4T split TEM volume head and knee coils for improved sensitivity and patient accessibility

Split RF coils offer improved patient access by eliminating the need for the coil to be slid over the region of interest. For unshielded birdcage coils, the presence of end ring currents necessitates a direct electrical connection between two halves of the coil. For high-field (>3T) shielded birdcage coils, both the shield and the coil must be split and reliably connected electrically. This problem can be circumvented by the use of split TEM volume coils. Since the elements of a TEM coil are coupled inductively, no direct electrical connection between the halves is necessary. In this work we demonstrate that the effects of splitting the shield for head and knee TEMs can be compensated for, and performance retained. For the knee, the improved access allowed the coil diameter to be reduced, enhancing the sensitivity by 15-20%.     

Radiation damage from EELS and NEXAFS in diesel soot and diesel soot extracts

Carbon NEXAFS and EELS spectra of soot, and NEXAFS spectra of soot extracts, are presented. The EELS spectra of solid soot particles from a TEM-EELS show fewer structures than the corresponding NEXAFS spectra obtained at two different synchrotron beamlines. We attribute radiation damage in the TEM-EELS to the failure at resolving structures of surface functional carbon groups in or on soot. NEXAFS spectra of soot extracts studied with a scanning transmission X-ray microscope show alterations during X-ray exposure, which can be explained by a simple chemical model where oxygen apparently reacts with the sample. When the same extract is studied in an ultrahigh-vacuum beamline, no such alterations are observed.     

Beam damage by the induced electric field in transmission electron microscopy

Electric fields can be induced by electron irradiation of insulating thin film materials. In this work, the electric fields under a broad beam illumination in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are analyzed for insulating samples. Some damage phenomena observed can be interpreted by the mechanism of damage by the induced electric field (DIEF). For broad-beam illumination in an ultra-thin specimen, the electric field near the center of the illumination may not be strong, but at the periphery of the illumination the electric field can be significant. Therefore, damage may be easily observed in these regions rather than at the center of the illumination. For a beam which is broad compared to the specimen thickness, e.g. 100 ∼ 1000 nm, a strong electric field pointing inward into the specimen near the surface region may result in cation diffusion into the specimen and/or anion diffusion out to the surface region. Meanwhile, a strong electric field perpendicular to the beam direction near the edge of the illumination may attract anions into the illuminated region, but eject cations to the periphery. For a wedge-shaped specimen, the electric field points inward into thicker region, driving cations toward the thicker region, while attracting anions to the edge region. On the sharp edge, a strong electric field pointing outward may be responsible for the edge-smoothing effect observed in insulating materials.     

Kinetics of residual gas adsorption on Ge(1 1 1) surface in low-energy electron backscattering

Low-energy (0.4-1.2 eV) electron backscattering is applied for the investigation of kinetics of residual gas adsorption effect on the concentration and energy positions of surface electron states of Ge(1 1 1) surface. Chemosorption of residual gas molecules on Ge(1 1 1) at P ∼ 10⁻⁷ Pa and room temperature is shown to be most active during the first 48 h. Low concentration of dangling valence bonds on the reconstructed Ge(1 1 1) (2 × 8) surface is shown to determine its low activity to chemosorption.     

Surface chemical modification of TEOS based silica aerogels synthesized by two step (acid-base) sol-gel process

The present paper describes the comparative studies on the hydrophobic and physical properties of the tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) based silica aerogels prepared by two step sol-gel process followed by supercritical drying. Silica alcogels were prepared by keeping the molar ratio of TEOS:methanol (MeOH):H₂O (acidic):H₂O (basic) constant at 1:33:3.5:3.5 with oxalic acid and ammonium hydroxide concentrations fixed at 0.001 and 1 M, respectively. In all, nine different co-precursors (CP) of the type R_nSiX_4 − n, have been used. The aerogels have been characterized by density, porosity, percentage of volume shrinkage, optical transmission, contact angle and thermal conductivity measurements. The surface chemical modification of silica aerogels was confirmed by the presence of CH and SiC peaks at 2900, 1450 and 840 cm⁻¹, respectively, from the Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The microstructure of the aerogels was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. In addition to these studies, the stability of the hydrophobic aerogels against an organic impurity (methanol, in the present studies) in water has also been studied.     

氢离子辐照纯钒中形成的位错环

钒合金作为聚变堆候选材料, 其辐照损伤行为一直是关注的重点. 研究辐照时形成的位错环的性质, 其意义在于揭示纯钒中辐照空洞的长大机理. 这种机理表现为不同类型位错环对点缺陷吸收的偏压不同, 从而影响金属的辐照肿胀. 本文利用加速器对纯钒薄膜样品进行氢离子辐照, 然后, 利用透射电镜的inside-outside方法分析氢离子辐照所形成的位错环的类型. 结果表明, 在氢离子辐照纯钒中没有发现柏氏矢量b=<110>的位错环, 只有柏氏矢量b=1/2<111>和b=<110>的位错环, 这两种位错环的惯性面处于{110}-{112}之间. 能确定性质的位错环全部为间隙型位错环, 未发现空位型位错环.     

Near-infrared intersubband absorption in (CdS/ZnSe)/BeTe type-II super-lattices grown on GaAs substrate by MBE

We study the dependence of absorption wavelength on the well width in the (CdS/ZnSe)/BeTe super-lattices(SL). With well-width reduction, the wavelength decreases from 1.795 to 1.57 μm. Structural properties, strain state and interface composition are determined via XRD measurement. A (CdS/ZnSe)/Be_xMg_1−xTe structure is prepared and XRD reveals the average lattice constant match to GaAs substrate. TEM reveals that numerous stacking faults exist in the (CdS/ZnSe)/BeTe structure, and stacking faults are completely suppressed in (CdS/ZnSe)/Be_xMg_1−xTe SLs. Intersubband transition down to 1.535–1.55 μm have been observed in SLs.     

利用TEM对Si基片与MgO基片上生长的薄膜特性的研究

对生长在Si和MgO单晶基片上的不同厚度的单层NbN薄膜、双层薄膜AlN/NbN以及三层薄膜NbN/AlN/NbN应用透射电子显微镜(Transmission Electron Microscope,TEM)技术进行了分析研究,对这几种薄膜样品的微观结构、薄膜厚度以及各个边界的一些直观细节给出了较为清晰的图像。由透射电子显微镜的电子衍射图案计算了薄膜和单晶衬底的晶格常数,并与我们以前采用X射线衍射技术分析的结果进行了比较,结果有很好的吻合。     

Sn/Ge(1 1 1) α-phase: characterization of image resonances by specular electron reflection and selective electron scattering

Image potential resonances on the Sn/Ge(1 1 1) α-phase are investigated by two closely related methods: specular electron reflection and so-called selective electron scattering. Electrons from image resonances are detected on this surface at 120 and 300 K, i.e. below and above the phase transition at about 200 K. The dispersion of the image resonances reveals at these two temperatures equivalent effective electron masses, which are characteristic for this type of electronic surface states. The results of the two methods are consistent according to the similarity of the scattering processes. Changes in the loss peak intensity with the annealing temperature are assigned to the surface quality and are reflected by characteristic photoemission intensities.     

Insulator–metal transition in Mn-doped NaNbO3 induced by chemical and thermal treatment

The transition between insulator and metal conductor states, induced by oxygen non-stoichiometry, was studied for NaNbO₃ : Mn crystals. Conditions for an optimal reduction were determined on the basis of TGA tests. The temperature dependencies of the resistance measured on the macroscale showed that the transition from thermally activated to metallic features depends on the level of oxygen deficiency. The LC-AFM measurement exhibited non-homogeneous electric resistance on the nanoscale. We ascribed the local insulator–metal transition to changeover in the electronic state of the Nb ions occurring in filaments. The Mn dopant stabilised the induced oxygen non-stoichiometry and the metallic conduction down to room temperature.