Athermal migration of vacancies in iron and copper induced by electron irradiation

Abstract

Irradiation with high-energy particles induces athermal migration of point defects, which affects defect reactions at low temperatures where thermal migration is negligible. We conducted molecular dynamics simulations of vacancy migration in iron and copper driven by recoil energies under electron irradiation in a high-voltage electron microscope. Minimum kinetic energy required for migration was about 0.8 and 1.0 eV in iron and copper at 20 K, which was slightly higher than the activation energy for vacancy migration. Around the minimum energy, the migration succeeded only when a first nearest neighbour (1NN) atom received the kinetic energy towards the vacancy. The migration was induced by higher kinetic energies even with larger deflection angles. Above several electron-volts and a few 10s of electron-volts, vacancies migrated directly to 2NN and 3NN sites, respectively. Vacancy migration had complicated directional dependence at higher kinetic energies through multiple collisions and replacement of atoms. The probability of vacancy migration increased with the kinetic energy and remained around 0.3–0.5 jumps per recoil event for 20–100 eV. At higher temperatures, thermal energies slightly increased the probability for kinetic energies less than 1.5 eV. The cross section of vacancy migration was 3040 and 2940 barns for 1NN atoms in iron and copper under irradiation with 1.25 MV electrons at 20 K: the previous result was overestimated by about five times.     

Rates of diffusion controlled reactions for one-dimensionally-moving species in 3D space

ABSTRACT

The asymmetry in diffusion dimensionality between self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters and vacancies is a fundamental feature of irradiation damage in crystals, leading to a defect buildup imbalance that manifests itself as measurable dimensional and mechanical property changes. It is well known that, while vacancies and mobile vacancy clusters diffuse in a three-dimensional (3D) fashion, SIA clusters perform one-dimensional motion along mostly rectilinear trajectories. Despite this, a complete set of kinetic coefficients, including coagulation reaction rates and sink strengths, does not exist for 1D-moving objects. In this paper, we derive analytical expressions for these coefficients from continuum diffusion theory particularised to 1D motion. Moreover, we carry out kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of numerical replicas of the geometry of diffusing particles and sinks to validate the proposed solutions. Our simulations, which are conducted entirely independently from the analytical derivations, reveal excellent agreement with the proposed expressions, adding confidence to their validity. We compare the 1D and 3D cases and discuss their relevance for kinetic codes for damage accumulation calculations.     

Field-induced insulator-metal-insulator transitions in low-energy H2- ion-irradiated epitaxial La2/3Cal/3MnO3 thin films

Epitaxial La2/3Cal/3MnO3 thin films grown on LaA103 （001） substrates were irradiated with low-energy 120-keV H＋ ions over doses ranging from 1012 ions/cm2 to 1017 ions/cm2. The irradiation suppresses the intrinsic insulator-metal （I-M） transition temperature and increases the resistance by reducing the crystallographic symmetry of the films. No irradiation-induced columnar defects were observed in any of the samples. The specific film irradiated at a critical dose around 8 x 1015 ions/cm2 is in a threshold state of the electric insulator where the I-M transition is absent. In an external field of 4 T or higher, the I-M transition is restored and thus an enormous magnetoresistance is observed, while a negative temperature coefficient resumes as the temperature is reduced further. Magnetic relaxation behavior is confirmed in this and other heavily irradiated samples. The results are interpreted in terms of the displacement of oxygen atoms provoked by ion irradiation and the resulting magnetic glassy state, which can be driven into a phase coexistence of metallic ferromagnetic droplets and the insulating glass matrix in a magnetic field.     

Fragmentation of elongated-shaped ZnO nanostructures into spherical particles by swift ion impact

This work reports on the fragmentation of rod-shaped ZnO nanostructures into spherical nanoparticles under 120 MeV Ag⁹⁺ swift ion irradiation. The visual evidence of the irradiation induced morphological change has been witnessed through electron microscopic studies. Typically, rods of 50 nm length and 21 nm diameter have transformed into particles of smaller dimension. Conversely, X-ray diffraction studies have revealed the lowering of crystallite size from 21.5 nm to 9 nm and an increase in microstrain by 11 times. Further, spectroscopic results, such as, significant blue shift (∼24 cm⁻¹) in vibrational features of Zn–O bonding, increase in native defect concentration in the nanostructures etc. also favor the irradiation led modification of nanostructures. It was anticipated that, dislodging and recrystallization of the constituent atoms of the elongated systems, as a consequence of suppression of the cohesive energy (owing to enormous energy deposition) caused by energetic ion irradiation, is chiefly responsible for the evolution of spherical nanoparticles.     

Divergent reaction pathways for one-pot,three-component synthesis of novel 4H-pyrano[3,2-h]quinolines under ultrasound irradiation

The present paper deal with the multi-component condensation of 8-hydroxy quinoline, aromatic aldehydes, and sulfone derivatives catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid for the synthesis of a series of 4H-pyrano[3,2-h]quinoline derivatives in ethanol under ultrasonic irradiations. We provide a series of quinoline derivatives containing sulfone moiety interesting for biological screening tests. The reactions were carried out under both conventional and ultrasonic irradiation conditions. In general, improvement in rates and yields were observed when reactions were carried out under sonication compared with classical silent conditions. Also, also, sonochemical reaction give different reaction pathway other than silent reaction. These remarkable effects appeared in sonicated reactions can be reasonably interpreted in terms of acoustic cavitation phenomenon. Structures of the products were established on analytical and spectral data.     

Neutron irradiation effects on magnetic minor hysteresis loops in nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels

Magnetic minor hysteresis loops have been measured on A533B-type nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels with various combinations of Cu and Ni contents after neutron irradiation to a fluence up to 3.32 × 10¹⁹ n cm^?2. A strong compositional dependence of minor-loop properties, which are indicators of internal stress, was found. The properties of high-Cu and high-Ni steel show a large increase in the low fluence regime below 0.4 × 10¹⁹ n cm^?2, followed by a slow decrease, while those for low-Cu or low-Ni steel show a sudden decrease. The changes are roughly in linear proportion to the yield strength changes. The results were explained from the viewpoint of the formation and growth of Cu-rich precipitates and/or fine scale defects in the matrix and along pre-existing dislocations.     

A dislocation dynamics study of the strength of stacking fault tetrahedra. Part I: interactions with screw dislocations

We present a comprehensive dislocation dynamics (DD) study of the strength of stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT) to screw dislocation glide in fcc Cu. Our methodology explicitly accounts for partial dislocation reactions in fcc crystals, which allows us to provide more detailed insights into the dislocation–SFT processes than previous DD studies. The resistance due to stacking fault surfaces to dislocation cutting has been computed using atomistic simulations and added in the form of a point stress to our DD methodology. We obtain a value of 1658.9 MPa, which translates into an extra force resolved on the glide plane that dislocations must overcome before they can penetrate SFTs. In fact, we see they do not, leading to two well differentiated regimes: (i) partial dislocation reactions, resulting in partial SFT damage, and (ii) impenetrable SFT resulting in the creation of Orowan loops. We obtain SFT strength maps as a function of dislocation glide plane-SFT intersection height, interaction orientation, and dislocation line length. In general SFTs are weaker obstacles the smaller the encountered triangular area is, which has allowed us to derive simple scaling laws with the slipped area as the only variable. These laws suffice to explain all strength curves and are used to derive a simple model of dislocation–SFT strength. The stresses required to break through obstacles in the 2.5–4.8-nm size range have been computed to be 100–300 MPa, in good agreement with some experimental estimations and molecular dynamics calculations.     

An Electron Spin Resonance Study of Gamma-Irradiated 5,6-Dihydropyrimidines

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra are observed from gamma-irradiated, poly-crystalline samples of 5,6-dihydrouracil, 5,6-dihydro-5-methyluracil, and 5,6-dihydro-6-methyluracll. The spectra indicate that the radiation-induced free radicals are formed by the loss of hydrogen atoms from the parent compounds. The crystal structure of the dihydropyrimidines is apparently such that there is a proton near the unpaired electron which can simultaneously flip with the flip of the unpaired electron resulting in the formation of satellite lines relative to the main spectral lines. Annealing the irradiated samples at 100°C produces a decrease in the radical content of all compounds except in dihydro-5-methyluracll where the radical content increases. These differences are discussed in terms of the close proximity of the radicals formed during irradiation of dihydro-5-methyluracil. The     

Trace Analysis Using Position-Sensitive Detection in Magnetic Sector Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A position-sensitive ion detection system for trace analysis with magnetic sector mass spectrometers is described in detail, with particular application to high temperature mass spectrometry. The detection system consists of two stacked microchannel plates (Chevron assembly) backed by a resistive anode encoder and associated electronics. The range of masses simultaneously detectable is m to 1.2m. For electron impact ionization of silver at an electron energy of 10.5 eV, the sensitivity is 1.6 × 10^?7 Pa, and the mass resolution is 260 at mass 80 (valley 10% of the peak height definition). Additional applications for the detection system are discussed.     

Modifications Induced by UV-Vis Irradiation on DNA Extract of Kiwifruit Investigated by Spectroscopic and Statistic Methods

ABSTRACT

Revealing molecular alterations induced on kiwifruit under UV-Vis irradiation requires a discussion of biochemical-cell infrared (IR) fingerprint (900 cm^?1–1800 cm^?1) bands characteristic of nucleic acids. FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and statistics and nondestructive methods for screening exposure effects induced by irradiation were used. There the irradiation influence on the main molecular bonds (i.e., ν(C-C), ν_s(PO₂?) and ν_as(PO₂?)) can be observed. Regression methods were used for statistical investigations. Two categories of variables were used: the absorbance measured at fixed wavenumber variables and the exposure dose. The bivariate correlations, partial correlations, and polynomial regression methods from SPSS were used for statistical investigations. The obtained results show that FTIR-ATR, in correlation with statistics techniques, might be useful to assess immediate radiation and oxidative-induced damage to nucleic acids. In this case IR spectroscopy can be used successfully to study conformational changes during DNA reversible denaturation especially on the sugar-phosphate vibrations domain.