The annealing of damage in ion implanted gallium arsenide

Photoluminescence measurements at 77°K and Rutherford scattering of 450 keV protons were used to study radiation damage and annealing in ion implanted GaAs. The characteristic band edge luminescence (8225 Å) in GaAs is completely quenched by ion implantation. Photoluminescence measurements on samples which were isochronally annealed show a single annealing stage at 600°C. A luminescence peak at 9140 Å is introduced into the spectra of all implanted and annealed samples. This peak is attributed to an acceptor level created by As vacancies. The intensity of the peak is greatly reduced by protecting the surface of implanted layers with SiO₂ during annealing. Rutherford scattering measurements on isochronally annealed samples reveal two annealing stages. A 300°C annealing stage is observed on samples which have an initial aligned yield less than random while a 650°C stage is observed on samples which have an initial aligned yield equal to random.     

The effect of heat treatment on the thermoluminescence of naturally-occurring calcites and their use as a gamma-ray dosimeter

The feasibility of using naturally-occurring calcite for gamma-ray dosimetry was investigated. Anneal treatment above 350°C increased the sensitivity of all radiation-induced TL peaks except the glow peaks above 300°C. On the other hand, annealing in air, at a temperature of 700°C caused a collapse in the TL sensitivity. The increase in TL efficiency was found to depend on the annealing temperature and time. Heating at 600°C for 5 h and quenching in ambient air are the optimum conditions for TL sensitivity enhancement in the calcite materials investigated. These results are explained using the energy scheme of the pre-dose model of Zimmerman (1971) and in terms of the impurity rearrangements in the crystal lattice induced by heating. It was found that the values of the kinetic parameters E, s and b for TL glow peaks remained unchanged for annealed samples. The TL dose–response curves for stable dosimetric peaks of annealed and unannealed calcite samples could be fitted to the same linear mathematical function. This implies that the annealing process probably does not change the nature of the trapping centers except the low temperature TL peaks at 125 and 160°C of flowstone. The TL dosimetric parameters of calcite samples annealed, including glow curves, fading characteristics, dose–responses, dose-rate responses and energy responses, have also been studied in detail. The response to gamma-rays of annealed calcite samples was found to be linear from 0.05 to 10⁴ Gy. The lower limit of observable doses for each calcite sample was about 0.05 Gy. This offers the possibility of applying the investigated materials for gamma-ray dosimetry within this useful range. These dosimeters can be used in various applications, such as, in industries related to chemical technology (polymerization), food processing and in determining the dose received by the patient during medical examination and treatment.     

Influence of Annealing Treatment on Structural,Optical, Electric,and Thermoelectric Properties of MBE-Grown ZnO

In this paper, we have reported the influence of annealing treatment on structural, optical, electrical, and thermoelectric properties of MBE-grown ZnO on Si substrate. After growth, a set of as grown ZnO was annealed in oxygen environment at 500–800°C and another set was annealed in different environments (vacuum, oxygen, zinc, and vacuum + zinc) at 600°C for one hour in a programmable furnace. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results demonstrated that all annealed samples exhibited a major diffraction peak related to (002) plane. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of this plane decreased and crystalline size increased for oxygen annealed sample and it increased when samples were annealed in zinc, vacuum, and successively annealed in vacuum and zinc. Further, photoluminescence spectrum revealed that the intensity of band edge emission increased and defect emission decreased as annealing temperature (oxygen environment) increased while it decreased for rest of annealing ambient. It is suspected that annealing in oxygen environment causes compensation of the oxygen vacancies by the incoming oxygen flux, while annealing in zinc and vacuum generates more oxygen vacancies. Hall and Seebeck measurements are also consistent with these arguments.     

Annealing characteristics of highly doped ion implanted phosphorus layers in silicon

A combination of sheet resistance, stripping and Hall effect measurements have been made on phosphorus layers implanted into silicon at 40 and 100 keV with doses between 1 × 10¹⁵ and 5 × 10¹⁶ atoms/cm². The implants were made at room temperature and 450°C. After annealing at 650°C, the profile of electrically active phosphorus following a high dose room temperature implant, was found to be flat topped with a concentration of approximately 5 × 10²⁰/cm³. Very little diffusion occurred when annealing to 850°C where the free electron concentration increased to approximately 1.5 × 10²¹/cm³. Highly doped channeled tails were found when implanting at 450°C along the 〈110〉 direction and damage was being continuously annealed out preventing the formation of an amorphous phase. The rapid diffusion of the profile into the bulk found when annealing between 650°C and 850°C was speculated to be due to the presence of a dense dislocation entanglement in these layers following a hot implant.     

Study on Impact Property and Fracture Morphology of Injection-molded Optical-grade Polycarbonate

The low-velocity, low-energy impact response of optical-grade polycarbonate (PC) was characterized by the Izod impact testing at ambient temperature. The following factors affecting impact response were investigated: mold temperatures (80, 90, 100, 110, and 120°C) and annealing treatment (120°C for 12 h). The results showed that the annealing treatment remarkably reduced the impact strength. The maximum impact strength was obtained when the mold temperature was 100°C for both unannealed samples and annealed ones. Moreover, the annealing treatment changed the failure mode of specimens from ductile failure to brittle failure, which was confirmed by fracture morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ductile failure was attributed to shearing behavior, and the fracture surfaces were rough and irregular with many river-shaped striations. The brittle fracture was caused by a craze failure mechanism. The brittle fracture sections could be divided into three regions: fracture origin, mist region, and end-wall banded region.     

Application of mechanical scanning to ion implantation

Abstract

Atomic depth profiles from Be-implanted Si have been examined as a function of implant fluence and annealing, and the results have been correlated with theoretically calculated implantation induced damage profiles. The Be atomic depth profiles were obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) techniques from samples implanted at 300 keV to fluences ranging from 2 × 10¹² to 10¹⁵ cm^?2. Subsequent to annealing at 600°C for 30 min, the Be SIMS profiles exhibited anomalous redistribution effects. The Be profiles obtained from the annealed samples had the same general features as the depth distribution of implant energy deposited into damage, based on Brice's¹ calculations. The correlation of the SIMS atomic profiles and the theoretical damage profiles indicated that Be “decorates” the implantation induced damage regions while redistributing during the annealing process.     

Nature of room-temperature ferromagnetism from undoped ZnO nanoparticles

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol–gel calcination process following being annealed in air at 400, 600, 800 and 1000°C. X-ray diffraction pattern and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that all the samples present a typical wurtzite structure and no other impurity phases are observed. Room-temperature ferromagnetism from all the samples is confirmed by the vibrating sample magnetometer measurements, which shows that the RTFM decreases with the annealing temperature increasing from 400 to 800°C, and then became larger for the sample annealed at 1000°C. According to the Raman scattering spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance, the RTFM of samples annealed at 600, 800 and 1000°C might be related to the oxygen vacancy related defects. However, the RTFM from the sample annealed at 400°C, presenting nearly the same value as that of the sample annealed at 1000°C, could originate with the interstitial zinc defects associated with XPS and photoluminescence analyses.     

Microdisperse Iron Silicide Structures Produced by Implantation of Iron Ions in Silicon

Iron implanted and subsequently annealed n-type Si(111) was studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy for phase analysis and Auger electron spectroscopy for sputter depth profiling and element mapping. During implantation (200 keV, 3 × 10¹⁷ cm^?2, 350°C) a mixture of β- and α-FeSi₂ is firmed and after the subsequent annealing (900°C for 18 h and 1150°C for 1 h) a complete transition to the β- and the α-phase can be detected. The as-implanted profile has Gaussian shape and is broadening during annealing at 900°C to a plateau-like profile and shows only a slight broadening and depth depending fluctuations of the iron concentration after the 1150°C annealing. With scanning Auger electron spectroscopy the lateral iron and silicon distribution were investigated and show for the sample annealed at 900°C large separated β-FeSi₂ precipitates which grow due to the process of Ostwald ripening. At 1150°C additionally coalescence of the precipitates occur and a wide extended penetration α-FeSi₂ network structure is formed.     

Effect of annealing time on properties of spinel LiNi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> high-voltage lithium-ion battery electrode materials prepared by co-precipitation method

In this wok, a series of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ (LNMO) samples with an octahedral shape entirely composed of (111) crystal planes were prepared by calcining the mixture of the precursor Ni_0.25Mn_0.75(OH)₂ and LiOH·H₂O at 800 °C for 15 h in air, followed by annealing them at 600 °C for different dwelling times. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and several electrochemical technologies were used to investigate the effect of annealing time on properties of the LNMO samples. XRD analysis indicates that the lattice parameters of the LNMO samples show a decreasing trend with increasing of annealing time, and the impurity peaks become less apparent for the sample annealed for 6 h and almost disappear for the samples annealed for 9 and 24 h. SEM results show that the annealing time has no obvious influence on the morphologies of the LNMO samples. Electrochemical measurements show that the electrochemical performances (capacity, cycle life, and rate capability) of the samples annealed for 6, 9, and 24 h are better than those of the unannealed sample, and the sample annealed for 9 h shows the best electrochemical properties among them due to its superior electrochemical kinetics of Li⁺ insertion/desertion.     

Fabrication and analysis of the structural phase transition of ZrO2 nanoparticles using modified facile sol–gel route

The synthesis of zirconia nanoparticles is achieved through a modified facile sol–gel route. The as-prepared gel is analyzed thermally using TGA and DTA techniques to spot the crystallization process of zirconia nanoparticles. The prepared gel is then annealed at different temperatures and the structure was found to change between tetragonal and monoclinic crystal systems. The first stable tetragonal phase is achieved after annealing for 2?h at 400°C. The annealed powders between 600°C and 800°C demonstrate mixed tetragonal/monoclinic phases. Annealing at 1000°C and higher temperatures up to 1200°C resulted in pure monoclinic phase. Cubic phase was not detected within the annealing temperature range in this study. The elemental analysis of the annealed powder confirmed the formation of zirconia nanoparticles with the chemical formula ZrO₂. The FTIR spectra of the annealed samples introduced a variation in the vibrational bands especially around the phase transition temperature. HR-TEM images reported the formation of nano-zirconia crystals with apparently large particle sizes. The optical energy gap of zirconia nanoparticles is investigated and determined.     

Radiation-induced defects in annealed carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite

The effect of preliminary (before irradiation) annealing of synthetic carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite powders on the formation of paramagnetic centers under γ-ray and ultraviolet irradiation has been investigated. Annealing of the samples has been performed in the temperature range from 100 to 700°C. It has been found that electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of radiation-induced defects depend substantially on the annealing temperature. The paramagnetic centers CO ₂ ^? dominate in the samples annealed to 250°C (γ-ray irradiation) and 500°C (ultraviolet irradiation). In the samples annealed above 400°C, other defects, in particular, the O^? and CO ₃ ^3? centers, play a significant role. Annealing at some temperatures leads to an increase in the radiation sensitivity of the material. The observed effects can be associated with the escape of molecular water from the annealed hydroxyapatite samples and with the corresponding transformation of the defect subsystem of the material.     

Mössbauer study of SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powders doped with dilute <Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe prepared by a sol-gel method

SnO₂ powders, doped with various ⁵⁷Fe contents were prepared by a sol-gel method, and annealed finally at 500 °C and 650 °C. These samples were characterized by Mössbauer spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to investigate the relationship of magnetic properties, grain sizes, annealing temperatures and Mössbauer parameters. The particle sizes of SnO₂ powders reduced to less than 100 nm with the increase of Fe contents up to 5%. Rutile SnO₂ was the only phase obtained for all samples. Room temperature Mössbauer spectra suggest the presence of two different paramagnetic iron sites for all samples and one magnetically relaxed species for those samples with the lowest iron concentrations. The magnetization increased with the Fe content, but was reduced for the samples annealed at 650 °C perhaps due to a segregation of α-Fe₂O₃ doped with tin.     

Luminescence lifetimes in quartz: dependence on annealing temperature prior to beta irradiation

It is well known that the thermal history of a quartz sample influences the optically stimulated luminescence sensitivity of the quartz. It is found that the optically stimulated luminescence lifetime, determined from time resolved spectra obtained with pulsed stimulation, also depends on past thermal treatment. For samples at 20°C during stimulation, the lifetime depends on beta dose and on duration of preheating at 220°C prior to stimulation for quartz annealed at 600°C and above, but is independent of these factors for quartz annealed at 500°C and below. For stimulation at higher temperatures, the lifetime becomes shorter if the sample is held at temperatures above 125°C during stimulation, in a manner consistent with thermal quenching. A single exponential decay is all that is required to fit the time resolved spectra for un-annealed quartz regardless of the temperature during stimulation (20–175°C), or to fit the time resolved spectra from all samples held at 20°C during stimulation, regardless of annealing temperature (20–1000°C). An additional shorter lifetime is found for some combinations of annealing temperature and temperature during stimulation. The results are discussed in terms of a model previously used to explain thermal sensitisation. The luminescence lifetime data are best explained by the presence of two principal luminescence centres, their relative importance depending on the annealing temperature, with a third centre involved for limited combinations of annealing temperature and temperature during stimulation.     

LEED investigation of germanium surfaces cleaned by sublimation of sulphide films; structural transitions on clean Ge(110) surface

Sublimation of deposited germanium sulphide films at the temperatures as low as 350°C results in the appearance of LEED patterns of clean surfaces of germanium. In the interface between Ge(111) or Ge(110) and germanium sulphide, ordered structures are observed, namely Ge(111)?(2 × 1)S and Ge(110)?(10 × 5)S. The conclusion about the structure of the Ge(100) germanium sulphide interface cannot be made unambiguously. The structures of clean Ge(110) surfaces are described. The annealing of clean surfaces of Ge(110) at different temperatures leads to the formation of one of two possible surface structures. After annealing at temperatures below 380°C and above 430°C the Ge(110)?c(8 × 10) clean superstructure is observed. After annealing at temperatures from 380 up to 430°C the surface (110) is rearranged in vicinal planes of the (17 15 1) type with the (2 × 1) superstructure. These structures undergo reversible transitions from one to another at temperatures of about 380 and 430°C.     

Stability of nonthermodynamic equilibrium cation distribution frozen during pulsed laser deposition of Co-ferrite thin films

Co-ferrite thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature, and magnetization was studied as a function of annealing temperature (T _A ) and annealing time. One set of films was quenched immediately after annealing while the other set was furnace cooled. Spontaneous magnetization value, 4π M _S , of the quenched films was observed to be higher than the furnace cooled films in all the cases. Magnetization increases monotonically up to T _A =650°C and then became nearly constant with the increase in T _A . Magnetization values even higher than the Co-ferrite bulk value of 5300 G was observed in the quenched films annealed at and above 650°C. In the case of furnace cooled films, magnetization decreased with the increase in annealing time, while it remained nearly constant in quenched films. Coercivity values of the quenched films were always found to be lower than those of the furnace cooled films. The observed magnetic properties in the films were attributed to the cation distribution and the grain sizes.     

Crystallization Behavior of Amorphous Poly(l-Lactide)

Amorphous poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) was annealed in two different ways: amorphous samples were heated at a given temperature to induce crystallization (one-step annealing); and amorphous samples were first crystallized at a low temperature and subsequently annealed at a higher temperature than the crystallization temperature. Samples thus prepared were measured by DSC. The original amorphous sample exhibited an exothermic peak at about 100°C (exothermic peak I), an exothermic peak just below the melting point (exothermic peak II), and an endothermic peak when it was melted. Exothermic peak I was caused by cold crystallization. When the melting points of PLLA samples, heat-treated in various ways, were plotted as a function of annealing temperature, there was discontinuity at about 120°C. From analyses of wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns, it was found that when amorphous PLLA was crystallized at a temperature below 120°C, crystallites of the β-form formed, and when annealed at a temperature above 120°C, crystallites of the α-form grew. Thus, exothermic peak I was attributed to cold crystallization of the β-form, and peak II was caused by the phase transition of the β-form to a more stable form.     

Effect of thermal annealing on optical properties of CR-39 polymeric track detector

The samples of CR-39 polymer (TASTRAK, Bristol, England) were annealled thermally at various temperatures ranging from 100°C to 180°C for 1 hour, in air. FTIR spectroscopy reveals the structural degradation of CR-39 polymer due to thermal annealing above its glass transition temperature. Optical band gap of pristine and thermally annealed samples has been determined using UV-Visible absorption spectra. It has been observed that the optical band gap decreases continuously as a result of annealing.      

Tensile behavior of post-irradiation annealed Cu–Ni alloy

The present paper investigates the tensile properties of post-irradiation annealed Cu–Ni alloy. The specimens were irradiated with a 15 MeV electron beam at room temperature and the post-irradiation annealing (PIA) of the specimens was carried out under vacuum at 450 °C for 15–120 min. The yield stress (YS), ultimate tensile stress (UTS), percentage elongation, stress relaxation rate and activation volume of both as-irradiated and post-irradiation annealed specimens were examined at room temperature using a universal testing machine. The results show that PIA of the specimen at 450 °C for 15 min decreases its YS and UTS, whereas the percentage elongation is increased. The changes in the tensile parameters become more pronounced with increases in annealing time. Effects of PIA on the stress relaxation rate and activation volume indicate that the relaxation rate of post-irradiation annealed specimens increases, and the activation volume decreases, with an increase in annealing time.     

A study of some Yugoslav bentonites by Mössbauer,X-ray and ESR spectroscopy

A number of bentonite samples and their constituents were studied as a function of composition and the annealing temperature using X-ray, Mossbauer and ESR spectroscopy. The main clay minerals in bentonites are montmorillonites, which display in MS three ferric doublets and one ferrous doublet indicating iron occupation in cis and trans OH octahedral sites and in tetrahedral sites. Haematite particles were detected in some samples prefired above 900 °C. Several mineralogical transformations were identified in samples annealed in the temperature region below 1200 °C. The presence of isolated ferric and Mn(II) ions was confirmed by ESR spectra.     

Study of titania nanorod films deposited by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation as a function of laser fluence

The effects of annealing at 300 °C on gold nanostructures sputtered onto glass substrate were studied using XRD, SAXSees, the Van der Pauw method and ellipsometry. As-sputtered and annealed samples exhibit a different dependence of the gold lattice parameter on the sputtering time. With increasing sputtering time the average thickness of the layer and the size of gold crystallites increased. Another rapid enlargement of the crystallites is observed after annealing. The volume resistivity decreases rapidly with the increasing sputtering time for both, as-deposited and annealed structures. With increasing sputtering time initially discontinuous gold coverage changes gradually in a continuous one. Electrically continuous gold coverage on the as-sputtered and annealed samples exhibits the same concentration of free charge carriers and Hall mobility. Optical constants of as-deposited and annealed gold films determined by ellipsometry support resistivity measurements and clearly manifest the presence of plasmons in discontinuous films.