IR spectra of fused silica irradiated by fast neutrons

IR spectroscopy has been used to study the process of structural damage and changes in some characteristics of fused silica irradiated by fast neutrons over a very broad fluence range (10¹⁷–10²¹ cm⁻²). Features of the change in spectral characteristics of the bending and stretching vibrations of the bridge bonds have been identified, and also a comparative analysis has been carried out with radiation-induced changes in a series of optical spectra in the UV and visible regions, and structural parameters and other characteristics of wafers irradiated by different fluences. A correspondence has been established between the features of the radiation-induced changes in the optical, luminescence, and structural properties, and extremal points have been observed on the dose dependences. Based on the results obtained, a mechanism of radiation-induced rearrangement of the silica structure is suggested. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 494–497, July–August, 2006.     

Analysis of displacement damage effects on bipolar transistors irradiated by spallation neutrons

Displacement damage induced by neutron irradiation in China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS) is studied on bipolar transistors with lateral PNP, substrate PNP, and vertical NPN configurations, respectively. Comparison of the effects on different type transistors is conducted based on displacement damage factor, and the differences are analyzed through minority carrier lifetime calculation and structure analysis. The influence of CSNS neutrons irradiation on the lateral PNP transistors is analyzed by the gate-controlled method, including the oxide charge accumulation, surface recombine velocity,and minority carrier lifetime. The results indicate that the total ionizing dose in CSNS neutron radiation environment is negligible in this study. The displacement damage factors based on 1-MeV equivalent neutron flux of different transistors are consistent between Xi'an pulse reactor(XAPR) and CSNS.     

Dependence of the spectral characteristics of quartz on the fluence of neutrons

The influence of radiation on the change in the optical properties of a crystalline quartz is investigated. The results of the measurement of the optical spectra of luminescence, reflection, and scattering in specimens irradiated with different fluences of neutron radiation are presented. It is shown that the corresponding spectral characteristics experience substantial changes in the region of fluences that are associated with rearrangement of the crystalline structure. The results of approximation of some radiation kinetics are given, and the trend in the process of accumulation of disordered zones is established. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 543–545, July–August, 2000.     

ESR of pyrolytic graphite irradiated by neutrons at low temperature

Pyrolytic graphite irradiated by neutrons at a low temperature was studied by esr. The presence of localized spin centers was confirmed from the esr intensity ratio between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature. The concentration ratios of localized spin centers to conduction carriers were obtained from g-values for various irradiation doses. The dose dependence of g-values and widths was explained by the rapid exchange interaction between the two spin systems, i.e. localized spin centers and conduction carriers. An increase of the width was observed around 160 K by pulse annealing experiments. The mechanism of the broadening was discussed and the spin-flip cross section was estimated in order of magnitude. The annealing behavior of the line-width above 300 K was explained as due to the annihilation of localized spin centers.     

Effect of fast neutrons on structural rearrangement in crystalline quartz

IR spectroscopy has been used to study the effect of reactor radiation on the structural state of different specimens of synthetic quartz crystals. The patterns have been established for modification of the spectral characteristics of the bending vibrations of the crystal lattice as a function of the orientation of the crystals and the fast neutron fluence. It is hypothesized that the identified features of radiation-induced modification of the parameters of the bending modes for the different quartz specimens are due mainly to structural rearrangement occurring in the crystals. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 122–125, January–February, 2009.     

Small-angle neutron scattering investigation of the nanostructure of the SAV-1 alloy irradiated with fast neutrons to high fluences

The supra-atomic structure in samples of the SAV-1 alloy (unirradiated and irradiated with fast neutron fluences of 3.48 × 10²² n/cm²) has been investigated using small-angle neutron scattering. It has been found that, in the irradiated material, the volume fraction of scattering structures (pores) with a radius of 40–50 nm significantly decreases, which is compensated to a large extent by an increase in the total fraction of these objects with a radius of less than 20 nm. The results of neutron scattering investigations correlate with the data of mechanical tests of the irradiated alloys and with the changes in their elemental composition.     

铝合金材料在14 MeV中子

铝合金是激光惯性约束聚变(ICF)装置中最常用的结构材料之一,将直接受到高能量、高产额的中子辐照。评估铝合金材料在14 MeV中子辐照下的活化特性,可为我国ICF装置的材料选取提供参考。采用FISPACT活化计算软件,计算并比较了三种不同牌号的铝合金材料在14 MeV中子辐照后产生的比活度和剂量率,并分析了不同元素对比活度和剂量率的贡献。结果表明,铝合金的比活度和剂量率在冷却一周之内下降了3个数量级。铝合金的活化主要来自Al元素、Mn元素和Zn元素,主要活化产物为²⁴Na, ⁵⁴Mn和⁶⁵Zn。Al元素在冷却一周内对比活度(剂量率)的贡献大于90%,其余两种元素在两周之后占主导作用,其贡献之和超过50%。通过选取低Mn, Zn质量分数的铝合金,可降低材料在活化后的放射性水平。     

Electrophysical properties of carbon nanocomposites based on nanodiamonds irradiated with fast neutrons

The electrophysical properties of nanoporous carbon composites consisting of a nanometer-sized pyrolytic carbon matrix and nanodiamonds have been analyzed. It has been shown that the power-law dependence of the electrical resistivity on the thickness of the pyrolytic carbon layer D on a log-log scale has an inflection for D = 1 Å. It has been found that the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the nanocomposite is described by an exponential function with an exponent of 1/4 for both unirradiated samples and samples irradiated with fast neutrons. This is characteristic of variable-range hopping conductivity in the case of strong localization in systems with semiconductor conductivity in the presence of a local disorder. With an increase in the neutron fluence, the electrical resistivity of the studied material changes very significantly (by several hundred percent) and nonmonotonically. This result is associated with the transformation of the structure of the graphite-like matrix and with possible graphite-diamond phase transitions.     

Numerical investigation of temperature effects in materials irradiated by high-energy heavy ions in the framework of heat conduction equation for electrons and lattice

A system of equations for electron gas and lattice around and along the trajectory of a heavy uranium ion with an energy of 700 MeV in nickel at constant heat capacity and heat conduction taken at room temperature is solved numerically in an axially symmetric cylindrical coordinate system. On the basis of the lattice temperature obtained as a function of radius around the ion trajectory and depth, a conclusion is made that the ionization energy losses of a uranium ion in nickel are sufficient for melting and evaporating the material from the surface. The maximum radius and depth of the region in which melting and evaporation take place are estimated.     

Structure perfection of single-crystal quartz intended for experiments on finding the electrical dipole moment of neutrons by the crystal diffraction method

The perfection of quartz crystals of different origins intended for experiments on finding the electrical dipole moment of neutrons is studied. The study is carried out using the crystal diffraction method by passing a neutron through the crystal under near-Bragg conditions at a diffraction angle of about 90°. It is shown that optical-grade quartz grown at the All-Russia Research Institute for Synthesis of Mineral Raw Materials (VNIISIMS, Aleksandrov, Vladimir oblast) offers the highest perfection and homogeneity. Of a total of 22 crystals, 15 best ones with a spread in the interplanar distance of Δd/d ₀ ≤ 5 × 10⁻⁶ were selected for experiments. The crystals measure 100 × 100 × 500 mm.     

Z箍缩X射线在金属表面产生电荷分离现象

以“阳”加速器（1 MA,80 ns）驱动的Z箍缩等离子体为X射线源研究X射线加载下金属表面出现的电荷分离现象,Z箍缩负载为16根直径5 μm的钨丝组成的丝阵,丝阵半径3 mm。强度107 W/cm2、半高宽30 ns的软X射线脉冲通过直径5 mm的限光孔辐照半径30 mm、厚3 mm的铜盘中心,在金属表面产生了脉宽相近,幅值kV的电势。测量了该电势沿金属表面的分布,观测到微弱的调制现象。电势的极性表明电子主要沿金属表面运动而不是垂直表面运动,这表明热电效应是造成电荷分离的主要机制。入射X射线强度较弱时,电子的个体行为——光电效应、康普顿效应占主导;当入射强度较大时,弱关联的集体行为——热效应占主导;进一步增大入射X射线强度将出现强关联的集体行为——电荷密度调制状态。     

Z箍缩X射线在金属表面产生电荷分离现象

以"阳"加速器(1 MA,80 ns)驱动的Z箍缩等离子体为X射线源研究X射线加载下金属表面出现的电荷分离现象,Z箍缩负载为16根直径5μm的钨丝组成的丝阵,丝阵半径3 mm。强度107W/cm2、半高宽30 ns的软X射线脉冲通过直径5 mm的限光孔辐照半径30 mm、厚3 mm的铜盘中心,在金属表面产生了脉宽相近,幅值kV的电势。测量了该电势沿金属表面的分布,观测到微弱的调制现象。电势的极性表明电子主要沿金属表面运动而不是垂直表面运动,这表明热电效应是造成电荷分离的主要机制。入射X射线强度较弱时,电子的个体行为——光电效应、康普顿效应占主导;当入射强度较大时,弱关联的集体行为——热效应占主导;进一步增大入射X射线强度将出现强关联的集体行为——电荷密度调制状态。     

Transmission electron microscopy investigation of crystalline silicon surface irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses in different background atmospheres

This article aims to obtain structural and compositional characteristics of a crystalline silicon surface irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses in SF₆, N₂, air, and vacuum background atmospheres by performing transmission electron microscopy observation of ??110?? cross-sectional specimens. Conical microstructures covered with defective outer layers were formed in SF₆ gas. The elemental sulfur dopants in the surface microstructure, which located in close proximity to defects, were mainly concentrated at the tip region of the microcones, and about several hundred nanometers thick. In N₂ atmosphere, the defects produced regularly on the silicon surface were of the same types with those formed in SF₆ gas and confirmed to be stacking faults and overlapped twins. Furthermore, silicon crystalline grains with different orientations were observed on the silicon surface irradiated in N₂, air, and vacuum atmospheres. Especially, ??-Si₃N₄ crystalline grains were found to be formed in N₂ and air as chemical products when elemental nitrogen exists, and the SiO₂ amorphous phase was formed in air by the oxidation effect. Based on these experimental results, the relevant interaction mechanisms between pulsed laser and crystalline silicon were suggested to be mainly attributed to laser-assisted chemical etching and laser ablation, i.e., if volatile silicon compounds can be produced in a reactive gas atmosphere (e.g., SF₆), the strong laser-assisted chemical etching dominates over the laser irradiation process. Otherwise, laser ablation is the dominant mechanism such as in N₂, air, and vacuum.