Evaluation of the rate constants of dissociative and ternary recombination reactions of argon ions on the basis of the results of ballistic experiments

AbstractExperimental data on the change in the electron density in the wake of a ballistic object traveling at velocities V _∞=3.4–4.9 km/s in argon at pressures p _∞=30–100 Torr are processed and analyzed. A reaction scheme is proposed which takes into account the recombination of charged particles, processes of ionic conversion, and the excited states of the atom. The solution of the equations of a nonequilibrium boundary layer for flow in the wake is used to formulate the inverse problem of determining the rate constants for dissociative recombination Ar ₂ ⁺ +e→Ar+Ar and ternary recombination Ar⁺+e+Ar→Ar+Ar. The “nearest-neighbor” approximation is used to obtain theoretically an expression for the ternary recombination coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure. Numerous solutions of inverse problems and a comparison with experiments demonstrates the validity of the expression obtained for the ternary recombination coefficient. It is shown that this expression is valid for moderate pressures and complements the Pitaevskii result for low pressures and the Langevin result for high pressures. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 12–18 (May 1997)     

Direct patterning of gold oxide thin films by focused ion-beam irradiation

For direct writing of electrically conducting connections and areas into insulating gold oxide thin films a scanning Ar⁺ laser beam and a 30 keV Ga⁺ focused ion beam (FIB) have been used. The gold oxide films are prepared by magnetron sputtering under argon/oxygen plasma. The patterning of larger areas (dimension 10–100 μm) has been carried out with the laser beam by local heating of the selected area above the decomposition temperature of AuO_x (130–150 °C). For smaller dimensions (100 nm to 10 μm) the FIB irradiation could be used. With both complementary methods a reduction of the sheet resistance by 6–7 orders of magnitude has been achieved in the irradiated regions (e.g. with FIB irradiation from 1.5×10⁷ Ω/□ to approximately 6 Ω/□). The energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) show a considerably reduced oxygen content in the irradiated areas, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations, indicate that the FIB patterning in the low-dose region (10¹⁴ Ga⁺/cm²) is combined with a volume reduction, which is caused by oxygen escape rather than by sputtering. Received: 30 May 2000 / Accepted: 31 May 2000 / Published online: 13 July 2000     

3 to 15 keV Ar+ induced Auger electron emission from Si and Ar

Ar⁺ induced Auger electrons from Si and Ar were investigated at bombardment energies between 3–15 keV and target currents of a few μA. The Auger electron yields were compared with secondary ion yields of Si and Ar by simultaneous SIMS-AES measurements. In the ion induced Auger spectra of Si five Auger peaks and in the Ar spectra three Auger peaks were observed. The ion induced Auger electron yield of Si and Ar were found to be strongly dependent upon the primary ion energy. “Bulk like” and “atomic like” Auger transitions of ion induced Auger electrons of Si were observed.     

Thin SiC<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> layers prepared by hybrid laser–magnetron deposition

Thin SiC _x films were fabricated by hybrid laser–magnetron deposition system. KrF excimer laser was used for deposition of carbon and magnetron at the same time for sputtering of Si species. Films were fabricated in argon/hydrogen ambient with and without additional RF discharge. The substrate temperature was changed up to 700°C. Films topology, crystallinity, composition, chemical bonds and optical emission spectra were studied. Films were smooth and amorphous. Films of thickness 400–1000 nm were fabricated. Adhesion moved from 8 to 14 N, depending on deposition conditions.     

Sheath and electron density dynamics in the normal and self-pulsing regime of a micro hollow cathode discharge in argon gas

A microplasma is generated in the microhole (400 μm diameter) of a molybdenum-alumina-molybdenum sandwich (MHCD type) at medium pressure (30–200 Torr) in pure argon. Imaging and emission spectroscopy have been used to study the sheath and electron density dynamics during the stationary normal regime and the self-pulsing regime. Firstly, the evolution of the microdischarge structure is studied by recording the emission intensity of the Ar (5p[3/2]₁–4s[3/2]₁)_{1}) line at 427.217 nm, and Ar⁺ (4p′ ²P_3/2–4s′ ²D_5/2)_{5/2}) line at 427.752 nm. The maximum of the Ar⁺ line is located in the vicinity of the sheath-plasma edge. In both regimes, the experimental observations are consistent with the position of the sheath edge calculated with an ionizing sheath model. Secondly, the electron density is recorded by monitoring the Stark broadening of the H_b_\beta-line. In the self-pulsing regime at 150 Torr, the electron density reaches its maximum value of 4 × 10¹⁵ cm^-3, a few tens of ns later than the discharge current maximum. The electron density then decays with a characteristic decay time of about 2 μs, while the discharge current vanishes twice faster. The electron density in the steady-state regime is two orders of magnitude lower, at about 6–8 × 10¹³ cm^-3.     

Effect of helium/argon gas ratio in a He-Ar-Cu<Superscript>+</Superscript> IR hollow-cathode discharge laser: modeling study and comparison with experiments

The He-Ar-Cu⁺ IR laser operates in a hollow-cathode discharge, typically in a mixture of helium with a few-% Ar. The population inversion of the Cu⁺ ion levels, responsible for laser action, is attributed to asymmetric charge transfer between He⁺ ions and sputtered Cu atoms. The Ar gas is added to promote sputtering of the Cu cathode. In this paper, a hybrid modeling network consisting of several different models for the various plasma species present in a He-Ar-Cu hollow-cathode discharge is applied to investigate the effect of Ar concentration in the gas mixture on the discharge behavior, and to find the optimum He/Ar gas ratio for laser operation. It is found that the densities of electrons, Ar⁺ ions, Ar_m ^* metastable atoms, sputtered Cu atoms and Cu⁺ ions increase upon the addition of more Ar gas, whereas the densities of He⁺ ions, He₂ ⁺ ions and He_m ^* metastable atoms drop considerably. The product of the calculated Cu atom and He⁺ ion densities, which determines the production rate of the upper laser levels, and hence probably also the laser output power, is found to reach a maximum around 1–5 % Ar addition. This calculation result is compared to experimental measurements, and reasonable agreement has been reached. Received: 14 October 2002 / Revised version: 28 November 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +32-3/820-23-76, E-mail: annemie.bogaerts@ua.ac.be     

Luminescence in collisions of low-energy ions with graphite and Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Excitation of H⁺, H₂ ⁺, H₃ ⁺, He⁺, and Ar⁺ ions by impact on graphite and Al₂O₃ was investigated by means of emission spectroscopy in the 50–1000 eV energy range of the projectiles. Emission of Balmer series from excited neutral hydrogen is observed for both targets. In addition, for the Al₂O₃ target a continuum emission is observed. The continuum probably originates from excited M_nO_m molecules produced in the collision cascade, when surface atoms bound by ionic bonds are released after the bond breaking caused by neutralization. The spectra obtained under Ar⁺ -bombardment show Ar II lines emitted by backscattered ions.     

Aluminum-assisted crystallization and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-type doping of polycrystalline Si

Aluminum-doped p-type polycrystalline silicon thin films have been synthesized on glass substrates using an aluminum target in a reactive SiH₄+Ar+H₂ gas mixture at a low substrate temperature of 300 °C through inductively coupled plasma-assisted RF magnetron sputtering. In this process, it is possible to simultaneously co-deposit Si–Al in one layer for crystallization of amorphous silicon, in contrast to the conventional techniques where alternating metal and amorphous Si layers are deposited. The effect of aluminum target power on the structural and electrical properties of polycrystalline Si films is analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Hall-effect analysis. It is shown that at an aluminum target power of 100 W, the polycrystalline Si film features a high crystalline fraction of 91%, a vertically aligned columnar structure, a sheet resistance of 20.2 kΩ/□ and a hole concentration of 6.3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³. The underlying mechanism for achieving the semiconductor-quality polycrystalline silicon thin films at a low substrate temperature of 300 °C is proposed.     

Pulse properties of a synchronously mode-locked,cavity dumped,picosecond dye laser system

A synchronously mode-locked, cavity-dumped picosecond dye laser is described. The structure and intensity of the picosecond pulses measured under different conditions are reported. It was found that the structure of the pulses from the synchronously pumped dye laser depends critically on the length of the Ar⁺ laser pulses. At the shortest Ar⁺ laser pulses of about 70 ps the dye pulses are as short as 1.1 ps. With Ar⁺ laser pulses of 200 ps the dye laser pulses contains a broad satellite pulse which contains a large fraction of the total intensity. When a cavity dumper is added to the system one gets dye laser pulses 15–20 ps long with a substructure, which indicates incomplete mode-locking. Well mode-locked 1.5–2.0 ps pulses were obtained in the red part of the dye laser action spectrum, i.e. 620–650 nm for R6G, 595–608 nm for R 110 and 657–662 nm for RB, respectively. Addition of mode-locking dyes also improved the pulse quality at some wavelengths.     

The effect of sub-band gap photon illumination on the properties of GaN layers grown on Si(111) by MBE

Nanostructured GaN layers are fabricated by laser-induced etching processes based on heterostructure of n-type GaN/AlN/Si grown on n-type Si(111) substrate. The effect of varying laser power density on the morphology of GaN nanostructure layer is observed. The formation of pores over the structure varies in size and shape. The etched samples exhibit dramatic increase in photoluminescence intensity compared to the as-grown samples. The Raman spectra also display strong band at 522 cm⁻¹ for the Si(111) substrate and a small band at 301 cm⁻¹ because of the acoustic phonons of Si. Two Raman active optical phonons are assigned h-GaN at 139 and 568 cm⁻¹ due to E2 (low) and E2 (high), respectively. Surface morphology and structural properties of nanostructures are characterized using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Photoluminance measurement is also taken at room temperature by using He–Cd laser (λ = 325 nm). Raman scattering is investigated using Ar⁺ Laser (λ = 514 nm).     

Energy Levels of Doubly Excited States in Argon

Term energies of doubly excited states in argon and argon ions have been determined using single-configuration Hartree-Fock calculation. The energies calculated for KL3s3p⁶nl and KL3s⁶3p⁴nln1 states of Ar show a fairly good agreement with the experimental results obtained by various techniques. However, for Ar+, Ar²+, Ar²+ and Ar³+ states there are no experimental data available in the literature for comparison.     

Development of ultra-short pulse VUV laser system for nanoscale processing

We have developed intense vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation sources for advanced material processing, such as photochemical surface reactions and precise processing on a nanometer scale. We have constructed a new VUV laser system to generate sub-picosecond pulses at the wavelength of 126 nm. A seed VUV pulse was generated in Xe as the 7th harmonic of a 882-nm Ti:sapphire laser. The optimum conversion was achieved at the pressure of 1.2 Torr. The seed pulse will be amplified by the Ar₂^*\mathrm{Ar}_{2}^{*} media generated by an optical-field-induced ionization Ar plasma produced by the Ti:sapphire laser. We have obtained a gain coefficient of g=0.16 cm⁻¹. Our developing system will provide VUV ultra-short pulses with sub-μJ energy at a repetition rate of 1 kHz.     

Decay reactions of rare gas cluster ions: Kinetic energy release distributions and binding energies

We have carried out measurements on metastable fragmentation of mass selected argon cluster ions which are produced by electron impact ionization of a neutral argon cluster beam. From the shape of the fragment ion peaks (MIKE scan technique) one can deduce information about the distribution of kinetic energy that is released in the decay reaction. In this study, for Ar ₅ ⁺ to Ar ₁₅ ⁺, it is Gaussian and thus we can calculate from the peak width the mean kinetic energy release 〈KER〉 of the corresponding decay reactions. Using finite heat bath theory we calculate from these data the binding energies of the decaying cluster ions. Received 20 November 2000     

Growth of single-wall carbon nanotubes dependent on laser power density and ambient gas pressure during room-temperature CO2 laser vaporization

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were synthesized by the irradiation of 20-ms CO₂ laser pulses onto a graphite–Co/Ni target at room temperature. We investigated the effect of laser power density (10–150 kW/cm²) and ambient Ar gas pressure (150–760 Torr) on the abundance of SWNTs with lengths of up to about 200 nm in soot-like carbonaceous deposits. For a constant power density (30 kW/cm²), depending on the Ar gas pressure, SWNTs with diameters of 1.2–1.4 nm were synthesized. Expansion behavior and temperature-fall rates of clusters and/or particles in laser plumes were also analyzed by high-speed video imaging and temporally and spatially resolved emission spectroscopy. The temperature-fall rates were estimated to be 171–427 K/ms. The SWNT growth on the time scale of a few milliseconds appeared to be related to some features of condensing clusters and/or particles, including resident densities, collision frequencies and temperatures. Received: 16 July 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2001 / Published online: 30 August 2001     

Production and characterization of Nd,Cr:GSGG thin films on Si(001) grown by pulsed laser ablation

Nd,Cr:Gd₃Sc₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GSGG) thin films have been produced for the first time. They were grown on Si(001) substrates at 650 °C by pulsed laser ablation at 248 nm of a crystalline Nd,Cr:GSGG target rod. The laser plume was analyzed using time-of-flight quadrupole mass spectroscopy, and consisted of elemental and metal oxide fragments with kinetic energies typically in the range 10 to 40 eV, though extending up to 100 eV. Although films deposited in vacuum using laser fluences of 0.8±0.1 J cm⁻² reproduced the Nd,Cr:GSGG bulk stoichiometry, those deposited using fluences above ≈3 J cm⁻² resulted in noncongruent material transfer and were deficient in Ga and Cr. Attempts to grow films using synchronized oxygen or oxygen/argon pulses yielded mixed oxide phases. Under optimal growth conditions, the films were heteroepitaxial, with GSGG(001)[100]∥Si(001)[100], and exhibited Volmer–Weber-type growth. Room-temperature emission spectra of the films suggest efficient non-radiative energy transfer between Cr³⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions, similar to that of the bulk crystal. Received: 1 October 1999 / Accepted: 15 October 1999 / Published online: 23 February 2000     

Production of laser-heated plasma in high- pressure Ar gas and emission characteristics of vacuum ultraviolet radiation from Ar2 excimers

A new pump scheme for the realization of a practical Ar₂ excimer laser operating at 126 nm has been proposed and investigated experimentally. In this scheme, pre-ionized high-pressure Ar gas was excited by an intense transversely-excited atmospheric (TEA) CO₂ laser irradiation. A 100-mm-long line plasma was successfully produced at an argon gas pressure of 2 MPa. The vacuum ultraviolet emission at 126 nm from the Ar₂ excimers was observed and its emission characteristics were investigated under various experimental conditions. Received: 10 December 2001 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Formation of conical microstructures upon laser evaporation of solids

The formation and development of the large-scale periodic structures on a single crystal Si surface are studied upon its evaporation by pulsed radiation of a copper vapor laser (wavelength of 510.6 nm, pulse duration of 20 ns). The development of structures occurs at a high number of laser shots (∼10⁴) at laser fluence of 1–2 J/cm² below optical breakdown in a wide pressure range of surrounding atmosphere from 1 to 10⁵ Pa. The structures are cones with angles of 25, which grow towards the laser beam and protrude above the initial surface for 20–30 μm. It is suggested that the spatial period of the structures (10–20 μm) is determined by the capillary waves period on the molten surface. The X-ray diffractometry reveals that the modified area of the Si substrate has a polycrystalline structure and consists of Si nanoparticles with a size of 40–70 nm, depending on the pressure of surrounding gas. Similar structures are also observed on Ge and Ti. Received: 12 February 2000 / Accepted: 28 March 2000 / Published online: 20 June 2001     

200 nm–1000 nm spectra of light emitted in the impact of <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar<Superscript>10+</Superscript> upon Al and Si solid surfaces

This paper reports the measured results of the 200 nm–1000 nm characteristic spectral lines of Al, Si and Ar atoms when highly charged ions ⁴⁰Ar¹⁰⁺ are incident upon Al and P-type Si surfaces. The ion ⁴⁰Ar¹⁰⁺ is provided by the ECR ion source of the National Laboratory of the Heavy Ion Accelerator in Lanzhou. The results show that when the low-speed ions in the highly charged state interact with the solid surfaces, the characteristic spectral lines of the target atoms and ions spurted from the surfaces can be effectively excited. Moreover, because of the competition of the non-radiation de-excitation of the hollow atom by emitting secondary electrons with the de-excitation process by radiating photons, the spectral intensity of the characteristic spectral lines of Ar atoms on the P-type Si surface is, as a whole, greater than that of Ar atoms on the Al surface.     

Photoacoustic and photothermal radiometry spectra of implanted Si wafers

The effects of Ar⁺⁸ and O⁺⁶ ion implantation of Si were investigated by photoacoustic (PA) and photothermal radiometry (PTR) methods. The surface of Si sample was treated with Ar⁺⁸ or O⁺⁶ ions with various doses. Amplitude and phase PA spectra of Si with and without ion-implantation were measured and analyzed in the wavelength range from 800 to 1600 nm (the energy range from 0.75 to 1.55 eV) and frequency of modulation, from 1 Hz to 100 kHz.     

Spectroscopic observation of the plasma produced by a CO2 laser beam interacting with titanium target under helium and/or argon atmosphere

In many laser applications such as drilling, welding and cutting, the role of the plasma in the transfer of energy between the laser beam and the metal surface appears to be rather important. It depends on several parameters such as laser wavelength, irradiation time and deposited energy but especially on the buffer gas nature. In this work the plasma is initiated by a TEA-CO₂ laser beam perpendicularly focussed onto a Ti target (100 MW/cm²), in a cell containing He, Ar or a He-Ar mixture as buffer gas. The plasma is studied by time and space resolved spectroscopic diagnostics. The results show that helium allows target erosion whereas a highly absorbing breakdown plasma develops in argon shielding the target from the subsequent laser heating. With only 20% Ar in He, a strong quenching of the He plasma by Ar occurs, and the Ar plasma effect is dominant.