Theoretical studies on dielectronic recombination of neonlike gold and its effects on plasma ionization balance and radiation energy

The dielectronic recombination (DR) of neonlike gold ions is investigated employing the flexible atomic code based on the relativistic configuration interaction method, and its influence on the ionization balance and radiation energy in high-temperature plasma is also studied. The total resonance strength for LMM configuration complex is in a good agreement with the experimental measurement and other theoretical works. The DR rate coefficients are calculated and compared with the three-body recombination and radiative recombination rate coefficients. The DR process is the dominant recombination mechanism of Ne-like gold ions for plasma with temperature T_e≥6.5 keV and density n_e≤2×10²² cm^-3, which is close to the condition of X-ray conversion region in the inertial confinement fusion. Moreover, the DR satellite spectra of LMM, LMN and LMO resonances are simulated, and compared with the intensities of the corresponding resonance lines induced by the electron impact excitation. The intensity ratio of the satellite line 3D’ [(2p⁵_3/23d_3/23d_5/2)_J=5/2[(2p^{5}_{3/2}3d_{3/2}3d_{5/2})_{J=5/2}–(2p⁶3d_3/2) _J=3/2](2p^{6}3d_{3/2})_{ J=3/2}] and the resonance line 3D [(2p⁵_3/23d_5/2)_J=1[(2p^{5}_{3/2}3d_{5/2})_{J=1}–(2p⁶)_J=0](2p^{6})_{J=0}] is given, which can be applied for diagnostics of plasma temperature.     

High energy radiation femtochemistry of water molecules: early electron-radical pairs processes

The damages triggered by ionizing radiation on chemical and biological targets depend on the survival probability of radicals produced in clusters of ionization-excitation events. In this paper, we report on femtolysis (FEMTOsecond radioLYSIS) of pure liquid water using an innovative laser produced high-energy, ultra-short electron bunches in the 2.5-15 MeV range and high energy radiation femtochemistry (HERF) measurements. The short-time monitoring of a primary reducing radical, hydrated electron e^-_aq^{-}_{aq}, has been performed in confined ionization spaces (nascent spurs). The calculated yield of hydrated electrons at early time, G(e^-_aq)_ETG({\rm e}^{-}_{aq})_{ET}, is estimated to be 6.5 ± 0.5 (number/100 eV) at t ~ 5 ps after the ultrafast energy deposition. This estimated value is high compare to (i) the available data of previous works that used scavenging techniques; (ii) the predictions of stochastic water radiolysis modelling for which the initial behaviour of hydrated electron is investigated in the framework of a classical diffusion regime of independent pairs. The HERF developments give new insights into the early ubiquitous radical escape probability in nascent aqueous spurs and emphasize the importance of short-lived solvent bridged electron-radical complexes [H₃O^+...{\rm H}_{3}{\rm O}^{+...}  e_aq^-{\rm e}_{aq}^{-} ..OH]_nH2O{\rm OH}]_{n{\rm H}_2{\rm O}} (non-independent pairs). A complete understanding of the G(e^-_aq)_ET{\rm e}^{-}_{aq})_{ET} value needs to account for quantum aspects of 1s-like trapped electron ground state and neoformed prototropic radicals that govern ultra-fast recombination processes within these non-independent pair configurations. Femtolysis data emphasize that within a time-dependent non-diffusion regime, spatio-temporal correlations between hydrated electron and nearest neighbours OH radical or hydrated proton (H₃O⁺{\rm H}_{3}{\rm O}^{+}) would assist ultrafast anisotropic 1D recombination within solvent bridged electron-radical complexes. The emerging HERF domain would provide guidance for understanding of ultrashort-lived sub-structure of tracks and stimulate future semi-quantum simulations on prethermal radical reactions.     

UV-induced synthesis,characterization and formation mechanism of silver nanoparticles in alkalic carboxymethylated chitosan solution

The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized in an alkalic aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO₃)/carboxymethylated chitosan (CMCTS) with ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. CMCTS, a water-soluble and biocompatible chitosan derivative, served simultaneously as a reducing agent for silver cation and a stabilizing agent for AgNPs in this method. UV–vis spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images analyses showed that the pH of AgNO₃/CMCTS aqueous solutions, the concentrations of AgNO₃ and CMCTS can affect on the size, amount of synthesized AgNPs. Further by polarized optical microscopy it was found that the CMCTS with a high molecular weight leads to a branch-like AgNPs/CMCTS composite morphology. The diameter range of the AgNPs was 2–8 nm and they can be dispersed stably in the alkalic CMCTS solution for more than 6 months. XRD pattern indicated that the AgNPs has cubic crystal structure. The spectra of laser photolysis of AgNO₃/CMCTS aqueous solutions identified the early reduction processes of silver cations (Ag⁺) by hydrated electron formed by photoionization of CMCTS. The rate constant of corresponding reduction reaction was 5.0 × 10⁹ M⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

On the elliptic flow for nearly symmetric collisions and nuclear equation of state

We present the results of elliptic flow for the collision of nearly symmetric nuclei (₁₀Ne²⁰+ ₁₃Al²⁷_{10}{\rm Ne}^{20}+\,_{13}{\rm Al}^{27}, ₁₈Ar⁴⁰+ ₂₁Sc⁴⁵_{18}{\rm Ar}^{40}+\,_{21}{\rm Sc}^{45}, ₃₀Zn⁶⁴+ ₂₈Ni⁵⁸_{30}{\rm Zn}^{64}+\,_{28}{\rm Ni}^{58}, ₃₆Kr⁸⁶+ ₄₁Nb⁹³_{36}{\rm Kr}^{86}+\,_{41}{\rm Nb}^{93}) using the quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) model. General features of elliptic flow are investigated with the help of theoretical simulations. The simulations are performed at beam energies between 45 and 105 MeV /nucleon. A significant change can be seen from in-plane to out-of-plane elliptic flow of different fragments with incident energy. A comparison with experimental data is also made. Further, we show that elliptic flow for different fragments follows power-law dependence as given by the function C(A_tot)^tC{(A_{\rm tot})^\tau}.     

Plasma with two-negative ions and immobile dust particles: planar and non-planar ion-acoustic wave propagation

By using the hydrodynamic equations of positive and two negative ions, Boltzmann electron density distribution, and Poisson equation with immobile positive/negative dust particles, a cylindrical Korteweg-de Vries (CKdV) equation is derived for small but finite amplitude ion-acoustic waves. At the critical total negative ion concentration and/or the critical density rate of the second-negative ions, the pulses collapse at this limit as nonlinearity fails to balance dispersion. Then the CKdV equation is not appropriate to describe the system. Therefore, the modified CKdV (MCKdV) and extended CKdV (ECKdV) equations are derived at the critical plasma compositions and in the vicinity of the critical plasma compositions, respectively. The physical parameters of two plasma environments (e.g., Xe⁺–F^-–SF₆^-_{6}^{-} and Ar⁺–F^-–SF₆^-_{6}^{-} plasmas) are examined on the wave phase velocity and the nonlinear localized pulse profile. The latter should satisfy necessary condition to exist. The localized pulse of Ar⁺–F^-–SF₆^-_{6}^{-} plasma is much spiky than Xe⁺–F^-–SF₆^-_{6}^{-} plasma. Thus, the mass ratio of the negative-to-positive ions is focused upon and it emphasizes to play an important role on the pulse profile. Dependence of the geometrical divergence on the pulse profile is also investigated, which indicates that the localized pulse damps with time. The implications of our results agrees with the experimental observations.     

Temperature dependence of magnetic properties and change of specific heat in perovskite ErCrO3 chromites

In this paper, the temperature dependence of magnetic properties and specific heat are systematically investigated for perovskite ErCrO₃ chromites. The results show that there exists a strong temperature dependence of magnetic ordering and phase coexistence in the region of low temperature. Specifically, ErCrO₃ possesses the long-range antiferromagnetic ordering and the appearance of weak ferromagnetism, occurring at T _N =133 K. In the range of higher temperature, above 133.0 K, the reciprocal of magnetic susceptibility χ ⁻¹ behaves linearly, indicating a typical Curie–Weiss behavior fitted. The effective magnetic moment μ _eff=10.57μ _B and asymptotic paramagnetic Curie temperature T _cw=−30 K, which suggests the predominance of antiferromagnetic interactions in ErCrO₃ chromites. Around T _SR≈22 K, ErCrO₃ undergoes a spin reorientation from \varGamma ₄(G_x,A_y,F_z;F^R_z)\varGamma _{4}(G_{x},A_{y},F_{z};F^{R}_{z}) to \varGamma ₁(A_x,G_y,C_z;C^R_z)\varGamma _{1}(A_{x},G_{y},C_{z};C^{R}_{z}) or Γ ₁(0). Also, the stability of the ferromagnetic Γ ₄ phase increases with increasing applied field. Furthermore, the ac susceptibilities exhibit frequency-independent anomalies near 133 K and the coexistence of the magnetic configuration \varGamma ₂(F_x,G_y,C_z;F^R_x,C^R_y)\varGamma _{2}(F_{x},G_{y},C_{z};F^{R}_{x},C^{R}_{y}) and Γ ₄. Combining the magnetic properties and the specific-heat measurements, this current magnetization can be interpreted from the interaction between C ^r3+–Cr³⁺, Cr³⁺–Er³⁺ and Er³⁺–Er³⁺.     

Evaluation of the rate constants of dissociative and ternary recombination reactions of argon ions on the basis of the results of ballistic experiments

AbstractExperimental data on the change in the electron density in the wake of a ballistic object traveling at velocities V _∞=3.4–4.9 km/s in argon at pressures p _∞=30–100 Torr are processed and analyzed. A reaction scheme is proposed which takes into account the recombination of charged particles, processes of ionic conversion, and the excited states of the atom. The solution of the equations of a nonequilibrium boundary layer for flow in the wake is used to formulate the inverse problem of determining the rate constants for dissociative recombination Ar ₂ ⁺ +e→Ar+Ar and ternary recombination Ar⁺+e+Ar→Ar+Ar. The “nearest-neighbor” approximation is used to obtain theoretically an expression for the ternary recombination coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure. Numerous solutions of inverse problems and a comparison with experiments demonstrates the validity of the expression obtained for the ternary recombination coefficient. It is shown that this expression is valid for moderate pressures and complements the Pitaevskii result for low pressures and the Langevin result for high pressures. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 12–18 (May 1997)     

Spectroscopic measurements and electrical diagnostics of microhollow cathode discharges in argon flow at atmospheric pressure

This paper is dedicated to the study of the electrical and optical characteristics of direct current microhollow cathode discharges (MHCD) in argon flow. Experiments have been carried out in order to determine the so-called Paschen’s curves in a static open MHCD. Current-voltage characteristics were obtained as a function of the pressure and hole diameter. MHCD enable stable direct current discharge operation, which could be ignited for pressures ranging from 12 to 800 Torr, in a very wide range of current densities and electrodes materials. Optical emission spectroscopy and analysis of the spectral line broadening of plasma line emissions were performed in order to measure parameters such as electron number density (2–4 × 10¹⁴ cm^-3)^{-3}), gas temperature (460–640 K), excitation temperature (~ 7000 K) and electron temperature (~ 8500 K), for current ranging from 7 to 15 mA. Lower gas temperature was measured compared to the static MHCD ones.     

Development of ultra-short pulse VUV laser system for nanoscale processing

We have developed intense vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation sources for advanced material processing, such as photochemical surface reactions and precise processing on a nanometer scale. We have constructed a new VUV laser system to generate sub-picosecond pulses at the wavelength of 126 nm. A seed VUV pulse was generated in Xe as the 7th harmonic of a 882-nm Ti:sapphire laser. The optimum conversion was achieved at the pressure of 1.2 Torr. The seed pulse will be amplified by the Ar₂^*\mathrm{Ar}_{2}^{*} media generated by an optical-field-induced ionization Ar plasma produced by the Ti:sapphire laser. We have obtained a gain coefficient of g=0.16 cm⁻¹. Our developing system will provide VUV ultra-short pulses with sub-μJ energy at a repetition rate of 1 kHz.     

Pulsed laser deposition of Zr–N codoped <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-type ZnO thin films

Present p-type ZnO films tend to exhibit high resistivity and low carrier concentration, and they revert to their natural n-type state within days after deposition. One approach to grow higher quality p-type ZnO is by codoping the ZnO during growth. This article describes recent results from the growth and characterization of Zr–N codoped p-type ZnO thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on (0001) sapphire substrates. For this work, both N-doped and Zr–N codoped p-type ZnO films were grown for comparison purposes at substrate temperatures ranging between 400 to 700 °C and N₂O background pressures between 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² Torr. The carrier type and conduction were found to be very sensitive to substrate temperature and N₂O deposition pressure. P-type conduction was observed for films grown at pressures between 10⁻³ to 10⁻² Torr. The Zr–N codoped ZnO films grown at 550 °C in 1×10⁻³ Torr of N₂O show p-type conduction behavior with a very low resistivity of 0.89 Ω-cm, a carrier concentration of 5.0×10¹⁸ cm⁻³, and a Hall mobility of 1.4 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The structure, morphology and optical properties were also evaluated for both N-doped and Zr–N codoped ZnO films.     

Experimental and computational study of the passage of an electron beam through the curvilinear element of the Drakon stellarator system in a tenuous plasma

Results are presented from the first stage of studies on the passage of an electron beam with energy 100–500 eV in a magnetic field of 300–700 Oe through the curvilinear solenoid of the KRéL unit, the latter being a prototype of the closing segment of the Drakon stellarator system, in the plasma-beam discharge regime. The ion density at the end of the curvilinear part of the chamber, n _i ≈8×10⁸–10¹⁰ cm⁻³, the electron temperature T _e ≈4–15 eV, and the positions at which the beam hits the target for different distances from it to the electron source are determined experimentally. The motion of the electron beam is computationally modeled with allowance for the space charge created by the beam and the secondary plasma. From a comparison of the experimentally measured trajectories and trajectories calculated for different values of the space charge, we have obtained an estimate for the unneutralized ion density of the order of 5×10⁷ cm⁻³. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 22–26 (February 1999)     

Spectroscopy study of air plasma induced by IR CO2 laser pulses

A spectroscopic study of ambient air plasma, initially at room temperature and pressures ranging from 32 to 101 kPa, produced by high-power transverse excitation atmospheric (TEA) CO₂ laser (λ=9.621 and 10.591 μm; τ _FWHM≈64 ns; power densities ranging from 0.29 to 6.31 GW cm⁻²) has been carried out in an attempt to clarify the processes involved in laser-induced breakdown (LIB) air plasma. The strong emission observed in the plasma region is mainly due to electronic relaxation of excited N, O and ionic fragments N⁺. The medium-weak emission is due to excited species O⁺, N²⁺, O²⁺, C, C⁺, C²⁺, H, Ar and molecular band systems of N ₂⁺(_{2}^{+}( B ²\varSigma _u⁺^{2}\varSigma _{\mathrm{u}}^{+} –X ²\varSigma _g⁺)^{2}\varSigma _{\mathrm{g}}^{+}) , N₂(C³ Π _u–B³ Π _g), N ₂⁺(_{2}^{+}( D² Π _g–A² Π _u) and OH(A² Σ ⁺–X² Π). Excitation temperatures of 23400±700 K and 26600±1400 K were estimated by means of N⁺ and O⁺ ionic lines, respectively. Electron number densities of the order of (0.5–2.4)×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and (0.6–7.5)×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ were deduced from the Stark broadening of several ionic N⁺ and O⁺ lines, respectively. Estimates of vibrational and rotational temperatures of N ₂⁺_{2}^{+} electronically excited species are reported. The characteristics of the spectral emission intensities from different species have been investigated as functions of the air pressure and laser irradiance. Optical breakdown threshold intensities in air at 10.591 μm have been measured.     

Radiation defects introduced by MeV electrons in argon implanted MOS structures

The influence of MeV electron irradiation on the interface states of argon implanted thin oxide MOS samples has been studied by the thermally stimulated current (TSC) method. The oxide thickness of the structures is 18 nm. Two groups of n-type MOS structures non-implanted and implanted with 20 keV Ar⁺ ions and a dose of 5×10¹² cm⁻² are examined. Both groups are simultaneously irradiated by 23 MeV electrons with doses of 1.2×10¹⁶, 2.4×10¹⁶ or 6.0×10¹⁶ el/cm². The energy position and density of the interface states (generated by electron irradiation, ion implantation or both treatments of the samples) are determined. It is shown that MeV electron irradiation decreases the concentration of interface states (like an oxygen-vacancy and di-vacancy) slightly and creates additional interface states (like an impurity-vacancy) at the Si–SiO₂ interface of argon implanted MOS structures.     

Effect of gas pressure and pulse length on the isotopically selective multiphoton dissociation of CF3Cl under CO2 laser pulses

The multiphoton dissociation of CF₃Cl induced by TEA-CO₂ laser pulses has been studied in a focused beam geometry. TheR(10) [00°1–02°0] ( ) laser line was used, so as to dissociate preferentially the minor isotopic component¹³CF₃Cl. The isotopic selectivityS and the dissociation probability per pulse ω were measured in the pressure range between 0.25 and 8 Torr. With short laser pulses (90 ns FWHM),S is found to increase slightly with gas pressure up to 2 Torr, and ω, to increase almost linearly over the whole pressure range studied. A schematic model is proposed which satisfactorily explains these results if the transition rates across the energy level spectrum of the CF₃Cl molecules are assumed to increase with gas pressure.     

The Influence of Collisions in the Space Charge Sheath on the Ion current Collected by a Langmuir Probe

The current/voltage characteristics of a cylindrical Langmuir probe have been studied in Ar⁺/electron afterglow plasmas in helium carrier gas under truly thermal conditions at 300 K using our flowing afterglow/Langmuir probe (FALP) apparatus. The orbital motion limited (oml) ion and electron current regions of the probe characteristics have been explored over a wide range of the reduced probe voltage (up to ～ 100) and over a wide range of electron (n_e) and ion (n₊) number densities (1.6 × 10⁷ to 1.5 × 10¹⁰ cm^?3) at a constant pressure of the He carrier gas of 1.2 Torr. The observed increase of the probe ion currents above those predicted by collisionless oml theory, resulting in an apparent increase of the measured ion number density above n_e in the plasma, is explained by the enhancement in the ion current collection efficiency due to collisions of ions with neutral gas atoms in the space charge sheath surrounding the probe. The continuous change in the exponent, χ, of the power-law dependence,i₊ ∞ V of the ion current, i₊, on the probe voltage, V_p from 0.5 at the highest n₊ (smallest sheath) towards 1.0 at the lowest n₊ (large sheath) indicates that the ion current collection from the plasma changes from the oml current regime at the high n₊ to the continuum regime at the low n₊ when the ions undergo multiple collisions with the helium atoms in the space charge sheath and thus “drift” towards the probe.     

Nonlinear transformation of a spectrum of femtosecond laser pulses in a gas-filled microcapillary

Features of light pulse propagation and nonlinear optical transformation of the spectrum generated by titanium-sapphire laser pulses (τ_0.5 = 27 fs, λ₀ = 790 nm) have been studied experimentally in a 50-cm cylindrical hollow waveguide (microcapillary with 280-μm diameter core) filled with gaseous molecular nitrogen and helium. Stable guided propagation of light pulses with an intensity of ~1.5⋅10¹⁴ W/cm² in the fundamental EH₁₁ mode of the gas-filled capillary has been demonstrated. Exact focusing of the laser light made it possible to obtain rather high relative (≥95%) and absolute (~60%) energy transmission efficiencies for the pulses at gas pressures equal to or lower than 760 Torr. A method to determine the nonlinear phase shift of the pulses has been proposed. Values of the nonlinear refractive index n₂ ≈ 4.5⋅10^–23 cm²/(W⋅Torr) (N₂) and n₂ ≈ 2.8⋅10^–23 cm²/(W⋅Torr) (He) have been found. A short-wavelength shift in addition to the Kerr nonlinearity has been shown to be contributed by the generated electron plasma at high pulse intensities (≥10¹⁴ W/cm²).     

Microwave microplasma sources based on microstrip-like transmission lines

In this paper, we study two microwave sources based on a planar transmission line configuration, corresponding to linear resonators. In both sources, micro-plasmas are produced within the 50–200 m\mu m gap created between two metal electrodes placed at the open end of a microstrip-like transmission line. The study of the sources follows a complementary approach that uses simulation and experiment. Simulations analyze the electromagnetic behavior of the sources, using the commercial tool CST Microwave Studio^?, and characterize the plasmas produced, using a fluid-type code to describe the dynamics of charged particles. Experimentally, the return loss of the sources (hence their quality factors) is measured without and with plasma. Plasma diagnostics (in air and in argon), based on optical emission spectroscopy measurements, enable to obtain the typical plasma temperatures and the electron density (using Stark broadening measurements of the H_b_{\beta} line-emission profile). Results reveal that the sources have similar quality factors (~15–20), yielding high-density (~10¹⁴ cm^-3)^{-3}), low-power (~10–50 W), non-equilibrium micro-plasmas (with rotational temperatures of ~950–1400 K in air and ~550–630 K in argon, vibrational temperatures of ~5200–5800 K in air and excitation temperatures of ~5800 K in argon), over volumes of ~10^-4–10^-3 cm³.     

N-doping of pentacene by decamethylcobaltocene

We demonstrate n-type doping of pentacene with the powerful reducing molecule decamethylcobaltocene (CoCp₂^*). Characterization of pentacene films deposited in a background pressure of CoCp₂^* by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering confirm that the concentration of incorporated donor molecules can be controlled to a level as high as 1%. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy show Fermi level (E _F) shifts toward unoccupied pentacene states, indicative of an increase in the electron concentration. A 1% donor incorporation level brings E _F to 0.6 eV below the pentacene lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. The corresponding electron density of ∼10¹⁸ cm⁻³ is confirmed by capacitance–voltage measurements on a metal–pentacene–oxide–silicon structure. The demonstration of n-doping suggests applications of CoCp₂^* to pentacene contacts or channel regions of pentacene OTFTs.     

Recombination measurements at low energies with Ar16+ and Ar18+ ions in a dense, cold electron target

Recombination of multiply charged ions with electrons at very low relative energies has become a major topic of interest, due to the observation of rates which are enhanced beyond the expectations for radiative recombination. We present results for Ar¹⁶⁺ and Ar¹⁸⁺ ions from systematic measurements along the argon isonuclear sequence using a high density cold electron beam target (n_e = 7 × 10⁹ cm^-3) at the UNILAC of GSI. The transverse and longitudinal temperatures of the electron beam were determined from DR resonance features observed with metastable Ar¹⁶⁺ (2³S) ions. The rate at E_rel = 0 for radiative recombination of completely stripped Ar¹⁸⁺ calculated with electron beam temperatures kT_∥ = 0.002 eV, kT_⊥ = 0.2 eV amounts to α = 10^-9 cm³ s^-1. This is exceeded by nearly a factor of 10 by the rate measured in experiments with Ar¹⁸⁺ ions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.