge processes, we investigate the formation and evolution of negative charge and discharge characteristics of a grounded PMMA film irradiated by a nonfocused electron beam. Electron scattering and transport processes in the sample are simulated with the Monte Carlo and the finite-different time-domain(FDTD) methods, respectively. The properties of charge and discharge processes are presented by the evolution of internal currents, charge quantity, surface potential, and discharge time. Internal charge accumulation in the sample may reach saturation by primary electron(PE) irradiation providing the charge duration is enough. Internal free electrons will run off to the ground in the form of leakage current due to charge diffusion and drift during the discharge process after irradiation, while trapped electrons remain. The negative surface potential determined by the charging quantity decreases to its saturation in the charge process, and then increases in the discharge process. A larger thickness of the PMMA film will result in greater charge amount and surface potential in charge saturation and in final discharge state, while the electron mobility of the material has little effects on the final discharge state. Moreover,discharge time is less for smaller thickness or larger electron mobility. The presented results can be helpful for estimating and weakening the charging of insulating samples especially under the intermittent electron beam irradiation in related surface analysis or measurement.     

空间多能电子辐照聚合物充电过程的稳态特性

空间同步轨道上多能电子辐照聚合物的充电过程及其稳态特性是研究和抑制通信卫星静电放电的基础.在同步电子散射-输运微观模型的基础上,采用具有10—400 keV积分能谱分布的多能电子辐照聚酰亚胺样品,进行了多能电子辐照聚酰亚胺充电过程的数值模拟,获得了空间电荷密度、空间电位、空间电场分布和聚合物样品参数条件下的表面电位和最大场强.结果表明,多能电子与样品发生散射作用并沉积在样品内形成具有高密度的电荷区域分布,同时在迁移和扩散的作用下输运至样品底部形成样品电流;充电达到稳态、电子迁移率较小时(小于10-10cm2·V-1·s-1),表面电位绝对值和充电强度随电子迁移率的降低明显加强,捕获密度较大时(大于1014cm-3),表面电位绝对值和充电强度随捕获密度的增大明显加强;聚合物样品厚度对表面电位和充电强度的影响大于电子迁移率、捕获密度和相对介电常数的影响.研究结果对于揭示空间多能电子辐照聚合物的充电现象及微观机理、提高航天器故障机理研究水平具有重要科学意义和价值.     

Electron emission and charging of natural diamond under irradiation with medium-energy electrons

The processes of charging of a natural diamond crystal irradiated by an electron beam with primary electron energies in the range 1–30 keV have been experimentally investigated. The charging kinetics has been studied as a function of the irradiation dose and the electron-emission properties of the crystal. The following fundamental characteristics have been determined: the second crossover equilibrium energy of the beam electrons and the values of high-voltage surface potentials and accumulated charges.     

Pseudospark produced pulsed electron beam for material processing

An intense pulsed electron beam produced by a pseudospark discharge is used for material processing. The electron beam propagates in a self-focused manner in the background gas. Hardly 12 ns after the beginning of the discharge the fraction of space charge neutralization is about 96%. To sustain the neutralization effect high energy electrons (E <500 keV) are accelerated in radial direction at the beam head, due to strong electric field gradients. At current maximum the beam pinches due to its own magnetic field. At peak current of 400 A and charging voltage up to 16 kV power density reaches 10⁹ W/cm ² on the target surface. Some results of copper thin films are presented. Due to the high expansion velocity of 10⁴ m/s of the ablated target material a copper-matrix has been masked     

天器背面接地介质材料等离子体充电研究

处于等离子体环境中的航天器的介质材料受到带电粒子的作用,表面将产生电位。对背面接地的介质材料,上表面将与接地背面形成电势差。当电势差达到一定阈值时将产生放电,表面充电电位对充放电效应影响至关重要。综合考虑等离子体中粒子的质量、温度及密度,介质材料的二次电子效应,体电流泄漏以及介质材料的运行速度等因素,基于气体动理论,利用粒子的麦克斯韦速度分布函数理论推导得出等离子体环境中背面接地介质材料表面充电电位一般表达式。讨论了地球同步轨道环境下,表面电位与等离子体环境及材料表面电阻等各个参数的关系,总结出等离子环境背面接地介质材料表面充电规律,为航天器介质材料静电防护设计提供一定的理论基础。     

Surface modification study of low energy electron beam irradiated polycarbonate film

The effect of low energy electron beam irradiation on polycarbonate (PC) film has been studied here. The PC film of thickness 20 μm was exposed by 10 keV electron beam with 100 nA/cm² current density. The irradiated film was characterized by mean of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and residual gas analyzer (RGA). Formation of unsaturated bonds and partial graphitization of the surface layer are measured by XPS. Results of the AFM imaging shows electron implantation induce changes in surface morphology of the polymer film. The residual gas analyzer (RGA) spectrum of PC is recorded in situ during irradiation. The results show the change in cross-linking density of the polymer at the top surface.     

入射电子能量对低密度聚乙烯深层充电特性的影响

高能带电粒子与航天器介质材料相互作用引起的深层带电现象, 一直是威胁航天器安全运行的重要因素之一. 考虑入射电子在介质中的电荷沉积、能量沉积分布以及介质中的非线性暗电导和辐射诱导电导, 建立了介质深层充电的单极性电荷输运物理模型. 通过求解电荷连续性方程和泊松方程, 可以得出不同能量 (0.1–0.5 MeV) 电子辐射下, 低密度聚乙烯 (厚度为1 mm) 介质中的电荷输运特性. 计算结果表明, 不同能量的电子辐射下, 介质充电达到平衡时, 最大电场随入射能量的增加而减小; 同一能量辐射下, 最大电场随束流密度的增大而增加. 入射电子能量较低时 (≤ 0.3 MeV) , 最大电场随束流密度的变化趋势基本相同. 具体表现为: 当束流密度大于3× 10^-9 A/m²时, 最大场强超过击穿阈值2×10⁷ V/m, 发生静电放电 (ESD) 的可能性较大. 随着入射电子能量的增加, 发生静电放电 (ESD) 的临界束流密度增大, 在能量为0.4 MeV时, 临界束流密度为6×10^-8 A/m². 当能量大于等于0.5 MeV时, 在束流密度为10^-9–10^-6 A/m²的范围内, 均不会发生静电放电 (ESD) . 该物理模型对于深入研究深层充放电效应、评估航天器在空间环境下 深层带电程度及防护设计具有重要的意义. 关键词： 高能电子辐射 低密度聚乙烯(LDPE) 介质深层充电 电导特性     

Charging dynamics of a polymer due to electron irradiation： A simultaneous scattering-transport model and preliminary results

<正>We present a novel numerical model and simulate preliminarily the charging process of a polymer subjected to electron irradiation of several 10 keV.The model includes the simultaneous processes of electron scattering and ambipolar transport and the influence of a self-consistent electric field on the scattering distribution of electrons.The dynamic spatial distribution of charges is obtained and validated by existing experimental data.Our simulations show that excess negative charges are concentrated near the edge of the electron range.However,the formed region of high charge density may extend to the surface and bottom of a kapton sample,due to the effects of the electric field on electron scattering and charge transport,respectively.Charge trapping is then demonstrated to significantly influence the charge motion.The charge distribution can be extended to the bottom as the trap density decreases.Charge accumulation is therefore balanced by the appearance and increase of leakage current.Accordingly,our model and numerical simulation provide a comprehensive insight into the charging dynamics of a polymer irradiated by electrons in the complex space environment.     

Charging dynamics of polymer due to electron irradiation: A simultaneous scattering-transport model and preliminary results

We present a novel numerical model and simulate preliminarily the charging process of polymer subjected to electron irradiation of several 10 keV. The model includes the simultaneous processes of electron scattering and ambipolar transport and the influence of a self-consistent electric field on the scattering distribution of electrons. The dynamic spatial distribution of charges is obtained and validated by existing experimental data. Our simulations show that excess negative charges are concentrated near the edge of the electron range. However, the formed region of high charge density may extend to the surface and bottom of a kapton sample, due to the effects of electric field on electron scattering and charge transport, respectively. Charge trapping is then demonstrated to significantly influence the charge motion. The charge distribution can be extended to the bottom as the trap density decreases. Charge accumulation is therefore balanced by the appearance and increase of leakage current. Accordingly, our model and numerical simulation provide a comprehensive insight into the charging dynamics of polymer irradiated by electrons in the complex space environment.     

Physicomechanical properties of the surface of a zirconium alloy modified by a pulsed ion beam

The physicomechanical properties of the surface of the Zr-1% Nb zirconium alloy modified by a pulsed carbon ion beam with a pulse duration of 80 ns, an energy of 200 keV, and a current density of 120 A/cm² are studied at four regimes having different numbers of pulses. Irradiation by a carbon ion beam results in hardening of the surface layer to a depth of 2 μm, grain refinement to 0.15–0.8 μm, zirconium carbide formation, and a decrease in the hydrogen permeability of the zirconium alloy.     

The positive charging effect of dielectric films irradiated by a focused electron beam

Space charge and surface potential profiles are investigated with numerical simulation for dielectric films of SiO₂ positively charged by a focused electron beam. By combining the Monte Carlo method and the finite difference method, the simulation is preformed with a newly developed comprehensive two-dimensional model including electron scattering, charge transport and trapping. Results show that the space charge is distributed positively, like a semi-ellipsoid, within a high-density region of electrons and holes, but negatively outside the region due to electron diffusion along the radial and beam incident directions. Simultaneously, peak positions of the positive and negative space charge densities shift outwards or downwards with electron beam irradiation. The surface potential, along the radial direction, has a nearly flat-top around the center, abruptly decreases to negative values outside the high-density region and finally increases to zero gradually. Influences of electron beam and film parameters on the surface potential profile in the equilibrium state are also shown and analyzed. Furthermore, the variation of secondary electron signal of a large-scale integration sample positively charged in scanning electron microscopic observation is simulated and validated by experiment.     

高能电子照射绝缘样品的泄漏电流特性

建立了考虑电子散射、输运、俘获和自洽场的数值计算模型, 研究了高能电子束照射下绝缘厚样品的泄漏电流特性, 并采用一个实验平台测量了泄漏电流. 结果表明: 在电子束持续照射下, 电子总产额会下降; 由于电子在样品内部的输运, 样品近表面呈现微弱的正带电, 在样品内部呈现较强的负带电; 样品内部电子会向下输运形成电子束感生电流, 长时间照射下会形成泄漏电流; 随着照射, 泄漏电流逐渐增大并趋于稳定值; 泄漏电流随样品厚度的增大而减小, 随电子束能量、电子束电流的增大而增大. 关键词： 绝缘样品 泄漏电流 电子产额 数值模拟     

Neutron yield when fast deuterium ions collide with strongly charged tritium-saturated dust particles

The ultrahigh charging of dust particles in a plasma under exposure to an electron beam with an energy up to 25 keV and the formation of a flux of fast ions coming from the plasma and accelerating in the strong field of negatively charged particles are considered. Particles containing tritium or deuterium atoms are considered as targets. The calculated rates of thermonuclear fusion reactions in strongly charged particles under exposure to accelerated plasma ions are presented. The neutron generation rate in reactions with accelerated deuterium and tritium ions has been calculated for these targets. The neutron yield has been calculated when varying the plasma-forming gas pressure, the plasma density, the target diameter, and the beam electron current density. Deuterium and tritium-containing particles are shown to be the most promising plasmaforming gas–target material pair for the creation of a compact gas-discharge neutron source based on the ultrahigh charging of dust particles by beam electrons with an energy up to 25 keV.     

Investigations of electron beam induced conductivity in silicon oxide thin films

Silicon oxide thin film conductivity under electron beam irradiation is studied. An induced current in the films is varied in a range from a few tenths to a few values of the beam current. The dependence of the current normalized to a product of the applied voltage and the beam current on the beam energy is found to have a maximum determined by the film thickness, beam energy, and sign of the applied voltage. For the negative voltage applied to the metal electrode deposited on the film, this maximum is observed at the beam energy, at which the depth generation function is smaller by several tens of nanometers than the film thickness. For the positive voltage on the metal electrode, the maximum is observed at higher beam energies. The obtained result could be qualitatively explained under the assumption that a stationary excess carrier distribution is formed under the electron beam. This distribution is shifted with respect to the generation function due to diffusion and drift of excess carriers. A value of this shift is of about a few tens of nanometers, and its sign indicates that the majority carriers providing the induced conductivity in the films studied are electrons.