Interplay of native defect-related photoluminescence response of ZnO nanosticks subjected to 80 keV Ar ion irradiation

We report on the effect of 80 keV Ar⁺ ion irradiation on the luminescence response of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosticks synthesized using a simple microemulsion route. The formation of nanoscale rods was confirmed from the transmission electron microscopy, whereas the hexagonal wurtzite phase of the nanorods was detected in an X-ray diffraction pattern. The photoluminescence pattern of the nanorods was dominated by various native defect states of ZnO, which are responsible for the quenching of the typical band edge emission of ZnO. Under Ar⁺ ion irradiation at a fluence of 1×10¹³ ions/cm², the band edge emission was recovered owing to the suppression of oxygen vacancy defects. In addition, the formation of new zinc vacancy and ionized zinc interstitial defects were also evident. Conversely, the band edge emission was found to be quenched as a result of the creation of more oxygen vacancy (V_O) defects due to ion irradiation (fluence: 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm²). The nuclear energy loss of the Ar⁺ ions in ZnO is responsible for the formation of point (vacancy-related) defects, while relatively small amount of electronic energy loss of the Ar⁺ ion results in the ionization of the neutral zinc interstitial (Zn_i) defects. The energy deposition scheme of the energetic ions has been elaborated with the help of theoretical modeling that explains the observed features quite satisfactorily.     

Effect of annealing temperature on hardness, thickness and phase structure of carbonitrided 304 stainless steel

Carbonitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was performed at a plasma-processing power of 450 W using inductively coupled radio frequency (rf) plasma in a gas mixture of 50% N₂ and 50% C₂H₂. The rate of carbonitriding, microhardness, phase structure of the compound layer, surface microstructure and cross-section morphology were studied before and after the annealing process. At the annealing temperature up to 800°C, the microhardness values of the compound zones decrease, while the associated values of the diffused zones increase. Little change was found in the thickness of the compound and diffused zones when the carbonitrided samples were annealed up to 400°C. However, at a higher annealing temperature, the thicknesses of both zones increase. The γ-Fe austenite is the main crystalline phase that can be detected by X-ray diffraction. As the annealing temperature increases up to 500°C, X-ray spectra show α-Fe and Fe₅C₂ phases. Nitrogen diffuses more deeply from the near surface to the interior of the treated sample as the annealing temperature increases up to 800°C and this might explain the extent of carbonitrided thickness and the enhanced microhardness of the diffused zone.     

Influence of γ-ray radiation grafting on interfacial properties of aramid fibers and epoxy resin composites

This research used Co⁶⁰ γ-ray radiation to modify Armos fibers in 1,2-epoxy-3-chloropropane. After the treatment, the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) values of aramid/epoxy composites were improved by about 20%. Surface elements of Armos fibers were determined by XPS analysis, which indicated that the oxygen/carbon ratio was increased. The surface of the fibers treated was rougher than that of the untreated fibers when examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra confirmed that the epoxy group was grafted onto the fibers. The wettability of the fibers' surface was also enhanced by the treatment. Nanoindentation technique analysis showed that the nanohardnesses of the various phases (the fiber, the interface and the matrix) in the composite, whose fibers were treated, were correspondingly higher than those in the composite, whose fibers were untreated. The results indicate that γ-ray irradiation grafting technique, which is a suitable batch process for industrialization, can modify the physicochemical properties of Armos fibers and improve the interfacial adhesion of its composite.     

Effect of helium ion irradiation on the structure and electrical resistivity of nanocrystalline Cr–N and V–N coatings

The structural stability and electrical resistivity of nanocrystalline Cr–N and V–N coatings prepared by ion beam-assisted deposition were studied. The results showed that under helium ion irradiation up to doses of 1.0^.10¹⁷ ion/cm² the fine-crystalline objects successively increase their resistance without apparent structural changes. The subsequent dose increase leads to gas-vacancy void formation and chromium nitride structure destruction. The presence of the initial closed porosity in vanadium nitride favors its structural stability at investigated maximum damage doses.     

Effect of recoil atoms on radiation-defect formation in semiconductors under 1–10-MeV proton irradiation

The formation of radiation defects in Si under 1–10-MeV proton bombardment is analyzed. Numerical simulation is carried out, and histograms of the distribution of the energy transferred to recoil atoms are obtained. Two energy ranges are considered when analyzing the histograms. Single Frenkel pairs with closely located components are produced in the first range (small energies). Recoil atoms of the second range have an energy sufficient for the production of a displacement cascade. As a result, nanoscale regions with high densities of vacancies and different types of their complexes appear. In addition, as the energy of the primary knocked-out atoms increases, the average distance between genetically related Frenkel pairs increases, and, as a consequence, the fraction of pairs that are not recombined under bombardment increases.     

Study on the properties of a novel shape-stable epoxy resin sealed expanded graphite/paraffin composite PCM and its application in buildings

In this study, a novel phase change material (PCM) of epoxy resin sealed expanded graphite/paraffin composite was developed as an independent attachment for building applications. A relatively high thermal energy storage density and a high thermal conductivity (2.141?W/(m·K)) were obtained in the composite PCM. The mass fraction of paraffin in the composite PCM could reach 94% without leakage of liquid paraffin when being heated at 50°C for more than 3 h, and the thermal cycle stability was good. Moreover, the thermal storage and release properties of this composite PCM with different thicknesses were studied by numerical simulation. The results showed that the thermal storage and release time are proportional to the thickness of the composite PCM, and there was almost no temperature gradient during the thermal storage and release process, which indicated that the thermal conductivity of this kind of composite PCM was high enough for building applications.     

Effect of strontium addition on ferroelectric phase transition of PZT thin films prepared by chemical route

The dependence of ferroelectric phase transition temperature as a function of strontium substitution in lead titanate zirconate thin films (referred here as PSZT) on platinum-coated silicon substrates was investigated. The dielectric study reveals that the material undergoes a diffuse type ferroelectric phase transition that depends on the substitution of Sr for Pb in PZT. At 100 kHz, the phase transition temperatures were 633, 613 and 516 K for PSZT10, PSZT20 and PSZT30 thin films, respectively. On the other hand, the results showed that the dependence of the dielectric constant upon the frequency does not reveal any relaxor behavior. The diffusivity increases with increasing Sr contents in the studied composition range. The experimental data obtained from measurements of the dielectric constant as a function of temperature and frequencies showed a classical behavior of ferroelectric phase transition in PSZT thin films, rather than a relaxor ferroelectric phase transition. The transition temperature decreases with increasing Sr contents due to the decrease in grain size, lattice decrease and local structural disorder.     

Effect of γ-irradiation on optical and chemical properties of CR-39 polymer

CR-39 polymer samples were irradiated with γ-irradiation up to dose ranging from 500 to 2000 kGy. The virgin and γ-irradiated polymer samples were investigated using UV–visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In the present work, the Urbach energy was calculated using the Urbach edge method. Also, the direct and indirect energy band gaps in virgin and γ-irradiated CR-39 polymer samples were calculated. The values of indirect energy band gap were found to be lower than the corresponding values of direct energy band gap. The decrease in the optical energy band gap with increasing γ-irradiation dose was discussed on the basis of γ-irradiation-induced modifications in CR-39 polymer. The correlation between optical energy band gap and the number of carbon atoms in a cluster with modified Tauc's equation was also discussed. The FTIR spectra show considerable changes due to γ-irradiation, indicating that the detector is not chemically stable.     

Effects of γ rays irradiation on structure and property of TiO2 thin films

TiO₂ thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method, and annealed for 2 h at temperatures of 550°C. Then, ⁶⁰Co γ rays with different doses were used to irradiate the resulting TiO₂ thin films. The surface features of films before and after irradiation were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Simultaneously, the crystal structure and optical properties of films before and after irradiation were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–VIS transmission spectrum and Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, respectively. The SEM analysis shows that the film is smooth with tiny particles on the film surface, and non-crystallization trend was clear after irradiated with γ rays. The XRD results indicated that the structure of the film at the room temperature mainly exists in the form of amorphous and mixed crystal at a sputtering power of 200 W, and non-crystallinity was more obvious after irradiation. Obvious difference can be found for the transmissibility of the irradiated and pre irradiation TiO₂ films by the UV-VIS spectra. The color becomes light yellow, and the new absorption edge also appeared at about 430 nm. PL spectra and photocatalysis experiments indicate that the photocatalysis degradation rate of the TiO₂ films on methylthionine chloride solution irradiated with the maximum dose can be increased to 90%.     

Effect of irradiation and pre-ageing temperature on the mechanical properties of Al–Si alloy

Al–1wt.%Si alloy samples in the solid solution state were irradiated with doses of gamma rays up to 1.75 MGy for 2 h in the temperature range from 423 to 553 K. Induced variations in structure, mechanical and electrical properties were traced by suitable techniques. Observed changes in the measured parameters, internal friction Q ^?1, thermal diffusivity D _th, dynamic elastic modulus Y and resistivity, ρ, were explained in terms of the role and mode of interaction of lattice defects in irradiated and thermally treated samples. Composition inhomogeneity and variations in mass distribution in the matrix were also considered. The structure identification of the samples was carried out by using conventional X-ray diffraction techniques and transmission electron microscopy micrographs.     

Effect of 50 MeV Li+3 and 80 MeV C+5 ions’ beam irradiation on the optical,structural, chemical and surface topographic properties of PMMA films*

The self-standing films of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were irradiated under vacuum with 50?MeV lithium (Li³⁺) and 80?MeV carbon (C⁵⁺) ions to the fluences of 3?×?10¹⁴, 1?×?10¹⁵, 1?×?10¹⁶ and 1?×?10¹⁷ ions µm^?2. The pristine and irradiated samples of PMMA films were studied by using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffractrometer and atomic force microscopy. With increasing ion fluence of swift heavy ion (SHI), PMMA suffers degradation, UV–Vis spectra show a shift in the absorption band from the UV towards visible, attributing the formation of the modified system of bonds. E_g and E_a decrease with increasing ion fluence. The size of crystallite and crystallinity percentage decreases with increasing ion fluence. With SHI irradiation, the intensity of IR bands and characteristic bands of different functional groups are found to shift drastically. The change in (E_g) and (N) in carbon cluster is calculated. Shifting of the absorption band from the UV towards visible along with optical activity and as a result of irradiation, some defects are created in the polymer causing the formation of conjugated bonds and carbon clusters in the polymer, which in turn lead to the modification in optical properties that could be useful in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, gas sensing, electromagnetic shielding and drug delivery.     

Effects of annealing treatment and gamma irradiation on the absorption and fluorescence spectra of Cr:GSGG laser crystal

The influence of annealing treatments and gamma-ray irradiation on the absorption and fluorescence spectra of Cr:GSGG crystals grown by the Czochralski method has been investigated. Two absorption bands located near 686 nm and 1050 nm were weakened markedly after the crystal was re-annealed in H₂ atmosphere, which is due to the Cr⁴⁺ ions being de-oxidized into Cr³⁺ ions. The other two weak additional absorption bands induced by gamma-ray irradiation appearing near 310 nm and 480 nm are ascribed to the Fe²⁺ ions and F-type color centers, respectively. In particular, the gamma-ray irradiation with a dose of 100 Mrad has an effect of improving slightly the luminescence properties of Cr:GSGG crystals. The improvement mechanism is analyzed and discussed.     

Effect of 100 MeV O7+ ion beam irradiation on structural,optical and electronic properties of SnO2 thin films

In this paper, we present the impact of swift heavy ion beam irradiation on the structural, optical and electronic properties of SnO₂ thin films. Thin films were deposited using the pulsed laser deposition technique on Al₂O₃ substrates. Atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV–visible absorption and temperature-dependent resistivity measurements were performed to explore the morphological, structural, optical and electronic properties of the as-deposited and irradiated samples. The peak intensity of the (200) peak was found to decrease monotonously with increasing irradiation fluence. The band gap energy of the 1×10¹¹ ion/cm² irradiated sample was found to increase. The electrical resistivity of the samples showed a continuous increase with the irradiation fluence.     

Microscopic calculation of proton capture reactions in the mass 60–80 region and its astrophysical implications

Microscopic optical potentials obtained by folding the DDM3Y interaction with the densities from the Relativistic Mean-Field approach have been utilized to evaluate S-factors of low-energy (p, γ) reactions in the mass 60–80 region and to compare with experiments. The Lagrangian density FSU Gold has been employed. Astrophysical rates for important proton capture reactions have been calculated to study the behaviour of rapid proton nucleosynthesis for waiting point nuclei with mass less than A = 80.     

Effect of thermal cycling on structure and properties of Ni–Mn–In-based alloys

Technical Physics - The results of investigations of the structure and properties of ternary alloys Ni47–x Mn42 + x In11 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) after thermal cycling are presented. It has...     

The Effect of the Relative Motion of Atoms on the Frequency of the Emitted Light and the Reinterpretation of the Ives-Stilwell Experiment

We examine the process of the emission of light from an atom that is in a relative translational motion with respect to the medium at rest in which the electromagnetic excitations propagate. The effect of Lorentz contraction of the of electron orbits on the emitted frequency is incorporated in the Rydberg formula, as well as the emitter’s Doppler effect is acknowledged. The result is that the frequency of the emitted light is modified by a factor that is identical with what is called the ‘relativistic Doppler effect’. The new emission formula is applied for reinterpretation of the Ives-Stilwell experiment and shown that within the second order of approximation with respect to the speeds of the atom and the ‘absolute speed’ (Earth’s speed relative to the medium), the absolute motion does not affect the interference. The expression for the modification of the frequency involves both a first and a second-order term with respect to the speed of the atoms in the cathode tube. The latter turns out to be quantitatively the same as if the time would have changed its rate in the frame moving with the atoms. Thus, a new interpretation of the results of this famous experiment is provided without stipulating time dilation.     

Effect of 30 Mev Li 3+ ion and 8 MeV electron irradiation on n-channel MOSFETs

The effect of 30 v MeV Li 3+ ion and 8 v MeV electron irradiation on the threshold voltage ( V TH ), the voltage shift due to interface trapped charge ( j V Nit ), the voltage shift due to oxide trapped charge ( j V Not ), the density of interface trapped charge ( j N it ), the density of oxide trapped charge ( j N ot ) and the drain saturation current ( I D v Sat ) were studied as a function of fluence. Considerable increase in j N it and j N ot , and decrease in V TH and I D v Sat were observed in both types of irradiation. The observed difference in the properties of Li 3+ ion and electron irradiated MOSFETs are interpreted on the basis of energy loss process associated with the type of radiation. The study showed that the 30 v MeV Li 3+ ion irradiation produce more damage when compared to the 8 v MeV electron irradiation because of the higher electronic energy loss value. High temperature annealing studies showed that trapped charge generated during ion and electron irradiation was annealed out at 500 v °C.     

Effect of gamma irradiation on the structural,thermal and optical properties of Makrofol BL 2–4

Makrofol BL 2–4 is an extrusion film based on Makrolon polycarbonate. It comprises excellent die-cutting performance combined with high light transmission and moderate light scattering properties. It is a class of polymeric solid state nuclear track detectors which has many applications in various radiation detection fields. In the present work, Makrofol samples were irradiated using different gamma doses ranging from 10 to 350 kGy. The structural modifications in the gamma-irradiated Makrofol samples have been studied as a function of dose using different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, intrinsic viscosity, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, refractive index and color difference studies. The gamma irradiation in the dose range 20–200 kGy led to a more compact structure of Makrofol polymer, which resulted in an improvement in its thermal stability with an enhancement in its structural and optical properties.