Quantitative electron probe microanalysis for the characterization of thin carbon-boron layers in fusion devices

Summary The first wall of the fusion device TEXTOR at the Forschungszentrum Jülich has been coated in situ with an amorphous hydrogen rich carbon/boron film (a-C/B:H) which reduces plasma impurities caused by the plasma surface interaction. The results of the coating process of the 35 m² large inner wall surface have been controlled by a recently developed modification of the quantitative electron probe microanalysis, which has been applied to 12 samples from specified positions inside the tokamak. The quantification itself is based on a Monte Carlo simulation of electron trajectories providing very accurate results for X-ray intensities emitted by elements present in the electron bombarded sample. The Monte Carlo results are used in the present work to calibrate the measured X-ray intensities emitted by boron and carbon from the a-C/B:H layers deposited on pure silicon substrates. As a result the total deposited mass of the layer per area unit as well as the composition of the layers (except hydrogen) could be determined very accurately. The relative errors were less than 7%. The limit of detectability were found to be in the range of one monolayer for boron as well as for carbon.     

Analysis of semiconducting materials by high-resolution radiofrequency glow discharge mass spectrometry

The analytical capabilities of a high-resolution mass spectrometer in combination with a 13.56 MHz glow discharge ion source for the analysis of semiconducting materials (silicon carbide and gallium arsenide) were studied. It was shown that single positively charged ions of sample material have about 10 eV higher average energy than the ions of the discharge and residual gas. Therefore effective energy separation of the ions of analyte from the ions of the discharge and residual gas was achieved by adjusting the ion transfer optics (breadth and position of energy slit), which improves the analytical capabilities of the developed method.Some analytical applications are presented to illustrate the performance of r.f. GDMS for the bulk analysis of semiconducting materials. The results of the trace element analysis of gallium arsenide and silicon carbide samples are compared with data of independent methods (LIMS, ICP-AES, SIMS).Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthdayOn leave from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia     

Efficient synthesis of an aldehyde‐capped polythiophene containing fluorinated electron‐withdrawing groups

To incorporate an acceptor type polythiophene segment onto a supramolecular block copolymer for potential light harvesting applications, effective synthetic routes for the end‐functionalized and acceptor‐substituted polythiophenes are critical. The Ullmann coupling reaction can be utilized to obtain electron‐deficient polythiophenes and to attach terminal thiophene units that carry functional groups. In this article, the reactions involving a 2,5‐dibromothiophene monomer containing an electron‐withdrawing fluorinated ester and 5‐bromo‐2‐thiophenecarboxaldehyde (the end‐capper) were studied in detail. It was found that the Ullmann coupling reaction of the dibromide is very fast (completed in a few minutes) and the terminal bromine group does not survive long under the reaction condition. These findings lead to the development of an effective procedure for aldehyde end‐capping of electron‐deficient polythiophenes. Polymers with molecular weights around 4000 Da are routinely obtained. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 41–47, 2007     

Normalization and Fermi–Coulomb and Coulomb hole sum rules for approximate wave functions

For approximate wave functions, we prove the theorem that there is a one‐to‐one correspondence between the constraints of normalization and of the Fermi–Coulomb and Coulomb hole charge sum rules at each electron position. This correspondence is surprising in light of the fact that normalization depends on the probability of finding an electron at some position. In contrast, the Fermi–Coulomb hole sum rule depends on the probability of two electrons staying apart because of correlations due to the Pauli exclusion principle and Coulomb repulsion, while the Coulomb hole sum rule depends on Coulomb repulsion. We demonstrate the theorem for the ground state of the He atom by the use of two different approximate wave functions that are functionals rather than functions. The first of these wave function functionals is constructed to satisfy the constraint of normalization, and the second that of the Coulomb hole sum rule for each electron position. Each is then shown to satisfy the other corresponding sum rule. The significance of the theorem for the construction of approximate “exchange‐correlation” and “correlation” energy functionals of density functional theory is also discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Stability control of the electrooptic effect with new maleimide copolymers containing photoreactive tricyanopyrrolidene‐based chromophores

New photocrosslinkable maleimide copolymers have been synthesized by the attachment of a tricyanopyrrolidene‐based chromophore. The 2‐(3‐cyano‐4‐(2‐{4‐[hexyl‐(6‐hydroxy‐hexyl)‐amino]‐phenyl}‐vinyl)‐5‐oxo‐1‐{4‐[4‐(3‐oxo‐3‐phenyl‐propenyl)‐ phenoxy]‐butyl}‐1,5‐dihydro‐pyrrol‐2‐ylidene)‐malononitrile chromophore exhibits nonlinear optical activity and contains a chalcone moiety that is sensitive to UV light (λ = 330–360 nm) for crosslink formation. The maleimide monomers have also been functionalized with chalcone moieties. The resultant copolymers exhibit great processability, and one of them shows a maximum electrooptic coefficient of 90 pm/V at 1300 nm. We could control the thermal stability of the electrooptic coefficient with the newly synthesized photoreactive copolymers successfully. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 531–542, 2007     

Degradative chain transfer in vinyl acetate polymerizations using toluene as solvent

In this work, we propose that retardation in vinyl acetate polymerization rate in the presence of toluene is due to degradative chain transfer. The transfer constant to toluene (C_trs) determined using the Mayo method is equal to 3.8 × 10^?3, which is remarkably similar to the value calculated from the rate data, assuming degradative chain transfer (2.7 × 10^?3). Simulations, including chain‐length‐dependent termination, were carried out to compare our degradative chain transfer model with experimental results. The conversion–time profiles showed excellent agreement between experiment and simulation. Good agreement was found for the M_n data as a function of conversion. The experimental and simulation data strongly support the postulate that degradative chain transfer is the dominant kinetic mechanism. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3620–3625, 2007