Helium and point defect accumulation: (i) microstructure and mechanical behaviour

Ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels are good candidate structural materials for the future fusion reactors and spallation sources. However, irradiation of steels is known to produce hardening, loss of ductility, shift in ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and reduction of fracture toughness and creep resistance starting at low doses. Helium (He), produced by transmutation during the irradiation, also impacts mechanical properties. Numerous experimental and theoretical studies on the evolution of the microstructure of steels under irradiation have been conducted until now. We review the effect of irradiation-induced point defects and in particular of He on the mechanical properties of F/M steels. To cite this article: R. Schäublin et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Nonaxisymmetric thermal stress state of laminated rotational bodies of orthotropic materials under nonisothermic loading

A procedure for numerical investigation of nonaxisymmetric temperature fields and the elastic stress-strain state of laminated rotational bodies of cylindrically and rectilinearly orthotropic materials under nonisothermal loading is proposed. The deformation of orthotropic materials is described by the equations of anisotropic elasticity theory. The equations of state are written in the form of Hookes law for homogeneous materials, with additional terms which take into account the thermal deformation, changes in the mechanical properties of materials in the circumferential direction, and their dependence on temperature. A semianalytic finite-element method in combination with the method of successive approximations is used. An algorithm for numerical solution of the corresponding nonlinear boundary problem is elaborated, which is realized as a package of applied FORTRAN programs. Some numerical results are presented.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 731–752, November–December, 2004.     

多层介质膜脉冲宽度压缩光栅与超短脉冲作用时的性能分析

基于啁啾脉冲放大技术的超短脉冲激光系统是提供超快、超强激光的重要途径，具有良好输出波形和高损伤阈值的多层介质膜脉冲宽度压缩光栅是获得高峰值功率脉冲激光的关键. 基于傅里叶谱变换方法和严格模式理论，分析了多层介质膜光栅(MDG)在超短脉冲作用下的光学特性. 结果表明，当MDG的反射带宽小于具有高斯分布的入射脉冲的频谱宽度时，-1级反射脉冲呈非对称高斯分布，其前沿出现振荡，并且-1级反射脉冲能量开始剧烈下降. 讨论了MDG结构参数对其反射带宽的影响. 分析了MDG与超短脉冲作用时的近场光分布，对提高其抗激光损 关键词： 脉冲压缩光栅 傅里叶谱变换 模式理论 损伤阈值     

短脉冲激光辐照下SiO2损伤微观机理简化模型

 从电子密度速率方程出发，建立短脉冲激光辐照下SiO₂材料中导带电子增长简化模型，计算了SiO₂中光致电离速率和电子雪崩速率，得到SiO₂激光损伤阈值与脉冲宽度的关系，计算分析了光致电离和碰撞电离两种电离机制在导带电子累积过程中的不同作用。结果表明：脉冲较长，碰撞电离几乎能提供全部的导带电子，激光损伤阈值与脉宽的0.5次方成正比；脉冲较短时，导带电子主要由碰撞电离产生，光致电离提供碰撞电离的初始电子，激光损伤阈值随着脉宽的减小，先增加后减小。     

高功率脉冲激光对阶跃折射率多模光纤损伤机理

 理论分析和模拟仿真研究了激光点火系统中光纤端面损伤、光纤初始输入段损伤和光纤内部损伤机理。结果显示：端面损伤主要是由光纤端面的杂质和缺陷引起；光纤初始输入段损伤是由光束的初次反射造成光纤局部激光能量密度增大引起的；光纤内部体损伤主要由于激光自聚焦效应引起损伤和光纤受到的意外应力产生微小碎片，吸收激光能量，引起光纤局部损伤。给出了激光点火系统中提高光纤损伤阈值的一般方法，主要包括光纤端面处理、设计合理的激光注入耦合装置。     

梯度膜作为高功率激光反射膜的初步研究

 对渐变折射率薄膜替代均匀膜系作为高功率激光反射膜的可行性进行了理论研究。以较容易获得的线性共蒸法制备的光学膜在中心波长为1 064 nm的激光作用为例，分析了薄膜与基体之间波长的匹配、场强分布等问题。提出了通过改变微小单元获得梯度膜匹配厚度的数值方法，将之运用在14个周期结构的梯度膜中，并由膜系计算软件验证了所获得结果。最后通过分析Maxwell方程，计算了梯度膜中与薄膜损伤密切相关的电场强度分布。结果表明：周期性结构梯度高反射膜中的电场分布与传统高反射膜具有相似性，但相对于传统高反射膜容易在界面处出现损伤的情形而言，梯度膜更容易在表面出现损伤，使梯度膜表面反射相移接近π是高功率梯度高反射膜的设计方向。     

Damage spreading on networks: Clustering effects

The damage spreading of the Ising model on three kinds of networks is studied with Glauber dynamics. One of the networks is generated by evolving the hexagonal lattice with the star-triangle transformation. Another kind of network is constructed by connecting the midpoints of the edges of the topological hexagonal lattice. With the evolution of these structures, damage spreading transition temperature increases and a general explanation for this phenomenon is presented from the view of the network. The relationship between the transition temperature and the network measure-clustering coefficient is set up and it is shown that the increase of damage spreading transition temperature is the result of more and more clustering of the network. We construct the third kind of network-random graphs with Poisson degree distributions by changing the average degree of the network. We show that the increase in the average degree is equivalent to the clustering of nodes and this leads to the increase in damage spreading transition temperature.      

Radiation damage to protein specimens from electron beam imaging and diffraction: a mini‐review of anti‐damage approaches,with special reference to synchrotron X‐ray crystallography

Recent research progress using X‐ray cryo‐crystallography with the photon beams from third‐generation synchrotron sources has resulted in recognition that this intense radiation commonly damages protein samples even when they are held at 100 K. Other structural biologists examining thin protein crystals or single particle specimens encounter similar radiation damage problems during electron diffraction and imaging, but have developed some effective countermeasures. The aim of this concise review is to examine whether analogous approaches can be utilized to alleviate the X‐ray radiation damage problem in synchrotron macromolecular crystallography. The critical discussion of this question is preceded by presentation of background material on modern technical procedures with electron beam instruments using 300–400 kV accelerating voltage, low‐dose exposures for data recording, and protection of protein specimens by cryogenic cooling; these practical approaches to dealing with electron radiation damage currently permit best resolution levels of 6 Å (0.6 nm) for single particle specimens, and of 1.9 Å for two‐dimensional membrane protein crystals. Final determination of the potential effectiveness and practical value of using such new or unconventional ideas will necessitate showing, by experimental testing, that these produce significantly improved protection of three‐dimensional protein crystals during synchrotron X‐ray diffraction.     

Fundamentals and applications of ion-ion plasmas

Ion-ion plasmas can form in the late afterglow of pulsed discharges or downstream of continuous wave discharges in electronegative gases. In ion-ion plasmas, negative ions replace electrons as the negative charge carriers. In the absence of electrons, ion-ion plasmas behave quite differently compared to conventional electron-ion plasmas. Application of a radio frequency bias to a substrate immersed in an ion-ion plasma can be used to extract alternately positive and negative ions, thereby minimizing charging on device features during micro-device fabrication. Ion-ion plasmas are also important in negative ion sources, dusty plasmas, and the D-layer of the earth's atmosphere.