Center for Surface Radiation Damage Studies, Department of Material Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
Abstract:
Experimental data on the phase transformation kinetics in vanadium pentoxide due to surface oxygen loss are analyzed theoretically. A model for the process as a one-dimensional problem with oxygen loss from the surface and coupled interface and diffusion controlled growth modes is described. This model appears to match well the experimental data with reasonable numbers for the surface loss rate and diffusion constant. In particular, the model reproduces changes in the number of phase fronts as a function of electron beam flux. In addition, the analysis confirms that the effective diffusion constant is electron beam flux dependent.