Radiation-induced swelling and amorphization in Ca2Nd8(SiO4)6O2

Specimens of Ca₂Nd₈(SiO₄)₆O₂ were doped with 1.2 wt% ²⁴⁴Cm and the effects of self-radiation damage from alpha decay were determined as a function of cumulative dose. The macroscopic volume of the specimens increased exponentially with dose to a limiting (saturation) value of ～8.0%. The initially crystalline material became completely X-ray amorphous at a dose of 11.7 × 10²⁴ alpha decays/m³. The dissolution rate of the amorphous state was about an order of magnitude higher than the crystalline state. The stored energy of the amorphous state was ～130 J/g. Differential thermal analysis along with isochronal and isothermal-step annealing were used to study the kinetics associated with the thermal recovery of the radiation-induced swelling and amorphization. A single recovery stage associated with recrystallization of the amorphous material was observed and the activation energy was determined to be 3.1±0.2 eV.     

The decay of 0.57 s114Cs

Fusion reactions between⁵⁸Ni projectiles and⁵⁸Ni target nuclei were used to produce¹¹⁴Cs activity, which was studied by on-line mass separation and decay spectroscopy. The obtained half-life of 0.57±0.02 s and the probability ratio of 44±3 between betadelayed proton and beta-delayed alpha emission represent data with improved precision. The absolute branching ratios for both particle decay modes were determined to be (7 ±2)×10^?2 and (1.6±0.6)×10^?3, respectively. These branching ratios and the shapes of particle spectra are discussed with reference to the statistical model calculations. Groundstate alpha decay of¹¹⁴Cs was observed with an alpha energy of 3,226±30 keV and a branching ratio of (1.8±0.6)×10^?4. An upper limit of the branching ratio for a possible ground-state proton decay was set at 5×10^?4. Fromγ-ray singles andγ-γ coincidence measurements, excited states in¹¹⁴Xe are proposed.     

57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction study of some complex metamict minerals

Metamict minerals are a class of natural amorphous materials which were initially crystalline but self-radiation damage mainly from alpha decays of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th series inside the structure can produce partially or fully amorphization (metamictization) of these minerals. This paper reports the results of ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, gamma-ray spectrometry and X-ray diffraction (XRD) study of some complex metamict minerals like: davidite-(La), gadolinite, steenstrupine-(Ce), vesuvianite and comparatively epidote. The absorbed α-dose for these minerals varies in wide range from 1.9 × 10¹⁴ α-decay/mg (epidote) to as high as 2.7 × 10¹⁶ α-decay/mg (steenstrupine). The Mössbauer spectra show decreasing IS values (except steenstrupine) for Fe²⁺ components with absorbed α-dose. Rather unexpected feature of these spectra is a noticeable decrease of the spectral line widths with increasing absorbed α-dose both Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ components in gadolinite, davidite and steenstrupine.     

Fission fragment damage in zircon

Abstract

X-ray diffraction, electron microscope and optical studies have been : ade on zircons damaged by fission fragments derived from the action of neutrons on uranium impurities in the zircon lattice. A dosage of about 10¹⁴ fission events · cm^?3 was required to produce diffuse x-ray scattering, observable by conventional photographic methods, and a dosage of about 10¹⁶ fission events · cm^?3 appears to be required to render a zircon amorphous. An optical absorption band, generated apparently by γ-rays, was observed near 270 nm in undoped zircon. The valence state of the uranium impurities was unchanged by irradiation with 10¹⁴ fission events · cm^?3, 2 × 10¹⁸ nvt of fast neutrons, or ～10¹⁰ R of γ-rays. A fission event in zircon was deduced to produce ～10⁴ times more displacement damage than an α-recoil atom. Individual fission tracks were observed directly by electron microscopy after dosage of 10¹⁰-10¹³ fission events - cm^?3, the tracks being similar in appearance to those found by other workers in other materials. With increasing dosage, fission fragment uradiation appears to produce a progressive disordering of the lattice, as was previously deduced for the case of α-recoil irradiation, rather than the formation of new crystallographic phases.     

Beam transport

Abstract

Dopant distribution, electrical activity and damage annealing of high-dose (～5 × 10¹⁵ cm²) Ga-implanted silicon samples annealed by conventional thermal annealing have been studied by alpha particle back-scattering, differential Hall effect and ellipsometry measurements. Back-scattering spectra show that there is no long tail of Ga atoms in the as-implanted samples. Upon annealing these samples the damaged amorphous layer recrystallizes at about 570°C by solid phase epitaxy. During the epitaxial regrowth the dopant atom distribution seems to be modified. Further, very high levels of electrical activaton of Ga-atoms (～3 × 10²⁰ cm^?3), much higher than the maximum solubility limit of Ga in Si (4.5 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3), is achieved by thermal annealing of the sample at ～570°C. This is comparable to the doping achieved by laser annealing of the Ga implanted Si. All the above three measurements show that there is residual damage in the high dose (?10¹⁵cm^?2) implanted samples after the recrystallization at about 570°C. This may be related to strain in the lattice at the high concentrations of metastable substitutional Ga atoms. Annealing at higher temperature reduces the electrical activity of Ga atoms, possibly by driving out the metastably high substitutional concentrations of Ga-atoms into electrically inactive clusters or precipitates.     

Alpha decay of the new isotope172Au

The first observation of the extremely neutrondeficient nucleus¹⁷²Au is reported, produced using the fusion evaporation reaction⁷⁰Ge+¹⁰⁶Cd→¹⁷⁶Hg^* (E_x?64 MeV). Mass separated evaporation residues were implanted into a double-sided silicon strip detector, and the energy and time of subsequent decay events were recorded. The alpha decay of¹⁷²Au was measured with an energy =6860±10 KeV, corresponding to =7020±10 Kev, and a half-life of 4±1 ms. No evidence was seen for a proton decay branch, implying a limit ofb _p ≤ 2 %.     

Hardness and elastic modulus of zircon as a function of heavy-particle irradiation dose: I. In situ α-decay event damage

Abstract

For a natural single crystal of zircon, ZrSiO₄, from Sri Lanka, exhibiting zonation in U and Th contents, the hardness and elastic modulus have been determined as a function of α-decay dose using a mechanical properties microprobe (MPM). The zones vary in thickness from one to hundreds of micrometers, and have uranium and thorium concentrations such that the α-decay dose varies between 2 × 10¹⁵ and 1 × 10¹⁶ α-decay events/mg (0.15 to 0.65 dpa, displacement per atom). The transition from the crystalline to the aperiodic metamict state occurs over this dose range. For a traverse of 75 indent pairs across layers sampling a large portion of the crystalline-to-metamict transition (3.7 × 10¹⁵ to 9.7 × 10¹⁵ α-decay events/mg) both the hardness and elastic modulus decrease linearly with increasing α-decay dose. The radiation-induced softening follows a behavior similar to other radiation-induced changes, that is with the expansion of the unit cell parameters there is a decrease in density, birefringence, hardness and bulk modulus.     

Evidence for element 109 from one correlated decay sequence following the fusion of58Fe with209Bi

An experiment to synthesize element 109 is presented. Decay patterns characteristic of complete fusion products were searched for in an irradiation of²⁰⁹Bi targets with⁵⁸Fe projectiles at specific incident energies of 4.95, 5.05, and 5.15 MeV/u. A total dose of 7 ×10¹⁷ particles was obtained. The experimental method involves in-flight separation of forward peaked reaction products with a static-field velocity filter, their passage through a time-of-flight device and their final implantation into position sensitive solid state detectors to measure their kinetic energy, approximate mass and their time and position of incidence. The subsequent decay of the narrowly localised reaction products by cascades of alpha particles and/or spontaneous fission is also registered in terms of the energies and times of all the emitted particles. One outstanding decay sequence that started with the emission of two alpha particles within subsequent time intervals of 5 ms and 22 ms and ended with spontaneous fission after 13 s was found at 5.15 MeV/u. The first alpha particle had a kinetic energy of (11.10±0.04) MeV. A detailed analysis of all the alternative interpretations of this observation, such as a purely random correlation of signals, the decay of a product from a transfer reaction or of any of the various energetically possible evaporation residues, shows that the isotope with mass 266 of element 109, i.e. the one neutron evaporation channel after complete fusion, is the statistically most significant assignment. The outlook for new element synthesis is also briefly discussed.     

Doping and radiation damage profiles of P+ ions implanted in silicon along the [110] axis

Several doses of 200 KeV phosphorus ions have been implanted under channeling conditions along the [110] direction in silicon.

Range distribution has been determined for the three implant doses 10¹³, 10¹⁴, 10¹⁵ P⁺/cm² both with the electrical measurements and the neutron activation techniques.

The radiation damage distribution has been determined both with 290 KeV proton back-scattering analysis and with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations.

Good agreement has been found between electrical and neutron activation profiles in the samples where 100% of the implanted dose had been electrically activated by means of annealing.

Carrier concentration profiles, from samples implanted with 10¹⁵ P⁺/cm², determined after two different annealing temperatures (500°C and 700°C) have bcen compared with the radiation damage distribution and a correlation between damage and phosphorus electrical activation process seems to be possible.

Maximum damage peak, as determined by back-scattering analysis, shifts from ～0.4 μ depth in the lower dose(5 × 10¹⁴ P⁺/cm²), to ～0.22 pm depth in the higher implanted dose (4 × 10¹⁵ P⁺/cm²). Damage distribution of phosphorus ions random implanted in the same experimental conditions shows 3 peak at ～0.2 μn depth.

In accordance with the back-scattering analysis, T.E.M. observations on 10¹⁵P⁺/cm² implanted samples show the presence of amorphous regions at depth between 0.25 and 0.5 μm from the surface. In the most damaged layer ～0.3μm in depth, a surface density of ～10¹²/cm² amorphous regions 25-50 A diameter was observed.     

Simultaneous measurements of indoor radon and thoron and inhalation dose assessment in Douala City,Cameroon

ABSTRACT

Radon, thoron and associated progeny measurements have been carried out in 71 dwellings of Douala city, Cameroon. The radon–thoron discriminative detectors (RADUET) were used to estimate the radon and thoron concentration, while thoron progeny monitors measured equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration (EETC). Radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentrations vary from 31?±?1 to 436?±?12 Bq?m^–3, 4?±?7 to 246?±?5 Bq?m^–3, and 1.5?±?0.9 to 13.1?±?9.4 Bq?m^–3. The mean value of the equilibrium factor for thoron is estimated at 0.11?±?0.16. The annual effective dose due to exposure to indoor radon and progeny ranges from 0.6 to 9?mSv?a^–1 with an average value of 2.6?±?0.1?mSv?a^–1. The effective dose due to the exposure to thoron and progeny vary from 0.3 to 2.9?mSv?a^–1 with an average value of 1.0?±?0.4?mSv?a^–1. The contribution of thoron and its progeny to the total inhalation dose ranges from 7 to 60?% with an average value of 26?%; thus their contributions should not be neglected in the inhalation dose assessment.     

Neutron interactions with germanium isotopes and amorphous and crystalline GeO2

Coherent neutron scattering lengths and total cross sections have been measured on elemental and oxide samples of ordinary Ge and of isotopically enriched substances. From the experimental results the following values were obtained:

the coherent scattering lengths (in fm) of the bound atoms Ge(8.185±0.020);⁷⁰Ge(10.0±0.1);⁷²Ge(8.51±0.10);⁷³Ge(5.02±0.04);⁷⁴Ge(7.58±0.10) and⁷⁶Ge(8.2 ±1.5);

the absorption cross sections at 0.0253 eV (in barn) for Ge(2.20±0.04);⁷⁰Ge(2.9±0.2);⁷²Ge(0.8±0.2);⁷³Ge(14.4±0.4) and⁷⁴Ge(0.4±0.2);

the free cross sections for epithermal neutrons and the zero energy scattering cross sections.

On the basis of this data, the isotopic- and spin-incoherent cross sections and thes-wave resonance contributions to the coherent scattering lengths have been determined and discussed. Transmission measurements at 0.57 meV on amorphous and crystalline GeO₂ yielded for the amorphous sample an inelastic cross section eight times larger than for the crystalline samples. This effect corresponds to a clearly higher density of low energy states in the amorphous than in the crystalline substances.     

Ion bombardment induced phase transformations and inert gas mobility in the semiconductors Ge,Si, and GaAs

Abstract

The present study contributes some new aspects to the general understanding of the ion implantation behaviour of 3 common semiconductor materials, and of diffusion processes in these materials. Single crystals of Si, Ge, and GaAs were bombarded with Kr- or Xe-ions at energies of 40 or 500 keV and doses between 10¹¹ and 2 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm². Gas release measurements and Rutherford scattering of 1 MeV He⁺-ions combined with channeling were used to study bombardment damage (amorphization) and inert gas diffusion. At low bombardment doses (10¹¹ ions/cm²) and energy (40 keV), no damage was observed and the gas release was compatible with volume diffusion resembling Group I and VIII behaviour. Hence, the pre-exponential terms, D ₀, were low (range 10-^5±1 cm² sec^?1) and the activation enthalpies, Δ H, were much lower than those of self-diffusion or of diffusion of Group III and V elements. The Δ H's for gas diffusion followed the relation Δ H = (1.05±0.1) × 10^?3 T_m eV with the melting point, T_m , in °K. The mechanism of gas mobility might be the Turnbull dissociative mechanism. Rutherford scattering and channeling data indicated that part of the gas occupied lattice sites.

At higher doses, the bombarded layers turned amorphous. Channeling experiments showed a coincidence in temperatures for a gas release process different from the above one of volume diffusion, and recrystallization of the disordered layer to the single crystalline state. Both processes occurred in the temperature range 0.60 to 0.65 T_m . The gas release indicated a (partial) single jump character with implied Δ H's following the relation Δ H = (2.1±0.1) × 10^?3 T_m eV. Contrary to previous results on oxides, this new gas release occurred at temperatures near to those or even above those of volume diffusion of the gas.

Due to the easy formation of an amorphous layer it was difficult to observe the retarded release (trapping of gas) that has been found in many materials at high gas and damage concentrations. However, in a separate series of experiments with 500 keV Kr-ions, a release retarded with respect to volume diffusion of the gas was observed in Si and Ge.     

Search for correlated two-photon emission from e+(82Sr)+Th interactions

A previously observed electron line at INS at 330.3±0.4 keV in e⁺+Th interactions has been implied by these authors to originate from the decay of an unknown neutral object X⁰. QED predicts a two-photon decay mode of X⁰ leading to a correlated two-photon coincidence peak at 841.3±0.4 keV. To search for such a peak γγ-coincidence experiments were performed. From an observed peak-like structure in the spectrum at 841.7±0.3 keV and an associated cross section of 10.6±3.1 (stat) ± 6.9 (syst) μb an upper limit for the cross section of 15.2±1.5 (syst) μb for the production and 2γ decay of the X⁰ was deduced with a statistical confidence level of 95%.     

Boson peak measurements in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals

We have measured the low-frequency Raman scattering in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals with four different irradiation doses from 4.7×10¹⁹ n/cm² to 1×10²⁰ n/cm² and for 2 different crystallographic directions. For the used doses the range of density change of the investigated samples was 12% (the maximum change during amorphization is 14%) and the amorphous fraction varied from 35% to 100%. The same measurement was done in neutron-irradiated amorphous silica with a maximal dose 2×10²⁰ n/cm². In all cases we observed the boson peak in the Raman spectra. The position of the peak, at 67±3 cm^-1, was found to be the same for all the investigated samples independent of the dose. The shape of the peak for doses 6.8× 10¹⁹ n/cm² and higher was also found to be the same for 5 investigated samples (including irradiated vitreous silica). We found that the position of the boson peak in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals and vitreous silica corresponds to the Ioffe-Regel crossover frequency for phonons. The origin of the boson peak in neutron-irradiated quartz and vitreous silica can be attributed to local soft optic modes, which are analogous to the soft optic mode that drives the α–β transition in quartz.     

Possible low-temperature nearly frictionless states of locally amorphous solid <Superscript>4</Superscript>He in nanopores

It has been recently reported that there might be amorphous solid ⁴He formed in around 4.7 ± 0.15 nm pore [J. Bossy, T. Hansen, H.R. Glyde, Phys. Rev. B 81, 184507 (2010)]. By treating the solid ⁴He in confined nanopores at very low temperature locally as an amorphous matter and using the verified transition-state model together with the specific activation energy and volume, we can observe a sudden change of the shearing stresses (which relate to the transport resistance) at corresponding onset temperature of locally amorphous solid ⁴He considering the role of holes or defects. We found that there might be possible almost very-low flow-resistance transport of locally amorphous solid ⁴He confined in nanopores at temperature ∼ 0.1 K after intensive calculations.     

Energy dependence of electron-induced radiation damage in tungsten

Abstract

The energy dependence of low dose damage production in commercial and high purity polycrystalline tungsten wires was studied near 350 K with 1.6 to 2.4 MeV electrons. From resistivity measurements at 291 K the threshold energy for the onset of observable damage was determined as 50 × 2 eV. An ‘effective’ threshold of 52 ±2 eV was also determined by directly fitting the energy dependence of the damage rates to theoretical displacement cross sections calculated from step-function displacement probabilities. A decrease of two orders of magnitude in impurity content reduced damage rates by about a factor of two but did not affect threshold. These results combined with current defect recovery models for tungsten, low temperature threshold data, and computer-calculated bcc damage theory suggest: (1) Observed damage consisted of equal concentrations of vacancies and impurity-trapped Stage I free interstitials. (2) Across Stage II (100 K to 600 K) onset threshold should be within 50 ±2 eV. (3) Minimum recoil energy required for free interstitial production near 0 K is 53 ± 5 eV. (4) Threshold has little dependence on crystal direction. An empirical method is presented for predicting threshold energies in the bcc transition metals by assuming the directional dependence of threshold is directly proportional to that of Young's modulus. By the use of one universal proportionality constant (1.2 × 10^?11 eV.cm²/dyne), thresholds for a number of metals and directions are calculated and shown to have significantly better agreement with experiment than the best available theoretical estimates.     

The decay of45Ti to45Sc

The low intensity β⁺/E.C. branches in the decay of⁴⁵Ti to excited states of⁴⁵Sc have been reinvestigated in order to resolve discrepancies in reported branching ratios. A new branch to the 974 keV level, having an intensity of 9.9±1.2×10^?5/decay has been found. A previously reported branch to the 1237 keV level was found to be in error. The intensities for decay to the levels at 720, 1408 and 1661 keV levels were determined to be 154±12, 90.2±9.7 and 52.5±5.6, respectively, in units of 10^?5 per decay.     

Effet elastique en volume dans le nickel irradie aux electrons a tres basse temperature

Abstract

Experiments designed to determine the damage distribution produced by energetic heavy ions in Si are described. For low ion doses (10¹¹ to 10¹³ cm^?2), the location of the damage peak was determined by changes, which were produced by ion damage, in the electrical properties of thin (0.6 μ), uniformly doped Si layers as a function of depth. The ratio of the peak position in the damage distribution to the peak position in the ion distribution was determined to be approximately 0.6 ± 0.1 for Si²⁹ (150 keV), P³¹ (70, 140, 200 keV), B¹¹ (60 keV), and As⁷⁵ (280 keV). A comparison of carrier removal rates and the number of displaced lattice atoms previously reported from back-scattering experiments with He ions indicates that the nature of damage produced by Si²⁹ and B¹¹ are different. In the former case, cluster damage (amorphous disordered regions) appears to be an important form of radiation damage, while in the latter case, isolated defects are the dominant form of radiation damage for room temperature implantations. Isochronal annealing studies of Si²⁹ and B¹¹ ion damage provide further support for the different nature of radiation defects produced by these species. For high doses (10¹⁴ to 10¹⁶ cm^?2), the growth of a continuous amorphous Si layer was studied with ESR, optical transmission, and visual observation and stripping studies. The ratio of the location of the damage peak to that of the peak ion concentration was determined to be approximately 0.7 for P³¹ (140, 280 keV) and 0.8 for As⁷⁵ (280 keV). From the ESR studies, the number of displaced atoms in amorphous clusters was estimated to be 2800 per 280 keV P³¹ ion.     

Alpha decay of the new isotopes207, 208Ac

Two new neutron-deficient isotopes^207,208Ac have been produced in fusion reactions with 5.2–5.6 MeV/nucleon⁴⁰Ar ions on¹⁷⁵Lu and identified on the basis of genetic correlations. The fusion evaporation products were separated on-line using a gas-filled magnetic recoil separator. The alpha energy and half-life of²⁰⁸Ac were determined to be (7572±15) keV and (95 _?16 ⁺²⁴ ) ms, respectively. A new alpha line with a half-life of (25 _?5 ⁺⁹ ) ms and an energy of (7758±20) keV is assigned to the decay of an isomeric state in²⁰⁸Ac. Another new activity with a half-life of (22 _?9 ⁺⁴⁰ ) ms and an alpha energy of (7712±25) keV is assigned to²⁰⁷Ac.     

Alpha decay of the first excited state of the Th-229 nucleus

The α decay of the anomalously low-lying isomeric level 3/2⁺ (3.5±1.0 eV) of the ²²⁹Th nucleus is studied. The lifetime of the isomer with respect to a decay is predicted and the spectrum of the emitted a particles is calculated. It is noted that the complete α spectrum of the isomer and accelerated α decay of ²²⁹Th can be observed by exciting the nuclei with laser radiation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 5, 319–323 (10 September 1996)