Preliminary studies on a variable energy positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy system

There are many advantages in being able to perform positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) using a variable energy positron beam, the most obvious being the easy identification of different defect types at different depths. The difficulty in conducting variable energy (VE) PALS studies lies in the fact that a “start” signal is required to signal the entry of the positron into the target. Two methods have been used to overcome this problem, namely the bunching technique, which employs radio frequency (RF) cavities and choppers, and secondly the use of secondary electrons emitted from the target. The latter technique is in terms of experimental complexity much simpler, but has in the past suffered from poor time resolution (typically ∼500 ps). In this work, we present a series of computer simulations of a design based on the secondary electron emission from thin C-foils in transmission mode which shows that significant improvements in time resolution can be made with resolutions ∼200 ps being in principle possible.     

Lifetime analysis of quasibound states in coupled quantum wells

A simple time-dependent model is presented to investigate lifetimes of the quasibound states in coupled quantum wells (CQWs). The transfer matrix approach is employed to discretize the conduction-band profile of the heterostructure and form a dispersion equation whose zeros correspond to the complex eigenenergies. Both the bound and quasibound states are extracted numerically in the complex plane by Newton's method. The lower and higher well subbands are found to have negative and positive energy shift, respectively, as following the no level crossing theorem. Besides, the decay rate of the quasibound state is approximately proportional to the absolute energy shift. The quasibound states, which have larger energy shift, have shorter lifetime and decay more quickly. Furthermore, the differences in lifetime between the quasibound states in CQWs can be easily realized as all the wave functions are specially adjusted to form the relative probability density distributions.     

Lifetime control in silicon power P-i-N diode by ion irradiation: Suppression of undesired leakage

The irradiation with high-energy (7.35 MeV) protons through a set of energy degraders was used to suppress leakage of the silicon power diodes subjected to local lifetime control. The aim was to modify the profile of recombination centers and to reduce production of vacancy complexes. The high-energy proton irradiation was compared with standard local lifetime killing by high-energy alphas. Recombination centers arising from irradiation were characterized after irradiation and subsequent annealing at 220 and 350 °C by deep level transient spectroscopy and I-V profiling. Static and dynamic parameters of irradiated diodes were also measured and compared. Results show that the applied irradiation with protons provides 3-10 times lower leakage compared to standard alphas for equivalent reduction of the reverse recovery current maximum. On the other hand, the excessive formation of hydrogen donors at high proton fluences and their diffusion during annealing at 350° decreases diode blocking capability.     

Radiative lifetimes of Rydberg states of BeⅠ and BeⅢ

By using the multichannel quantum defect theory(MQDT),we have evaluated the energy levels and lifetimes of 2sns ^3 S1,2snd ^3D(n=3-25)of BeI and 1 sns ^3s1,1snd ^3D(n=3-25)of BeⅢ,These energies and lifetimes that we have calculated not only agree with the recent measurements and theoretical calculation of Ref.4 and Ref.3, but also predict the lifetimes of 66 other highly excited states.     

类氢及碱金属原子激发态寿命的半经典计算公式

根据对应原理,得到了类氢原子能态平均寿命半经典的计算公式τ(n,l),然后利用相对论单通道量子数亏损理论进行推广,得到用来计算考虑总角动量J的激发态寿命公式τ(n,l,l+1/2)和τ(n,l,l-1/2),利用单通道量子数亏损理论得到了碱金属原子n、l远大于1时激发态寿命的半经典公式τ(n.l)=τ0(m+M/nm/v/+M)2v7l(l+1/2)/n4,其计算结果和实验数据符合的很好.     

Correlation of antioxidant depletion and mechanical performance during thermal degradation of an HTPB elastomer

Thermal degradation studies of a stabilized HTPB based elastomer were conducted at temperatures from 50 °C to 110 °C. The concentration of extractable antioxidant (AO2246) in the polymer was quantified via AO extraction and a gas chromatography-based method using internal standards. The decrease in extractable AO levels as a function of time and temperature was evaluated and correlated with mechanical property changes. Most importantly, AO depletion features were found to be temperature dependent. At elevated temperatures (>80 °C) extractable AO levels decreased rapidly and faster than the concurrent loss in mechanical properties. While extractable AO concentrations decrease quickly, the material is able to maintain some useful mechanical properties, perhaps via non-extractable or grafted AO species formed during degradation providing additional protection. At lower aging temperatures extractable or free AO levels decreased more slowly than the mechanical properties. Therefore, for condition monitoring purposes a universal correlation between AO levels and aging state or material condition could not be established. Most importantly, however, loss of mechanical properties and oxidative degradation is observed at lower temperatures despite significant levels of free antioxidant in the material. The antioxidant appears to be limited in its effectiveness to completely prevent degradation reactions, or only fractions of the total AO available are actually involved in the inhibition process.     

Thermodegradation kinetics of a hybrid inorganic-organic epoxy system

Lifetime of the epoxy system formed by diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, DGEBA/4,4′-diaminediphenylmethane, DDM, modified with the silsesquioxane, glycidylisobutyl-POSS, was calculated from thermogravimetric analysis. The activation energy of the decomposition of this system was evaluated by the integral method developed by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (E = 88.9 ± 2.1 kJ mol⁻¹) and by Coats and Redfern method (E = 85.2 ± 1.5 kJ mol⁻¹). The kinetic parameters have been used to estimate the lifetime of the system POSS/DGEBA/DDM. The obtained results by two different ways are similar.     

Residual stress in polyethylene pipes

This paper deals with residual stress in polyethylene (PE) pipes as an important factor that influences their lifetime. Residual hoop stress distribution in a PE pipe was determined using a methodology previously carried out by the authors on polypropylene pipes. Axial residual stress magnitude was determined by comparison of experimental data and finite element modelling. Based on the obtained results, a new simplified methodology for determining the residual hoop stress is proposed. The method needs only one circular specimen made of pipe, but, unlike older methods, provides a more precise estimation of residual hoop stress distribution taking into account its exponential shape. Some older results from literature are recalculated using this method and residual hoop stress of various PE pipe grades and dimensions are then compared. To provide an idea of residual hoop stress influence on lifetime of a pipe, a lifetime estimation is carried out for the examined pipe.     

Power grid redundant path contribution in system on chip (SoC) robustness against electromigration

The miniaturisation of integrated circuits leads to reliability issues such as electromigration (EMG). This well-known phenomenon is checked at design level by CAD tools. The conventional EMG check methods are based on electrical parameters. However, the wire physical degradation depends also on the interconnection network structure. In order to improve the EMG check methodologies, we propose an accurate method based on failure mechanism and chip power grid configuration. Indeed, the power grid offers redundant paths in case of void in main power supply path. The principle of our method is to take into account the contribution of these redundant paths in power grid lifetime assessment. These effects are validated by silicon ageing tests on structures designed in 28 nm Full Depleted Silicon on Insulator (FDSOI). These accelerated tests results have confirmed the lifetime gain due to the redundancy. These results provide perspectives for the relaxation of wire current limits and improve the chip design toward EMG.     

Lifetime prediction of a blue PE100 water pipe

The traditional method to assess the lifetime of plastic pipes is based on hydrostatic pressure testing. A complementary approach has been conducted to monitor the depletion of antioxidants and initiation of thermo-oxidative degradation on a PE100 blue water pipe that had been exposed to hydrostatic pressure in water at low test temperatures (maximum 80 °C).Depletion of antioxidants was monitored using OIT testing and initiation of thermo-oxidative degradation was assessed by iodometric detection of hydroperoxides. An empirical model based on the Arrhenius fit of the data was developed to extrapolate the lifetime of the PE100 pipe material at various service temperatures (10-25 °C). Associated activation energies, E_a, were determined and appeared to be in line with the values obtained from experiments carried out at low test temperatures. The combination of pressure testing and chemical analyses proved to be a very powerful tool to extrapolate the lifetime of plastic pipes.