Characterization of Fe states in dilute 57 Mn implanted SnO 2 film

States of dilute Fe in SnO₂ have been monitored using ⁵⁷Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy following implantation of ⁵⁷Mn (T _1/2 = 85.4 s) in the temperature range from 143 K to 711 K. A sharp annealing stage is observed at ~330 K where the Fe^3?+?/Fe^2?+? ratio shows a marked increase. It is suggested that this annealing stage is due to the dissociation of Mn-V_O pairs during the lifetime of ⁵⁷Mn; the activation energy for this dissociation is estimated to be 0.9(1) eV. Fe^3?+? is found in a paramagnetic state showing spin-lattice relaxation rates consistent with an expected T ² dependence derived for a Raman process. In addition, a sharp lined doublet in the Mössbauer spectra is interpreted as due to recoil produced interstitial Fe.     

Titanium and the magnetic phase on Mars

The significance of the element titanium for the study of the magnetic mineral in the surface dust of Mars is described.     

Magnetic properties of Martian olivine basalts studied by terrestrial analogues

Here we present a comparison study of terrestrial olivine basalt and relatively un-weathered basalt studied by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on Mars. The Mössbauer spectra of terrestrial olivine basalt exhibit some characteristics that can also be seen in the Mars spectra. The results from Mössbauer spectroscopy on Mars indicate that the olivine in the rocks has undergone alteration at high temperatures (600–1,000°C), a process known to give rise to anomalously magnetic rocks on Earth. This suggests that if the rocks at Gusev crater had solidified in an external magnetic field of terrestrial magnitude, these would have become highly magnetic enough to explain the presence of magnetic anomalies on Mars.     

Can Mössbauer Spectroscopy Reveal the Origin of Magnetic Soil in Denmark?

Hyperfine Interactions - The rare occurrence of magnetic soil in Denmark is normally explained by the hypothesis that the site has been burned. However, at some sites formation by means of organic...     

Synthesis and evaluation of potential CT (computer tomography) contrast agents for bone structure and microdamage analysis

The design and synthesis of several novel X-ray contrast agents 1-3, developed for targeting bone structures, and in particularly microcracks in bones, using CT (Computer Tomography) detection is described. These contrast agents are based on the use of the well known triiodobenzene platform, which was conjugated into one or more phenyliminodiacetate moieties, which can be used to 'lock' onto bone matrices. Compounds 1-3 were all tested for their ability to visualise cracks in bone structures (bovine bones) using micro-CT imaging.     

Mössbauer study of 57Fe in GaAs and GaP following 57Mn+ implantation

Ion implantation provides a precise method of incorporating dopant atoms in semiconductors, provided lattice damage due to the implantation process can be annealed and the dopant atoms located on regular lattice sites. We have undertaken ⁵⁷Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements on GaAs and GaP single crystals following implantation of radioactive ⁵⁷Mn^?+? ions, to study the lattice sites of the implanted ions, the annealing of implantation induced damage and impurity–vacancy complexes formed. The Mössbauer spectra were analyzed with four spectral components: an asymmetric doublet (D1) attributed to Fe atoms in distorted environments due to implantation damage, two single lines, S1 assigned to Fe on substitutional Ga sites, and S2 to Fe on interstitial sites, and a low intensity symmetric doublet (D2) assigned to impurity–vacancy complexes. The variations in the extracted hyperfine parameters of D1 for both materials at high temperatures (T?> 400 K) suggests changes in the immediate environment of the Fe impurity atoms and different bonding mechanism to the Mössbauer probe atom. The results show that the annealing of the radiation induced damage is more prominent in GaAs compared to GaP.     

Disordered chromite in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001

The magnetic structure of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles has been investigated by means of Mössbauer spectra at T?=?4.2 K in applied fields up to 12 T. Four samples were studied, with mean particle diameters ranging from 4.3 to 8.9 nm. All spectra could be decomposed into three sextets, two corresponding to the ferrimagnetic sublattices of Fe ions in the spinel structure (core) and the third one to randomly frozen spins near the particle surface (shell). The shell thickness, calculated from the fraction of disordered spins, was found to be about one-third of the particle radius at H _app?=?0 and to decrease with the applied field toward a common limit of ~0.4 nm. The mean canting angle relative to the field was also found to decrease for increasing fields, at a rate inversely correlated to the particle size.     

Mössbauer study of 57Fe in CVD diamond following 57Mn implantation

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, following the implantation of radioactive parent ⁵⁷Mn^?+? ions, has been performed on two chemical vapour deposited diamond samples, one synthesized in 2003 (CVD03) and the other in 2005 (CVD05). The spectra of sample CVD05 were as observed previously in natural IIa diamonds: single lines corresponding to substitutional and interstitial Fe were superimposed on a broad quadrupole split doublet. The site fraction of Fe_i reached 30% at 900 K. The spectra of the CVD03 sample showed, in addition to the above features, a strong contribution (>30%) from a quadrupole doublet attributable to the presence of intrinsic amorphous inclusions in the crystallites. This observation has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction.     

57Fe Emission Mössbauer Study on Gd3Ga5O12 implanted with dilute57Mn

⁵⁷Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy has been applied to study the lattice location and properties of Fe in gadolinium gallium garnet Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂ (GGG) single crystals in the temperature interval 300 – 563 K within the extremely dilute (<10^?4 at.%) regime following the implantation of⁵⁷Mn (T¹_/2= 1.5 min.) at ISOLDE/CERN. These results are compared with earlier Mössbauer spectroscopy study of Fe-doped gadolinium gallium garnet Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂(GGG), with implantation fluences between 8×10¹⁵ and 6×10¹⁶ atoms cm^?2. Three Fe components are observed in the emission Mössbauer spectra: (i) high spin Fe²⁺ located at damage sites due to the implantation process, (ii) high spin Fe³⁺ at substitutional tetrahedral Ga sites, and (iii) interstitial Fe, probably due to the recoil imparted on the daughter^57?Fe nucleus in the β^? decay of⁵⁷Mn. In contrast to high fluence⁵⁷Fe implantation studies the Fe³⁺ ions are found to prefer the tetrahedral Ga site over the octahedral Ga site. No annealing stages are evident in the temperature range investigated. Despite the very low concentration, high-spin Fe³⁺ shows fast spin relaxation, presumably due to an indirect interaction between nearby gadolinium atoms.