STUDY OF THE NUCLEAR PHENOMENA IN THE LOW ENERGY (60-360 keV) PROTON BEAM IMPLANTATION ON METALS

A series of studies on the nuclear interaction and its effects in solids during proton implantation were performed in the energy region between 60 and 360keV. Some charged particle products were observed in the implantation experiments on metal samples such as deuterated titanium, titanium alloy, titanium foil on molybdenum substrate, molybdenum and stainless steel, etc.. The energies of the charged particle products are about 3.9, 5.6 and 8.4MeV, respectively. These particles were identified as alpha particles with both detector telescope and absorption measurements. These three kinds of alpha products were found from different proton sub-barrier reactions. The exciting curve of this reaction increases exponentially with the growth of proton energy in the energy region from 90 to 330keV. The radiation damages induced by the nuclear products in the sample have been studied with scanning electron microscopy technique. The possible surface damages induced by them were observed evidently. The origin of the nuclear reactions and their effect on implantation are discussed.     

On the Analysis of Hydrogen in as grown and Ion Implanted GaAs Single Crystals

Hydrogen detection and analysis was carried out on the undoped semi‐insulating (S.I.) gallium arsenide (GaAs) single crystal using conventional elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) technique with high energy, heavy ion beam. Presence of hydrogen (nearly 3 x 1020 atoms/cc) has been observed on the as‐grown samples and further high concentration of atomic hydrogen (total concentration of 7 x 1020 atoms/cc) was found at the surface and was found to be decreasing with depth after 100 nm. Further the low energy hydrogen and oxygen ions implanted separately in GaAs at room temperature were also analysed by ERDA technique. From the analysis, the projected range (Rp) of 100 keV hydrogen and oxygen ions in GaAs was determined to be 891 nm (with Δ Rp equal to 320 nm), 170 nm (with Δ Rp equal to 120 nm) respectively. The experimentally determined values of both Rp and Δ Rp are more as compared with the values obtained using the TRIM theoretical program. Low temperature (4K) photoluminescence (PL) measurements of un‐implanted and H⁺ implanted samples show the passivation of intrinsic deep level defect EL2 and shallow acceptor impurity carbon by the low energy implanted hydrogen ions. The low energy hydrogen implantation may be used as a method of hydrogenation for passivation.     

Ion implant-induced change in polyimide films monitored by variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy

6FDA-pMDA polyimide membranes were implanted with 140 keV N⁺ ions to fluences between 2 × 10¹⁴ and 5 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻². Variable energy positron annihilation spectra were taken and spectral features compared to previously reported changes in gas permeability and permselectivity of these membranes as a function of ion fluence. Positron data corroborate the explanation of these changes in terms of molecular damage caused by the implant: for fluences up to about 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², the concentration of irradiation-induced defects merely increases with implant fluence; while fluences exceeding this threshold value create a second type of positron annihilation site, thereby marking a distinct change in the structure of the polymer, which is responsible for the vast improvement of gas permselectivity data found at the same threshold fluence. PACS codes: 78.70.Bj—positron annihilation; 61.82.Pv—polymers, organic compounds; 61.72.Ww—doping and impurity implantation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. B Polym. Phys. 36: 2413–2421, 1998     

C+注入a-SiNx：H薄膜的微结构及光发射的研究

常温下对低压化学气相沉积制备的纳米硅镶嵌结构的a-SiN_x:H薄膜进行低能量高剂量的C⁺注入后,在800~1200℃高温进行常规退火处理。X射线光电子能谱(XPS)及X射线光电子衍射(XRD)等实验结果表明,当退火温度由800℃升高到1200℃后,薄膜部分结构由SiC_xN_y转变成SiN_x和SiC的混合结构。低温下利用真空紫外光激发,获得分别来自于SiN_x、SiC_xN_y、SiC的,位于2.95,2.58,2.29 eV的光致发光光谱。随着退火温度的升高,薄膜的结构发生了变化,发光光谱也有相应的改变。     

Improved cell viability and hydroxyapatite growth on nitrogen ion-implanted surfaces

Stainless steel 306 is implanted with various doses of nitrogen ions using a 2?MV pelletron accelerator for the improvement of its surface biomedical properties. Raman spectroscopy reveals incubation of hydroxyapatite (HA) on all the samples and it is found that the growth of incubated HA is greater in higher ion dose samples. SEM profiles depict uniform growth and greater spread of HA with higher ion implantation. Human oral fibroblast response is also found consistent with Raman spectroscopy and SEM results; the cell viability is found maximum in samples treated with the highest (more than 300%) dose. XRD profiles signified greater peak intensity of HA with ion implantation; a contact angle study revealed hydrophilic behavior of all the samples but the treated samples were found to be lesser hydrophilic compared to the control samples. Nitrogen implantation yields greater bioactivity, improved surface affinity for HA incubation and improved hardness of the surface.     

Ag implantation-induced modification of Ni–Ti shape memory alloy thin films

Nanocrystalline thin films of Ni–Ti shape memory alloy are deposited on an Si substrate by the DC-magnetron co-sputtering technique and 120?keV Ag ions are implanted at different fluences. The thickness and composition of the pristine films are determined by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). X-Ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and four-point probe resistivity methods have been used to study the structural, morphological and electrical transport properties. XRD analysis has revealed the existence of martensitic and austenite phases in the pristine film and also evidenced the structural changes in Ag-implanted Ni–Ti films at different fluences. AFM studies have revealed that surface roughness and grain size of Ni–Ti films have decreased with an increase in ion fluence. The modifications in the mechanical behaviour of implanted Ni–Ti films w.r.t pristine film is determined by using a Nano-indentation tester at room temperature. Higher hardness and the ratio of higher hardness (H) to elastic modulus (E_r) are observed for the film implanted at an optimized fluence of 9?×?10¹⁵ ions/cm². This improvement in mechanical behaviour could be understood in terms of grain refinement and dislocation induced by the Ag ion implantation in the Ni–Ti thin films.     

Biocompatibility Study of Electrospun Nanocomposite Membranes Based on Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Oxidized Carbon Nano-Onions

In recent decades, the number of patients requiring biocompatible and resistant implants that differ from conventional alternatives dramatically increased. Among the most promising are the nanocomposites of biopolymers and nanomaterials, which pretend to combine the biocompatibility of biopolymers with the resistance of nanomaterials. However, few studies have focused on the in vivo study of the biocompatibility of these materials. The electrospinning process is a technique that produces continuous fibers through the action of an electric field imposed on a polymer solution. However, to date, there are no reports of chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospinning with carbon nano-onions (CNO) for in vivo implantations, which could generate a resistant and biocompatible material. In this work, we describe the synthesis by the electrospinning method of four different nanofibrous membranes of chitosan (CS)/(PVA)/oxidized carbon nano-onions (ox-CNO) and the subdermal implantations after 90 days in Wistar rats. The results of the morphology studies demonstrated that the electrospun nanofibers were continuous with narrow diameters (between 102.1 nm ± 12.9 nm and 147.8 nm ± 29.4 nm). The CS amount added was critical for the diameters used and the successful electrospinning procedure, while the ox-CNO amount did not affect the process. The crystallinity index was increased with the ox-CNO introduction (from 0.85% to 12.5%), demonstrating the reinforcing effect of the nanomaterial. Thermal degradation analysis also exhibited reinforcement effects according to the DSC and TGA analysis, with the higher ox-CNO content. The biocompatibility of the nanofibers was comparable with the porcine collagen, as evidenced by the subdermal implantations in biological models. In summary, all the nanofibers were reabsorbed without a severe immune response, indicating the usefulness of the electrospun nanocomposites in biomedical applications.     

Corrosion resistance and blood compatibility of lanthanum ion implanted pure iron by MEVVA

Pure iron is a potential material applying for coronary artery stents based on its biocorrodible and nontoxic properties. However, the degradation characteristics of pure iron in vivo could reduce the mechanical stability of iron stents prematurely. The purpose of this work was to implant the lanthanum ion into pure iron specimens by metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) source at an extracted voltage of 40 kV to improve its corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The implanted fluence was up to 5 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm². The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to characterize the chemical state and depth profiles of La, Fe and O elements. The results showed lanthanum existed in the +3 oxidation state in the surface layer, most of the oxygen combined with lanthanum and form a layer of oxides. The lanthanum ion implantation layer could effectively hold back iron ions into the immersed solution and obviously improved the corrosion resistance of pure iron in simulated body fluids (SBF) solution by the electrochemical measurements and static immersion tests. The systematic evaluation of blood compatibility, including in vitro platelets adhesion, prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT), indicated that the number of platelets adhesion, activation, aggregation and pseudopodium on the surface of the La-implanted samples were remarkably decreased compared with pure iron and 316L stainless steel, the PT and TT were almost the same as the original plasma. It was obviously showed that lanthanum ion implantation could effectively improve the corrosion resistance and blood compatibility of pure iron.     

He离子注入的尖晶石中Au纳米颗粒的合成研究

利用20 keV的He离子注入表面蒸镀了Au薄膜的尖晶石（MgAl2O4）样品, 随后对注入样品进行了退火处理。 在紫外可见光谱上观察到了由于金属纳米颗粒的存在而引起的较强的表面等离子体共振吸收峰, 提供了材料中金属纳米颗粒形成的光谱证据。 并对形成的Au纳米颗粒的尺寸随退火温度以及He注入剂量的变化进行了研究。 Spinel deposited with a thin Au film was implanted with helium ions, and annealed in vacuum condition subsequently. The surface Plasmon resonance absorbance peak due to the existence of metallic nanoparticles in the dielectric matrix was observed on the Ultraviolet Visible Spectrometry, indicating the formation of metallic nanoparticles in spinel. The dependence of Au particles size with annealing temperature and implantation doses was also investigated.     

Pb implanted SiO2 probed by soft x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy

The results of soft-x-ray O Kα emission (XES) and O 1s absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of Pb-implanted glassy and crystalline silica are presented. The x-ray O Kα (2p → 1s electron transition) emission spectra of SiO₂ were recorded before and after Pb-implantation with the energy of 30 keV and ion fluence 5 × 10¹⁶ ion/cm². It was found that XES O Kα of implanted samples is sensitive to the disordering degree of the oxygen sublattice. The transformations and peculiarities of the spectra shape of implanted samples are explained by the disordering and amorphization effects in the structure of Pb-implanted SiO₂. Comparing the XES O Kα of reference a-SiO₂, Pb-implanted SiO₂ and binary glassy PbO-SiO₂ system_, it was established that the ion-beam treatment of oxide matrix does not generate an oxidized Pb as PbO₄-type structural units. The energy band gap of 9.2 eV well coincides with previously reported data and was evaluated qualitatively with the help of overlaying the XES O Kα and XAS O 1s to the common energy scale for Pb-implanted SiO₂ and binary glassy PbO-SiO₂.