Defect annealing in Mn/Fe-implanted TiO2 (rutile)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunnlaugsson, H P; Svane, A; Weyer, G; Mantovan, R; Masenda, H; Naidoo, D; Mølholt, T E; Gislason, H; Ólafsson, S; Johnston, K; Bharuth-Ram, K; Langouche, G

2014-01-01

A study of the annealing processes and charge state of dilute Fe in rutile TiO 2 single crystals was performed in the temperature range 143–662 K, utilizing online 57 Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy following low concentrations (<10 −3  at%) implantation of 57 Mn (T 1/2  = 1.5 min). Both Fe 3+ and Fe 2+ were detected throughout the temperature range. Three annealing stages were distinguished: (i) a broad annealing stage below room temperature leading to an increased Fe 3+ fraction; (ii) a sharp annealing stage at ∼330 K characterized by conversion of Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ and changes in the hyperfine parameters of Fe 2+ , attributed to the annealing of Ti vacancies in the vicinity of the probe atoms; and (iii) an annealing stage in the temperature range from 550 to 600 K, where all Fe ions are transformed to Fe 3+ , attributed to the annealing of the nearby O vacancies. The dissociation energy of Mn Ti –V O pairs was estimated to be 1.60(15) eV. Fe 2+ is found in an environment where it can probe the lattice structure through the nuclear quadrupole interaction evidencing the extreme radiation hardness of rutile TiO 2 . Fe 3+ is found in a paramagnetic state with slow spin–lattice relaxation which follows a ∼T n temperature dependence with 4.1 < n < 6.3 at T > 350 K. (paper)

Quantum Annealing and Quantum Fluctuation Effect in Frustrated Ising Systems

OpenAIRE

Tanaka, Shu; Tamura, Ryo

2012-01-01

Quantum annealing method has been widely attracted attention in statistical physics and information science since it is expected to be a powerful method to obtain the best solution of optimization problem as well as simulated annealing. The quantum annealing method was incubated in quantum statistical physics. This is an alternative method of the simulated annealing which is well-adopted for many optimization problems. In the simulated annealing, we obtain a solution of optimization problem b...

Dependence of wet etch rate on deposition, annealing conditions and etchants for PECVD silicon nitride film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Longjuan; Zhu Yinfang; Yang Jinling; Li Yan; Zhou Wei; Xie Jing; Liu Yunfei; Yang Fuhua

2009-01-01

The influence of deposition, annealing conditions, and etchants on the wet etch rate of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride thin film is studied. The deposition source gas flow rate and annealing temperature were varied to decrease the etch rate of SiN x :H by HF solution. A low etch rate was achieved by increasing the SiH 4 gas flow rate or annealing temperature, or decreasing the NH 3 and N2 gas flow rate. Concentrated, buffered, and dilute hydrofluoric acid were utilized as etchants for SiO 2 and SiN x :H. A high etching selectivity of SiO 2 over SiN x :H was obtained using highly concentrated buffered HF.

Effects of annealing on electrical and optical properties of a multilayer InAs/GaAs quantum dots system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adenilson José Chiquito

2004-09-01

Full Text Available A systematic investigation of the properties of the InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs system subjected to a post-growth annealing using capacitance-voltage, Raman scattering and photoluminescence measurements is presented. The application of both electrical and optical methods allowed us to obtain reliable information on the microscopic structural evolution of this system. The single layer and the multilayer quantum dots were found to respond differently to the annealing process, due to the differences in strain that occur in both systems. The diffusion activated by strain provoked the appearance of an InGaAs alloy layer in substitution to the quantum dots layers; this change occurred at the annealing temperature T = 600 ºC in the multilayer system. A single dot layer, however, was observed even after the annealing at T = 700 ºC. Moreover, the low temperature annealing was found to improve the homogeneity of the multilayer system and to decrease the electrical interlayer coupling.

Post-annealing effect on the room-temperature ferromagnetism in Cu-doped ZnO thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Yu-Min; Kuang, Chein-Hsiun; Han, Tai-Chun; Yu, Chin-Chung; Li, Sih-Sian

2015-01-01

In this work, we investigated the structural and magnetic properties of both as-deposited and post-annealed Cu-doped ZnO thin films for better understanding the possible mechanisms of room-temperature ferromagnetism (RT-FM) in ZnO-based diluted magnetic oxides. All of the films have a c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure and display RT-FM. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the incorporated Cu ions in as-deposited films are in 1+ valence state merely, while an additional 2+ valence state occurs in post-annealed films. The presence of Cu 2+ state in post-annealed film accompanies a higher magnetization value than that of as-deposited film and, in particular, the magnetization curves at 10 K and 300 K of the post-annealed film separate distinctly. Since Cu 1+ ion has a filled 3d band, the RT-FM in as-deposited Cu-doped ZnO thin films may stem solely from intrinsic defects, while that in post-annealed films is enhanced due to the presence of CuO crystallites

A simple approximation method for dilute Ising systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saber, M.

1996-10-01

We describe a simple approximate method to analyze dilute Ising systems. The method takes into consideration the fluctuations of the effective field, and is based on a probability distribution of random variables which correctly accounts for all the single site kinematic relations. It is shown that the simplest approximation gives satisfactory results when compared with other methods. (author). 12 refs, 2 tabs

Simulated parallel annealing within a neighborhood for optimization of biomechanical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Higginson, J S; Neptune, R R; Anderson, F C

2005-09-01

Optimization problems for biomechanical systems have become extremely complex. Simulated annealing (SA) algorithms have performed well in a variety of test problems and biomechanical applications; however, despite advances in computer speed, convergence to optimal solutions for systems of even moderate complexity has remained prohibitive. The objective of this study was to develop a portable parallel version of a SA algorithm for solving optimization problems in biomechanics. The algorithm for simulated parallel annealing within a neighborhood (SPAN) was designed to minimize interprocessor communication time and closely retain the heuristics of the serial SA algorithm. The computational speed of the SPAN algorithm scaled linearly with the number of processors on different computer platforms for a simple quadratic test problem and for a more complex forward dynamic simulation of human pedaling.

Dilution Confusion: Conventions for Defining a Dilution

Science.gov (United States)

Fishel, Laurence A.

2010-01-01

Two conventions for preparing dilutions are used in clinical laboratories. The first convention defines an "a:b" dilution as "a" volumes of solution A plus "b" volumes of solution B. The second convention defines an "a:b" dilution as "a" volumes of solution A diluted into a final volume of "b". Use of the incorrect dilution convention could affect…

An on-line dilution system for spectrometry using an inductively coupled plasma source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, G.L.; Watson, A.E.; Humphries-Cuff, P.J.

1982-01-01

An on-line dilution system that uses a two-channel peristaltic pump to feed a GMK Babington type of nebulizer is described. By the use of a diluent containing the appropriate concentrations of acid, sodium, and internal standard element, which was fed at a constant rate to the nebulizer, the system produced analytical results that are not significantly different (less than 3 per cent relative) from those obtained with the normal dilution technique. However, a considerable saving in time is achieved, as well as a saving in the use of expensive reagents

Electronic defect levels in continuous wave laser annealed silicon metal oxide semiconductor devices

Science.gov (United States)

Cervera, M.; Garcia, B. J.; Martinez, J.; Garrido, J.; Piqueras, J.

1988-09-01

The effect of laser treatment on the bulk and interface states of the Si-SiO2 structure has been investigated. The annealing was performed prior to the gate metallization using a continuous wave Ar+ laser. For low laser powers the interface state density seems to decrease slightly in comparison with untreated samples. However, for the highest irradiating laser powers a new bulk level at 0.41 eV above the valence band with concentrations up to 1015 cm-3 arises probably due to the electrical activation of the oxygen diluted in the Czochralski silicon. Later postmetallization annealings reduce the interface state density to values in the 1010 cm-2 eV-1 range but leave the concentration of the 0.41-eV center nearly unchanged.

Dilution Refrigeration of Multi-Ton Cold Masses

CERN Document Server

Wikus, P; CERN. Geneva

2007-01-01

Dilution refrigeration is the only means to provide continuous cooling at temperatures below 250 mK. Future experiments featuring multi-ton cold masses require a new generation of dilution refrigeration systems, capable of providing a heat sink below 10 mK at cooling powers which exceed the performance of present systems considerably. This thesis presents some advances towards dilution refrigeration of multi-ton masses in this temperature range. A new method using numerical simulation to predict the cooling power of a dilution refrigerator of a given design has been developed in the framework of this thesis project. This method does not only allow to take into account the differences between an actual and an ideal continuous heat exchanger, but also to quantify the impact of an additional heat load on an intermediate section of the dilute stream. In addition, transient behavior can be simulated. The numerical model has been experimentally verified with a dilution refrigeration system which has been designed, ...

Pattern Laser Annealing by a Pulsed Laser

Science.gov (United States)

Komiya, Yoshio; Hoh, Koichiro; Murakami, Koichi; Takahashi, Tetsuo; Tarui, Yasuo

1981-10-01

Preliminary experiments with contact-type pattern laser annealing were made for local polycrystallization of a-Si, local evaporation of a-Si and local formation of Ni-Si alloy. These experiments showed that the mask patterns can be replicated as annealed regions with a resolution of a few microns on substrates. To overcome shortcomings due to the contact type pattern annealing, a projection type reduction pattern laser annealing system is proposed for resistless low temperature pattern forming processes.

Energy Saving in Industrial Annealing Furnaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatma ÇANKA KILIÇ

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, an energy efficiency studies have been carried out in a natural gas-fired rolling mill annealing furnace of an industrial establishment. In this context, exhaust gas from the furnace has been examined in terms of waste heat potential. In the examinations that have been made in detail; waste heat potential was found as 3.630,31 kW. Technical and feasibility studies have been carried out to realize electricity production through an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC system for evaluating the waste heat potential of the annealing furnace. It has been calculated that 1.626.378,88 kWh/year of electricity can be generated by using the exhaust gas waste heat of the annealing furnace through an ORC system to produce electric energy with a net efficiency of 16%. The financial value of this energy was determined as 436.032,18 TL/year and the simple repayment period of the investment was 8,12 years. Since the annealing period of the annealing furnace is 2800 hours/year, the investment has not been found to be feasible in terms of the feasibility studies. However, the investment suitability can be assured when the annealing furnace is operating at full capacity for 8,000 hours or more annually.

Study of dilution of Spin-On Glass by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez, Miguel; Rosales, Pedro; Torres, Alfonso; Moreno, Mario; Orduña, Abdu

2012-01-01

In this work, we study the dilution of Spin-On Glass (SOG) in order to obtain high quality SiO 2 films at 200 °C, with optical and electrical characteristics similar to those of the thermally grown SiO 2 . For the production of SiO 2 films we used 2-propanol and deionized water (DI) as diluents for the SOG and we compared the electrical and optical film properties with those of the films obtained from undiluted SOG. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy we observed a considerable reduction of Si-OH (920 cm −1 ), O-H (3490 cm −1 ) and C-H, C-O bonds (1139 cm −1 ) in the films produced from SOG diluted with DI. Besides the above, the insulator breakdown field was approximately 21 MV/cm, the refractive index and the dielectric constant were close to those of the thermally grown SiO 2 . Our results suggest that the film produced from SOG diluted with DI and cured at 200 °C is an excellent candidate to be used as insulator on flexible and large-area electronics. - Highlights: ► Preparation of high quality silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) films at 200 °C. ► Dilution of Spin-On Glass (SOG) solution was studied. ► Dilution of SOG is necessary to obtain high quality films annealed at 200 °C. ► n and k are close to those of the thermally grown SiO 2 .

Finite-time thermodynamics and simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andresen, B.

1989-01-01

When the general, global optimization technique simulated annealing was introduced by Kirkpatrick et al. (1983), this mathematical algorithm was based on an analogy to the statistical mechanical behavior of real physical systems like spin glasses, hence the name. In the intervening span of years the method has proven exceptionally useful for a great variety of extremely complicated problems, notably NP-problems like the travelling salesman, DNA sequencing, and graph partitioning. Only a few highly optimized heuristic algorithms (e.g. Lin, Kernighan 1973) have outperformed simulated annealing on their respective problems (Johnson et al. 1989). Simulated annealing in its current form relies only on the static quantity 'energy' to describe the system, whereas questions of rate, as in the temperature path (annealing schedule, see below), are left to intuition. We extent the connection to physical systems and take over further components from thermodynamics like ensemble, heat capacity, and relaxation time. Finally we refer to finite-time thermodynamics (Andresen, Salomon, Berry 1984) for a dynamical estimate of the optimal temperature path. (orig.)

Infrared thermal annealing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladys, M.J.; Clarke, I.; O'Connor, D.J.

2003-01-01

A device for annealing samples within an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscopy system was designed, constructed, and tested. The device is based on illuminating the sample with infrared radiation from outside the UHV chamber with a tungsten projector bulb. The apparatus uses an elliptical mirror to focus the beam through a sapphire viewport for low absorption. Experiments were conducted on clean Pd(100) and annealing temperatures in excess of 1000 K were easily reached

A constant-volume rapid exhaust dilution system for motor vehicle particulate matter number and mass measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Maricq, M Matti; Chase, Richard E; Xu, Ning; Podsiadlik, Diane H

2003-10-01

An improved version of the constant volume sampling (CVS) methodology that overcomes a number of obstacles that exist with the current CVS dilution tunnel system used in most diesel and gasoline vehicle emissions test facilities is presented. The key feature of the new sampling system is the introduction of dilution air immediately at the vehicle tailpipe. In the present implementation, this is done concentrically through a cylindrical air filter. Elimination of the transfer hose conventionally used to connect the tailpipe to the dilution tunnel significantly reduces the hydrocarbon and particulate matter (PM) storage release artifacts that can lead to wildly incorrect particle number counts and to erroneous filter-collected PM mass. It provides accurate representations of particle size distributions for diesel vehicles by avoiding the particle coagulation that occurs in the transfer hose. Furthermore, it removes the variable delay time that otherwise exists between the time that emissions exit the tailpipe and when they are detected in the dilution tunnel. The performance of the improved CVS system is examined with respect to diesel, gasoline, and compressed natural gas vehicles.

Modernizing quantum annealing using local searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chancellor, Nicholas

2017-01-01

I describe how real quantum annealers may be used to perform local (in state space) searches around specified states, rather than the global searches traditionally implemented in the quantum annealing algorithm (QAA). Such protocols will have numerous advantages over simple quantum annealing. By using such searches the effect of problem mis-specification can be reduced, as only energy differences between the searched states will be relevant. The QAA is an analogue of simulated annealing, a classical numerical technique which has now been superseded. Hence, I explore two strategies to use an annealer in a way which takes advantage of modern classical optimization algorithms. Specifically, I show how sequential calls to quantum annealers can be used to construct analogues of population annealing and parallel tempering which use quantum searches as subroutines. The techniques given here can be applied not only to optimization, but also to sampling. I examine the feasibility of these protocols on real devices and note that implementing such protocols should require minimal if any change to the current design of the flux qubit-based annealers by D-Wave Systems Inc. I further provide proof-of-principle numerical experiments based on quantum Monte Carlo that demonstrate simple examples of the discussed techniques. (paper)

Selective molecular annealing: in situ small angle X-ray scattering study of microwave-assisted annealing of block copolymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Toolan, Daniel T W; Adlington, Kevin; Isakova, Anna; Kalamiotis, Alexis; Mokarian-Tabari, Parvaneh; Dimitrakis, Georgios; Dodds, Christopher; Arnold, Thomas; Terrill, Nick J; Bras, Wim; Hermida Merino, Daniel; Topham, Paul D; Irvine, Derek J; Howse, Jonathan R

2017-08-09

Microwave annealing has emerged as an alternative to traditional thermal annealing approaches for optimising block copolymer self-assembly. A novel sample environment enabling small angle X-ray scattering to be performed in situ during microwave annealing is demonstrated, which has enabled, for the first time, the direct study of the effects of microwave annealing upon the self-assembly behavior of a model, commercial triblock copolymer system [polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-block-polystyrene]. Results show that the block copolymer is a poor microwave absorber, resulting in no change in the block copolymer morphology upon application of microwave energy. The block copolymer species may only indirectly interact with the microwave energy when a small molecule microwave-interactive species [diethylene glycol dibenzoate (DEGDB)] is incorporated directly into the polymer matrix. Then significant morphological development is observed at DEGDB loadings ≥6 wt%. Through spatial localisation of the microwave-interactive species, we demonstrate targeted annealing of specific regions of a multi-component system, opening routes for the development of "smart" manufacturing methodologies.

Diffuse x-ray scattering studies of defect reactions in electron-irradiated dilute nickel alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Averback, R.S.; Ehrhart, P.

1984-01-01

Huang diffuse scattering was employed to study defect properties in dilute Ni-Si alloys. Ni alloys containing 1 at.% and 0.05 at.% Si were irradiated with electrons at 4.2 K and were subsequently isochronally annealed. It was found that, prior to annealing, the Frenkel-pair resistivities and self-interstitial atom configurations were the same in the alloys as in pure Ni. The independence of the Frenkel-pair resistivity to Si concentration indicates that the resistivities arising from Frenkel pairs and Si solute are linearly additive in Ni. After annealing through stage I to 85 K, the defect cluster size grew to 1.5, 2.3 and 3.0 interstitial atoms for the 1 at.% Si, 0.05 at.% Si and pure Ni specimens, respectively. These results demonstrate that self-interstitial atoms are not immobilised by single Si atoms in Ni, but rather complexes involving several Si atoms and/or two interstitial atoms are the stable defects at the end of annealing stage I. It was also observed that Si solute in Ni strongly suppresses the growth of interstitial clusters in stage II. In the 1 at.% Si alloys di-interstitials were immobilised up to temperatures between 200 and 300 K. There was no indication that Si solute reduced vacancy mobility in annealing stage III. The consequences of these results for the understanding of high-temperature radiation effects in alloys are discussed. (author)

Synthesis of copper nanoparticles in a fluoropolymer matrix by annealing in vacuum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safonov, Alexey, E-mail: safonov@itp.nsc.ru [Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 1, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Sulyaeva, Veronica [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 3, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Timoshenko, Nikolay; Starinskiy, Sergey [Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 1, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2017-07-12

In this paper, a method for synthesizing copper nanoparticles in a fluoropolymer matrix is proposed which prevents the reduction in the plasmonic properties due to the oxidation of the metal. The basic idea of the proposed method of nanoparticle synthesis is to anneal of thin metal film coated with a thin layer of fluoropolymer. The morphology and optical properties of the resulting composites were determined. The optical properties remained unchanged after several months of storage under standard conditions. - Highlights: • The copper-fluoropolymer composites are obtained by a combination of GJD and HWCVD. • The annealing of thin Cu film covered with fluoropolymer leads to formation of NPs. • The dilution of the localized surface plasmon resonance due to oxidation was analyzed. • The plasmonic properties of the Cu NPs are saved in the fluoropolymer matrix. • The fluoropolymer matrix prevents oxidation of metal NPs.

Investigation of the magnetic aftereffect in dilute Fe-Ni alloys after low-temperature neutron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blythe, H.J.; Walz, F.; Kronmueller, H.

1982-01-01

Dilute Fe alloys containing up to 0.5 at% Ni, neutron-irradiated at 77 K, exhibit a very complicated relaxation spectrum during anneal in the temperature range 30 to 350 K. This behaviour, in which individual peaks transform from one into another, is investigated in detail. All maxima occurring in the temperature range 30 to 140 K are found to be of Debye-type with relaxation times obeying an Arrhenius equation tau = tau 0 exp (Q/kT). The major processes of these spectra are computer-analysed in order to determine their activation parameters Q and tau 0 . The complicated peak genealogy, as observed on anneal, is attributed to the presence of two configurations of reorientating Fe interstitial atoms which form small clusters together with substitutionally and interstitially dissolved Ni atoms. (author)

Study of annealing effects in Al–Sb bilayer thin films

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

There are three methods to prepare compound semiconductor systems: bilayer annealing (Singh and Vijay 2004a), rapid thermal annealing (Singh and Vijay 2004b) and ion beam mixing (Dhar et al 2003). The annealing and ion beam mixing were found to show inferior mixing effects compared to rapid thermal annealing.

Synthesis of dilute magnetic semiconductors by ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braunstein, G.H.; Dresselhaus, G.; Withrow, S.P.

1986-01-01

We have synthesized layers of CdMnTe by implantation of Mn into CdTe. Samples of CdTe have been implanted with Mn ions of 60 keV energy to fluences in the range 1 x 10 13 cm -2 to 2 x 10 16 cm -2 resulting in local concentrations of up to 10% at the maximum of the Mn distribution. Rutherford backscattering-channeling analysis has been used to study the radiation damage after implantation and after subsequent rapid thermal annealing (RTA). These experiments reveal that RTA for 15 sec at a temperature T greater than or equal to 700 0 C results in the complete recovery of the lattice order, without affecting the stoichiometry of CdTe. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of a sample showing complete annealing reveal an increase in the band gap corresponding to the synthesis of very dilute (x approx. = 0.004) Cd/sub 1-x/Mn/sub x/Te. A shift of the excitonic PL peak to lower energies is observed when a magnetic field H less than or equal to 1T is applied. These measurements provide clear evidence for the synthesis of a DMS by ion implantation of Mn into CdTe

Rapid thermal pulse annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.G.; Koehn, B.W.; Chaplin, R.L.

1976-01-01

Characteristics of recovery processes have been investigated for cases of heating a sample to successively higher temperatures by means of isochronal annealing or by using a rapid pulse annealing. A recovery spectra shows the same features independent of which annealing procedure is used. In order to determine which technique provides the best resolution, a study was made of how two independent first-order processes are separated for different heating rates and time increments of the annealing pulses. It is shown that the pulse anneal method offers definite advantages over isochronal annealing when annealing for short time increments. Experimental data by means of the pulse anneal techniques are given for the various substages of stage I of aluminium. (author)

Study of dilution of Spin-On Glass by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dominguez, Miguel, E-mail: mdominguez@inaoep.mx [National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), Electronics Department, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Puebla 72840 (Mexico); Rosales, Pedro; Torres, Alfonso; Moreno, Mario [National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), Electronics Department, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Puebla 72840 (Mexico); Orduna, Abdu [CIBA-Tlaxcala, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Tepetitla, Tlax. 90700 (Mexico)

2012-05-31

In this work, we study the dilution of Spin-On Glass (SOG) in order to obtain high quality SiO{sub 2} films at 200 Degree-Sign C, with optical and electrical characteristics similar to those of the thermally grown SiO{sub 2}. For the production of SiO{sub 2} films we used 2-propanol and deionized water (DI) as diluents for the SOG and we compared the electrical and optical film properties with those of the films obtained from undiluted SOG. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy we observed a considerable reduction of Si-OH (920 cm{sup -1}), O-H (3490 cm{sup -1}) and C-H, C-O bonds (1139 cm{sup -1}) in the films produced from SOG diluted with DI. Besides the above, the insulator breakdown field was approximately 21 MV/cm, the refractive index and the dielectric constant were close to those of the thermally grown SiO{sub 2}. Our results suggest that the film produced from SOG diluted with DI and cured at 200 Degree-Sign C is an excellent candidate to be used as insulator on flexible and large-area electronics. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Preparation of high quality silicon oxide (SiO{sub 2}) films at 200 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Dilution of Spin-On Glass (SOG) solution was studied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Dilution of SOG is necessary to obtain high quality films annealed at 200 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer n and k are close to those of the thermally grown SiO{sub 2}.

Electrical properties and annealing kinetics study of laser-annealed ion-implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, K.L.; Liu, Y.S.; Kirkpatrick, C.G.; Possin, G.E.

1979-01-01

This paper describes measurements of electrical properties and the regrowth behavior of ion-implanted silicon annealed with an 80-ns (FWHM) laser pulse at 1.06 μm. The experimental results include: (1) a determination of threshold energy density required for melting using a transient optical reflectivity technique, (2) measurements of dopant distribution using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, (3) characterization of electrical properties by measuring reverse leakage current densities of laser-annealed and thermal-annealed mesa diodes, (4) determination of annealed junction depth using an electron-beam-induced-current technique, and (5) a deep-level-transient spectroscopic study of residual defects. In particular, by measuring these properties of a diode annealed at a condition near the threshold energy density for liquid phase epitaxial regrowth, we have found certain correlations among these various annealing behaviors and electrical properties of laser-annealed ion-implanted silicon diodes

Dilute chemical decontamination program review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anstine, L.D.; Blomgren, J.C.; Pettit, P.J.

1980-01-01

The objective of the Dilute Chemical Decontamination Program is to develop and evaluate a process which utilizes reagents in dilute concentrations for the decontamination of BWR primary systems and for the maintenance of dose rates on the out-of-core surfaces at acceptable levels. A discussion is presented of the process concept, solvent development, advantages and disadvantages of reagent systems, and VNC loop tests. Based on the work completed to date it is concluded that (1) rapid decontamination of BWRs using dilute reagents is feasible; (2) reasonable reagent conditions for rapid chemical decontamination are: 0.01M oxalic acid + 0.005M citric acid, pH3.0, 90/degree/C, 0.5 to 1.0 ppm dissolved oxygen; (3) control of dissolved oxygen concentration is important, since high levels suppress the rate of decontamination and low levels allow precipitation of ferrous oxalate. 4 refs

The annealing influence onto the electrical and magnetic behavior of magnetoresistive/insulator system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, A.M.; Mohamed Abd El-Mo'ez A; Mohamed, H.F.; Diab, A.K.; Mohamed Ami M; Mazen, A.E.A.

2016-01-01

This investigation is mainly concerned with the effect of annealing temperature (600, 700, 800 and 900 deg C) in air for (La 0. 7Ba 0.3 MnO 3 ) 1-x /(NiO) x with x = 0 and x = 0.10 samples. It was shown that the annealing temperature does not affect the structure and parameters of rhombohedral lattice of the samples. However, it is observed that the annealing treatment has a notable effect on the electrical resistivity and the metal-semiconductor transition temperature Tms. Temperature dependent magnetization measurements showed a decrease in Curie temperature TC with annealing temperature. In the same time, annealing process decreases the magnetoresistance of La 0.7 Ba 0.3 MnO 3 , in contrast to (La 0.7 Ba 0.3 MnO 3 ) 0.9 /(NiO) 0.1 composite.

Dynamical scaling and crossover from algebraic to logarithmic growth in dilute systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouritsen, Ole G.; Shah, Peter Jivan

1989-01-01

The ordering dynamics of the two-dimensional Ising antiferromagnet with mobile vacancies and nonconserved order parameter is studied by Monte Carlo temperature-quenching experiments. The domain-size distribution function is shown to obey dynamical scaling. A crossover is found from an algebraic...... growth law for the pure system to effectively logarithmic growth behavior in the dilute system, in accordance with recent experiments on ordering kinetics in impure chemisorbed overlayers and off-stoichiometric alloys....

Buffer layer annealing effects on the magnetization reversal process in Pd/Co/Pd systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fassatoui, A.; Belhi, R.; Vogel, J.; Abdelmoula, K.

2016-01-01

We have investigated the effect of annealing the buffer layer on the magnetization reversal behavior in Pd/Co/Pd thin films using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. It was found that annealing the buffer layer at 150 °C for 1 h decreases the coercivity and increases the saturation magnetization and the effective magnetic anisotropy constant. This study also shows that the annealing induces a change of the magnetization reversal from a mixed nucleation and domain wall propagation process to one dominated by domain wall propagation. This result demonstrates that the main effect of annealing the buffer layer is to decrease the domain wall pinning in the Co layer, favoring the domain wall propagation mode. - Highlights: • The buffer layer surface morphology changes upon annealing of the buffer layer. • The coercivity decreases while the saturation magnetization and the effective anisotropy increase with the annealing of the buffer layer. • The reversal process changes from a mixed nucleation and domain wall propagation process to one dominated by domain wall propagation when annealing the buffer layer.

On lumped models for thermodynamic properties of simulated annealing problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andresen, B.; Pedersen, J.M.; Salamon, P.; Hoffmann, K.H.; Mosegaard, K.; Nulton, J.

1987-01-01

The paper describes a new method for the estimation of thermodynamic properties for simulated annealing problems using data obtained during a simulated annealing run. The method works by estimating energy-to-energy transition probabilities and is well adapted to simulations such as simulated annealing, in which the system is never in equilibrium. (orig.)

Scalable effective-temperature reduction for quantum annealers via nested quantum annealing correction

Science.gov (United States)

Vinci, Walter; Lidar, Daniel A.

2018-02-01

Nested quantum annealing correction (NQAC) is an error-correcting scheme for quantum annealing that allows for the encoding of a logical qubit into an arbitrarily large number of physical qubits. The encoding replaces each logical qubit by a complete graph of degree C . The nesting level C represents the distance of the error-correcting code and controls the amount of protection against thermal and control errors. Theoretical mean-field analyses and empirical data obtained with a D-Wave Two quantum annealer (supporting up to 512 qubits) showed that NQAC has the potential to achieve a scalable effective-temperature reduction, Teff˜C-η , with 0 temperature of a quantum annealer. Such effective-temperature reduction is relevant for machine-learning applications. Since we demonstrate that NQAC achieves error correction via a reduction of the effective-temperature of the quantum annealing device, our results address the problem of the "temperature scaling law for quantum annealers," which requires the temperature of quantum annealers to be reduced as problems of larger sizes are attempted to be solved.

Cascade annealing: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doran, D.G.; Schiffgens, J.O.

1976-04-01

Concepts and an overview of radiation displacement damage modeling and annealing kinetics are presented. Short-term annealing methodology is described and results of annealing simulations performed on damage cascades generated using the Marlowe and Cascade programs are included. Observations concerning the inconsistencies and inadequacies of current methods are presented along with simulation of high energy cascades and simulation of longer-term annealing

Electrochemical deposition mechanism of calcium phosphate coating in dilute Ca-P electrolyte system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu Ren [State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Department of Chemistry, CNRS Laboratoire International Associe XiamENS, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Department of Biology, College of Life Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Lin Changjian, E-mail: cjlin@xmu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Department of Chemistry, CNRS Laboratoire International Associe XiamENS, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Shi Haiyan; Wang Hui [State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Department of Chemistry, CNRS Laboratoire International Associe XiamENS, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China)

2009-06-15

In this work, the electrochemical deposition behavior of calcium phosphate coating from an aqueous electrolyte containing very dilute calcium and phosphorus species (Ca-P) was studied. The effects of three process parameters, i.e. temperature, current density and duration, were systematically investigated and the underlying mechanism was thoroughly analyzed. It was observed that the coating is mainly composed of hydroxyapatite (HA) in a wide range of temperature and current densities. The temperature had a significant effect on the deposition velocity. An apparent activation energy of 174.9 kJ mol{sup -1} was subsequently derived, indicating the mass-transfer control mechanism for the coating formation. The current density was identified to be an important parameter for structure controllability. The results of DR-FTIR/Raman spectroscopic studies of the initial deposition phase strongly suggested that the HA coating was instantaneously and directly precipitated on the substrate; neither induction period nor precursor was detected in this dilute Ca-P electrolyte system. Finally, a phase diagram of the Ca-P electrolyte system was constructed, which offered a thermodynamic reason for the direct single-phase HA precipitation observed only in this system, but not in conventional concentrated systems.

Electrochemical deposition mechanism of calcium phosphate coating in dilute Ca-P electrolyte system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Ren; Lin Changjian; Shi Haiyan; Wang Hui

2009-01-01

In this work, the electrochemical deposition behavior of calcium phosphate coating from an aqueous electrolyte containing very dilute calcium and phosphorus species (Ca-P) was studied. The effects of three process parameters, i.e. temperature, current density and duration, were systematically investigated and the underlying mechanism was thoroughly analyzed. It was observed that the coating is mainly composed of hydroxyapatite (HA) in a wide range of temperature and current densities. The temperature had a significant effect on the deposition velocity. An apparent activation energy of 174.9 kJ mol -1 was subsequently derived, indicating the mass-transfer control mechanism for the coating formation. The current density was identified to be an important parameter for structure controllability. The results of DR-FTIR/Raman spectroscopic studies of the initial deposition phase strongly suggested that the HA coating was instantaneously and directly precipitated on the substrate; neither induction period nor precursor was detected in this dilute Ca-P electrolyte system. Finally, a phase diagram of the Ca-P electrolyte system was constructed, which offered a thermodynamic reason for the direct single-phase HA precipitation observed only in this system, but not in conventional concentrated systems.

The Parameters Optimization of MCR-WPT System Based on the Improved Genetic Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheng Lu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To solve the problem of parameter selection during the design of magnetically coupled resonant wireless power transmission system (MCR-WPT, this paper proposed an improved genetic simulated annealing algorithm. Firstly, the equivalent circuit of the system is analysis in this study and a nonlinear programming mathematical model is built. Secondly, in place of the penalty function method in the genetic algorithm, the selection strategy based on the distance between individuals is adopted to select individual. In this way, it reduces the excess empirical parameters. Meanwhile, it can improve the convergence rate and the searching ability by calculating crossover probability and mutation probability according to the variance of population’s fitness. At last, the simulated annealing operator is added to increase local search ability of the method. The simulation shows that the improved method can break the limit of the local optimum solution and get the global optimum solution faster. The optimized system can achieve the practical requirements.

Non-stoquastic Hamiltonians in quantum annealing via geometric phases

Science.gov (United States)

Vinci, Walter; Lidar, Daniel A.

2017-09-01

We argue that a complete description of quantum annealing implemented with continuous variables must take into account the non-adiabatic Aharonov-Anandan geometric phase that arises when the system Hamiltonian changes during the anneal. We show that this geometric effect leads to the appearance of non-stoquasticity in the effective quantum Ising Hamiltonians that are typically used to describe quantum annealing with flux qubits. We explicitly demonstrate the effect of this geometric non-stoquasticity when quantum annealing is performed with a system of one and two coupled flux qubits. The realization of non-stoquastic Hamiltonians has important implications from a computational complexity perspective, since it is believed that in many cases quantum annealing with stoquastic Hamiltonians can be efficiently simulated via classical algorithms such as Quantum Monte Carlo. It is well known that the direct implementation of non-stoquastic Hamiltonians with flux qubits is particularly challenging. Our results suggest an alternative path for the implementation of non-stoquasticity via geometric phases that can be exploited for computational purposes.

In-place thermal annealing of nuclear reactor pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.

1985-04-01

Radiation embrittlement of ferritic pressure vessel steels increases the ductile-brittle transition temperature and decreases the upper shelf level of toughness as measured by Charpy impact tests. A thermal anneal cycle well above the normal operating temperature of the vessel can restore most of the original Charpy V-notch energy properties. The Amry SM-1A test reactor vessel was wet annealed in 1967 at less than 343 0 C (650 0 F), and wet annealing of the Belgian BR-3 reactor vessel at 343 0 C (650 0 F) has recently taken place. An industry survey indicates that dry annealing a reactor vessel in-place at temperatures as high as 454 0 C (850 0 F) is feasible, but solvable engineering problems do exist. Economic considerations have not been totally evaluated in assessing the cost-effectiveness of in-place annealing of commercial nuclear vessels. An American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) task group is upgrading and revising guide ASTM E 509-74 with emphasis on the materials and surveillance aspects of annealing rather than system engineering problems. System safety issues are the province of organizations other than ASTM (e.g., the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code body)

Influence of alloying and secondary annealing on anneal hardening ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

Influence of alloying and secondary annealing on anneal hardening effect at sintered copper alloys. SVETLANA NESTOROVIC. Technical Faculty Bor, University of Belgrade, Bor, Yugoslavia. MS received 11 February 2004; revised 29 October 2004. Abstract. This paper reports results of investigation carried out on sintered ...

Charged particle detectors based on high quality amorphous silicon deposited with hydrogen or helium dilution of silane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Wan-Shick; Drewery, J.S.; Jing, Tao; Lee, Hyoung-Koo; Kaplan, S.N.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Mireshghi, Ali; Kitsuno, Yu

1994-11-01

Electrical transport properties of the authors PECVD a-Si:H material has been improved by using hydrogen and/or helium dilution of silane and lower substrate temperature for deposition. For hydrogen-diluted material they have measured electron and hole mobilities ∼ 4 times larger, and μτ values 2-3 times higher than for their standard a-Si:H. The density of ionized dangling bonds (N D *) also showed a factor of 5-10 improvement. Due to its higher conductivity, the improved a- Si:H material is more suitable than conventional a-Si:H for TFT applications. However, it is difficult to make thick layers by H-dilution because of high internal stress. On the other hand, thick detectors can be made at a faster rate and lower stress by low temperature deposition with He-dilution and subsequent annealing. The internal stress, which causes substrate bending and delamination, was reduced by a factor of 4 to ∼90 MPa, while the electronic quality was kept as good as that of the standard material. By this technique 35 μm-thick n-i-p diodes were made without significant substrate bending, and the electronic properties, such as electron mobility and ionized dangling bond density, were suitable for detecting minimum ionizing particles

Charged particle detectors based on high quality amorphous silicon deposited with hydrogen or helium dilution of silane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, W.S.; Drewery, J.S.; Jing, T.; Lee, H.; Kaplan, S.N.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Kitsuno, Y.

1995-01-01

Electrical transport properties of the PECVD a-Si:H material has been improved by using hydrogen and/or helium dilution of silane and lower substrate temperature for deposition. For hydrogen-diluted material the authors measured electron and hole mobilities ∼4 times larger, and microτ values 2--3 times higher than for the standard a-Si:H. The density of ionized dangling bonds (N D *) also showed a factor of 5--10 improvement. Due to its higher conductivity, the improved a-Si:H material is more suitable than conventional a-Si:H for TFT applications. However, it is difficult to make thick layers by H-dilution because of high internal stress. On the other hand, thick detectors can be made at a faster rate and lower stress by low temperature deposition with He-dilution and subsequent annealing. The internal stress, which causes substrate bending and delamination, was reduced by a factor of 4 to ∼90 MPa, while the electronic quality was kept as good as that of the standard material. By this technique 35 microm-thick n-i-p diodes were made without significant substrate bending, and the electronic properties, such as electron mobility and ionized dangling bond density, were suitable for detecting minimum ionizing particles

Prediction of two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductors: Doped monolayer MoS2 systems

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Yingchun

2013-03-05

Using first-principles calculations, we propose a two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductor: monolayer MoS2 doped by transition metals. Doping of transition metal atoms from the IIIB to VIB groups results in nonmagnetic states, since the number of valence electrons is smaller or equal to that of Mo. Doping of atoms from the VIIB to IIB groups becomes energetically less and less favorable. Magnetism is observed for Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Cd, and Hg doping, while for the other dopants from these groups it is suppressed by Jahn-Teller distortions. Analysis of the binding energies and magnetic properties indicates that (Mo,X)S2 (X=Mn, Fe, Co, and Zn) are promising systems to explore two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductors.

Helium dilution refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

A new system of continuous heat exchange for a helium dilution refrigerator is proposed. The 3 He effluent tube is concurrent with the affluent mixed helium tube in a vertical downward direction. Heat exchange efficiency is enhanced by placing in series a number of elements with an enlarged surface area

Parameter estimation for chaotic systems using a hybrid adaptive cuckoo search with simulated annealing algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheng, Zheng, E-mail: 19994035@sina.com [College of Meteorology and Oceanography, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 211101 (China); Wang, Jun; Zhou, Bihua [National Defense Key Laboratory on Lightning Protection and Electromagnetic Camouflage, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210007 (China); Zhou, Shudao [College of Meteorology and Oceanography, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 211101 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044 (China)

2014-03-15

This paper introduces a novel hybrid optimization algorithm to establish the parameters of chaotic systems. In order to deal with the weaknesses of the traditional cuckoo search algorithm, the proposed adaptive cuckoo search with simulated annealing algorithm is presented, which incorporates the adaptive parameters adjusting operation and the simulated annealing operation in the cuckoo search algorithm. Normally, the parameters of the cuckoo search algorithm are kept constant that may result in decreasing the efficiency of the algorithm. For the purpose of balancing and enhancing the accuracy and convergence rate of the cuckoo search algorithm, the adaptive operation is presented to tune the parameters properly. Besides, the local search capability of cuckoo search algorithm is relatively weak that may decrease the quality of optimization. So the simulated annealing operation is merged into the cuckoo search algorithm to enhance the local search ability and improve the accuracy and reliability of the results. The functionality of the proposed hybrid algorithm is investigated through the Lorenz chaotic system under the noiseless and noise condition, respectively. The numerical results demonstrate that the method can estimate parameters efficiently and accurately in the noiseless and noise condition. Finally, the results are compared with the traditional cuckoo search algorithm, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superior performance of the proposed algorithm.

Parameter estimation for chaotic systems using a hybrid adaptive cuckoo search with simulated annealing algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng, Zheng; Wang, Jun; Zhou, Bihua; Zhou, Shudao

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a novel hybrid optimization algorithm to establish the parameters of chaotic systems. In order to deal with the weaknesses of the traditional cuckoo search algorithm, the proposed adaptive cuckoo search with simulated annealing algorithm is presented, which incorporates the adaptive parameters adjusting operation and the simulated annealing operation in the cuckoo search algorithm. Normally, the parameters of the cuckoo search algorithm are kept constant that may result in decreasing the efficiency of the algorithm. For the purpose of balancing and enhancing the accuracy and convergence rate of the cuckoo search algorithm, the adaptive operation is presented to tune the parameters properly. Besides, the local search capability of cuckoo search algorithm is relatively weak that may decrease the quality of optimization. So the simulated annealing operation is merged into the cuckoo search algorithm to enhance the local search ability and improve the accuracy and reliability of the results. The functionality of the proposed hybrid algorithm is investigated through the Lorenz chaotic system under the noiseless and noise condition, respectively. The numerical results demonstrate that the method can estimate parameters efficiently and accurately in the noiseless and noise condition. Finally, the results are compared with the traditional cuckoo search algorithm, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superior performance of the proposed algorithm

Reactor pressure vessel thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, A.D.

1997-01-01

The steel plates and/or forgings and welds in the beltline region of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) are subject to embrittlement from neutron irradiation. This embrittlement causes the fracture toughness of the beltline materials to be less than the fracture toughness of the unirradiated material. Material properties of RPVs that have been irradiated and embrittled are recoverable through thermal annealing of the vessel. The amount of recovery primarily depends on the level of the irradiation embrittlement, the chemical composition of the steel, and the annealing temperature and time. Since annealing is an option for extending the service lives of RPVs or establishing less restrictive pressure-temperature (P-T) limits; the industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have assisted in efforts to determine the viability of thermal annealing for embrittlement recovery. General guidance for in-service annealing is provided in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 509-86. In addition, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Case N-557 addresses annealing conditions (temperature and duration), temperature monitoring, evaluation of loadings, and non-destructive examination techniques. The NRC thermal annealing rule (10 CFR 50.66) was approved by the Commission and published in the Federal Register on December 19, 1995. The Regulatory Guide on thermal annealing (RG 1.162) was processed in parallel with the rule package and was published on February 15, 1996. RG 1.162 contains a listing of issues that need to be addressed for thermal annealing of an RPV. The RG also provides alternatives for predicting re-embrittlement trends after the thermal anneal has been completed. This paper gives an overview of methodology and recent technical references that are associated with thermal annealing. Results from the DOE annealing prototype demonstration project, as well as NRC activities related to the

A Study of the Vacancy-Impurity Interaction in Dilute Nickel Alloys by Core Electron Annihilation

Science.gov (United States)

Arbuzov, V. L.; Danilov, S. E.; Druzhkov, A. P.

1997-08-01

It is shown that the angular correlation of annihilation radiation can be used to identify vacancy-impurity complexes in dilute alloys. Annihilation of trapped positrons with core electrons bears information about the chemical environment of a vacancy defect. The method is especially effective for d-matrices doped with sp-impurities since annihilation parameters of positrons with d- and sp-shell electrons differ considerably. The potentialities of the method of core-electron annihilation of positrons are demonstrated taking electron-irradiated dilute Ni-P and Ni-Si alloys as an example. It is shown that the interaction between the vacancies, which migrate at the III stage of annealing, and P atoms in Ni-P causes a considerable change in the annihilation parameters of positrons with core electrons compared to pure Ni. In Ni-Si alloys the annihilation parameters of trapped positrons with core electrons do not differ from those in Ni. This fact is an evidence that Si atoms do not interact with vacancies in Ni.

Very fast simulated re-annealing

OpenAIRE

L. Ingber

1989-01-01

Draft An algorithm is developed to statistically find the best global fit of a nonlinear non-convex cost-function over a D-dimensional space. It is argued that this algorithm permits an annealing schedule for ‘‘temperature’’ T decreasing exponentially in annealing-time k, T = T0 exp(−ck1/D). The introduction of re-annealing also permits adaptation to changing sensitivities in the multidimensional parameter-space. This annealing schedule is faster than fast Cauchy annealing, ...

Optical scattering characteristic of annealed niobium oxide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai Fachun; Li Ming; Wang Haiqian; Hu Hailong; Wang Xiaoping; Hou, J.G.; Song Yizhou; Jiang Yousong

2005-01-01

Niobium oxide (Nb 2 O 5 ) films with thicknesses ranging from 200 to 1600 nm were deposited on fused silica at room temperature by low frequency reactive magnetron sputtering system. In order to study the optical losses resulting from the microstructures, the films with 500 nm thickness were annealed at temperatures between 600 and 1100 deg. C, and films with thicknesses from 200 to 1600 nm were annealed at 800 deg. C. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images show that the root mean square of surface roughness, the grain size, voids, microcracks, and grain boundaries increase with increasing both the annealing temperature and the thickness. Correspondingly, the optical transmittance and reflectance decrease, and the optical loss increases. The mechanisms of the optical losses are discussed. The results suggest that defects in the volume and the surface roughness should be the major source for the optical losses of the annealed films by causing pronounced scattering. For samples with a determined thickness, there is a critical annealing temperature, above which the surface scattering contributes to the major optical losses. In the experimental scope, for the films annealed at temperatures below 900 deg. C, the major optical losses resulted from volume scattering. However, surface roughness was the major source for the optical losses when the 500-nm films were annealed at temperatures above 900 deg. C

A device for routine studies of nuclear track annealing in mineral grains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jha, R.; Lal, D.

1984-01-01

For studies of annealing of nuclear tracks in common rock-forming minerals, we have devised a simple heating system that provides a highly stable hot environment characterized by a large temperature gradient. The temperature can be maintained at the desired values within +- 2 deg C over a period of several months. The system allows placing of samples at eight different temperature points in the temperature range of 350 to 550 deg C in a single setting. This range essentially encompasses the entire temperature range normally used in laboratory track annealing of mineral grains with annealing duration of a few minutes to a couple of months. Lower as well as higher temperatures and different ranges are possible by changing the material used for the heating system and its geometry. However, for annealing at high temperature, and for short duration we found that it is more convenient to heat samples in the appropriate region of the cone of a large gas flame. We present, as an example, results of cosmic-ray track annealing studies in hypersthene grains from the Johnstown meteorite. The simplicity and reproducibility of the technique allows an in-depth study of annealing characteristics of different minerals. (author)

Lifshitz-Slyozov kinetics of a nonconserved system that separates into phases of different density

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouritsen, Ole G.; Shah, Peter Jivan; Andersen, Jørgen Vitting

1990-01-01

Computer-simulation techniques are applied to analyze the late-stage ordering kinetics of a two-dimensional annealed dilute Ising model quenched into regions of its phase diagram that involve phase separation of phases with different densities. The order parameter of the model is a nonconserved...... of the phase-separation kinetics in O/W(110) systems at high coverage....

Strong white photoluminescence from annealed zeolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Zhenhua; Fujii, Minoru; Imakita, Kenji; Hayashi, Shinji

2014-01-01

The optical properties of zeolites annealed at various temperatures are investigated for the first time. The annealed zeolites exhibit strong white photoluminescence (PL) under ultraviolet light excitation. With increasing annealing temperature, the emission intensity of annealed zeolites first increases and then decreases. At the same time, the PL peak red-shifts from 495 nm to 530 nm, and then returns to 500 nm. The strongest emission appears when the annealing temperature is 500 °C. The quantum yield of the sample is measured to be ∼10%. The PL lifetime monotonously increases from 223 μs to 251 μs with increasing annealing temperature. The origin of white PL is ascribed to oxygen vacancies formed during the annealing process. -- Highlights: • The optical properties of zeolites annealed at various temperatures are investigated. • The annealed zeolites exhibit strong white photoluminescence. • The maximum PL enhancement reaches as large as 62 times. • The lifetime shows little dependence on annealing temperature. • The origin of white emission is ascribed to the oxygen vacancies

DOE's annealing prototype demonstration projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, J.; Nakos, J.; Rochau, G.

1997-01-01

One of the challenges U.S. utilities face in addressing technical issues associated with the aging of nuclear power plants is the long-term effect of plant operation on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). As a nuclear plant operates, its RPV is exposed to neutrons. For certain plants, this neutron exposure can cause embrittlement of some of the RPV welds which can shorten the useful life of the RPV. This RPV embrittlement issue has the potential to affect the continued operation of a number of operating U.S. pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants. However, RPV material properties affected by long-term irradiation are recoverable through a thermal annealing treatment of the RPV. Although a dozen Russian-designed RPVs and several U.S. military vessels have been successfully annealed, U.S. utilities have stated that a successful annealing demonstration of a U.S. RPV is a prerequisite for annealing a licensed U.S. nuclear power plant. In May 1995, the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories awarded two cost-shared contracts to evaluate the feasibility of annealing U.S. licensed plants by conducting an anneal of an installed RPV using two different heating technologies. The contracts were awarded to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Center for Research and Technology Development (CRTD) and MPR Associates (MPR). The ASME team completed its annealing prototype demonstration in July 1996, using an indirect gas furnace at the uncompleted Public Service of Indiana's Marble Hill nuclear power plant. The MPR team's annealing prototype demonstration was scheduled to be completed in early 1997, using a direct heat electrical furnace at the uncompleted Consumers Power Company's nuclear power plant at Midland, Michigan. This paper describes the Department's annealing prototype demonstration goals and objectives; the tasks, deliverables, and results to date for each annealing prototype demonstration; and the remaining annealing technology challenges

Analysis of boron dilution in a four-loop PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, J.G.; Sha, W.T.

1995-03-01

Thermal mixing and boron dilution in a pressurized water reactor were analyzed with COMMIX codes. The reactor system was the four-loop Zion reactor. Two boron dilution scenarios were analyzed. In the first scenario, the plant is in cold shutdown and the reactor coolant system has just been filled after maintenance on the steam generators. To flush the air out of the steam generator tubes, a reactor coolant pump (RCP) is started, with the water in the pump suction line devoid of boron and at the same temperature as the coolant in the system. In the second scenario, the plant is at hot standby and the reactor coolant system has been heated to operating temperature after a long outage. It is assumed that an RCP is started, with the pump suction line filled with cold unborated water, forcing a slug of diluted coolant down the downcomer and subsequently through the reactor core. The subsequent transient thermal mixing and boron dilution that would occur in the reactor system is simulated for these two scenarios. The reactivity insertion rate and the total reactivity are evaluated and a sensitivity study is performed to assess the accuracy of the numerical modeling of the geometry of the reactor coolant system

Burst annealing of high temperature GaAs solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Brothers, P. R.; Horne, W. E.

1991-01-01

One of the major limitations of solar cells in space power systems is their vulnerability to radiation damage. One solution to this problem is to periodically heat the cells to anneal the radiation damage. Annealing was demonstrated with silicon cells. The obstacle to annealing of GaAs cells was their susceptibility to thermal damage at the temperatures required to completely anneal the radiation damage. GaAs cells with high temperature contacts and encapsulation were developed. The cells tested are designed for concentrator use at 30 suns AMO. The circular active area is 2.5 mm in diameter for an area of 0.05 sq cm. Typical one sun AMO efficiency of these cells is over 18 percent. The cells were demonstrated to be resistant to damage after thermal excursions in excess of 600 C. This high temperature tolerance should allow these cells to survive the annealing of radiation damage. A limited set of experiments were devised to investigate the feasibility of annealing these high temperature cells. The effect of repeated cycles of electron and proton irradiation was tested. The damage mechanisms were analyzed. Limitations in annealing recovery suggested improvements in cell design for more complete recovery. These preliminary experiments also indicate the need for further study to isolate damage mechanisms. The primary objective of the experiments was to demonstrate and quantify the annealing behavior of high temperature GaAs cells. Secondary objectives were to measure the radiation degradation and to determine the effect of repeated irradiation and anneal cycles.

Burst annealing of high temperature GaAs solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brothers, P.R.; Horne, W.E.

1991-01-01

One of the major limitations of solar cells in space power systems is their vulnerability to radiation damage. One solution to this problem is to periodically heat the cells to anneal the radiation damage. Annealing was demonstrated with silicon cells. The obstacle to annealing of GaAs cells was their susceptibility to thermal damage at the temperatures required to completely anneal the radiation damage. GaAs cells with high temperature contacts and encapsulation were developed. The cells tested are designed for concentrator use at 30 suns AMO. The circular active area is 2.5 mm in diameter for an area of 0.05 sq cm. Typical one sun AMO efficiency of these cells is over 18 percent. The cells were demonstrated to be resistant to damage after thermal excursions in excess of 600 degree C. This high temperature tolerance should allow these cells to survive the annealing of radiation damage. A limited set of experiments were devised to investigate the feasibility of annealing these high temperature cells. The effect of repeated cycles of electron and proton irradiation was tested. The damage mechanisms were analyzed. Limitations in annealing recovery suggested improvements in cell design for more complete recovery. These preliminary experiments also indicate the need for further study to isolate damage mechanisms. The primary objective of the experiments was to demonstrate and quantify the annealing behavior of high temperature GaAs cells. Secondary objectives were to measure the radiation degradation and to determine the effect of repeated irradiation and anneal cycles

In situ annealing of hydroxyapatite thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Shevon; Haluska, Michael; Narayan, Roger J.; Snyder, Robert L.

2006-01-01

Hydroxyapatite is a bioactive ceramic that mimics the mineral composition of natural bone. Unfortunately, problems with adhesion, poor mechanical integrity, and incomplete bone ingrowth limit the use of many conventional hydroxyapatite surfaces. In this work, we have developed a novel technique to produce crystalline hydroxyapatite thin films involving pulsed laser deposition and postdeposition annealing. Hydroxyapatite films were deposited on Ti-6Al-4V alloy and Si (100) using pulsed laser deposition, and annealed within a high temperature X-ray diffraction system. The transformation from amorphous to crystalline hydroxyapatite was observed at 340 deg. C. Mechanical and adhesive properties were examined using nanoindentation and scratch adhesion testing, respectively. Nanohardness and Young's modulus values of 3.48 and 91.24 GPa were realized in unannealed hydroxyapatite films. Unannealed and 350 deg. C annealed hydroxyapatite films exhibited excellent adhesion to Ti-6Al-4V alloy substrates. We anticipate that the adhesion and biological properties of crystalline hydroxyapatite thin films may be enhanced by further consideration of deposition and annealing parameters

Stress relaxation in dilute Al-0.02 at.% Mn alloy under electron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bystrov, L.N.; Ivanov, L.I.; Pletnev, M.N.; Reznitsky, M.E.

1984-01-01

Stress relaxation in cold-worked and annealed (573 K for 2 hours) specimens of the dilute alloy Al-0.02 at.% Mn has been studied experimentally over a range of initial stresses 5 to 80 MPa, both with and without irradiation by 2.1 MeV electrons. Thermoactivation analysis has revealed that relaxation proceeds in two stages with different activation parameters. The deformation rate in the first stage is controlled by diffusion of the impurity (Mn), and in the second stage by the self-diffusion of aluminum. A new method has been proposed for evaluating the internal stresses from experimental data. The effect of radiation-induced diffusion on the kinetics of relaxation is discussed. (author)

Thin-film designs by simulated annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Boudet, T.; Chaton, P.; Herault, L.; Gonon, G.; Jouanet, L.; Keller, P.

1996-11-01

With the increasing power of computers, new methods in synthesis of optical multilayer systems have appeared. Among these, the simulated-annealing algorithm has proved its efficiency in several fields of physics. We propose to show its performances in the field of optical multilayer systems through different filter designs.

Semiconductor annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, J.M.; Scovell, P.D.

1982-01-01

A process for annealing crystal damage in ion implanted semiconductor devices in which the device is rapidly heated to a temperature between 450 and 900 0 C and allowed to cool. It has been found that such heating of the device to these relatively low temperatures results in rapid annealing. In one application the device may be heated on a graphite element mounted between electrodes in an inert atmosphere in a chamber. (author)

Computer registration of radioactive indicator-dilution curves.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, A P; Perry, M A; Alexander, G M; Granger, D N; Riedel, G L; Kvietys, P R; Franke, C P

1983-12-01

A system is described for recording indicator-dilution curves produced by gamma radiation-emitting tracers. The system consists of a flow-through cuvette in a well counter, appropriate commercially available gamma radiation-detecting equipment, an Apple II computer, and a two-channel pulse-counting interface of our own design. With the counting interface and the software described here, an investigator can simultaneously record two indicator-dilution curves produced by gamma emitters. Instead of having to wait hours or days for results, the investigator can watch the data being recorded and display the results in graphic form almost immediately after each injection.

Population annealing: Theory and application in spin glasses

OpenAIRE

Wang, Wenlong; Machta, Jonathan; Katzgraber, Helmut G.

2015-01-01

Population annealing is an efficient sequential Monte Carlo algorithm for simulating equilibrium states of systems with rough free energy landscapes. The theory of population annealing is presented, and systematic and statistical errors are discussed. The behavior of the algorithm is studied in the context of large-scale simulations of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass and the performance of the algorithm is compared to parallel tempering. It is found that the two algorithms are similar ...

X-ray absorption spectroscopy of diluted system by undulator photon source and multi-element solid-state detector

CERN Document Server

Tanida, H

2001-01-01

In order to measure the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectrum of an ultra-diluted system, an optics and detector control system for a synchrotron radiation beamline is developed. The undulator gap width is continuously tuned to obtain the maximum X-ray photon flux during the energy scan for the EXAFS measurement. A piezoelectric translator optimizes the parallelism of the double crystal in a monochromator at each measurement point to compensate for mechanical errors of the monochromator, resulting in a smooth and intense X-ray photon flux during the measurement. For a detection of a weak fluorescence signal from diluted samples, a 19-element solid-state detector and digital signal processor are used. A K-edge EXAFS spectrum of iron in a myoglobin aqueous solution with a concentration of 5.58 parts per million was obtained by this system.

Mobile Melt-Dilute Treatment for Russian Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peacock, H.

2002-01-01

Treatment of spent Russian fuel using a Melt-Dilute (MD) process is proposed to consolidate fuel assemblies into a form that is proliferation resistant and provides critically safety under storage and disposal configurations. Russian fuel elements contain a variety of fuel meat and cladding materials. The Melt-Dilute treatment process was initially developed for aluminum-based fuels so additional development is needed for several cladding and fuel meat combinations in the Russian fuel inventory (e.g. zirconium-clad, uranium-zirconium alloy fuel). A Mobile Melt-Dilute facility (MMD) is being proposed for treatment of spent fuels at reactor site storage locations in Russia; thereby, avoiding the costs of building separate treatment facilities at each site and avoiding shipment of enriched fuel assemblies over the road. The MMD facility concept is based on laboratory tests conducted at the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), and modular pilot-scale facilities constructed at the Savannah River Site for treatment of US spent fuel. SRTC laboratory tests have shown the feasibility of operating a Melt-Dilute treatment process with either a closed system or a filtered off-gas system. The proposed Mobile Melt-Dilute process is presented in this paper

A cross-disciplinary introduction to quantum annealing-based algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Venegas-Andraca, Salvador E.; Cruz-Santos, William; McGeoch, Catherine; Lanzagorta, Marco

2018-04-01

A central goal in quantum computing is the development of quantum hardware and quantum algorithms in order to analyse challenging scientific and engineering problems. Research in quantum computation involves contributions from both physics and computer science; hence this article presents a concise introduction to basic concepts from both fields that are used in annealing-based quantum computation, an alternative to the more familiar quantum gate model. We introduce some concepts from computer science required to define difficult computational problems and to realise the potential relevance of quantum algorithms to find novel solutions to those problems. We introduce the structure of quantum annealing-based algorithms as well as two examples of this kind of algorithms for solving instances of the max-SAT and Minimum Multicut problems. An overview of the quantum annealing systems manufactured by D-Wave Systems is also presented.

Gluconeogenesis from labeled carbon: estimating isotope dilution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelleher, J.K.

1986-01-01

To estimate the rate of gluconeogenesis from steady-state incorporation of labeled 3-carbon precursors into glucose, isotope dilution must be considered so that the rate of labeling of glucose can be quantitatively converted to the rate of gluconeogenesis. An expression for the value of this isotope dilution can be derived using mathematical techniques and a model of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The present investigation employs a more complex model than that used in previous studies. This model includes the following pathways that may affect the correction for isotope dilution: 1) flux of 3-carbon precursor to the oxaloacetate pool via acetyl-CoA and the TCA cycle; 2) flux of 4- or 5-carbon compounds into the TCA cycle; 3) reversible flux between oxaloacetate (OAA) and pyruvate and between OAA and fumarate; 4) incomplete equilibrium between OAA pools; and 5) isotope dilution of 3-carbon tracers between the experimentally measured pool and the precursor for the TCA-cycle OAA pool. Experimental tests are outlined which investigators can use to determine whether these pathways are significant in a specific steady-state system. The study indicated that flux through these five pathways can significantly affect the correction for isotope dilution. To correct for the effects of these pathways an alternative method for calculating isotope dilution is proposed using citrate to relate the specific activities of acetyl-CoA and OAA

Molecular analysis of two mouse dilute locus deletion mutations: Spontaneous dilute lethal20J and radiation-induced dilute prenatal lethal Aa2 alleles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strobel, M.C.; Seperack, P.K.; Copeland, N.G.; Jenkins, N.A.

1990-01-01

The dilute (d) coat color locus of mouse chromosome 9 has been identified by more than 200 spontaneous and mutagen-induced recessive mutations. With the advent of molecular probes for this locus, the molecular lesion associated with different dilute alleles can be recognized and precisely defined. In this study, two dilute mutations, dilute-lethal20J (dl20J) and dilute prenatal lethal Aa2, have been examined. Using a dilute locus genomic probe in Southern blot analysis, we detected unique restriction fragments in dl20J and Aa2 DNA. Subsequent analysis of these fragments showed that they represented deletion breakpoint fusion fragments. DNA sequence analysis of each mutation-associated deletion breakpoint fusion fragment suggests that both genomic deletions were generated by nonhomologous recombination events. The spontaneous dl20J mutation is caused by an interstitial deletion that removes a single coding exon of the dilute gene. The correlation between this discrete deletion and the expression of all dilute-associated phenotypes in dl20J homozygotes defines the dl20J mutation as a functional null allele of the dilute gene. The radiation-induced Aa2 allele is a multilocus deletion that, by complementation analysis, affects both the dilute locus and the proximal prenatal lethal-3 (pl-3) functional unit. Molecular analysis of the Aa2 deletion breakpoint fusion fragment has provided access to a previously undefined gene proximal to d. Initial characterization of this new gene suggests that it may represent the genetically defined pl-3 functional unit

Dilution refrigeration with multiple mixing chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coops, G.M.

1981-01-01

A dilution refrigerator is an instrument to reach temperatures in the mK region in a continuous way. The temperature range can be extended and the cooling power can be enlarged by adding an extra mixing chamber. In this way we obtain a double mixing chamber system. In this thesis the theory of the multiple mixing chamber is presented and tested on its validity by comparison with the measurements. Measurements on a dilution refrigerator with a circulation rate up to 2.5 mmol/s are also reported. (Auth.)

Optical annealing of CaF2:Mn for cooled optically stimulated luminescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, S.D.; Stahl, K.A.; Endres, G.W.R.; McDonald, J.C.

1989-01-01

Optical annealing of the cooled optically stimulated luminescence in CaF 2 :Mn at room temperature has been demonstrated. The laser of choice for optical annealing of CaF 2 : Mn is a 326 nm helium-cadmium ultraviolet laser. A complete cycle of readout and annealing of the CaF 2 :Mn cooled optically stimulated dosemeters can now be accomplished without heating the dosemeters above room temperature. This annealing work represents the next step toward creating a proton-recoil-based fast neutron dosimetry system based on the cooled optically stimulated luminescence technique. (author)

Intelligent medical image processing by simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohyama, Nagaaki

1992-01-01

Image processing is being widely used in the medical field and already has become very important, especially when used for image reconstruction purposes. In this paper, it is shown that image processing can be classified into 4 categories; passive, active, intelligent and visual image processing. These 4 classes are explained at first through the use of several examples. The results show that the passive image processing does not give better results than the others. Intelligent image processing, then, is addressed, and the simulated annealing method is introduced. Due to the flexibility of the simulated annealing, formulated intelligence is shown to be easily introduced in an image reconstruction problem. As a practical example, 3D blood vessel reconstruction from a small number of projections, which is insufficient for conventional method to give good reconstruction, is proposed, and computer simulation clearly shows the effectiveness of simulated annealing method. Prior to the conclusion, medical file systems such as IS and C (Image Save and Carry) is pointed out to have potential for formulating knowledge, which is indispensable for intelligent image processing. This paper concludes by summarizing the advantages of simulated annealing. (author)

Quantitative determination of the solidus line in the dilute limit of succinonitrile-camphor alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Mota, F. L.; Fabietti, L. M.; Bergeon, N.; Strutzenberg, L. L.; Karma, A.; Billia, B.; Trivedi, R.

2016-08-01

Different phase diagram measurements for succinonitrile-camphor alloys to date have yielded different values of the solute partition coefficient and the freezing range of the alloy. These parameters are critical to model solidification microstructure evolution. New measurements are made to precisely characterize the dilute limit of the succinonitrile-camphor phase diagram using thin-sample directional solidification experiments where convection is negligible, so that solute transport in the melt is purely diffusive, and the temperature gradient is constant in time. These results are confirmed through complementary measurements by differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal annealing. Possible measurement uncertainties in previously measured solidus lines are discussed. Experimental results were further confirmed using a boundary layer model of transient planar interface dynamics.

Very low temperature rise laser annealing of radiation-damaged solar cells in orbit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poulek, V.

1988-01-01

Solar cells of all space objects are damaged by radiation in orbit. This damage, however, can be removed by laser annealing. A new in-orbit laser regeneration system for both body- and spin-stabilized space objects is proposed. For successful annealing of solar cells damaged by 10 years' radiation dose in orbit it is necessary for the temperature rise in the incidence point of the laser beam to reach about 400 0 C. By continuous regeneration, however, between two annealing cycles the solar cells are hit by about two orders of magnitude lower radiation dose. This makes it possible to carry out the regeneration at a temperature rise well under 1 0 C! If an optimal laser regeneration system is used, such low temperature rise laser annealing of radiation-damaged solar cells is possible. A semiconductor GaAlAs diode laser with output power up to 10 mW CW was used for annealing. Some results of the very low temperature rise annealing experiment are given in this paper. (author)

Computational algorithm for molybdenite concentrate annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alkatseva, V.M.

1995-01-01

Computational algorithm is presented for annealing of molybdenite concentrate with granulated return dust and that of granulated molybdenite concentrate. The algorithm differs from the known analogies for sulphide raw material annealing by including the calculation of return dust mass in stationary annealing; the latter quantity varies form the return dust mass value obtained in the first iteration step. Masses of solid products are determined by distribution of concentrate annealing products, including return dust and benthonite. The algorithm is applied to computations for annealing of other sulphide materials. 3 refs

Hybridizing pines with diluted pollen

Science.gov (United States)

Robert Z. Callaham

1967-01-01

Diluted pollens would have many uses by the tree breeder. Dilutions would be particularly advantageous in making many controlled pollinations with a limited amount of pollen. They also would be useful in artificial mass pollinations of orchards or single trees. Diluted pollens might help overcome troublesome genetic barriers to crossing. Feasibility o,f using diluted...

Traffic Flow Optimization Using a Quantum Annealer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Neukart

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Quantum annealing algorithms belong to the class of metaheuristic tools, applicable for solving binary optimization problems. Hardware implementations of quantum annealing, such as the quantum processing units (QPUs produced by D-Wave Systems, have been subject to multiple analyses in research, with the aim of characterizing the technology’s usefulness for optimization and sampling tasks. In this paper, we present a real-world application that uses quantum technologies. Specifically, we show how to map certain parts of a real-world traffic flow optimization problem to be suitable for quantum annealing. We show that time-critical optimization tasks, such as continuous redistribution of position data for cars in dense road networks, are suitable candidates for quantum computing. Due to the limited size and connectivity of current-generation D-Wave QPUs, we use a hybrid quantum and classical approach to solve the traffic flow problem.

Semiconductor annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, J.M.; Scovell, P.D.

1981-01-01

A process for annealing crystal damage in ion implanted semiconductor devices is described in which the device is rapidly heated to a temperature between 450 and 600 0 C and allowed to cool. It has been found that such heating of the device to these relatively low temperatures results in rapid annealing. In one application the device may be heated on a graphite element mounted between electrodes in an inert atmosphere in a chamber. The process may be enhanced by the application of optical radiation from a Xenon lamp. (author)

Quantifying the dilution effect for models in ecological epidemiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, M G; Heesterbeek, J A P

2018-03-01

The dilution effect , where an increase in biodiversity results in a reduction in the prevalence of an infectious disease, has been the subject of speculation and controversy. Conversely, an amplification effect occurs when increased biodiversity is related to an increase in prevalence. We explore the conditions under which these effects arise, using multi species compartmental models that integrate ecological and epidemiological interactions. We introduce three potential metrics for quantifying dilution and amplification, one based on infection prevalence in a focal host species, one based on the size of the infected subpopulation of that species and one based on the basic reproduction number. We introduce our approach in the simplest epidemiological setting with two species, and show that the existence and strength of a dilution effect is influenced strongly by the choices made to describe the system and the metric used to gauge the effect. We show that our method can be generalized to any number of species and to more complicated ecological and epidemiological dynamics. Our method allows a rigorous analysis of ecological systems where dilution effects have been postulated, and contributes to future progress in understanding the phenomenon of dilution in the context of infectious disease dynamics and infection risk. © 2018 The Author(s).

Management of the Bohunice RPVs annealing procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Repka, M.

1994-01-01

The program of annealing regeneration procedure of RPVs units 1 and 2 of NPP V-1 (EBO) realization in the year 1993, is the topic of this paper. In the paper the following steps are described in detail: the preparation works, the annealing procedure realization schedule and safety management: starting with zero conditions, assembling of annealing apparatus, annealing procedure, cooling down and disassembling procedure of annealing apparatus. At the end the programs of annealing of both RPVs including the dosimetry measurements are discussed and evaluated. (author). 3 figs

Simulated annealing model of acupuncture

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Charles; Szu, Harold

2015-05-01

The growth control singularity model suggests that acupuncture points (acupoints) originate from organizers in embryogenesis. Organizers are singular points in growth control. Acupuncture can cause perturbation of a system with effects similar to simulated annealing. In clinical trial, the goal of a treatment is to relieve certain disorder which corresponds to reaching certain local optimum in simulated annealing. The self-organizing effect of the system is limited and related to the person's general health and age. Perturbation at acupoints can lead a stronger local excitation (analogous to higher annealing temperature) compared to perturbation at non-singular points (placebo control points). Such difference diminishes as the number of perturbed points increases due to the wider distribution of the limited self-organizing activity. This model explains the following facts from systematic reviews of acupuncture trials: 1. Properly chosen single acupoint treatment for certain disorder can lead to highly repeatable efficacy above placebo 2. When multiple acupoints are used, the result can be highly repeatable if the patients are relatively healthy and young but are usually mixed if the patients are old, frail and have multiple disorders at the same time as the number of local optima or comorbidities increases. 3. As number of acupoints used increases, the efficacy difference between sham and real acupuncture often diminishes. It predicted that the efficacy of acupuncture is negatively correlated to the disease chronicity, severity and patient's age. This is the first biological - physical model of acupuncture which can predict and guide clinical acupuncture research.

Mathematical foundation of quantum annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, Satoshi; Nishimori, Hidetoshi

2008-01-01

Quantum annealing is a generic name of quantum algorithms that use quantum-mechanical fluctuations to search for the solution of an optimization problem. It shares the basic idea with quantum adiabatic evolution studied actively in quantum computation. The present paper reviews the mathematical and theoretical foundations of quantum annealing. In particular, theorems are presented for convergence conditions of quantum annealing to the target optimal state after an infinite-time evolution following the Schroedinger or stochastic (Monte Carlo) dynamics. It is proved that the same asymptotic behavior of the control parameter guarantees convergence for both the Schroedinger dynamics and the stochastic dynamics in spite of the essential difference of these two types of dynamics. Also described are the prescriptions to reduce errors in the final approximate solution obtained after a long but finite dynamical evolution of quantum annealing. It is shown there that we can reduce errors significantly by an ingenious choice of annealing schedule (time dependence of the control parameter) without compromising computational complexity qualitatively. A review is given on the derivation of the convergence condition for classical simulated annealing from the view point of quantum adiabaticity using a classical-quantum mapping

Placement by thermodynamic simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vicente, Juan de; Lanchares, Juan; Hermida, Roman

2003-01-01

Combinatorial optimization problems arise in different fields of science and engineering. There exist some general techniques coping with these problems such as simulated annealing (SA). In spite of SA success, it usually requires costly experimental studies in fine tuning the most suitable annealing schedule. In this Letter, the classical integrated circuit placement problem is faced by Thermodynamic Simulated Annealing (TSA). TSA provides a new annealing schedule derived from thermodynamic laws. Unlike SA, temperature in TSA is free to evolve and its value is continuously updated from the variation of state functions as the internal energy and entropy. Thereby, TSA achieves the high quality results of SA while providing interesting adaptive features

Comparison of pulsed electron beam-annealed and pulsed ruby laser-annealed ion-implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, S.R.; Appleton, B.R.; White, C.W.; Narayan, J.; Greenwald, A.C.

1978-11-01

Recently two new techniques, pulsed electron beam annealing and pulsed laser annealing, have been developed for processing ion-implanted silicon. These two types of anneals have been compared using ion-channeling, ion back-scattering, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Single crystal samples were implanted with 100 keV As + ions to a dose of approx. 1 x 10 16 ions/cm 2 and subsequently annealed by either a pulsed Ruby laser or a pulsed electron beam. Our results show in both cases that the near-surface region has melted and regrown epitaxially with nearly all of the implanted As (97 to 99%) incroporated onto lattice sites. The analysis indicates that the samples are essentially defect free and have complete electrical recovery

Influence Of Dilution Factor For Activity Measurement Of 60CO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermawan-Candra; Nazaroh; Ermi-Juita

2003-01-01

Influence of dilution factor for activity measurement of 60 Co has been studied. The aim of this research is to determine influence between activity measurement result of 60 Co before and after diluted. Measurement were done by using ionization chamber detectors system and gamma spectrometry system with NaI(TI) detector. Discrepancy within three ionization chambers measurements were 0.2% - 2.1% and NaI(Tl) were 3.5% - 6%. (author)

Annealing effects in solid-state track recorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gold, R.; Roberts, J.H.; Ruddy, F.H.

1981-01-01

Current analyses of the annealing process in Solid State Track Recorders (SSTR) reveal fundamental misconceptions. The use of the Arrhenius equation to describe the decrease in track density resulting from annealing is shown to be incorrect. To overcome these deficiencies, generalized reaction rate theory is used to describe the annealing process in SSTR. Results of annealing experiments are used to guide this theoretical formulation. Within this framework, the concept of energy per etchable defect for SSTR is introduced. A general correlation between sensitivity and annealing susceptibility in SSTR is deduced. In terms of this general theory, the apparent correlation between fission track size and fission track density observed under annealing is readily explained. Based on this theoretical treatment of annealing phenomena, qualitative explanations are advanced for current enigmas in SSTR cosmic ray work

Implantation activation annealing of Si-implanted gallium nitride at temperatures > 1,100 C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zolper, J.C.; Han, J.; Biefeld, R.M.

1997-01-01

The activation annealing of Si-implanted GaN is reported for temperatures from 1,100 to 1,400 C. Although previous work has shown that Si-implanted GaN can be activated by a rapid thermal annealing at ∼1,100 C, it was also shown that significant damage remained in the crystal. Therefore, both AlN-encapsulated and uncapped Si-implanted GaN samples were annealed in a metal organic chemical vapor deposition system in a N 2 /NH 3 ambient to further assess the annealing process. Electrical Hall characterization shows increases in carrier density and mobility for annealing up to 1,300 C before degrading at 1,400 C due to decomposition of the GaN epilayer. Rutherford backscattering spectra show that the high annealing temperatures reduce the implantation induced damage profile but do not completely restore the as-grown crystallinity

Learning FCM by chaotic simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alizadeh, Somayeh; Ghazanfari, Mehdi

2009-01-01

Fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is a directed graph, which shows the relations between essential components in complex systems. It is a very convenient, simple, and powerful tool, which is used in numerous areas of application. Experts who are familiar with the system components and their relations can generate a related FCM. There is a big gap when human experts cannot produce FCM or even there is no expert to produce the related FCM. Therefore, a new mechanism must be used to bridge this gap. In this paper, a novel learning method is proposed to construct FCM by using Chaotic simulated annealing (CSA). The proposed method not only is able to construct FCM graph topology but also is able to extract the weight of the edges from input historical data. The efficiency of the proposed method is shown via comparison of its results of some numerical examples with those of Simulated annealing (SA) method.

119Sn Moessbauer spectroscopy in the magnetically diluted Heusler-type systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruebenbauer, K.

1981-01-01

119 Sn Moessbauer investigations of the ferromagnetically diluted Nisub(2)Mnsub(x)Bsub(1-x)Sn(B=Ti, V) and Pdsub(2)Mnsub(x)Vsub(1-x)Sn Heusler-type systems have been performed and the results are reviewed and discussed. It has been found that distributions of the transferred hyperfine magnetic field as seen by a tin nucleus are very sensitive for a type of the local magnetic interaction in these simple ferromagnets, especially when studied versus the sample temperature. This sensitivity allows to reach some conclusions about the coupling mechanism between localised manganese magnetic moments. Namely, it is concluded that the interaction beyond the second neighbour shell is practically irrelevant for the magnetic ordering process. This very fact means that the free electron approach to the calculation of exchange integrals can not be applied for these particular systems. (Author)

Chaotic properties of dilute two- and three dimensional random Lorentz gases: Equilibrium systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Beijeren, H.; Latz, A.; Dorfman, J.R.

We compute the Lyapunov spectrum and the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy for a moving particle placed in a dilute, random array of hard-disk or hard-sphere scatterers, i.e., the dilute Lorentz gas model. This is carried out in two ways. First we use simple kinetic theory arguments to compute the Lyapunov

Understanding the microwave annealing of silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaochao Fu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Though microwave annealing appears to be very appealing due to its unique features, lacking an in-depth understanding and accurate model hinder its application in semiconductor processing. In this paper, the physics-based model and accurate calculation for the microwave annealing of silicon are presented. Both thermal effects, including ohmic conduction loss and dielectric polarization loss, and non-thermal effects are thoroughly analyzed. We designed unique experiments to verify the mechanism and extract relevant parameters. We also explicitly illustrate the dynamic interaction processes of the microwave annealing of silicon. This work provides an in-depth understanding that can expedite the application of microwave annealing in semiconductor processing and open the door to implementing microwave annealing for future research and applications.

Study of Nd:YAG laser annealing of electroless Ni-P film on spiegel-iron plate by Taguchi method and grey system theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, W.L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Formosa University, 64, Wunhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 632, Taiwan (China); Chien, W.T.; Jiang, M.H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 1, Shuehfu Road, Neipu, Pingtung 912, Taiwan (China); Chen, W.J., E-mail: chenwjau@yuntech.edu.t [Graduate School of Materials Science, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, 123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan (China)

2010-04-09

An electroless Ni-P film was first deposited on a spiegel-iron plate and then annealed by an Nd:YAG pulsed wave laser. In order to obtain the optimal laser annealing parameters for maximizing the hardness and minimizing the surface roughness of electroless Ni-P films, the Taguchi method and grey system theory were used to analyze the experimental data. The electroless Ni-P film was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy for the morphology, and transmission electron microscopy for the microstructure and crystal structure. The results showed that the hardness and the surface roughness of electroless Ni-P films can be, at the same time, improved to 50.8% and 68%, respectively, by the laser annealing with the optimal parameters.

Study of Nd:YAG laser annealing of electroless Ni-P film on spiegel-iron plate by Taguchi method and grey system theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, W.L.; Chien, W.T.; Jiang, M.H.; Chen, W.J.

2010-01-01

An electroless Ni-P film was first deposited on a spiegel-iron plate and then annealed by an Nd:YAG pulsed wave laser. In order to obtain the optimal laser annealing parameters for maximizing the hardness and minimizing the surface roughness of electroless Ni-P films, the Taguchi method and grey system theory were used to analyze the experimental data. The electroless Ni-P film was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy for the morphology, and transmission electron microscopy for the microstructure and crystal structure. The results showed that the hardness and the surface roughness of electroless Ni-P films can be, at the same time, improved to 50.8% and 68%, respectively, by the laser annealing with the optimal parameters.

Extending Lean and Exhaust Gas Recirculation-Dilute Operating Limits of a Modern Gasoline Direct-Injection Engine Using a Low-Energy Transient Plasma Ignition System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sevik, James; Wallner, Thomas; Pamminger, Michael; Scarcelli, Riccardo; Singleton, Dan; Sanders, Jason

2016-05-24

The efficiency improvement and emissions reduction potential of lean and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)-dilute operation of spark-ignition gasoline engines is well understood and documented. However, dilute operation is generally limited by deteriorating combustion stability with increasing inert gas levels. The combustion stability decreases due to reduced mixture flame speeds resulting in significantly increased combustion initiation periods and burn durations. A study was designed and executed to evaluate the potential to extend lean and EGR-dilute limits using a low-energy transient plasma ignition system. The low-energy transient plasma was generated by nanosecond pulses and its performance compared to a conventional transistorized coil ignition (TCI) system operated on an automotive, gasoline direct-injection (GDI) single-cylinder research engine. The experimental assessment was focused on steady-state experiments at the part load condition of 1500 rpm 5.6 bar indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), where dilution tolerance is particularly critical to improving efficiency and emission performance. Experimental results suggest that the energy delivery process of the low-energy transient plasma ignition system significantly improves part load dilution tolerance by reducing the early flame development period. Statistical analysis of relevant combustion metrics was performed in order to further investigate the effects of the advanced ignition system on combustion stability. Results confirm that at select operating conditions EGR tolerance and lean limit could be improved by as much as 20% (from 22.7 to 27.1% EGR) and nearly 10% (from λ = 1.55 to 1.7) with the low-energy transient plasma ignition system.

Review of in-service thermal annealing of nuclear reactor pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.

1984-01-01

Radiation embrittlement of ferritic pressure vessel steels increases the ductile-brittle transition temperature and decreases the upper-shelf level of toughness as measured by Charpy impact tests. A thermal anneal cycle well above the normal operating temperature of the vessel can restore most of the original Charpy V-notch energy properties. A test reactor pressure vessel has been wet annealed at less than 343 0 C (650 0 F), and annealing of the Belgian BR-3 reactor vessel has recently taken place. An industry survey indicates that dry annealing a reactor vessel in-place is feasible, but solvable engineering problems do exist. The materials with highest radiation sensitivity in the older reactor vessels are submerged-arc weld metals with high copper and nickel concentrations. The limited Charpy V-notch and fracture toughness data available for five such welds were reviewed. The review suggested that significant recovery results from annealing at 454 0 C (850 0 F) for one week. Two of the main concerns with a localized heat treatment at 454 0 C (850 0 F) are the degree of distortion that may occur after the annealing cycle and the extent of residual stresses. A thermal and structural analysis of a reactor vessel for distortions and residual stresses found no problems with the reactor vessel itself but did indicate a rotation at the nozzle region of the vessel that would plastically deform the attached primary piping. Further analytical studies are needed. An American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) task group is upgrading and revising the ASTM Recommended Guide for In-Service Annealing of WaterCooled Nuclear Reactor Vessels (E 509-74) with emphasis on the materials and surveillance aspects of annealing rather than system engineering problems. System safety issues are the province of organizations other than ASTM (for example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code body)

Development of fast heating electron beam annealing setup for ultra high vacuum chamber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Sadhan Chandra [UGC-DAE Consortium For Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandwa Road, Indore 452 001, MP (India); School of Electronics, Devi Ahilya University, Indore 452001, MP (India); Institute of Physics, University of Greifswald, Felix Hausdroff Str. 6 (Germany); Majumdar, Abhijit, E-mail: majuabhijit@gmail.com, E-mail: majumdar@uni-greifswald.de; Hippler, R. [Institute of Physics, University of Greifswald, Felix Hausdroff Str. 6 (Germany); Katiyal, Sumant [School of Electronics, Devi Ahilya University, Indore 452001, MP (India); Shripathi, T. [UGC-DAE Consortium For Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandwa Road, Indore 452 001, MP (India)

2014-02-15

We report the design and development of a simple, electrically low powered and fast heating versatile electron beam annealing setup (up to 1000 °C) working with ultra high vacuum (UHV) chamber for annealing thin films and multilayer structures. The important features of the system are constant temperature control in UHV conditions for the temperature range from room temperature to 1000 ºC with sufficient power of 330 W, at constant vacuum during annealing treatment. It takes approximately 6 min to reach 1000 °C from room temperature (∼10{sup −6} mbar) and 45 min to cool down without any extra cooling. The annealing setup consists of a UHV chamber, sample holder, heating arrangement mounted on suitable UHV electrical feed-through and electronic control and feedback systems to control the temperature within ±1 ºC of set value. The outside of the vacuum chamber is cooled by cold air of 20 °C of air conditioning machine used for the laboratory, so that chamber temperature does not go beyond 50 °C when target temperature is maximum. The probability of surface oxidation or surface contamination during annealing is examined by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of virgin Cu sample annealed at 1000 °C.

Development of fast heating electron beam annealing setup for ultra high vacuum chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Sadhan Chandra; Majumdar, Abhijit; Hippler, R.; Katiyal, Sumant; Shripathi, T.

2014-01-01

We report the design and development of a simple, electrically low powered and fast heating versatile electron beam annealing setup (up to 1000 °C) working with ultra high vacuum (UHV) chamber for annealing thin films and multilayer structures. The important features of the system are constant temperature control in UHV conditions for the temperature range from room temperature to 1000 ºC with sufficient power of 330 W, at constant vacuum during annealing treatment. It takes approximately 6 min to reach 1000 °C from room temperature (∼10 −6 mbar) and 45 min to cool down without any extra cooling. The annealing setup consists of a UHV chamber, sample holder, heating arrangement mounted on suitable UHV electrical feed-through and electronic control and feedback systems to control the temperature within ±1 ºC of set value. The outside of the vacuum chamber is cooled by cold air of 20 °C of air conditioning machine used for the laboratory, so that chamber temperature does not go beyond 50 °C when target temperature is maximum. The probability of surface oxidation or surface contamination during annealing is examined by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of virgin Cu sample annealed at 1000 °C

Optimization of cladding parameters for resisting corrosion on low carbon steels using simulated annealing algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Balan, A. V.; Shivasankaran, N.; Magibalan, S.

2018-04-01

Low carbon steels used in chemical industries are frequently affected by corrosion. Cladding is a surfacing process used for depositing a thick layer of filler metal in a highly corrosive materials to achieve corrosion resistance. Flux cored arc welding (FCAW) is preferred in cladding process due to its augmented efficiency and higher deposition rate. In this cladding process, the effect of corrosion can be minimized by controlling the output responses such as minimizing dilution, penetration and maximizing bead width, reinforcement and ferrite number. This paper deals with the multi-objective optimization of flux cored arc welding responses by controlling the process parameters such as wire feed rate, welding speed, Nozzle to plate distance, welding gun angle for super duplex stainless steel material using simulated annealing technique. Regression equation has been developed and validated using ANOVA technique. The multi-objective optimization of weld bead parameters was carried out using simulated annealing to obtain optimum bead geometry for reducing corrosion. The potentiodynamic polarization test reveals the balanced formation of fine particles of ferrite and autenite content with desensitized nature of the microstructure in the optimized clad bead.

Measurement of infinite dilution activity coefficient and application of modified ASOG model for solvent-polymer systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, B.; Choi, J. [Kwangwoon University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Tochigi, K.; Kojima, K. [Nihon University, Tokyo (Japan)

1996-04-20

A gas chromatographic method was used in order to measure vapor-liquid equilibria for solvent (1)-polymer (2) systems in which the polymers were polystyrene, poly(a-methyl) styrene and the advents were benzene toluene cyclohexane methylisobutylketone, ethylacetate, and vinylacetate. The activity coefficients of solvents for solvent (1)-polymer (2) systems were measured at infinite dilution and the modified ASOG (Analytical Solution of Group) model was suggested to describe vapor-liquid equilibria of those systems within a range of temperatures 423.15K through 498.15K. The model consists of the original ASOG and the free volume term. An external degree of freedom in the free volume term empirically became to a C1={alpha}+{beta}/T as a function of temperature. Each tern in the modified ASOG model is based on the weight fraction. The external degree of freedom in the model was estimated by experimental data within a range of temperatures. As a result of doing it the infinite dilution activity coefficients calculated were agreed with the experimental data within an error of 0.1%. 27 refs., 3 figs., 7 tabs.

Influence of sputtering conditions on the optical and electrical properties of laser-annealed and wet-etched room temperature sputtered ZnO:Al thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boukhicha, Rym, E-mail: rym.boukhicha@polytechnique.edu [CNRS, LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France); Charpentier, Coralie [CNRS, LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France); Total S and M — New Energies Division, R and D Division, Department of Solar Energies EN/BO/RD/SOL, Tour Michelet, 24 cours Michelet, La Défense 10, 92069 Paris La Défense Cedex (France); Prod' Homme, Patricia [Total S and M — New Energies Division, R and D Division, Department of Solar Energies EN/BO/RD/SOL, Tour Michelet, 24 cours Michelet, La Défense 10, 92069 Paris La Défense Cedex (France); Roca i Cabarrocas, Pere [CNRS, LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France); Lerat, Jean-François; Emeraud, Thierry [Photovoltaic Business Unit, Excico Group NV, Kempische Steenweg 305/2, B-3500 Hasselt (Belgium); Johnson, Erik [CNRS, LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France)

2014-03-31

We explore the influence of the sputtering deposition conditions on the outcome of an excimer laser anneal and chemical etching process with the goal of producing highly textured substrates for thin film silicon solar cells. Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering from a ceramic target at room temperature. The effects of the process pressure (0.11–1.2 Pa) and oxygen flow (0–2 sccm) on the optical and electrical properties of ZnO:Al thin films have been studied both before and after an excimer laser annealing treatment followed by a dilute HCl chemical etch. The as-deposited films varied from completely opaque to yellowish. Thin film laser annealing dramatically improves the optical properties of the most opaque thin films. After laser annealing at the optimum fluence, the average transmittance in the visible wavelength range was around 80% for most films, and reasonable electrical performance was obtained for the films deposited at lower pressures and without oxygen flux (7 Ω/□ for films of 1 μm). After etching, all films displayed a dramatic improvement in haze, but only the low pressure, low oxygen films retained acceptable electrical properties (< 11 Ω/□). - Highlights: • Al:ZnO thin films were deposited at room temperature. • The ZnO:Al films were excimer laser annealed and then wet-etched. • The optical and electrical properties were studied in details.

Reactor controller design using genetic algorithms with simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erkan, K.; Buetuen, E.

2000-01-01

This chapter presents a digital control system for ITU TRIGA Mark-II reactor using genetic algorithms with simulated annealing. The basic principles of genetic algorithms for problem solving are inspired by the mechanism of natural selection. Natural selection is a biological process in which stronger individuals are likely to be winners in a competing environment. Genetic algorithms use a direct analogy of natural evolution. Genetic algorithms are global search techniques for optimisation but they are poor at hill-climbing. Simulated annealing has the ability of probabilistic hill-climbing. Thus, the two techniques are combined here to get a fine-tuned algorithm that yields a faster convergence and a more accurate search by introducing a new mutation operator like simulated annealing or an adaptive cooling schedule. In control system design, there are currently no systematic approaches to choose the controller parameters to obtain the desired performance. The controller parameters are usually determined by test and error with simulation and experimental analysis. Genetic algorithm is used automatically and efficiently searching for a set of controller parameters for better performance. (orig.)

Rapid Thermal annealing of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasenack, C.M.

1986-01-01

The recrystallization behavior and the supression mechanisms of the residual defects of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation, were investigated. The samples were annealed with the aid of a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system at temperature range from 850 to 1200 0 C, and annealing time up to 120 s. Random and aligned Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to analyse the samples. Similarities in the recrystallization behavior for layers implanted with ions of the same chemical groups such as As or Sb; Ge, Sn or Pb, In or Ga, are observed. The results show that the effective supression of resisual defects of the recrystallired layers is vinculated to the redistribution of impurities via thermal diffusion. (author) [pt

Solubilization of tea seed oil in a food-grade water-dilutable microemulsion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingli Deng

Full Text Available Food-grade microemulsions containing oleic acid, ethanol, Tween 20, and water were formulated as a carrier system for tea seed oil (Camellia oleifera Abel.. The effect of ethanol on the phase behavior of the microemulsion system was clearly reflected in pseudo-ternary diagrams. The solubilization capacity and solubilization efficiency of tea seed oil dispersions were measured along the dilution line at a 70/30 surfactant/oil mass ratio with Tween 20 as the surfactant and oleic acid and ethanol (1:3, w/w as the oil phase. The dispersed phase of the microemulsion (1.5% weight ratio of tea seed oil to the total amount of oil, surfactant, and tea seed oil could be fully diluted with water without phase separation. Differential scanning calorimetry and viscosity measurements indicated that both the carrier and solubilized systems underwent a similar microstructure transition upon dilution. The dispersion phases gradually inverted from the water-in-oil phase ( 45% water along the dilution line.

Differential evolution and simulated annealing algorithms for mechanical systems design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Saruhan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, nature inspired algorithms – the Differential Evolution (DE and the Simulated Annealing (SA – are utilized to seek a global optimum solution for ball bearings link system assembly weight with constraints and mixed design variables. The Genetic Algorithm (GA and the Evolution Strategy (ES will be a reference for the examination and validation of the DE and the SA. The main purpose is to minimize the weight of an assembly system composed of a shaft and two ball bearings. Ball bearings link system is used extensively in many machinery applications. Among mechanical systems, designers pay great attention to the ball bearings link system because of its significant industrial importance. The problem is complex and a time consuming process due to mixed design variables and inequality constraints imposed on the objective function. The results showed that the DE and the SA performed and obtained convergence reliability on the global optimum solution. So the contribution of the DE and the SA application to the mechanical system design can be very useful in many real-world mechanical system design problems. Beside, the comparison confirms the effectiveness and the superiority of the DE over the others algorithms – the SA, the GA, and the ES – in terms of solution quality. The ball bearings link system assembly weight of 634,099 gr was obtained using the DE while 671,616 gr, 728213.8 gr, and 729445.5 gr were obtained using the SA, the ES, and the GA respectively.

Automated spike preparation system for Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxwell, S.L. III; Clark, J.P.

1990-01-01

Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS) is a method frequently employed to measure dissolved, irradiated nuclear materials. A known quantity of a unique isotope of the element to be measured (referred to as the ''spike'') is added to the solution containing the analyte. The resulting solution is chemically purified then analyzed by mass spectrometry. By measuring the magnitude of the response for each isotope and the response for the ''unique spike'' then relating this to the known quantity of the ''spike'', the quantity of the nuclear material can be determined. An automated spike preparation system was developed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to dispense spikes for use in IDMS analytical methods. Prior to this development, technicians weighed each individual spike manually to achieve the accuracy required. This procedure was time-consuming and subjected the master stock solution to evaporation. The new system employs a high precision SMI Model 300 Unipump dispenser interfaced with an electronic balance and a portable Epson HX-20 notebook computer to automate spike preparation

Calculations for BDAS Setpoint with Non-conservative Boron Dilution Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hwan Soo; Shin, Ho Cheol; Kim, Yong Bae

2014-01-01

BDAS (Boron Dilution Alarm System) utilizes the ex-core detector instrumentation signals to detect a possible inadvertent boron dilution event during operation mode 3, 4, 5, 6. For boron dilution analysis, discrepancies in the active coolant volume and the assumed linearity of the ex-core instrumentation response were identified for CE type PWR and they were reported by NASL-04-02 These discrepancies have potential to impact to determine BDAS setpoint in a non-conservative manner Therefore, in this study, the calculation of BDAS setpoint with those discrepancies condition about OPR1000 was performed and analyzed for checking the safety of BDAS. The new BDAS setpoint is calculated with conservative condition which recommended from Westinghouse Electric Company. The setpoint of BDAS using non-linear ICRR curve decrease to about 5% compared to the setpoint of that using linear ICRR curve. And this effect of the non-linearity is to slightly delay the boron dilution alarm during the inadvertence boron dilution at mode 3, 4, and 5

The influence of annealing atmosphere on the material properties of sol-gel derived SnO2:Sb films before and after annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeng, Jiann-Shing

2012-01-01

SnO 2 films with and without Sb doping were prepared by the sol-gel spin-coating method. Material properties of the SnO 2 films with different Sb contents were investigated before and after annealing under O 2 or N 2 . When SnO 2 films are annealed under N 2 or O 2 , the resistivity decreases with increasing annealing temperature, which may be related to the increased crystallinity and reduced film defects. The intensity of SnO 2 peaks for both O 2 - and N 2 -annealed films increases as the annealing temperature increases. Small nodules are revealed on the surface of SnO 2 films after annealing in N 2 or O 2 atmospheres, and some voids are present on the surface of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 films. After doping with Sb, the resistivity of SnO 2 films after annealing in O 2 is greater than that of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 films. The surface morphology of SnO 2 films incorporating different molar ratios of Sb after annealing are similar to that of as-spun SnO 2 films with adding Sb. There were no voids found on the surfaces of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 :Sb films. In addition, the peak intensity of SnO 2 :Sb films after O 2 -annealing is higher than those films after N 2 -annealing. The chemical binding states and Hall mobility of the high-temperature annealed SnO 2 films without and with adding Sb are also related to the annealing atmospheres. This study discusses the connection among the material properties of the SnO 2 films with different Sb contents and how these properties are influenced by the Sb-doping concentration and the annealing atmospheres of SnO 2 films.

Influence of initial annealing on structure evolution and magnetic properties of 3.4% Si non-oriented steel during final annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simões Mendanha Pedrosa, Josiane [Department of Physics, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto MG-3540000 (Brazil); Costa Paolinelli, Sebastião da [Research Department Aperam South America, Praça Primeiro de Maio, 9, Timóteo MG-35180018 (Brazil); Barros Cota, André, E-mail: abcota@ufop.br [Department of Physics, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto MG-3540000 (Brazil)

2015-11-01

The effect of the initial annealing on structure evolution and magnetic properties during the final annealing of a 3.4% Si non-oriented grain steel was evaluated. Half of the samples were submitted to initial annealing at 1030 °C before cold rolling and all samples were subjected to final annealing process at temperatures from 540 °C to 1100 °C. The magnetic induction and core loss in the final samples, the microstructure by optical microscopy and the crystallographic texture by X-ray diffraction and EBSD were evaluated. The results show that the samples without initial annealing presented better magnetic properties than the samples with initial annealing, due to the higher ratio between Eta fiber and Gamma fiber volume fractions (Eta/Gamma ratio) in their structure after final annealing. - Highlights: • Texture and magnetic properties of 3.4% Si non-oriented electrical steel were measured. • Without initial annealing, better texture and magnetic properties were obtained. • Good texture and magnetic properties are obtained with Steckel hot band structure.

Thermal diffusion in dilute nanofluids investigated by photothermal interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philip, J; Nisha, M R

2010-01-01

We have carried out a theoretical analysis of the dependence of the particle mass fraction on the thermal diffusivity of dilute suspensions of nanoparticles in liquids (dilute nanofluids). The analysis takes in to account adsorption of an ordered layer of solvent molecules around the nanoparticles. It is found that thermal diffusivity decreases with mass fraction for sufficiently small particle sizes. Beyond a critical particle size thermal diffusivity begins to increase with mass fraction for the same system. The results have been verified experimentally by measuring the thermal diffusivity of dilute suspensions of TiO 2 nanoparticles dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) medium. The effect is attributed to Kapitza resistance of thermal waves in the medium.

Thermodynamics of a dilute XX chain in a field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Timonin, P. N., E-mail: pntim@live.ru [Southern Federal University, Physics Research Institute (Russian Federation)

2016-06-15

Gapless phases in ground states of low-dimensional quantum spin systems are rather ubiquitous. Their peculiarity is a remarkable sensitivity to external perturbations due to permanent criticality of such phases manifested by a slow (power-low) decay of pair correlations and the divergence of the corresponding susceptibility. A strong influence of various defects on the properties of the system in such a phase can then be expected. Here, we consider the influence of vacancies on the thermodynamics of the simplest quantum model with a gapless phase, the isotropic spin-1/2 XX chain. The existence of the exact solution of this model gives a unique opportunity to describe in detail the dramatic effect of dilution on the gapless phase—the appearance of an infinite series of quantum phase transitions resulting from level crossing under the variation of a longitudinal magnetic field. We calculate the jumps in the field dependences of the ground-state longitudinal magnetization, susceptibility, entropy, and specific heat appearing at these transitions and show that they result in a highly nonlinear temperature dependence of these parameters at low T. Also, the effect of enhancement of the magnetization and longitudinal correlations in the dilute chain is established. The changes of the pair spin correlators under dilution are also analyzed. The universality of the mechanism of the quantum transition generation suggests that similar effects of dilution can also be expected in gapless phases of other low-dimensional quantum spin systems.

Simulated annealing and circuit layout

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarts, E.H.L.; Laarhoven, van P.J.M.

1991-01-01

We discuss the problem of approximately sotvlng circuit layout problems by simulated annealing. For this we first summarize the theoretical concepts of the simulated annealing algorithm using Ihe theory of homogeneous and inhomogeneous Markov chains. Next we briefly review general aspects of the

Radiation annealing in cuprous oxide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vajda, P.

1966-01-01

Experimental results from high-intensity gamma-irradiation of cuprous oxide are used to investigate the annealing of defects with increasing radiation dose. The results are analysed on the basis of the Balarin and Hauser (1965) statistical model of radiation annealing, giving a square...

Annealing-induced Ge/Si(100) island evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yangting; Drucker, Jeff

2003-01-01

Ge/Si(100) islands were found to coarsen during in situ annealing at growth temperature. Islands were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy of pure Ge and annealed at substrate temperatures of T=450, 550, 600, and 650 deg. C, with Ge coverages of 6.5, 8.0, and 9.5 monolayers. Three coarsening mechanisms operate in this temperature range: wetting-layer consumption, conventional Ostwald ripening, and Si interdiffusion. For samples grown and annealed at T=450 deg. C, consumption of a metastably thick wetting layer causes rapid initial coarsening. Slower coarsening at longer annealing times occurs by conventional Ostwald ripening. Coarsening of samples grown and annealed at T=550 deg. C occurs via a combination of Si interdiffusion and conventional Ostwald ripening. For samples grown and annealed at T≥600 deg. C, Ostwald ripening of SiGe alloy clusters appears to be the dominant coarsening mechanism

Annealing behavior of alpha recoil tracks in phlogopite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Shaokai; Yuan Wanming; Dong Jinquan; Bao Zengkuan

2005-01-01

Alpha recoil tracks (ARTs) formed during the a-decay of U, Th as well as their daughter nuclei are used as a new dating method which is to some extent a complementarity of fission track dating due to its ability to determine the age of young mineral. ARTs can be observable under phase-contrast interference microscope through chemical etching. In order to study the annealing behavior of ARTs in phlogopite, two methods of annealing experiments were executed. Samples were annealed in the electronic tube furnace at different temperatures ranging from 250 degree C to 450 degree C in steps of 50 degree C. For any given annealing temperature, different annealing times were used until total track fading were achieved. It is found that ARTs anneal much more easily than fission tracks, the annealing ratio increase non-linearly with annealing time and temperature. Using the Arrhenius plot, an activation energy of 0.68ev is finally found for 100% removal of ARTs, which is less than the corresponding value for fission tracks (FTs). Through extending the annealing time to geological time, a much lower temperature range of the sample's cooling history can be got.

Adiabatic quantum computation and quantum annealing theory and practice

CERN Document Server

McGeoch, Catherine C

2014-01-01

Adiabatic quantum computation (AQC) is an alternative to the better-known gate model of quantum computation. The two models are polynomially equivalent, but otherwise quite dissimilar: one property that distinguishes AQC from the gate model is its analog nature. Quantum annealing (QA) describes a type of heuristic search algorithm that can be implemented to run in the ``native instruction set'''' of an AQC platform. D-Wave Systems Inc. manufactures {quantum annealing processor chips} that exploit quantum properties to realize QA computations in hardware. The chips form the centerpiece of a nov

Comparison of the Cathra Repliscan II, the AutoMicrobic system Gram-Negative General Susceptibility-Plus Card, and the Micro-Media System Fox Panel for dilution susceptibility testing of gram-negative bacilli.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiber, N E; Kelly, M T; Latimer, J M; Tison, D L; Hysmith, R M

1985-06-01

A comparative evaluation was done to test the accuracy of the Cathra Repliscan II agar dilution system (Diagnostic Equipment, Inc., St. Paul, Minn.), the AutoMicrobic system with Gram-Negative General Susceptibility-Plus Card (Vitek Systems, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.), and the Micro-Media Fox Panel micro broth dilution system (Micro-Media Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif.) in determining MICs of 12 antibiotics for 200 gram-negative bacilli. Of the 200 strains tested, 12 isolates did not grow in one of the three systems. The 188 remaining organisms included 158 members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, 20 Pseudomonas spp., 5 Acinetobacter sp., 3 Aeromonas spp., and 2 Vibrio spp. A total of 2,256 organism-antibiotic combinations were analyzed for each system. An MIC was considered correct if two of the three systems were in agreement. When disagreements occurred, correct MICs were determined by the standard agar dilution method. With this criterion, overall agreements of the Cathra Repliscan II system, AutoMicrobic system, and Micro-Media Fox Panel system were 94.7, 94.9, and 95.5%, respectively. Tetracycline (20%), nitrofurantoin (20%), and ampicillin (16%) accounted for 56% of the discrepancies observed. These results indicate that all three systems perform with a high degree of accuracy for susceptibility testing of gram-negative bacilli.

Reduced annealing temperatures in silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, I.; Swartz, C. K.

1981-01-01

Cells irradiated to a fluence of 5x10,000,000,000,000/square cm showed short circuit current on annealing at 200 C, with complete annealing occurring at 275 C. Cells irradiated to 100,000,000,000,000/square cm showed a reduction in annealing temperature from the usual 500 to 300 C. Annealing kinetic studies yield an activation energy of (1.5 + or - 2) eV for the low fluence, low temperature anneal. Comparison with activation energies previously obtained indicate that the presently obtained activation energy is consistent with the presence of either the divacancy or the carbon interstitial carbon substitutional pair, a result which agrees with the conclusion based on defect behavior in boron-doped silicon.

Simulated annealing with constant thermodynamic speed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salamon, P.; Ruppeiner, G.; Liao, L.; Pedersen, J.

1987-01-01

Arguments are presented to the effect that the optimal annealing schedule for simulated annealing proceeds with constant thermodynamic speed, i.e., with dT/dt = -(v T)/(ε-√C), where T is the temperature, ε- is the relaxation time, C ist the heat capacity, t is the time, and v is the thermodynamic speed. Experimental results consistent with this conjecture are presented from simulated annealing on graph partitioning problems. (orig.)

Coherent Coupled Qubits for Quantum Annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Steven J.; Samach, Gabriel O.; Hover, David; Gustavsson, Simon; Kim, David K.; Melville, Alexander; Rosenberg, Danna; Sears, Adam P.; Yan, Fei; Yoder, Jonilyn L.; Oliver, William D.; Kerman, Andrew J.

2017-07-01

Quantum annealing is an optimization technique which potentially leverages quantum tunneling to enhance computational performance. Existing quantum annealers use superconducting flux qubits with short coherence times limited primarily by the use of large persistent currents Ip. Here, we examine an alternative approach using qubits with smaller Ip and longer coherence times. We demonstrate tunable coupling, a basic building block for quantum annealing, between two flux qubits with small (approximately 50-nA) persistent currents. Furthermore, we characterize qubit coherence as a function of coupler setting and investigate the effect of flux noise in the coupler loop on qubit coherence. Our results provide insight into the available design space for next-generation quantum annealers with improved coherence.

Enhanced exchange bias in MnN/CoFe bilayers after high-temperature annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Dunz, M.; Schmalhorst, J.; Meinert, M.

2018-05-01

We report an exchange bias of more than 2700 Oe at room temperature in MnN/CoFe bilayers after high-temperature annealing. We studied the dependence of exchange bias on the annealing temperature for different MnN thicknesses in detail and found that samples with tMnN > 32nm show an increase of exchange bias for annealing temperatures higher than TA = 400 °C. Maximum exchange bias values exceeding 2000 Oe with reasonably small coercive fields around 600 Oe are achieved for tMnN = 42, 48 nm. The median blocking temperature of those systems is determined to be 180 °C after initial annealing at TA = 525 °C. X-ray diffraction measurements and Auger depth profiling show that the large increase of exchange bias after high-temperature annealing is accompanied by strong nitrogen diffusion into the Ta buffer layer of the stacks.

Temperature Scaling Law for Quantum Annealing Optimizers.

Science.gov (United States)

Albash, Tameem; Martin-Mayor, Victor; Hen, Itay

2017-09-15

Physical implementations of quantum annealing unavoidably operate at finite temperatures. We point to a fundamental limitation of fixed finite temperature quantum annealers that prevents them from functioning as competitive scalable optimizers and show that to serve as optimizers annealer temperatures must be appropriately scaled down with problem size. We derive a temperature scaling law dictating that temperature must drop at the very least in a logarithmic manner but also possibly as a power law with problem size. We corroborate our results by experiment and simulations and discuss the implications of these to practical annealers.

Bayesian analysis of systems with random chemical composition: renormalization-group approach to Dirichlet distributions and the statistical theory of dilution.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlad, Marcel Ovidiu; Tsuchiya, Masa; Oefner, Peter; Ross, John

2002-01-01

We investigate the statistical properties of systems with random chemical composition and try to obtain a theoretical derivation of the self-similar Dirichlet distribution, which is used empirically in molecular biology, environmental chemistry, and geochemistry. We consider a system made up of many chemical species and assume that the statistical distribution of the abundance of each chemical species in the system is the result of a succession of a variable number of random dilution events, which can be described by using the renormalization-group theory. A Bayesian approach is used for evaluating the probability density of the chemical composition of the system in terms of the probability densities of the abundances of the different chemical species. We show that for large cascades of dilution events, the probability density of the composition vector of the system is given by a self-similar probability density of the Dirichlet type. We also give an alternative formal derivation for the Dirichlet law based on the maximum entropy approach, by assuming that the average values of the chemical potentials of different species, expressed in terms of molar fractions, are constant. Although the maximum entropy approach leads formally to the Dirichlet distribution, it does not clarify the physical origin of the Dirichlet statistics and has serious limitations. The random theory of dilution provides a physical picture for the emergence of Dirichlet statistics and makes it possible to investigate its validity range. We discuss the implications of our theory in molecular biology, geochemistry, and environmental science.

Boosting quantum annealer performance via sample persistence

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, Hamed; Rosenberg, Gili

2017-07-01

We propose a novel method for reducing the number of variables in quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems, using a quantum annealer (or any sampler) to fix the value of a large portion of the variables to values that have a high probability of being optimal. The resulting problems are usually much easier for the quantum annealer to solve, due to their being smaller and consisting of disconnected components. This approach significantly increases the success rate and number of observations of the best known energy value in samples obtained from the quantum annealer, when compared with calling the quantum annealer without using it, even when using fewer annealing cycles. Use of the method results in a considerable improvement in success metrics even for problems with high-precision couplers and biases, which are more challenging for the quantum annealer to solve. The results are further enhanced by applying the method iteratively and combining it with classical pre-processing. We present results for both Chimera graph-structured problems and embedded problems from a real-world application.

Moderate Dilution of Copper Slag by Natural Gas

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bao-jing; Zhang, Ting-an; Niu, Li-ping; Liu, Nan-song; Dou, Zhi-he; Li, Zhi-qiang

2018-01-01

To enable use of copper slag and extract the maximum value from the contained copper, an innovative method of reducing moderately diluted slag to smelt copper-containing antibacterial stainless steel is proposed. This work focused on moderate dilution of copper slag using natural gas. The thermodynamics of copper slag dilution and ternary phase diagrams of the slag system were calculated. The effects of blowing time, temperature, matte settling time, and calcium oxide addition were investigated. The optimum reaction conditions were identified to be blowing time of 20 min, reaction temperature of 1250°C, settling time of 60 min, CaO addition of 4% of mass of slag, natural gas flow rate of 80 mL/min, and outlet pressure of 0.1 MPa. Under these conditions, the Fe3O4 and copper contents of the residue were 7.36% and 0.50%, respectively.

Rapid thermal annealing of phosphorus implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y.H.; Pogany, A.; Harrison, H.B.; Williams, J.S.

1985-01-01

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of phosphorus-implanted silicon has been investigated by four point probe, Van der Pauw methods and transmission electron microscopy. The results have been compared to furnace annealing. Experiments show that RTA, even at temperatures as low as 605 deg C, results in good electrical properties with little remnant damage and compares favourably with furnace annealing

Isotopic dilution requirements for 233U criticality safety in processing and disposal facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elam, K.R.; Forsberg, C.W.; Hopper, C.M.; Wright, R.Q.

1997-11-01

The disposal of excess 233 U as waste is being considered. Because 233 U is a fissile material, one of the key requirements for processing 233 U to a final waste form and disposing of it is to avoid nuclear criticality. For many processing and disposal options, isotopic dilution is the most feasible and preferred option to avoid nuclear criticality. Isotopic dilution is dilution of fissile 233 U with nonfissile 238 U. The use of isotopic dilution removes any need to control nuclear criticality in process or disposal facilities through geometry or chemical composition. Isotopic dilution allows the use of existing waste management facilities, that are not designed for significant quantities of fissile materials, to be used for processing and disposing of 233 U. The amount of isotopic dilution required to reduce criticality concerns to reasonable levels was determined in this study to be ∼ 0.66 wt% 233 U. The numerical calculations used to define this limit consisted of a homogeneous system of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), water (H 2 O), 233 U, and depleted uranium (DU) in which the ratio of each component was varied to determine the conditions of maximum nuclear reactivity. About 188 parts of DU (0.2 wt% 235 U) are required to dilute 1 part of 233 U to this limit in a water-moderated system with no SiO 2 present. Thus, for the US inventory of 233 U, several hundred metric tons of DU would be required for isotopic dilution

Exchange bias in diluted-antiferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao, Zhongquan; Zhan, Xiaozhi; Chen, Xi

2015-01-01

The hysteresis-loop properties of a diluted-antiferromagnetic (DAF) layer exchange coupling to an antiferromagnetic (AF) layer are investigated by means of numerical simulations. Remarkable loop shift and coercivity enhancement are observed in such DAF/AF bilayers, while they are absent in the uncoupled DAF single layer. The influences of pinned domains, dilution, cooling field and DAF layer thickness on the loop shift are investigated systematically. The result unambiguously confirms an exchange bias (EB) effect in the DAF/AF bilayers. It also reveals that the EB effect originates from the pinned AF domains within the DAF layer. In contrast to conventional EB systems, frozen uncompensated spins are not found at the interface of the AF pinning layer. (paper)

Computational Multiqubit Tunnelling in Programmable Quantum Annealers

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-25

ARTICLE Received 3 Jun 2015 | Accepted 26 Nov 2015 | Published 7 Jan 2016 Computational multiqubit tunnelling in programmable quantum annealers...state itself. Quantum tunnelling has been hypothesized as an advantageous physical resource for optimization in quantum annealing. However, computational ...qubit tunnelling plays a computational role in a currently available programmable quantum annealer. We devise a probe for tunnelling, a computational

Effect of the dilution factor on 18FDG and Na18F samples for bacterial endotoxin test using PTS (portable test system)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silveira, Marina B.; Costa, Flavia M.; Ferreira, Soraya Z.

2011-01-01

18 FDG and Na 18 F are radiopharmaceuticals produced as sterile solutions suitable for intravenous administration, which must contain no more than 175 EV/V. The most commonly used approach to detect endotoxins is the gelclot technique that requires 60 minutes for results. For radiopharmaceuticals containing short-life radionuclides, such as 18 F, there is an increasing interest for faster quality control methods. FDA licensed the Endosafe, PTS, a kinetic chromogenic endotoxin detection system that takes about 15 minutes for results. As other techniques, PTS test is susceptible to interferences which can be solved by product dilution. The aim of this study was to establish the best dilution of 18 FDG and Na 18 F for PTS analysis. Two different dilution factors for 18 FDG and 1:10 for Na 18 F were essayed: 1:10 and 1:100. 18 FDG and Na 18 solutions were prepared by the addition of LAL reagent water. Considering the assay acceptance criteria, the best dilution factor was 1:100 for 18 FDG and 1:10 for Na 18 F. The recovery of the product positive control was 98-12% for 18 FDG 1:100 and 104-120% for Na 18 F 1:10, which were, in both cases, within the specification (50-200%) and very close to 100%. Results obtained with these dilution studies were important to establish the most appropriate and non-interfering dilution factor for 18 FDG and Na 18 F routine endotoxin test. (author)

Nonequilibrium spin transport through a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot system with noncollinear magnetization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Minjie; Jalil, Mansoor Bin Abdul; Tan, Seng Gee

2013-01-01

The spin-dependent transport through a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot (QD) which is coupled via magnetic tunnel junctions to two ferromagnetic leads is studied theoretically. A noncollinear system is considered, where the QD is magnetized at an arbitrary angle with respect to the leads’ magnetization. The tunneling current is calculated in the coherent regime via the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism, incorporating the electron–electron interaction in the QD. We provide the first analytical solution for the Green’s function of the noncollinear DMS quantum dot system, solved via the equation of motion method under Hartree–Fock approximation. The transport characteristics (charge and spin currents, and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR)) are evaluated for different voltage regimes. The interplay between spin-dependent tunneling and single-charge effects results in three distinct voltage regimes in the spin and charge current characteristics. The voltage range in which the QD is singly occupied corresponds to the maximum spin current and greatest sensitivity of the spin current to the QD magnetization orientation. The QD device also shows transport features suitable for sensor applications, i.e., a large charge current coupled with a high TMR ratio. - Highlights: ► The spin polarized transport through a diluted magnetic quantum dot is studied. ► The model is based on the Green’s function and the equation of motion method.► The charge and spin currents and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) are investigated. ► The system is suitable for current-induced spin-transfer torque application. ► A large tunneling current and a high TMR are possible for sensor application.

Thermal annealing response following irradiation of a CMOS imager for the JUICE JANUS instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Lofthouse-Smith, D.-D.; Soman, M. R.; Allanwood, E. A. H.; Stefanov, K. D.; Holland, A. D.; Leese, M.; Turne, P.

2018-03-01

ESA's JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer) spacecraft is an L-class mission destined for the Jovian system in 2030. Its primary goals are to investigate the conditions for planetary formation and the emergence of life, and how does the solar system work. The JANUS camera, an instrument on JUICE, uses a 4T back illuminated CMOS image sensor, the CIS115 designed by Teledyne e2v. JANUS imager test campaigns are studying the CIS115 following exposure to gammas, protons, electrons and heavy ions, simulating the harsh radiation environment present in the Jovian system. The degradation of 4T CMOS device performance following proton fluences is being studied, as well as the effectiveness of thermal annealing to reverse radiation damage. One key parameter for the JANUS mission is the Dark current of the CIS115, which has been shown to degrade in previous radiation campaigns. A thermal anneal of the CIS115 has been used to accelerate any annealing following the irradiation as well as to study the evolution of any performance characteristics. CIS115s have been irradiated to double the expected End of Life (EOL) levels for displacement damage radiation (2×1010 protons, 10 MeV equivalent). Following this, devices have undergone a thermal anneal cycle at 100oC for 168 hours to reveal the extent to which CIS115 recovers pre-irradiation performance. Dark current activation energy analysis following proton fluence gives information on trap species present in the device and how effective anneal is at removing these trap species. Thermal anneal shows no quantifiable change in the activation energy of the dark current following irradiation.

Stored energy and annealing behavior of heavily deformed aluminium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamikawa, Naoya; Huang, Xiaoxu; Kondo, Yuka

2012-01-01

It has been demonstrated in previous work that a two-step annealing treatment, including a low-temperature, long-time annealing and a subsequent high-temperature annealing, is a promising route to control the microstructure of a heavily deformed metal. In the present study, structural parameters...... are quantified such as boundary spacing, misorientation angle and dislocation density for 99.99% aluminium deformed by accumulative roll-bonding to a strain of 4.8. Two different annealing processes have been applied; (i) one-step annealing for 0.5 h at 100-400°C and (ii) two-step annealing for 6 h at 175°C...... followed by 0.5 h annealing at 200-600°C, where the former treatment leads to discontinuous recrystallization and the latter to uniform structural coarsening. This behavior has been analyzed in terms of the relative change during annealing of energy stored as elastic energy in the dislocation structure...

Kredsløbsmonitorering med lithium dilution cardiac output-systemet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Christian; Hostrup, Anette; Tønnesen, Else

2008-01-01

The lithium dilution cardiac output (LiDCO) system measures cardiac output beat-to-beat with high precision. The system is based on an arterial pulse power analysis which is calibrated every eight hours with a small non-pharmacological dose of lithium. The system is minimally invasive; it requires...

Atomic displacements in bcc dilute alloys

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

be attributed to the reliability of the measured distances which fall off quickly with each shell. Therefore, in ... field and electrical field gradients due to impurities in vanadium [13]. The effective .... Expanding ∆φ(| Rn' |) in power series of u(R0 n), one gets ... The results of each dilute alloy system are presented separately and ...

Global warming: Temperature estimation in annealers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jack Raymond

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Sampling from a Boltzmann distribution is NP-hard and so requires heuristic approaches. Quantum annealing is one promising candidate. The failure of annealing dynamics to equilibrate on practical time scales is a well understood limitation, but does not always prevent a heuristically useful distribution from being generated. In this paper we evaluate several methods for determining a useful operational temperature range for annealers. We show that, even where distributions deviate from the Boltzmann distribution due to ergodicity breaking, these estimates can be useful. We introduce the concepts of local and global temperatures that are captured by different estimation methods. We argue that for practical application it often makes sense to analyze annealers that are subject to post-processing in order to isolate the macroscopic distribution deviations that are a practical barrier to their application.

Origin of reverse annealing effect in hydrogen-implanted silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di, Zengfeng [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Nastasi, Michael A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wang, Yongqiang [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

In contradiction to conventional damage annealing, thermally annealed H-implanted Si exhibits an increase in damage or reverse annealing behavior, whose mechanism has remained elusive. On the basis of quantitative high resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with channeling Rutherford backscattering analysis, we conclusively elucidate that the reverse annealing effect is due to the nucleation and growth of hydrogen-induce platelets. Platelets are responsible for an increase in the height and width the channeling damage peak following increased isochronal anneals.

Microstructure and Texture Evolution in Temper Rolled Fe-Si Steels with New System Nano-Inhibitors Under the Dynamic Annealing Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kováč F.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This work investigates the microstructure and texture evolution in grain-oriented electrotechnical steel with a new inhibition system based on vanadium carbides nano-particles. The novel approach for the preparation of this steel with appropriate final magnetic properties combines not only nanoinhibitors based on the vanadium carbides precipitations but also includes straininduced grain growth mechanism in combination with dynamic continuous annealing during the secondary recrystallization. The experimental grain-oriented steel with proposed new chemical composition was prepared in laboratory conditions. The texture analysis has shown that suggested procedure led the formation of sufficiently strong {110} Goss texture during the short time period of a final annealing process, which is comparable to that obtained in the conventionally treated grain-oriented steels.

The phase diagrams of the site-diluted spin-1/2 Ising superlattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saber, A.; Essaoudi, I.; Ainane, A.; Dujardin, F.; Saber, M.; Stebe, B.

1998-08-01

Using the effective field theory with a probability distribution technique that accounts for the single-site spin correlations, the critical behavior of a diluted spin-1/2 Ising superlattice consisting of two different ferromagnet materials is examined. The critical temperature of the system is studied as a function of the thickness of the constituents in a unit cell, the concentration of magnetic atoms, and the exchange interactions in each material. It is shown that the properties of the diluted system are different from those of the corresponding pure system. (author)

Evolution of Zr/Hf/Zr trilayers during annealing studied by RBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kling, A.; Soares, J.C.

2010-01-01

The Zr/Hf system is highly interesting due its various applications, e.g. formation of amorphous ternary alloys, superconductive properties and production of gate oxide layers with high dielectric coefficients by oxidation of Zr/Hf multilayers. In this work Zr/Hf/Zr trilayers with an individual layer thickness of approximately 50 nm were deposited by electron gun evaporation on a substrate consisting of silicon covered by a micrometer thick thermal oxide layer. Samples were subjected to annealing procedures at 500 and 1200 o C in flowing air atmosphere to promote oxidation and Zr/Hf interdiffusion effects. RBS studies of the as-deposited and annealed samples were performed at the van-de-Graaff accelerator of ITN using He + and H + beams with energies between 2.0 and 2.525 MeV in order to study compositional changes induced by the heat treatment. In the case of low-temperature annealing the layer system appears, besides the oxidation process starting from the surface, to be stable. On the other hand, high-temperature annealing leads to an asymmetric Hf-diffusion into the surface and interior Zr-layer provoked by anomalous diffusion due to a phase transition in Zr accompanied by an almost complete oxidation of the layer structure Oxygen and metal depth distributions obtained by RBS in the as-deposited and treated samples are provided.

The effect of long annealing on Pb-doped high-Tc Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandra, S.; Agnihotry, S.A.; Asthana, P.; Nagpal, K.C.; Saini, K.K.; Chanderkant; Sharma, C.P.; Ekbote, S.N. (National Physical Lab., New Delhi (India))

1991-01-16

The lead doped Bi based copper oxide high-Tc superconductors with different nominal compositions and with different annealing time periods are studied. The highest Tc (zero) achieved is 112 K in bulk phase 2223. The varying intensity of the low angle line at 2{theta}{approx equal}4.7deg suggests the gradual formation of the high-Tc phase due to the long annealing of nearly 200 to 250 h. It is also found that the high-Tc phase starts degrading after 250 h of annealing and Tc reduces. The distortion of the 2223 phase is suggested by the broadening of different XRD peaks, also the SEM studies support the above contention. The EDAX studies show no presence of Pb in the crystallites. (orig.).

Extrapolation of zircon fission-track annealing models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palissari, R.; Guedes, S.; Curvo, E.A.C.; Moreira, P.A.F.P.; Tello, C.A.; Hadler, J.C.

2013-01-01

One of the purposes of this study is to give further constraints on the temperature range of the zircon partial annealing zone over a geological time scale using data from borehole zircon samples, which have experienced stable temperatures for ∼1 Ma. In this way, the extrapolation problem is explicitly addressed by fitting the zircon annealing models with geological timescale data. Several empirical model formulations have been proposed to perform these calibrations and have been compared in this work. The basic form proposed for annealing models is the Arrhenius-type model. There are other annealing models, that are based on the same general formulation. These empirical model equations have been preferred due to the great number of phenomena from track formation to chemical etching that are not well understood. However, there are two other models, which try to establish a direct correlation between their parameters and the related phenomena. To compare the response of the different annealing models, thermal indexes, such as closure temperature, total annealing temperature and the partial annealing zone, have been calculated and compared with field evidence. After comparing the different models, it was concluded that the fanning curvilinear models yield the best agreement between predicted index temperatures and field evidence. - Highlights: ► Geological data were used along with lab data for improving model extrapolation. ► Index temperatures were simulated for testing model extrapolation. ► Curvilinear Arrhenius models produced better geological temperature predictions

Identification of ultrasound-contrast-agent dilution systems for ejection fraction measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mischi, M.; Jansen, A.H.M.; Kalker, A.A.C.M.; Korsten, H.H.M.

2005-01-01

Left ventricular ejection fraction is an important cardiac-efficiency measure. Standard estimations are based on geometric analysis and modeling; they require time and experienced cardiologists. Alternative methods make use of indicator dilutions, but they are invasive due to the need for

Mechanical properties and annealing texture of zirconium sheets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanif-ur-Rehman; Khawaja, F.A.

1996-01-01

Mechanical properties like yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength(UTS), percentage elongation and annealing texture has been studied in sheets of commercially pure zirconium. The YS and UTS decrease as a function of annealing temperature up to 600 V, but both quantities have maximum value in sample annealed at 800 deg. C. The percentage elongation decreased with increase in annealing temperature up to 600 deg. C. A slight decrease and minimum value of percentage elongation was observed at 650 and 800 C respectively. The texture development in the annealed samples has been studied by the X-ray diffraction method. The sampled annealed at 800 deg. C showed a texture component (0001) [01 bar 10] with orientation density of about 8 times random, while the samples annealed at 600,650 and 700 deg. C showed a texture component (0001)[2 bar 110] with orientation density of about 5 times random. Thus it is concluded, that the texture component (0001)[2 bar 110] and (0001)[01 bar 10] at 650 and 800 geg. C respectively, may be the responsible for the increase in YS and UTS and decrease in percentage elongation at these temperatures. (author)

Annealing of KDP crystals in vacuum and under pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pritula, I.M.; Kolybayeva, M.I.; Salo, V.I.

1997-01-01

The effect of the high temperature annealing (T an > 230 degrees C) on the absorption spectra and laser damage threshold of KDP crystals was studied in the present paper. The experiments on isotermal annealing were performed under pressure in the atmosphere with specific properties. The composition of the atmosphere was selected to be chose to that of the desorbing gas component determined during annealing in vacuum. The mentioned conditions allowed to conduct annealing in the temperature range of 230 - 280 degrees C without degradation of the sample. The variations in the absorption spectra showed that the effect of the annealing is most strongly revealed in the short - wave region of the spectrum (λ -1 before and k=0.12 cm -1 after annealing) demonstrate that at temperatures ∼ 230 - 280 degrees C the processes ensuring the improvement of the structure quality are stimulated in the volume of the crystals: (a) before the annealing laser damage threshold was 1.5 10 11 W/cm 2 ; (b) after the annealing (t = 280 degrees C) it became 4 10 11 W/cm 2

First application of quantum annealing to IMRT beamlet intensity optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazareth, Daryl P; Spaans, Jason D

2015-01-01

Optimization methods are critical to radiation therapy. A new technology, quantum annealing (QA), employs novel hardware and software techniques to address various discrete optimization problems in many fields. We report on the first application of quantum annealing to the process of beamlet intensity optimization for IMRT.We apply recently-developed hardware which natively exploits quantum mechanical effects for improved optimization. The new algorithm, called QA, is most similar to simulated annealing, but relies on natural processes to directly minimize a system’s free energy. A simple quantum system is slowly evolved into a classical system representing the objective function. If the evolution is sufficiently slow, there are probabilistic guarantees that a global minimum will be located.To apply QA to IMRT-type optimization, two prostate cases were considered. A reduced number of beamlets were employed, due to the current QA hardware limitations. The beamlet dose matrices were computed using CERR and an objective function was defined based on typical clinical constraints, including dose-volume objectives, which result in a complex non-convex search space. The objective function was discretized and the QA method was compared to two standard optimization methods, simulated annealing and Tabu search, run on a conventional computing cluster.Based on several runs, the average final objective function value achieved by the QA was 16.9 for the first patient, compared with 10.0 for Tabu and 6.7 for the simulated annealing (SA) method. For the second patient, the values were 70.7 for the QA, 120.0 for Tabu and 22.9 for the SA. The QA algorithm required 27–38% of the time required by the other two methods.In this first application of hardware-enabled QA to IMRT optimization, its performance is comparable to Tabu search, but less effective than the SA in terms of final objective function values. However, its speed was 3–4 times faster than the other two methods

Microstructural evolution and pitting resistance of annealed lean duplex stainless steel UNS S32304

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Ziying; Han Dong; Jiang Yiming; Shi Chong; Li Jin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The relationship between pitting corrosion resistance and annealing temperature for UNS S32304 was systemically studied. ► The specimens annealed at 1080 °C for 1 h, quenched in water exhibit the best pitting corrosion resistance. ► The relationship between microstructural evolution and pitting resistance of annealed UNS S32304 was discussed in detail. ► The pitting corrosion resistance is consistent with pitting resistance equivalent number of weaker phase for UNS S32304 alloy. - Abstract: The effect of annealing temperature in the range from 1000 to 1200 °C on the pitting corrosion behavior of duplex stainless steel UNS S32304 was investigated by the potentiodynamic polarization and potentiostatic critical pitting temperature techniques. The microstructural evolution and pit morphologies were studied using a scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the nucleation of metastable pits transformed from austenite phase to ferrite phase with the increasing annealing temperature. As the annealing temperature increased, the pitting corrosion resistance firstly increased and then decreased. The highest pitting corrosion resistance was obtained at 1080 °C with the highest critical pitting temperature value and pitting nucleation resistance. The results could be well explained by the microstructural evolution of ferrite and austenite phases induced by annealing treatment.

Standard Guide for In-Service Annealing of Light-Water Moderated Nuclear Reactor Vessels

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2003-01-01

1.1 This guide covers the general procedures to be considered for conducting an in-service thermal anneal of a light-water moderated nuclear reactor vessel and demonstrating the effectiveness of the procedure. The purpose of this in-service annealing (heat treatment) is to improve the mechanical properties, especially fracture toughness, of the reactor vessel materials previously degraded by neutron embrittlement. The improvement in mechanical properties generally is assessed using Charpy V-notch impact test results, or alternatively, fracture toughness test results or inferred toughness property changes from tensile, hardness, indentation, or other miniature specimen testing (1). 1.2 This guide is designed to accommodate the variable response of reactor-vessel materials in post-irradiation annealing at various temperatures and different time periods. Certain inherent limiting factors must be considered in developing an annealing procedure. These factors include system-design limitations; physical constrain...

Improved AMOLED with aligned poly-Si thin-film transistors by laser annealing and chemical solution treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, G.M.; Chen, C.N.; Feng, W.S.; Lu, H.C.

2009-01-01

Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistors (TFT) were prepared for the active-matrix organic light-emitting displays (AMOLED). The excimer laser annealing (ELA) recrystallization technique was employed with a chemical solution treatment process to improve the TFT characteristic uniformity and the AMOLED display image quality. The characteristics of the poly-Si array thin films were influenced by XeCl ELA optic module design, TFT device channel direction, and laser irradiation overlap ratio. The ELA system module provided aligned poly-Si grain size of 0.3 μm by the homogenization lens design. The chemical solution treatment process included a dilute HF solution (DHF), ozone (O 3 ) water, and buffer oxide etching solution (BOE). The PMOS TFT showed better field effect mobility of 87.6 cm 2 /V s, and the threshold voltage was -1.35 V. The off current (I off ) was 1.25x10 -11 A, and the on/off current ratio was 6.27x10 6 . In addition, the image quality of the AMOLED display was highly improved using the 2T1C structure design without any compensation circuit.

Annealed star-branched polyelectrolytes in solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein Wolterink, J.; Male, van J.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Koopal, L.K.; Zhulina, E.B.; Borisov, O.V.

2002-01-01

Equilibrium conformations of annealed star-branched polyelectrolytes (polyacids) are calculated with a numerical self-consistent-field (SCF) model. From the calculations we obtain also the size and charge of annealed polyelectrolyte stars as a function of the number of arms, pH, and the ionic

Radiation damage annealing mechanisms and possible low temperature annealing in silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, I.; Swartz, C. K.

1980-01-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy and the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination theory are used to identify the defect responsible for reverse annealing in 2 ohm-cm n+/p silicon solar cells. This defect, with energy level at Ev + 0.30 eV, has been tentatively identified as a boron-oxygen-vacancy complex. It has been also determined by calculation that the removal of this defect could result in significant annealing at temperatures as low as 200 C for 2 ohm-cm and lower resistivity cells.

High-temperature laser annealing for thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell on glass substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, A.; Schneider, J.; Dore, J.; Mermet, F.; Slaoui, A.

2012-06-01

Thin film polycrystalline silicon films grown on glass substrate were irradiated with an infrared continuous wave laser for defects annealing and/or dopants activation. The samples were uniformly scanned using an attachment with the laser system. Substrate temperature, scan speed and laser power were varied to find suitable laser annealing conditions. The Raman spectroscopy and Suns- V oc analysis were carried out to qualify the films quality after laser annealing. A maximum enhancement of the open circuit voltage V oc of about 100 mV is obtained after laser annealing of as-grown polysilicon structures. A strong correlation was found between the full width half maximum of the Si crystalline peak and V oc. It is interpreted as due to defects annealing as well as to dopants activation in the absorbing silicon layer. The maximum V oc reached is 485 mV after laser treatment and plasma hydrogenation, thanks to defects passivation.

Simultaneous high crystallinity and sub-bandgap optical absorptance in hyperdoped black silicon using nanosecond laser annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franta, Benjamin, E-mail: bafranta@gmail.com; Pastor, David; Gandhi, Hemi H.; Aziz, Michael J.; Mazur, Eric [School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States); Rekemeyer, Paul H.; Gradečak, Silvija [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2015-12-14

Hyperdoped black silicon fabricated with femtosecond laser irradiation has attracted interest for applications in infrared photodetectors and intermediate band photovoltaics due to its sub-bandgap optical absorptance and light-trapping surface. However, hyperdoped black silicon typically has an amorphous and polyphasic polycrystalline surface that can interfere with carrier transport, electrical rectification, and intermediate band formation. Past studies have used thermal annealing to obtain high crystallinity in hyperdoped black silicon, but thermal annealing causes a deactivation of the sub-bandgap optical absorptance. In this study, nanosecond laser annealing is used to obtain high crystallinity and remove pressure-induced phases in hyperdoped black silicon while maintaining high sub-bandgap optical absorptance and a light-trapping surface morphology. Furthermore, it is shown that nanosecond laser annealing reactivates the sub-bandgap optical absorptance of hyperdoped black silicon after deactivation by thermal annealing. Thermal annealing and nanosecond laser annealing can be combined in sequence to fabricate hyperdoped black silicon that simultaneously shows high crystallinity, high above-bandgap and sub-bandgap absorptance, and a rectifying electrical homojunction. Such nanosecond laser annealing could potentially be applied to non-equilibrium material systems beyond hyperdoped black silicon.

Semi-passive pad (post-accident dilution) system combined with recombiners or igniters for e.g., multiple-unit VVER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eckardt, B.A.

1997-01-01

In order to reduce the risk associated with hypothetical severe nuclear accidents, it has been necessary to develop means for hydrogen control which are capable of handling high H 2 production rates of several m 3 /s. These systems and components should be of simple and, as far as possible, passive design. Moreover, their efficiency must not be affected by the H 2 production scenario. To meet these requirements, Siemens has supplemented its dual process for hydrogen reduction using recombiners and igniters by developing a new process: the semi-passive Post-Accident Dilution (PAD) System. The objective of the work presented in this paper was to design an alternative approach for hydrogen control comprising post-accident CO 2 dilution combined with recombiners or igniters for postulated severe accidents that result in significant hydrogen releases. The combined technique was to keep the dynamic loads arising inside the containment to within a range of only a few millibars, even in the event of transient hydrogen release and distribution processes accompanied by combustion, and was thus to prevent any hazard for safety-related equipment. (author)

Continuous deionization of a dilute nickel solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spoor, P.B.; Koene, L.; Veen, ter W.R.; Janssen, L.J.J.

2002-01-01

This paper describes the continuous removal of nickel ions from a dilute solution using a hybrid ion-exchange/electrodialysis process. Emphasis was placed on the ionic state of the bed during the process, and the mass balance of ions in the system. Much of this information was obtained by analysing

Temperature distribution study in flash-annealed amorphous ribbons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moron, C.; Garcia, A.; Carracedo, M.T.

2003-01-01

Negative magnetrostrictive amorphous ribbons have been locally current annealed with currents from 1 to 8 A and annealing times from 14 ms to 200 s. In order to obtain information about the sample temperature during flash or current annealing, a study of the temperature dispersion during annealing in amorphous ribbons was made. The local temperature variation was obtained by measuring the local intensity of the infrared emission of the sample with a CCD liquid nitrogen cooled camera. A distribution of local temperature has been found in spite of the small dimension of the sample

Survey of the chemical diffusion at infinite dilution in the nickel-plutonium and aluminium-uranium systems; Contribution a l'etude de l'heterodiffusion a dilution infinie systemes nickel-plutonium et aluminium-uranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blechet, J J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1968-09-01

Solubility S{sub 0} and chemical diffusion coefficients D{sub PuNi} at infinite dilution of plutonium in nickel have been determined by autoradiography {alpha} in poly-phased system by the welded couples method: S{sub 0} varies from 40 to 80.10{sup -6} (atomic concentration) and D{sub PuNi} follows an Arrhenius law D = D{sub 0} exp (-Q/RT) with 0.03 cm{sup 2}/s < D{sub 0} < 1.6 cm{sup 2}/s and 46000 cal/mole < Q < 56000 cal/mole. Diffusion of uranium in aluminium have been carried out by fissiography using the thin layer method. Frequency factor lies between 0.01 and 3.1 cm{sup 2}/s and the activation energy lies between 24000 and 34000 cal/mole. (author) [French] La solubilite S{sub 0} et les coefficients de diffusion chimique D{sub PuNi}, a dilution infinie, du plutonium dans le nickel ont ete determines par autoradiographie {alpha} sur des couples soudes en systeme polyphase. Entre 1000 et 1125 deg. C. S{sub 0} varie de 40 a 80.10{sup -6} et D obeit a une loi d'ARRHENIUS (concentration atomique) D = D{sub 0} exp (-Q/RT) avec 0.03 cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} < D{sub 0} < 1.60 cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} 46000 calories par mole < Q < 56000 calories par mole. La diffusion de l'uranium dans l'aluminium a ete etudiee par fissiographie en utilisant la technique du depot mince. Le facteur de frequence est situe entre 0.01 et 3.1 cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} et l'energie d'activation entre 24000 et 34000 calories par mole. (auteur)

Competitive annealing of multiple DNA origami: formation of chimeric origami

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majikes, Jacob M; Nash, Jessica A; LaBean, Thomas H

2016-01-01

Scaffolded DNA origami are a robust tool for building discrete nanoscale objects at high yield. This strategy ensures, in the design process, that the desired nanostructure is the minimum free energy state for the designed set of DNA sequences. Despite aiming for the minimum free energy structure, the folding process which leads to that conformation is difficult to characterize, although it has been the subject of much research. In order to shed light on the molecular folding pathways, this study intentionally frustrates the folding process of these systems by simultaneously annealing the staple pools for multiple target or parent origami structures, forcing competition. A surprising result of these competitive, simultaneous anneals is the formation of chimeric DNA origami which inherit structural regions from both parent origami. By comparing the regions inherited from the parent origami, relative stability of substructures were compared. This allowed examination of the folding process with typical characterization techniques and materials. Anneal curves were then used as a means to rapidly generate a phase diagram of anticipated behavior as a function of staple excess and parent staple ratio. This initial study shows that competitive anneals provide an exciting way to create diverse new nanostructures and may be used to examine the relative stability of various structural motifs. (paper)

Plasticity margin recovery during annealing after cold deformation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogatov, A.A.; Smirnov, S.V.; Kolmogorov, V.L.

1978-01-01

Restoration of the plasticity margin in steel 20 after cold deformation and annealing at 550 - 750 C and soaking for 5 - 300 min was investigated. The conditions of cold deformation under which the metal acquires microdefects unhealed by subsequent annealing were determined. It was established that if the degree of utilization of the plasticity margin is psi < 0.5, the plasticity margin in steel 20 can be completely restored by annealing. A mathematical model of restoration of the plasticity margin by annealing after cold deformation was constructed. A statistical analysis showed good agreement between model and experiment

GPU accelerated population annealing algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Barash, Lev Yu.; Weigel, Martin; Borovský, Michal; Janke, Wolfhard; Shchur, Lev N.

2017-11-01

Population annealing is a promising recent approach for Monte Carlo simulations in statistical physics, in particular for the simulation of systems with complex free-energy landscapes. It is a hybrid method, combining importance sampling through Markov chains with elements of sequential Monte Carlo in the form of population control. While it appears to provide algorithmic capabilities for the simulation of such systems that are roughly comparable to those of more established approaches such as parallel tempering, it is intrinsically much more suitable for massively parallel computing. Here, we tap into this structural advantage and present a highly optimized implementation of the population annealing algorithm on GPUs that promises speed-ups of several orders of magnitude as compared to a serial implementation on CPUs. While the sample code is for simulations of the 2D ferromagnetic Ising model, it should be easily adapted for simulations of other spin models, including disordered systems. Our code includes implementations of some advanced algorithmic features that have only recently been suggested, namely the automatic adaptation of temperature steps and a multi-histogram analysis of the data at different temperatures. Program Files doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/sgzt4b7b3m.1 Licensing provisions: Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0) Programming language: C, CUDA External routines/libraries: NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit 6.5 or newer Nature of problem: The program calculates the internal energy, specific heat, several magnetization moments, entropy and free energy of the 2D Ising model on square lattices of edge length L with periodic boundary conditions as a function of inverse temperature β. Solution method: The code uses population annealing, a hybrid method combining Markov chain updates with population control. The code is implemented for NVIDIA GPUs using the CUDA language and employs advanced techniques such as multi-spin coding, adaptive temperature

Application of annealing for extension of WWER vessel lives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badanin, V.; Dragunow, Yu.G.; Fedorov, V.; Gorynin, I.; Nickolaev, V.

1992-01-01

The safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPP) is dependent upon the assurance that the reactor pressure vessel will not fail in a brittle manner when the effects of radiation embrittlement are taken into account. The recovery of the properties of the irradiated materials is an important way of extending the operating life of a reactor vessel. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the efficiency of thermal annealing for the recovery of reactor vessel material properties and to present the implications for extended service life. In order to substantiate the application of annealing to the extensior of the service life of vessels, detailed investigations were conducted which involved thermal annealing temperature and time, fast neutron fluence, and metallurgical factors (i.e. impurity contents) on the recovery of properties after the annealing of irradiated materials. Similar studies were continued to determine predictive methods for radiation embrittlement after repeated annealings. In May 1987 the first pilot annealing of a commercial reactor vessel (Novo-Voronezhskaya, III, NPP) was performed. The development of the annealing equipment and investigations performed to test the annealing process proved successful, and an improved safe operation for the reactor vessel was thus atttained providing for an extended service life. (orig.)

Susceptor and proximity rapid thermal annealing of InP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, A.; Pearton, S.J.; Geva, M.

1990-01-01

This paper presents a comparison between the efficiency of InP rapid thermal annealing within two types of SiC-coated graphite susceptors and by using the more conventional proximity approach, in providing degradation-free substrate surface morphology. The superiority of annealing within a susceptor was clearly demonstrated through the evaluation of AuGe contact performance to carbon-implanted InP substrates, which were annealed to activate the implants prior to the metallization. The susceptor annealing provided better protection against edge degradation, slip formation and better surface morphology, due to the elimination of P outdiffusion and pit formation. The two SiC-coated susceptors that were evaluated differ from each other in their geometry. The first type must be charged with the group V species prior to any annealing cycle. Under the optimum charging conditions, effective surface protection was provided only to one anneal (750 degrees C, 10s) of InP before charging was necessary. The second contained reservoirs for provision of the group V element partial pressure, enabled high temperature annealing at the InP without the need for continual recharging of the susceptor. Thus, one has the ability to subsequentially anneal a lot of InP wafers at high temperatures without inducing any surface deterioration

Improvement on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO2/6H-SiC MIS capacitors using post deposition annealing and post metallization annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Esakky, Papanasam; Kailath, Binsu J.

2017-08-01

HfO2 as a gate dielectric enables high electric field operation of SiC MIS structure and as gas sensor HfO2/SiC capacitors offer higher sensitivity than SiO2/SiC capacitors. The issue of higher density of oxygen vacancies and associated higher leakage current necessitates better passivation of HfO2/SiC interface. Effect of post deposition annealing in N2O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas on the structural and electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO2/SiC MIS capacitors are reported in this work. N2O plasma annealing suppresses crystallization during high temperature annealing thereby improving the thermal stability and plasma annealing followed by rapid thermal annealing in N2 result in formation of Hf silicate at the HfO2/SiC interface resulting in order of magnitude lower density of interface states and gate leakage current. Post metallization annealing in forming gas for 40 min reduces interface state density by two orders while gate leakage current density is reduced by thrice. Post deposition annealing in N2O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas are observed to be effective passivation techniques improving the electrical characteristics of HfO2/SiC capacitors.

The Effect of Vacuum Annealing of Magnetite and Zero-Valent Iron Nanoparticles on the Removal of Aqueous Uranium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. A. Crane

2013-01-01

Full Text Available As-formed and vacuum annealed zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nano-Fe0 and magnetite nanoparticles (nano-Fe3O4 were tested for the removal of uranium from carbonate-rich mine water. Nanoparticles were introduced to batch systems containing the mine water under oxygen conditions representative of near-surface waters, with a uranyl solution studied as a simple comparator system. Despite the vacuum annealed nano-Fe0 having a 64.6% lower surface area than the standard nano-Fe0, similar U removal (>98% was recorded during the initial stages of reaction with the mine water. In contrast, ≤15% U removal was recorded for the mine water treated with both as-formed and vacuum annealed nano-Fe3O4. Over extended reaction periods (>1 week, appreciable U rerelease was recorded for the mine water solutions treated using nano-Fe0, whilst the vacuum annealed material maintained U at <50 μg L−1 until 4 weeks reaction. XPS analysis of reacted nanoparticulate solids confirmed the partial chemical reduction of UVI to UIV in both nano-Fe0 water treatment systems, but with a greater amount of UIV detected on the vacuum annealed particles. Results suggest that vacuum annealing can enhance the aqueous reactivity of nano-Fe0 and, for waters of complex chemistry, can improve the longevity of aqueous U removal.

Interpretation of microstructure evolution during self-annealing and thermal annealing of nanocrystalline electrodeposits—A comparative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pantleon, Karen; Somers, Marcel A. J.

2010-01-01

and nickel electrodeposits was achieved by time-resolved X-ray diffraction line profile analysis and crystallographic texture analysis during room temperature storage and during isothermal annealing at elevated temperatures. These in-situ studies with unique time resolution allowed quantification of the self-annealing......Electrodeposition results in a non-equilibrium state of the as-deposited nanocrystalline microstructure, which evolves towards an energetically more favorable state as a function of time and/or temperature upon deposition. Real-time investigation of the evolving microstructure in copper, silver...... kinetics of copper and silver electrodeposits as well as the annealing kinetics of electrodeposited nickel. Similarities and characteristic differences of the kinetics and mechanisms of microstructure evolution in the various electrodeposits are discussed and the experimental results are attempted...

Implantation annealing in GaAs by incoherent light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, D.E.; Ryan, T.G.; Soda, K.J.; Comer, J.J.

1983-01-01

Implanted GaAs has been successfully activated through concentrating the output of quartz halogen lamps to anneal in times of the order of 1 sec. The resulting layers are not restricted by the reduced mobilities and thermal instabilities of laser annealed GaAs. Better activation can be obtained than with furnace annealing but this generally requires maximum temperatures >= 1050degC. (author)

High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farrell, R.; Pagan, V.R.; Kabulski, A.; Kuchibhatla, S.; Harman, J.; Kasarla, K.R.; Rodak, L.E.; Hensel, J.P.; Famouri, P.; Korakakis, D.

2008-01-01

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE-grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.

High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Farrell; V. R. Pagan; A. Kabulski; Sridhar Kuchibhatl; J. Harman; K. R. Kasarla; L. E. Rodak; P. Famouri; J. Peter Hensel; D. Korakakis

2008-05-01

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.

Improvement on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/6H-SiC MIS capacitors using post deposition annealing and post metallization annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esakky, Papanasam, E-mail: papanasamte@gmail.com; Kailath, Binsu J

2017-08-15

Highlights: • Post deposition annealing (PDA) and post metallization annealing (PMA) on the electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/6H-SiC MIS capacitors. • Post deposition N{sub 2}O plasma annealing inhibits crystallization of HfO{sub 2} during high temperature annealing. • Plasma annealing followed by RTA in N{sub 2} results in formation of hafnium silicate at the HfO{sub 2}-SiC interface. • PDA reduces interface state density (D{sub it}) and gate leakage current density (J{sub g}) by order. • PMA in forming gas for 40 min results in better passivation and reduces D{sub it} by two orders and J{sub g} by thrice. - Abstract: HfO{sub 2} as a gate dielectric enables high electric field operation of SiC MIS structure and as gas sensor HfO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors offer higher sensitivity than SiO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors. The issue of higher density of oxygen vacancies and associated higher leakage current necessitates better passivation of HfO{sub 2}/SiC interface. Effect of post deposition annealing in N{sub 2}O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas on the structural and electrical characteristics of Pd/HfO{sub 2}/SiC MIS capacitors are reported in this work. N{sub 2}O plasma annealing suppresses crystallization during high temperature annealing thereby improving the thermal stability and plasma annealing followed by rapid thermal annealing in N{sub 2} result in formation of Hf silicate at the HfO{sub 2}/SiC interface resulting in order of magnitude lower density of interface states and gate leakage current. Post metallization annealing in forming gas for 40 min reduces interface state density by two orders while gate leakage current density is reduced by thrice. Post deposition annealing in N{sub 2}O plasma and post metallization annealing in forming gas are observed to be effective passivation techniques improving the electrical characteristics of HfO{sub 2}/SiC capacitors.

Laser annealing of ion implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, C.W.; Narayan, J.; Young, R.T.

1978-11-01

The physical and electrical properties of ion implanted silicon annealed with high powered ruby laser radiation are summarized. Results show that pulsed laser annealing can lead to a complete removal of extended defects in the implanted region accompanied by incorporation of dopants into lattice sites even when their concentration far exceeds the solid solubility limit

Analysis of Trivium by a Simulated Annealing variant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borghoff, Julia; Knudsen, Lars Ramkilde; Matusiewicz, Krystian

2010-01-01

This paper proposes a new method of solving certain classes of systems of multivariate equations over the binary field and its cryptanalytical applications. We show how heuristic optimization methods such as hill climbing algorithms can be relevant to solving systems of multivariate equations....... A characteristic of equation systems that may be efficiently solvable by the means of such algorithms is provided. As an example, we investigate equation systems induced by the problem of recovering the internal state of the stream cipher Trivium. We propose an improved variant of the simulated annealing method...

Annealing of Al implanted 4H silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallen, A; Suchodolskis, A; Oesterman, J; Abtin, L; Linnarsson, M

2006-01-01

Al ions were implanted with multiple energies up to 250 keV at elevated temperatures in n-type 4H SiC epitaxial layers to reach a surface concentration of 1x10 20 cm -3 . These samples were then annealed at temperatures between 1500 and 1950 deg. C. A similar 4H SiC epitaxial sample was implanted by MeV Al ions to lower doses and annealed only at 200 and 400 deg. C. After annealing, cross-sections of the samples were characterized by scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM). The results show that the resistivity of high-dose Al implanted samples has not reached a saturated value, even after annealing at the highest temperature. For the MeV Al implanted sample, the activation of Al has not yet started, but a substantial annealing of the implantation induced damage can be seen from the SSRM depth profiles

Influences of annealing temperature on sprayed CuFeO2 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelwahab, H. M.; Ratep, A.; Abo Elsoud, A. M.; Boshta, M.; Osman, M. B. S.

2018-06-01

Delafossite CuFeO2 thin films were successfully prepared onto quartz substrates using simple spray pyrolysis technique. Post annealing under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 h was necessary to form delafossite CuFeO2 phase. The effect of alteration in annealing temperature (TA) 800, 850 and 900 °C was study on structural, morphology and optical properties. The XRD results for thin film annealed at TA = 850 °C show single phase CuFeO2 with rhombohedral crystal system and R 3 bar m space group with preferred orientation along (0 1 2). The prepared copper iron oxide thin films have an optical transmission ranged ∼40% in the visible region. The optical direct optical band gap of the prepared thin films was ranged ∼2.9 eV.

Formation of oxygen related donors in step-annealed CZ–silicon

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The effect of step-annealing necessitated by the difficulties being faced in the long duration annealing treatments to be given to CZ–silicon has been studied. One pre-anneal of 10 h followed by annealing of 10 h causes a decrease in the absorption coefficient for carbon (c). Oxygen and carbon both accelerate thermal ...

A note on simulated annealing to computer laboratory scheduling ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The concepts, principles and implementation of simulated Annealing as a modem heuristic technique is presented. Simulated Annealing algorithm is used in solving real life problem of Computer Laboratory scheduling in order to maximize the use of scarce and insufficient resources. KEY WORDS: Simulated Annealing ...

Improved perovskite phototransistor prepared using multi-step annealing method

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Mingxuan; Zhang, Yating; Yu, Yu; Yao, Jianquan

2018-02-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with good intrinsic physical properties have received substantial interest for solar cell and optoelectronic applications. However, perovskite film always suffers from a low carrier mobility due to its structural imperfection including sharp grain boundaries and pinholes, restricting their device performance and application potential. Here we demonstrate a straightforward strategy based on multi-step annealing process to improve the performance of perovskite photodetector. Annealing temperature and duration greatly affects the surface morphology and optoelectrical properties of perovskites which determines the device property of phototransistor. The perovskite films treated with multi-step annealing method tend to form highly uniform, well-crystallized and high surface coverage perovskite film, which exhibit stronger ultraviolet-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectrum compare to the perovskites prepared by conventional one-step annealing process. The field-effect mobilities of perovskite photodetector treated by one-step direct annealing method shows mobility as 0.121 (0.062) cm2V-1s-1 for holes (electrons), which increases to 1.01 (0.54) cm2V-1s-1 for that treated with muti-step slow annealing method. Moreover, the perovskite phototransistors exhibit a fast photoresponse speed of 78 μs. In general, this work focuses on the influence of annealing methods on perovskite phototransistor, instead of obtains best parameters of it. These findings prove that Multi-step annealing methods is feasible to prepared high performance based photodetector.

Prototype Repository. Tracer dilution tests during operation phase, test campaign 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrstroem, Johan; Andersson, Peter (Geosigma AB (Sweden))

2010-05-15

The Prototype Repository project is focused on testing and demonstrating the function of the SKB deep repository system. The third tracer dilution campaign during the Prototype Repository operation period was performed in January 2010. The purpose was to estimate the groundwater flows and hydraulic gradients in the boreholes vicinity and will function as a reference for comparison with results from modeling and prior assumptions. The test campaign consisted of tracer dilution tests in 13 different borehole sections. Each test consisted of approximately 15-55 min tracer injection time and about 1-3 days dilution test time depending on the transmissivity of the test section. The data interpretation also included estimates of the local hydraulic gradients in the vicinity of the borehole sections

High-temperature annealing of graphite: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Andrew; Gillette, Victor

2018-05-01

A modified AIREBO potential was developed to simulate the effects of thermal annealing on the structure and physical properties of damaged graphite. AIREBO parameter modifications were made to reproduce Density Functional Theory interstitial results. These changes to the potential resulted in high-temperature annealing of the model, as measured by stored-energy reduction. These results show some resemblance to experimental high-temperature annealing results, and show promise that annealing effects in graphite are accessible with molecular dynamics and reactive potentials.

Interpretation of microstructure evolution during self-annealing and thermal annealing of nanocrystalline electrodeposits-A comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantleon, Karen; Somers, Marcel A.J.

2010-01-01

Electrodeposition results in a non-equilibrium state of the as-deposited nanocrystalline microstructure, which evolves towards an energetically more favorable state as a function of time and/or temperature upon deposition. Real-time investigation of the evolving microstructure in copper, silver and nickel electrodeposits was achieved by time-resolved X-ray diffraction line profile analysis and crystallographic texture analysis during room temperature storage and during isothermal annealing at elevated temperatures. These in-situ studies with unique time resolution allowed quantification of the self-annealing kinetics of copper and silver electrodeposits as well as the annealing kinetics of electrodeposited nickel. Similarities and characteristic differences of the kinetics and mechanisms of microstructure evolution in the various electrodeposits are discussed and the experimental results are attempted to be interpreted in terms of recovery, recrystallization and grain growth.

An interactive system for creating object models from range data based on simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoff, W.A.; Hood, F.W.; King, R.H.

1997-01-01

In hazardous applications such as remediation of buried waste and dismantlement of radioactive facilities, robots are an attractive solution. Sensing to recognize and locate objects is a critical need for robotic operations in unstructured environments. An accurate 3-D model of objects in the scene is necessary for efficient high level control of robots. Drawing upon concepts from supervisory control, the authors have developed an interactive system for creating object models from range data, based on simulated annealing. Site modeling is a task that is typically performed using purely manual or autonomous techniques, each of which has inherent strengths and weaknesses. However, an interactive modeling system combines the advantages of both manual and autonomous methods, to create a system that has high operator productivity as well as high flexibility and robustness. The system is unique in that it can work with very sparse range data, tolerate occlusions, and tolerate cluttered scenes. The authors have performed an informal evaluation with four operators on 16 different scenes, and have shown that the interactive system is superior to either manual or automatic methods in terms of task time and accuracy

Optimization using quantum mechanics: quantum annealing through adiabatic evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, Giuseppe E; Tosatti, Erio

2006-01-01

We review here some recent work in the field of quantum annealing, alias adiabatic quantum computation. The idea of quantum annealing is to perform optimization by a quantum adiabatic evolution which tracks the ground state of a suitable time-dependent Hamiltonian, where 'ℎ' is slowly switched off. We illustrate several applications of quantum annealing strategies, starting from textbook toy-models-double-well potentials and other one-dimensional examples, with and without disorder. These examples display in a clear way the crucial differences between classical and quantum annealing. We then discuss applications of quantum annealing to challenging hard optimization problems, such as the random Ising model, the travelling salesman problem and Boolean satisfiability problems. The techniques used to implement quantum annealing are either deterministic Schroedinger's evolutions, for the toy models, or path-integral Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo approaches, for the hard optimization problems. The crucial role played by disorder and the associated non-trivial Landau-Zener tunnelling phenomena is discussed and emphasized. (topical review)

PERBANDINGAN KINERJA ALGORITMA GENETIKA DAN SIMULATED ANNEALING UNTUK MASALAH MULTIPLE OBJECTIVE PADA PENJADWALAN FLOWSHOP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Gede Agus Widyadana

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The research is focused on comparing Genetics algorithm and Simulated Annealing in the term of performa and processing time. The main purpose is to find out performance both of the algorithm to solve minimizing makespan and total flowtime in a particular flowshop system. Performances of the algorithms are found by simulating problems with variation of jobs and machines combination. The result show the Simulated Annealing is much better than the Genetics up to 90%. The Genetics, however, only had score in processing time, but the trend that plotted suggest that in problems with lots of jobs and lots of machines, the Simulated Annealing will run much faster than the Genetics. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Penelitian ini difokuskan pada pembandingan algoritma Genetika dan Simulated Annealing ditinjau dari aspek performa dan waktu proses. Tujuannya adalah untuk melihat kemampuan dua algoritma tersebut untuk menyelesaikan problem-problem penjadwalan flow shop dengan kriteria minimasi makespan dan total flowtime. Kemampuan kedua algoritma tersebut dilihat dengan melakukan simulasi yang dilakukan pada kombinasi-kombinasi job dan mesin yang berbeda-beda. Hasil simulasi menunjukan algoritma Simulated Annealing lebih unggul dari algoritma Genetika hingga 90%, algoritma Genetika hanya unggul pada waktu proses saja, namun dengan tren waktu proses yang terbentuk, diyakini pada problem dengan kombinasi job dan mesin yang banyak, algoritma Simulated Annealing dapat lebih cepat daripada algoritma Genetika. Kata kunci: Algoritma Genetika, Simulated Annealing, flow shop, makespan, total flowtime.

Magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles with diluted magnet-like behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garza-Navarro, Marco; Torres-Castro, Alejandro; Gonzalez, Virgilio; Ortiz, Ubaldo; De la Rosa, Elder

2010-01-01

In the present work is reported the use of the biopolymer chitosan as template for the preparation of magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems, following a two step procedure of magnetite nanoparticles in situ precipitation and subsequent silver ions reduction. The crystalline and morphological characteristics of both magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems were analyzed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and nanobeam diffraction patterns (NBD). The results of these studies corroborate the core/shell morphology and the crystalline structure of the magnetite core and the silver shell. Moreover, magnetization temperature dependent, M(T), measurements show an unusual diluted magnetic behavior attributed to the dilution of the magnetic ordering in the magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems. - Graphical abstract: Biopolymer chitosan was used as stabilization media to synthesize both magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles. Results of HRTEM and NBD patterns confirm core/shell morphology of the obtained nanoparticles. It was found that the composites show diluted magnet-like behavior.

High pressure annealing of Europium implanted GaN

KAUST Repository

Lorenz, K.; Miranda, S. M. C.; Alves, E.; Roqan, Iman S.; O'Donnell, K. P.; Bokowski, M.

2012-01-01

GaN epilayers were implanted with Eu to fluences of 1×10^13 Eu/cm2 and 1×10^15 Eu/cm2. Post-implant thermal annealing was performed in ultra-high nitrogen pressures at temperatures up to 1450 ºC. For the lower fluence effective structural recovery of the crystal was observed for annealing at 1000 ºC while optical activation could be further improved at higher annealing temperatures. The higher fluence samples also reveal good optical activation; however, some residual implantation damage remains even for annealing at 1450 ºC which leads to a reduced incorporation of Eu on substitutional sites, a broadening of the Eu luminescence lines and to a strongly reduced fraction of optically active Eu ions. Possibilities for further optimization of implantation and annealing conditions are discussed.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

High pressure annealing of Europium implanted GaN

KAUST Repository

Lorenz, K.

2012-02-09

GaN epilayers were implanted with Eu to fluences of 1×10^13 Eu/cm2 and 1×10^15 Eu/cm2. Post-implant thermal annealing was performed in ultra-high nitrogen pressures at temperatures up to 1450 ºC. For the lower fluence effective structural recovery of the crystal was observed for annealing at 1000 ºC while optical activation could be further improved at higher annealing temperatures. The higher fluence samples also reveal good optical activation; however, some residual implantation damage remains even for annealing at 1450 ºC which leads to a reduced incorporation of Eu on substitutional sites, a broadening of the Eu luminescence lines and to a strongly reduced fraction of optically active Eu ions. Possibilities for further optimization of implantation and annealing conditions are discussed.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Rapid hardening induced by electric pulse annealing in nanostructured pure aluminum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Wei; Shen, Yao; Zhang, Ning

2012-01-01

Nanostructured pure aluminum was fabricated by heavy cold-rolling and then subjected to recovery annealing either by applying electric pulse annealing or by traditional air furnace annealing. Both annealing treatments resulted in an increase in yield strength due to the occurrence of a “dislocation...... source-limited hardening” mechanism. However, the hardening kinetics was substantially faster for the electric pulse annealed material. Detailed microstructural characterization suggested that the rapid hardening during electric pulse annealing is related to an enhanced rate of recovery of dislocation...

Beam Halo on the LHC TCDQ Diluter System and Thermal Load on the Downstream Superconducting Magnets

CERN Document Server

Goddard, B; Presland, A; Redaelli, S; Robert-Démolaize, G; Sarchiapone, L; Weiler, T; Weterings, W

2006-01-01

The moveable single-jawed graphite TCDQ diluter must be positioned very close to the circulating LHC beam in order to prevent damage to downstream components in the event of an unsynchronised beam abort. A two-jawed graphite TCS.IR6 collimator forms part of the TCDQ system. The requirement to place the jaws close to the beam means that the system can intercept a substantial beam halo load. Initial investigations indicated a worryingly high heat load on the Q4 coils. This paper presents the updated load cases, shielding and simulation geometry, and the results of simulations of the energy deposition in the TCDQ system and in the downstream superconducting Q4 magnet. The implications for the operation of the LHC are discussed.

Validation of an ultrasound dilution technology for cardiac output measurement and shunt detection in infants and children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindberg, Lars; Johansson, Sune; Perez-de-Sa, Valeria

2014-02-01

To validate cardiac output measurements by ultrasound dilution technology (COstatus monitor) against those obtained by a transit-time ultrasound technology with a perivascular flow probe and to investigate ultrasound dilution ability to estimate pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio in children. Prospective observational clinical trial. Pediatric cardiac operating theater in a university hospital. In 21 children (6.1 ± 2.6 kg, mean ± SD) undergoing heart surgery, cardiac output was simultaneously recorded by ultrasound dilution (extracorporeal arteriovenous loop connected to existing arterial and central venous catheters) and a transit-time ultrasound probe applied to the ascending aorta, and when possible, the main pulmonary artery. The pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio estimated from ultrasound dilution curve analysis was compared with that estimated from transit-time ultrasound technology. Bland-Altman analysis of the whole cohort (90 pairs, before and after surgery) showed a bias between transit-time ultrasound (1.01 ± 0.47 L/min) and ultrasound dilution technology (1.03 ± 0.51 L/min) of -0.02 L/min, limits of agreement -0.3 to 0.3 L/min, and percentage error of 31%. In children with no residual shunts, the bias was -0.04 L/min, limits of agreement -0.28 to 0.2 L/min, and percentage error 19%. The pooled co efficient of variation was for the whole cohort 3.5% (transit-time ultrasound) and 6.3% (ultrasound dilution), and in children without shunt, it was 2.9% (transit-time ultrasound) and 4% (ultrasound dilution), respectively. Ultrasound dilution identified the presence of shunts (pulmonary to systemic blood flow ≠ 1) with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 92%. Mean pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio by transit-time ultrasound was 2.6 ± 1.0 and by ultrasound dilution 2.2 ± 0.7 (not significant). The COstatus monitor is a reliable technique to measure cardiac output in children with high sensitivity and specificity for detecting the

The effect of annealing atmosphere on the thermoluminescence of synthetic calcite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pagonis, Vasilis

1998-01-01

Samples of high purity calcite powder were annealed in air, nitrogen and carbon dioxide atmospheres in the temperature range 300-700 deg. C and in atmospheric pressure. The samples were subsequently irradiated and the effect of the annealing atmosphere and temperature on the thermoluminescence (TL) of the samples was studied. Our results show that both carbonate and oxygen ions play an important part in the TL of calcite annealed in this temperature range. The intensities of the TL signal in the nitrogen and carbon dioxide anneals rise continuously with the annealing temperature. For all annealing temperatures it was found that the carbon dioxide atmosphere caused an increase in the observed TL signal as compared with anneals in an inert nitrogen atmosphere, while the shape of the TL glow curves remained the same. This increase in the observed TL signal is explained via the surface adsorption of carbonate ions. The shape and location of the TL peaks suggest that samples annealed in air exhibit a different type of TL center than samples annealed in nitrogen and carbon dioxide atmospheres. A possible mechanism for the role of oxygen ions involves a surface adsorption process and a subsequent diffusion of oxygen ions in the bulk of the crystal. Annealing of the samples in air at temperatures T>600 deg. C causes a collapse of the TL signal, in agreement with previous studies of calcite powders. No such collapse of the TL signal is observed for the nitrogen and carbon dioxide anneals, suggesting that a different type of TL center and/or recombination center is involved in air anneals. Arrhenius plots for the air anneals yield an activation energy E=0.45±0.05 eV, while the carbon dioxide and nitrogen anneals yield a lower activation energy E=0.28±0.04 eV

High field Moessbauer study of dilute Ir-(Fe) alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takabatake, Toshiro; Mazaki, Hiromasa; Shinjo, Teruya.

1981-01-01

The magnetic behavior of very dilute Fe impurities in Ir has been studied by means of Moessbauer measurement in external fields up to 80 kOe at 4.2 K. The saturation hyperfine field increases in proportion to the external field up to the maximum magnetic field available. This means that for a localized spin fluctuation system IrFe, the effective magnetic moment associated with Fe impurities is induced in proportion to the external field. No anomalous spectrum was observed with a very dilute sample (--10 ppm 57 Co), indicating that the interaction between impurities is responsible for the anomalous spectrum previously observed with a less homogeneous sample. (author)

Thermal annealing studies in muscovite and in quartz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, J.H.; Gold, R.; Ruddy, F.H.

1979-06-01

In order to use Solid State Track Recorders (SSTR) in environments at elevated temperatures, it is necessary to know the thermal annealing characteristics of various types of SSTR. For applications in the nuclear energy program, the principal interest is focused upon the annealing of fission tracks in muscovite mica and in quartz. Data showing correlations between changes in track diameters and track densities as a function of annealing time and temperature will be presented for Amersil quartz glass. Similar data showing changes in track lengths and in track densities will be presented for mica. Time-temperature regions will be defined where muscovite mica can be accurately applied with negligible correction for thermal annealing

Annealing behavior of high permeability amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabenberg, L.

1980-06-01

Effects of low temperature annealing on the magnetic properties of the amorphous alloy Co 71 4 Fe 4 6 Si 9 6 B 14 4 were investigated. Annealing this alloy below 400 0 C results in magnetic hardening; annealing above 400 0 C but below the crystallization temperature results in magnetic softening. Above the crystallization temperature the alloy hardens drastically and irreversibly. Conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to show that the magnetic property changes at low temperatures occur while the alloy is truly amorphous. By imaging the magnetic microstructures, Lorentz electron microscopy has been able to detect the presence of microscopic inhomogeneities in this alloy. The low temperature annealing behavior of this alloy has been explained in terms of atomic pair ordering in the presence of the internal molecular field. Lorentz electron microscopy has been used to confirm this explanation

Comparison of dilution factors for German wastewater treatment plant effluents in receiving streams to the fixed dilution factor from chemical risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Link, Moritz; von der Ohe, Peter C; Voß, Katharina; Schäfer, Ralf B

2017-11-15

Incomplete removal during wastewater treatment leads to frequent detection of compounds such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products in municipal effluents. A fixed standard dilution factor of 10 for effluents entering receiving water bodies is used during the exposure assessment of several chemical risk assessments. However, the dilution potential of German receiving waters under low flow conditions is largely unknown and information is sparse for other European countries. We calculated dilution factors for two datasets differing in spatial extent and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) size: a national dataset comprising 1225 large WWTPs in Central and Northern Germany and a federal dataset for 678 WWTPs of a single state in Southwest Germany. We found that the fixed factor approach overestimates the dilution potential of 60% and 40% of receiving waters in the national and the federal dataset, with median dilution factors of 5 and 14.5, respectively. Under mean flow conditions, 8% of calculated dilution factors were below 10, with a median dilution factor of 106. We also calculated regional dilution factors that accounted for effluent inputs from upstream WWTPs. For the national and the federal dataset, 70% and 60% of calculated regional dilution factors fell below 10 under mean low flow conditions, respectively. Decrease of regional dilution potential in small receiving streams was mainly driven by the next WWTP upstream with a 2.5 fold drop of median regional dilution factors. Our results show that using the standard dilution factor of 10 would result in the underestimation of environmental concentrations for authorised chemicals by a factor of 3-5 for about 10% of WWTPs, especially during low flow conditions. Consequently, measured environmental concentrations might exceed predicted environmental concentrations and ecological risks posed by effluents could be much higher, suggesting that a revision of current risk assessment practices may be required

The diluted tri-dimensional spin-one Ising model with crystal field interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saber, M.

1988-09-01

3D spin-one Ising models with nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic interactions with crystal-field exhibit tricritical behaviour. A new method that applies to a wide class of random systems is used to study the influence of site and bond dilution on this behaviour. We have calculated temperature-crystal-field-concentration phase diagrams and determined, in particular, the influence of dilution on the zero temperature tricritical temperature. (author). 10 refs, 8 figs

Dilute acid/metal salt hydrolysis of lignocellulosics

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Quang A.; Tucker, Melvin P.

2002-01-01

A modified dilute acid method of hydrolyzing the cellulose and hemicellulose in lignocellulosic material under conditions to obtain higher overall fermentable sugar yields than is obtainable using dilute acid alone, comprising: impregnating a lignocellulosic feedstock with a mixture of an amount of aqueous solution of a dilute acid catalyst and a metal salt catalyst sufficient to provide higher overall fermentable sugar yields than is obtainable when hydrolyzing with dilute acid alone; loading the impregnated lignocellulosic feedstock into a reactor and heating for a sufficient period of time to hydrolyze substantially all of the hemicellulose and greater than 45% of the cellulose to water soluble sugars; and recovering the water soluble sugars.

Different approaches to analyze the dipolar interaction effects on diluted and concentrated granular superparamagnetic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moscoso-Londoño, O., E-mail: omoscoso@ifi.unicamp.br [Instituto de Física ‘Gleb Wataghin’, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo (Brazil); Tancredi, P. [Laboratorio de Sólidos Amorfos, INTECIN, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), CONICET, C1063ACV Buenos Aires (Argentina); Muraca, D. [Instituto de Física ‘Gleb Wataghin’, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo (Brazil); Centro de Ciencias Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Av. Dos Estados, 5001, Santo André, SP (Brazil); Mendoza Zélis, P.; Coral, D.; Fernández van Raap, M.B. [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), CONICET, CC.67, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Wolff, U.; Neu, V.; Damm, C. [IFW Dresden, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Dresden, Helmholtzstrasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Oliveira, C.L.P. de [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05314970 (Brazil); Pirota, K.R. [Instituto de Física ‘Gleb Wataghin’, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CEP13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo (Brazil); and others

2017-04-15

Controlled magnetic granular materials with different concentrations of magnetite nanoparticles immersed in a non-conducting polymer matrix were synthesized and, their macroscopic magnetic observables analyzed in order to advance towards a better understanding of the magnetic dipolar interactions and its effects on the obtained magnetic parameters. First, by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, small angle X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption fine structure an accurate study of the structural properties was carried out. Then, the magnetic properties were analyzed by means of different models, including those that consider the magnetic interactions through long-range dipolar forces as: the Interacting Superparamagnetic Model (ISP) and the Vogel-Fulcher law (V-F). In systems with larger nanoparticle concentrations, magnetic results clearly indicate that the role played by the dipolar interactions affects the magnetic properties, giving rise to obtaining magnetic and structural parameters without physical meaning. Magnetic parameters as the effective anisotropic constant, magnetic moment relaxation time and mean blocking temperature, extracted from the application of the ISP model and V-F Law, were used to simulate the zero-field-cooling (ZFC) and field-cooling curves (FC). A comparative analysis of the simulated, fitted and experimental ZFC/FC curves suggests that the current models depict indeed our dilute granular systems. Notwithstanding, for concentrated samples, the ISP model infers that clustered nanoparticles are being interpreted as single entities of larger magnetic moment and volume, effect that is apparently related to a collective and complex magnetic moment dynamics within the cluster. - Highlights: • Nanoparticle architecture into matrices determines the composite magnetic response. • Magnetically diluted or compacted systems are useful to study magnetism at nanoscale. • Particle aggregation into the matrices was examined

Dosimetric characteristics of muscovite mineral studied under different annealing conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalita, J M; Wary, G

2015-01-01

The annealing effect on the thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of x-ray irradiated muscovite mineral relevant to dosimetry has been studied. For un-annealed and 473 K annealed samples an isolated TL peak has been observed at around 347 K; however, annealing at 573, 673 and 773 K two composite peaks have been recorded at around 347 and 408 K. Kinetic analysis reveals that there is a trap level at a depth of 0.71 eV, and due to annealing at 573 K (or above), a new trap level generates at 1.23 eV. The dosimetric characteristics, such as dose response, fading and reproducibility, have been studied in detail for all types of samples. The highest linear dose response has been observed from 10 to 2000 mGy in the 773 K annealed sample. Due to generation of the deep trap level, fading is found to reduce significantly just after annealing above 573 K. Reproducibility analysis shows that after 10 cycles of reuse the coefficient of variations in the results for 60, 180 and 1000 mGy dose irradiated 773 K annealed samples are found to be 1.78%, 1.37% and 1.58%, respectively. These analyses demand that after proper annealing muscovite shows important dosimetric features that are essentially required for a thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD). (paper)

Modeling of irradiation embrittlement and annealing/recovery in pressure vessel steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lott, R.G.; Freyer, P.D.

1996-01-01

The results of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) annealing studies are interpreted in light of the current understanding of radiation embrittlement phenomena in RPV steels. An extensive RPV irradiation embrittlement and annealing database has been compiled and the data reveal that the majority of annealing studies completed to date have employed test reactor irradiated weldments. Although test reactor and power reactor irradiations result in similar embrittlement trends, subtle differences between these two damage states can become important in the interpretation of annealing results. Microstructural studies of irradiated steels suggest that there are several different irradiation-induced microstructural features that contribute to embrittlement. The amount of annealing recovery and the post-anneal re-embrittlement behavior of a steel are determined by the annealing response of these microstructural defects. The active embrittlement mechanisms are determined largely by the irradiation temperature and the material composition. Interpretation and thorough understanding of annealing results require a model that considers the underlying physical mechanisms of embrittlement. This paper presents a framework for the construction of a physically based mechanistic model of irradiation embrittlement and annealing behavior

Preparation and Thermal Characterization of Annealed Gold Coated Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Afarin Bahrami

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon (PSi layers were formed on a p-type Si wafer. Six samples were anodised electrically with a 30 mA/cm2 fixed current density for different etching times. The samples were coated with a 50–60 nm gold layer and annealed at different temperatures under Ar flow. The morphology of the layers, before and after annealing, formed by this method was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM. Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS measurements were carried out to measure the thermal diffusivity (TD of the PSi and Au/PSi samples. For the Au/PSi samples, the thermal diffusivity was measured before and after annealing to study the effect of annealing. Also to study the aging effect, a comparison was made between freshly annealed samples and samples 30 days after annealing.

Preparation of standard mixtures of gas hydrocarbons in air by the diffusion dilution method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, M. R.; Perez, M. M.

1979-01-01

An original diffusion system able to produce continuously gaseous samples is described. This system can generate samples with concentrations of benzene in air from 0.1 to 1 ppm a reproducible way. The diffusion dilution method used Is also studied. The use of this diffusion system has been extended to the preparation of binary mixtures (benzene-toluene). Whit a secondary dilution device is possible preparing these mixtures over a wide range of concentrations (0.11 to 0.04 ppm for benzene and 0.06 to 0.02 for toluene). (Author) 7 refs

Dilution thermodynamics of the biologically relevant cation mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaczyński, Marek; Borowik, Tomasz; Przybyło, Magda; Langner, Marek

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Dilution energetics of Ca 2+ can be altered by the aqueous phase ionic composition. • Dissipated heat upon Ca 2+ dilution is drastically reduced in the K + presence. • Reduction of the enthalpy change upon Ca 2+ dilution is K + concentration dependent. • The cooperativity of Ca 2+ hydration might be of great biological relevance providing a thermodynamic argument for the specific ionic composition of the intracellular environment. - Abstract: The ionic composition of intracellular space is rigorously controlled by a variety of processes consuming large quantities of energy. Since the energetic efficiency is an important evolutional criterion, therefore the ion fluxes within the cell should be optimized with respect to the accompanying energy consumption. In the paper we present the experimental evidence that the dilution enthalpies of the biologically relevant ions; i.e. calcium and magnesium depend on the presence of monovalent cations; i.e. sodium and potassium. The heat flow generated during the dilution of ionic mixtures was measured with the isothermal titration calorimetry. When calcium was diluted together with potassium the dilution enthalpy was drastically reduced as the function of the potassium concentration present in the solution. No such effect was observed when the potassium ions were substituted with sodium ones. When the dilution of magnesium was investigated the dependence of the dilution enthalpy on the accompanying monovalent cation was much weaker. In order to interpret experimental evidences the ionic cluster formation is postulated. The specific organization of such cluster should depend on ions charges, sizes and organization of the hydration layers

Pure and diluted contrast medium in the evaluation of portal venous system with digital subtraction angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gattoni, F.; Baldini, V.; Pozzato, C.; Nessi, R.; Raiteri, R.; Uscenghi, C.; Opocher, E.; Santambrogio, R.

1990-01-01

We report the results of intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in 100 patients with portal hypertension. The portal venous system was evaluated; all patients underwent angiography of the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries before surgery. Forty-four of them were also examined after Warren splenorenal shunts. Therefore, a total of 144 exams was evaluated. The authors always employed low-osmolality ionic and non-ionic contrast media (iodine concentration: 300-350 mg/ml). In 70 cases pure contrast medium was injected (20/25 ml): in the extant 74 cases it was diluted with an equal volume of saline solution (osmolality and iodine concentration reduced by 50%). Intra-arterial DSA always visualized portal venous system, collateral circulation, shunt location and postoperative changes. The mayor advantage of intra-arterial DSA is the smaller amount of contrast medium injected, so that local and systemic side effects are rare. According to our experience, it is best to dilute the contrast medium and inject the same amount as in conventional angiography, at the same rate. Other well-known advantages of intra-arterial DSA are quicker execution, less injury to arteries using smaller caliber catheters, and low cost. The major disadvantage of intra-arterial DSA, as it appeared also in our study, is the field size of the intensifier, which in our case was limited to 6-9 inches. This is an insufficient coverage for the whole portal system to be studied, and some contrast medium injections become therefore necessary. An average of 3 injections were given to each patient. This problem reduces the advantage of less contrast medium per injection. At any rate, even though intra-arterial DSA exhibits this limitation, it can nevertheless yield important information in the pre- and postoperative evaluation of patients with portal hypertension

Thermal annealing of an embrittled reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mager, T.R.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Leitz, C.

1998-01-01

As a result of the popularity of the Agencies report 'Neutron Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels' of 1975, it was decided that another report on this broad subject would be of use. In this report, background and contemporary views on specially identified areas of the subject are considered as self-contained chapters, written by experts. Chapter 11 deals with thermal annealing of an embrittled reactor pressure vessel. Anneal procedures for vessels from both the US and the former USSR are mentioned schematically, wet anneals at lower temperature and dry anneals above RPV design temperatures are investigated. It is shown that heat treatment is a means of recovering mechanical properties which were degraded by neutron radiation exposure, thus assuring reactor pressure vessel compliance with regulatory requirements

Solvent vapor annealing of an insoluble molecular semiconductor

KAUST Repository

Amassian, Aram

2010-01-01

Solvent vapor annealing has been proposed as a low-cost, highly versatile, and room-temperature alternative to thermal annealing of organic semiconductors and devices. In this article, we investigate the solvent vapor annealing process of a model insoluble molecular semiconductor thin film - pentacene on SiO 2 exposed to acetone vapor - using a combination of optical reflectance and two-dimensional grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements performed in situ, during processing. These measurements provide valuable and new insight into the solvent vapor annealing process; they demonstrate that solvent molecules interact mainly with the surface of the film to induce a solid-solid transition without noticeable swelling, dissolving or melting of the molecular material. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Effect of the dilution factor on {sup 18}FDG and Na{sup 18}F samples for bacterial endotoxin test using PTS (portable test system)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silveira, Marina B.; Costa, Flavia M.; Ferreira, Soraya Z., E-mail: mbs@cdtn.b [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Pesquisa e Producao de Radiofarmacos

2011-07-01

{sup 18}FDG and Na{sup 18}F are radiopharmaceuticals produced as sterile solutions suitable for intravenous administration, which must contain no more than 175 EV/V. The most commonly used approach to detect endotoxins is the gelclot technique that requires 60 minutes for results. For radiopharmaceuticals containing short-life radionuclides, such as {sup 18}F, there is an increasing interest for faster quality control methods. FDA licensed the Endosafe, PTS, a kinetic chromogenic endotoxin detection system that takes about 15 minutes for results. As other techniques, PTS test is susceptible to interferences which can be solved by product dilution. The aim of this study was to establish the best dilution of {sup 18}FDG and Na{sup 18}F for PTS analysis. Two different dilution factors for {sup 18}FDG and 1:10 for Na{sup 18}F were essayed: 1:10 and 1:100. {sup 18}FDG and Na{sup 18} solutions were prepared by the addition of LAL reagent water. Considering the assay acceptance criteria, the best dilution factor was 1:100 for {sup 18}FDG and 1:10 for Na{sup 18}F. The recovery of the product positive control was 98-12% for {sup 18}FDG 1:100 and 104-120% for Na{sup 18}F 1:10, which were, in both cases, within the specification (50-200%) and very close to 100%. Results obtained with these dilution studies were important to establish the most appropriate and non-interfering dilution factor for {sup 18}FDG and Na{sup 18}F routine endotoxin test. (author)

Sewage Treatment Systems of Cruise Ships and The Parameters Affect on Dilution of Effluent at Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volkan ŞAHİN

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Cruise ships play an inevitable role in tourism sector across the world. Increasing in cruise ship tourism accompanies with significant environmental problems. Due to both size of cruise ships and the amount of passengers and consumables, cruise ships have a great potential for producing considerable amounts of wastes. Various types of wastes are produced in cruise ships depending on the daily consumptions of these wastes. Sewage, which consists mainly the toilet wastes, is the most important problem. Sewage contains various types of heavy metal, chemicals and pathogens that have harmful effects on marine species and ecosystem. Many national and international regulations and conventions are established in order to prevent the harmful effects of wastes. Studies on preventing and minimizing ship-related pollution contribute to both developing new waste management systems and forming new procedures for removing the wastes in both ship and port. In this study, Marine Sanitation Device (MSD and Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT and treatment procedures are investigated. ‘Dilution factor’ obtained by theoretical and experimental studies is explained in detail and variation of dilution factor depending on ship dimensions and velocity is investigated.

Feasibility of and methodology for thermal annealing an embrittled reactor vessel. Volume 1. Program overview. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mager, T.R.

1983-01-01

An EPRI sponsored program was carried out by Westinghouse to determine the extent of fracture toughness recovery as a function of annealing time and temperature for neutron embrittlement sensitive reactor vessel material and to develop an optimal thermal anneal procedure for field applications. Program materials were three weldments fabricated by Combustion Engineering, Inc., from the same heat of A533 Grade B Class 1 plate material and the same heat of MnMoNi weld wire. The only variables were the target copper level and the welding flux which was Linde Grade 80 and Linde 0091. Weldments of 0.22, 0.36, and 0.41 wt % copper were produced. It was concluded from this study that excellent recovery of all properties could be achieved by annealing at 850 0 F (454 0 C) and above for 168 hours. Such an annealing resulted in ductile-brittle transition temperature shift recovery of 80 to 100%, and reirradiation after this annealing indicated that the ductile-brittle transition temperature shift appears to continue at the rate which would have been expected had no anneal been performed. System limitations were identified for both wet and dry annealing methods

15N dilution technique of assessing the contribution of nitrogen fixation to rice plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ventura, Wilbur; Watanabe, Iwao

1983-01-01

An attempt to correlate the positive nitrogen balance in rice-soil system with the 15 N dilution in rice plants was made to see if isotope dilution can be used to assess the contribution of nitrogen fixation to the nitrogen nutrition of rice. 15 N ammonium sulfate and sucrose were added to the moist soil in pots to label biomass nitrogen fraction. The rice-soil system with higher nitrogen gain had lower 15 N content in the rice plants. When the surface of pots was covered with black cloths to suppress photodependent N 2 fixation, no significant nitrogen gain was observed. Significant gain was found in the rice-flooded soil system exposed to light, and the 15 N content of plants decreased in allowing the photodependent N 2 fixation by blue-green algae symbiosis. The contribution of plant nitrogen derived from photodependent N 2 fixation was estimated to be 20-30 % of the positive nitrogen gain in the system by the 15 N dilution technique using the rice-covered soil as reference system. (Mori, K.)

Annealing-induced Fe oxide nanostructures on GaAs

OpenAIRE

Lu, Y X; Ahmad, E; Xu, Y B; Thompson, S M

2005-01-01

We report the evolution of Fe oxide nanostructures on GaAs(100) upon pre- and post-growth annealing conditions. GaAs nanoscale pyramids were formed on the GaAs surface due to wet etching and thermal annealing. An 8.0-nm epitaxial Fe film was grown, oxidized, and annealed using a gradient temperature method. During the process the nanostripes were formed, and the evolution has been demonstrated using transmission and reflection high energy electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy...

Hydrogen Annealing Of Single-Crystal Superalloys

Science.gov (United States)

Smialek, James L.; Schaeffer, John C.; Murphy, Wendy

1995-01-01

Annealing at temperature equal to or greater than 2,200 degrees F in atmosphere of hydrogen found to increase ability of single-crystal superalloys to resist oxidation when subsequently exposed to oxidizing atmospheres at temperatures almost as high. Supperalloys in question are principal constituents of hot-stage airfoils (blades) in aircraft and ground-based turbine engines; also used in other high-temperature applications like chemical-processing plants, coal-gasification plants, petrochemical refineries, and boilers. Hydrogen anneal provides resistance to oxidation without decreasing fatigue strength and without need for coating or reactive sulfur-gettering constituents. In comparison with coating, hydrogen annealing costs less. Benefits extend to stainless steels, nickel/chromium, and nickel-base alloys, subject to same scale-adhesion and oxidation-resistance considerations, except that scale is chromia instead of alumina.

Semiclassical approach to finite-temperature quantum annealing with trapped ions

Science.gov (United States)

Raventós, David; Graß, Tobias; Juliá-Díaz, Bruno; Lewenstein, Maciej

2018-05-01

Recently it has been demonstrated that an ensemble of trapped ions may serve as a quantum annealer for the number-partitioning problem [Nat. Commun. 7, 11524 (2016), 10.1038/ncomms11524]. This hard computational problem may be addressed by employing a tunable spin-glass architecture. Following the proposal of the trapped-ion annealer, we study here its robustness against thermal effects; that is, we investigate the role played by thermal phonons. For the efficient description of the system, we use a semiclassical approach, and benchmark it against the exact quantum evolution. The aim is to understand better and characterize how the quantum device approaches a solution of an otherwise difficult to solve NP-hard problem.

MgO magnetic tunnel junctions of enduring F-type upon annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleicher, F; Halisdemir, U; Urbain, E; Gallart, M; Boukari, S; Beaurepaire, E; Gilliot, P; Bowen, M; Lacour, D; Montaigne, F; Hehn, M

2015-01-01

The authors performed magnetotransport experiments to determine whether annealing alters the oxygen vacancy-mediated tunnelling potential landscape of the central portion of a MgO ultrathin film within sputtered CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions. Using the Î rel method reveals a temperature-dependent tunnelling barrier height for a non-annealed barrier that arises from single oxygen vacancies (F centres) and is qualitatively identical to that found for its partly and fully annealed counterparts. Thus these MTJs with F centres remain of F-type upon annealing. This explicitly confirms that the large tunnel-magnetoresistance (TMR) increase upon annealing results mainly from structural modifications of MgO and CoFeB and not from vacancy pairing within the barrier. Photoluminescence spectra performed on both annealed and non-annealed thin MgO films grown on CoFeB electrodes support this conclusion. This work should promote renewed scrutiny over the precise impact of annealing on tunnelling magnetotransport across MgO. (paper)

A dynamic dilution system-based evaluation of the procedure adopted for determining ozone precursor volatile compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Palluau, Fabienne; Mirabel, Philippe; Millet, Maurice

2005-02-01

A dynamic dilution system was created to evaluate the performance and the reliability of ozone precursor volatile organic compound (VOC) sampling ("TO-Can" canisters) and analysis (thermal desorption/gas chromatography/flame ionisation detection) techniques used by the "Laboratoire Interregional de Chimie du Grand Est (LIC)". Different atmospheres of VOCs were generated at concentrations between 0.8 and 25 ppb, with temperatures of 0, 10, 20 and 30 degrees C, and with relative humidities of 0, 30, 50, 70 and 90%. These conditions are generally representative of those commonly observed in ambient air in the eastern France. This dynamic dilution allows the simulation of a wide range of scenarios (concentrations, temperatures and relative humidities). After assessing the capacity and performance of the system, it was applied in order to evaluate the recoveries and stabilities of VOCs from canisters used for the collection and analysis of two mixtures of VOCs. The first mixture contained six alkanes (ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane and heptane), and the second contained five alkenes (ethene, propene, butene, 1-pentene and 1-hexene), five aromatics (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene and o-xylene), acetylene, and 1,3-butadiene. No significant losses of alkanes from the canisters were observed after 21 days of storage, and good recoveries of alkanes from the canisters (>80%) were obtained regardless of the concentration, the temperature and the relative humidity. However, losses of certain aromatics were noted at low relative humidity.

Vessel annealing. Will it become a routine procedure?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, M.

1995-01-01

The effect of neutron radiation on the reactor pressure vessel and the influence of annealing performed to eliminate this effect are explained. Some practical examples are given. A simple heat treatment at 450 degC for 168 h is sufficient to eliminate a major fraction of the radiation effect in the displacement of the transition temperature from the brittle state to the tough state. Some observations indicate that at this temperature, excessive energy recovery takes place at the upper toughness limit in the Charpy diagram. The annealing furnace manufactured by the SKODA company is described. The furnace consists of heating elements in 13 zones and 5 heating sections. The maximum power of each element is 75 kW, the total power of the furnace is 975 kW. The annealing procedure and its results are briefly outlined for the reactor pressure vessel at unit 2 of the Jaslovske Bohunice NPP. Reactor pressure vessel annealing is proposed for the Marble Hill NPP which has been shut down. Preparatory activities for annealing are also under way at the Loviisa NPP. (J.B.)

MoO3 Thickness, Thermal Annealing and Solvent Annealing Effects on Inverted and Direct Polymer Photovoltaic Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillaume Wantz

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Several parameters of the fabrication process of inverted polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells based on titanium oxide as an electron selective layer and molybdenum oxide as a hole selective layer were tested in order to achieve efficient organic photovoltaic solar cells. Thermal annealing treatment is a common process to achieve optimum morphology, but it proved to be damageable for the performance of this kind of inverted solar cells. We demonstrate using Auger analysis combined with argon etching that diffusion of species occurs from the MoO3/Ag top layers into the active layer upon thermal annealing. In order to achieve efficient devices, the morphology of the bulk heterojunction was then manipulated using the solvent annealing technique as an alternative to thermal annealing. The influence of the MoO3 thickness was studied on inverted, as well as direct, structure. It appeared that only 1 nm-thick MoO3 is enough to exhibit highly efficient devices (PCE = 3.8% and that increasing the thickness up to 15 nm does not change the device performance. 

Anisotropy evolution of nanoparticles under annealing: Benefits of isothermal remanent magnetization simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Tournus, Florent; Tamion, Alexandre; Hillion, Arnaud; Dupuis, Véronique

2016-12-01

Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) combined with Direct current demagnetization (DcD) are powerful tools to qualitatively study the interactions (through the Δm parameter) between magnetic particles in a granular media. For magnetic nanoparticles diluted in a matrix, it is possible to reach a regime where Δm is equal to zero, i.e. where interparticle interactions are negligible: one can then infer the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles through measurements on an assembly, which are analyzed by a combined fit procedure (based on the Stoner-Wohlfarth and Néel models). Here we illustrate the benefits of a quantitative analysis of IRM curves, for Co nanoparticles embedded in amorphous carbon (before and after annealing): while a large anisotropy increase may have been deduced from the other measurements, IRM curves provide an improved characterization of the nanomagnets intrinsic properties, revealing that it is in fact not the case. This shows that IRM curves, which only probe the irreversible switching of nanomagnets, are complementary to widely used low field susceptibility curves.

Anisotropy evolution of nanoparticles under annealing: Benefits of isothermal remanent magnetization simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tournus, Florent; Tamion, Alexandre; Hillion, Arnaud; Dupuis, Véronique

2016-01-01

Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) combined with Direct current demagnetization (DcD) are powerful tools to qualitatively study the interactions (through the Δm parameter) between magnetic particles in a granular media. For magnetic nanoparticles diluted in a matrix, it is possible to reach a regime where Δm is equal to zero, i.e. where interparticle interactions are negligible: one can then infer the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles through measurements on an assembly, which are analyzed by a combined fit procedure (based on the Stoner–Wohlfarth and Néel models). Here we illustrate the benefits of a quantitative analysis of IRM curves, for Co nanoparticles embedded in amorphous carbon (before and after annealing): while a large anisotropy increase may have been deduced from the other measurements, IRM curves provide an improved characterization of the nanomagnets intrinsic properties, revealing that it is in fact not the case. This shows that IRM curves, which only probe the irreversible switching of nanomagnets, are complementary to widely used low field susceptibility curves.

Anisotropy evolution of nanoparticles under annealing: Benefits of isothermal remanent magnetization simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tournus, Florent, E-mail: florent.tournus@univ-lyon1.fr; Tamion, Alexandre; Hillion, Arnaud; Dupuis, Véronique

2016-12-01

Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) combined with Direct current demagnetization (DcD) are powerful tools to qualitatively study the interactions (through the Δm parameter) between magnetic particles in a granular media. For magnetic nanoparticles diluted in a matrix, it is possible to reach a regime where Δm is equal to zero, i.e. where interparticle interactions are negligible: one can then infer the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles through measurements on an assembly, which are analyzed by a combined fit procedure (based on the Stoner–Wohlfarth and Néel models). Here we illustrate the benefits of a quantitative analysis of IRM curves, for Co nanoparticles embedded in amorphous carbon (before and after annealing): while a large anisotropy increase may have been deduced from the other measurements, IRM curves provide an improved characterization of the nanomagnets intrinsic properties, revealing that it is in fact not the case. This shows that IRM curves, which only probe the irreversible switching of nanomagnets, are complementary to widely used low field susceptibility curves.

Dissipative environment may improve the quantum annealing performances of the ferromagnetic p -spin model

Science.gov (United States)

Passarelli, G.; De Filippis, G.; Cataudella, V.; Lucignano, P.

2018-02-01

We investigate the quantum annealing of the ferromagnetic p -spin model in a dissipative environment (p =5 and p =7 ). This model, in the large-p limit, codifies Grover's algorithm for searching in an unsorted database [L. K. Grover, Proceedings of the 28th Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (ACM, New York, 1996), pp. 212-219]. The dissipative environment is described by a phonon bath in thermal equilibrium at finite temperature. The dynamics is studied in the framework of a Lindblad master equation for the reduced density matrix describing only the spins. Exploiting the symmetries of our model Hamiltonian, we can describe many spins and extrapolate expected trends for large N and p . While at weak system-bath coupling the dissipative environment has detrimental effects on the annealing results, we show that in the intermediate-coupling regime, the phonon bath seems to speed up the annealing at low temperatures. This improvement in the performance is likely not due to thermal fluctuation but rather arises from a correlated spin-bath state and persists even at zero temperature. This result may pave the way to a new scenario in which, by appropriately engineering the system-bath coupling, one may optimize quantum annealing performances below either the purely quantum or the classical limit.

Study on thermal annealing of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, G.; Bolotnikov, A.E.; Fochuk, P.M.; Camarda, G.S.; Cui, Y.; Hossain, A.; Kim, K.; Horace, J.; McCall, B.; Gul, R.; Xu, L.; Kopach, O.V.; James, R.B.

2010-01-01

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) has attracted increasing interest with its promising potential as a room-temperature nuclear-radiation-detector material. However, different defects in CZT crystals, especially Te inclusions and dislocations, can degrade the performance of CZT detectors. Post-growth annealing is a good approach potentially to eliminate the deleterious influence of these defects. At Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), we built up different facilities for investigating post-growth annealing of CZT. Here, we report our latest experimental results. Cd-vapor annealing reduces the density of Te inclusions, while large temperature gradient promotes the migration of small-size Te inclusions. Simultaneously, the annealing lowers the density of dislocations. However, only-Cd-vapor annealing decreases the resistivity, possibly reflecting the introduction of extra Cd in the lattice. Subsequent Te-vapor annealing is needed to ensure the recovery of the resistivity after removing the Te inclusions.

Irradiation embrittlement and optimisation of annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

This conference is composed of 30 papers grouped in 6 sessions related to the following themes: neutron irradiation effects in pressure vessel steels and weldments used in PWR, WWER and BWR nuclear plants; results from surveillance programmes (irradiation induced damage and annealing processes); studies on the influence of variations in irradiation conditions and mechanisms, and modelling; mitigation of irradiation effects, especially through thermal annealing; mechanical test procedures and specimen size effects

Irradiation embrittlement and optimisation of annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

This conference is composed of 30 papers grouped in 6 sessions related to the following themes: neutron irradiation effects in pressure vessel steels and weldments used in PWR, WWER and BWR nuclear plants; results from surveillance programmes (irradiation induced damage and annealing processes); studies on the influence of variations in irradiation conditions and mechanisms, and modelling; mitigation of irradiation effects, especially through thermal annealing; mechanical test procedures and specimen size effects.

Observation of glassy state relaxation during annealing of frozen sugar solutions by X-ray computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Kyuya; Tamiya, Shinri; Do, Gabsoo; Kono, Shinji; Ochiai, Takaaki

2018-06-01

Glassy phase formation in a frozen product determines various properties of the freeze-dried products. When an aqueous solution is subjected to freezing, a glassy phase forms as a consequence of freeze-concentration. During post-freezing annealing, the relaxation of the glassy phase and the ripening of ice crystals (i.e. Ostwald ripening) spontaneously occur, where the kinetics are controlled by the annealing and glass transition temperatures. This study was motivated to observe the progress of glassy state relaxation separate from ice coarsening during annealing. X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to observe a frozen and post-freezing annealed solutions by using monochromatized X-ray from the synchrotron radiation. CT images were successfully obtained, and the frozen matrix were analyzed based on the gray level values that were equivalent to the linear X-ray attenuation coefficients of the observed matters. The CT images obtained from rapidly frozen sucrose and dextrin solutions with different concentrations gave clear linear relationships between the linear X-ray attenuation coefficients values and the solute concentrations. It was confirmed that the glassy state relaxation progressed as increasing annealing time, and this trend was larger in the order of the glass transition temperature of the maximally freeze-concentrated phase. The sucrose-water system required nearly 20 h of annealing time at -5 °C for the completion of the glassy phase relaxation, whereas dextrin-water systems required much longer periods because of their higher glass transition temperatures. The trends of ice coarsening, however, did not perfectly correspond to the trends of the relaxation, suggesting that the glassy phase relaxation and Ostwald ripening would jointly control the ice crystal growth/ripening kinetics, and the dominant mechanism differed by the annealing stage. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulated annealing to handle energy and ancillary services joint management considering electric vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sousa, Tiago M; Soares, Tiago; Morais, Hugo

2016-01-01

The massive use of distributed generation and electric vehicles will lead to a more complex management of the power system, requiring new approaches to be used in the optimal resource scheduling field. Electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid capability can be useful for the aggregator players...... in the mitigation of renewable sources intermittency and in the ancillary services procurement. In this paper, an energy and ancillary services joint management model is proposed. A simulated annealing approach is used to solve the joint management for the following day, considering the minimization...... of the aggregator total operation costs. The case study considers a distribution network with 33-bus, 66 distributed generation and 2000 electric vehicles. The proposed simulated annealing is matched with a deterministic approach allowing an effective and efficient comparison. The simulated annealing presents...

Universal water-dilutable inhibited protective lubricants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamtseva, M.V.; Kardash, N.V.; Latynina, M.B.

1993-01-01

In the interest of environmental protection, improvement of working conditions, and reduced fire hazard in production operations, water-based protective lubricants are now available in a wide assortment, and the production volume has increased greatly. The term water-dilutable inhibited protective lubricants (WDIPL) means water-soluble, water-emulsifiable, or water-dispersible products with the dual function of reducing friction and wear and protecting metal surfaces against corrosion for specified periods of time. According to the standard Unified System of Protection Against Corrosion and Aging (COST 9.103-78), WDIPLs are classed as products for the temporary corrosion protection of metals and end-items. In the general class of WDIPLs one can identify water-dilutable combination corrosion inhibitors, film-forming inhibited petroleum compositions (FIPC-d), detergent-preservative fluids, operational-preservative lubricating-cooling process compounds (ICPC), and, finally, universal multifunctional products. Combined corrosion inhibitors may consist of water-soluble organic and inorganic compounds; water/oil and oil-soluble surfactants - corrosion inhibitors of the chemisorption type or donor and/or acceptor types; shielding inhibitors of the adsorption type; and fast-acting water-displacing components. 23 refs

Unraveling Quantum Annealers using Classical Hardness

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Mayor, Victor; Hen, Itay

2015-01-01

Recent advances in quantum technology have led to the development and manufacturing of experimental programmable quantum annealing optimizers that contain hundreds of quantum bits. These optimizers, commonly referred to as ‘D-Wave’ chips, promise to solve practical optimization problems potentially faster than conventional ‘classical’ computers. Attempts to quantify the quantum nature of these chips have been met with both excitement and skepticism but have also brought up numerous fundamental questions pertaining to the distinguishability of experimental quantum annealers from their classical thermal counterparts. Inspired by recent results in spin-glass theory that recognize ‘temperature chaos’ as the underlying mechanism responsible for the computational intractability of hard optimization problems, we devise a general method to quantify the performance of quantum annealers on optimization problems suffering from varying degrees of temperature chaos: A superior performance of quantum annealers over classical algorithms on these may allude to the role that quantum effects play in providing speedup. We utilize our method to experimentally study the D-Wave Two chip on different temperature-chaotic problems and find, surprisingly, that its performance scales unfavorably as compared to several analogous classical algorithms. We detect, quantify and discuss several purely classical effects that possibly mask the quantum behavior of the chip. PMID:26483257

Mechanical behavior of multipass welded joint during stress relief annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Yukio; Fukuda, Keiji; Nakacho, Keiji; Takahashi, Eiji; Sakamoto, Koichi.

1978-01-01

An investigation into mechanical behavior of a multipass welded joint of a pressure vessel during stress relief annealing was conducted. The study was performed theoretically and experimentally on idealized research models. In the theoretical analysis, the thermal elastic-plastic creep theory developed by the authors was applied. The behavior of multipass welded joints during the entire thermal cycle, from welding to stress relief annealing, was consistently analyzed by this theory. The results of the analysis show a good, fundamentally coincidence with the experimental findings. The outline of the results and conclusions is as follows. (1) In the case of the material (2 1/4Cr-1Mo steel) furnished in this study, the creep strain rate during stress relief annealing below 575 0 C obeys the strain-hardening creep law using the transient creep and the one above 575 0 C obeys the power creep law using the stational creep. (2) In the transverse residual stress (σsub(x)) distribution after annealing, the location of the largest tensile stress on the top surface is about 15 mm away from the toe of weld, and the largest at the cross section is just below the finishing bead. These features are similar to those of welding residual stresses. But the stress distribution after annealing is smoother than one from welding. (3) The effectiveness of stress relief annealing depends greatly on the annealing temperature. For example, most of residual stresses are relieved at the heating stage with a heating rate of 30 0 C/hr. to 100 0 C/hr. if the annealing temperature is 650 0 C, but if the annealing temperature is 550 0 C, the annealing is not effective even with a longer holding time. (4) In the case of multipass welding residual stresses studied in this paper, the behaviors of high stresses during annealing are approximated by ones during anisothermal relaxation. (auth.)

Tunable metal-insulator transitions in bilayer graphene by thermal annealing

OpenAIRE

Kalon, Gopinadhan; Shin, Young Jun; Yang, Hyunsoo

2012-01-01

Tunable and highly reproducible metal-insulator transitions have been observed in bilayer graphene upon thermal annealing at 400 K under high vacuum conditions. Before annealing, the sample is metallic in the whole temperature regime of study. Upon annealing, the conductivity changes from metallic to that of an insulator and the transition temperature is a function of annealing time. The pristine metallic state can be reinstated by exposing to air thereby inducing changes in the electronic pr...

Non‐diluted seawater enhances nasal ciliary beat frequency and wound repair speed compared to diluted seawater and normal saline

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnomet, Arnaud; Luczka, Emilie; Coraux, Christelle

2016-01-01

Background The regulation of mucociliary clearance is a key part of the defense mechanisms developed by the airway epithelium. If a high aggregate quality of evidence shows the clinical effectiveness of nasal irrigation, there is a lack of studies showing the intrinsic role of the different irrigation solutions allowing such results. This study investigated the impact of solutions with different pH and ionic compositions, eg, normal saline, non‐diluted seawater and diluted seawater, on nasal mucosa functional parameters. Methods For this randomized, controlled, blinded, in vitro study, we used airway epithelial cells obtained from 13 nasal polyps explants to measure ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and epithelial wound repair speed (WRS) in response to 3 isotonic nasal irrigation solutions: (1) normal saline 0.9%; (2) non‐diluted seawater (Physiomer®); and (3) 30% diluted seawater (Stérimar). The results were compared to control (cell culture medium). Results Non‐diluted seawater enhanced the CBF and the WRS when compared to diluted seawater and to normal saline. When compared to the control, it significantly enhanced CBF and slightly, though nonsignificantly, improved the WRS. Interestingly, normal saline markedly reduced the number of epithelial cells and ciliated cells when compared to the control condition. Conclusion Our results suggest that the physicochemical features of the nasal wash solution is important because it determines the optimal conditions to enhance CBF and epithelial WRS thus preserving the respiratory mucosa in pathological conditions. Non‐diluted seawater obtains the best results on CBF and WRS vs normal saline showing a deleterious effect on epithelial cell function. PMID:27101776

Effect of annealing on properties of Mg doped Zn-ferrite nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Nadeem

2015-04-01

Full Text Available A comparison of structural and magnetic properties of as-prepared and annealed (900 °C Mg doped Zn ferrite nanoparticles (Zn1−xMgxFe2O4, with x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 is presented. X-ray diffraction (XRD studies confirmed the cubic spinel structure for both the as-prepared and annealed nanoparticles. The average crystallite size and lattice parameter were increased by annealing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM images also showed that the average particle size increased after annealing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR also confirmed the spinel structure for both series of nanoparticles. For both annealed and as-prepared nanoparticles, the O–Mtet.–O vibrational band shifts towards higher wave numbers with increased Mg concentration due to cationic rearrangement on the lattice sites. Magnetization studies revealed an anomalous decreasing magnetization for the annealed nanoparticles which is also ascribed to cationic rearrangement on the lattice sites after annealing. The measurement of coercivity showed a decreasing trend by annealing due to the increased nanoparticle size and better crystallinity.

Annealed Demon Algorithms Solving the Environmental / Economic Dispatch Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aristidis VLACHOS

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient and reliable Annealed Demon (AD algorithm for the Environmental/Economic Dispatch (EEB problem. The EED problem is a multi-objective non-linear optimization problem with constraints. This problem is one of the fundamentals issues in power system operation. The system of generation associates thermal generators and emissions which involves sulphur oxides (SO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx. The aim is to minimize total fuel cost of the system and control emission. The proposed AD algorithm is applied for EED of a simple power system.

Embrittlement recovery due to annealing of reactor pressure vessel steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eason, E.D.; Wright, J.E.; Nelson, E.E.; Odette, G.R.; Mader, E.V.

1996-01-01

Embrittlement of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) can be reduced by thermal annealing at temperatures higher than the normal operating conditions. Although such an annealing process has not been applied to any commercial plants in the United States, one US Army reactor, the BR3 plant in Belgium, and several plants in eastern Europe have been successfully annealed. All available Charpy annealing data were collected and analyzed in this project to develop quantitative models for estimating the recovery in 30 ft-lb (41 J) Charpy transition temperature and Charpy upper shelf energy over a range of potential annealing conditions. Pattern recognition, transformation analysis, residual studies, and the current understanding of the mechanisms involved in the annealing process were used to guide the selection of the most sensitive variables and correlating parameters and to determine the optimal functional forms for fitting the data. The resulting models were fitted by nonlinear least squares. The use of advanced tools, the larger data base now available, and insight from surrogate hardness data produced improved models for quantitative evaluation of the effects of annealing. The quality of models fitted in this project was evaluated by considering both the Charpy annealing data used for fitting and the surrogate hardness data base. The standard errors of the resulting recovery models relative to calibration data are comparable to the uncertainty in unirradiated Charpy data. This work also demonstrates that microhardness recovery is a good surrogate for transition temperature shift recovery and that there is a high level of consistency between the observed annealing trends and fundamental models of embrittlement and recovery processes

Annealing effect on restoration of irradiation steel properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vishkarev, O.M.; Kolesova, T.N.; Myasnikova, K.P.; Pecherin, A.M.; Shamardin, V.K.

1986-01-01

The effect of temperature and annealing time on the restoration of properties of the 15Kh2NMFAA and 15Kh2MFA steels after irradiation at 285 deg with the fluence of 6x10 23 neutr/m 2 (E>0.5 MeV) is studied. Microhardness (H μ ) restoration in the irradiated 15Kh2NMFAA steel is shown to start from 350 deg C annealing temperature. The complete microhardness restoration is observed at the annealing temperature of 500 deg C for 10 hours

Annealing of the BR3 reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabry, A.; Motte, F.; Stiennon, G.; Debrue, J.; Gubel, P.; Van de Velde, J.; Minsart, G.; Van Asbroeck, P.

1985-01-01

The pressure vessel of the Belgian BR-3 plant, a small (11 MWe) PWR presently used for fuel testing programs and operated since 1962, was annealed during March, 1984. The anneal was performed under wet conditions for 168 hours at 650 0 F with core removal and within plant design margins justification for the anneal, summary of plant characteristics, description of materials sampling, summary of reactor physics and dosimetry, development of embrittlement trend curves, hypothesized pressurized and overcooling thermal shock accidents, and conclusions are provided in detail

Influence of oxygen on the annealing of radioactive defects in germanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasimov, G.M.; Mustafayev, Yn.M.; Gasimova, V.G.

2002-01-01

The isochronal annealing were carried out in the wide temperature range, for the establishment of oxygen influence on the annealing of radioactive defects (Rd) in any radiated germanium samples, concentrated with oxygen up to concentration of 9.7·10 16 cm -3 . It is shown that the curves of isochronal annealing of one of the such samples 1, with primary current charge concentration of 9.0·10 cm 14 , radiated by integral electron flow of φ= 8.0·10 16 cm -3 , at 293 K and also the non-oxygen samples 2, with primary concentration of 1.7·10 cm -3 , radiated at above mentioned conditions. The sample 1 is converted by radiation to p-type, but the conversion not occur in samples 2. It is illustrated, that that there is two annealing stage at 340-430 K, for the samples 2, which in results takes place the complete annealing of the RD. At 300 K the annealing takes place in samples of 1, but at 340 K - the reverse annealing of RD. The sample was at compensated state in the temperature range of 360-400 K. An annealing of RD takes place again at 440 K and the sample re-converted its conductivity type. The reverse annealing at 480 K, and at about 510 K, the substantial annealing of the defects has been observed, which in results a sample restores it's primary parameters. The carried out experiments show that as in converted, and also in n-type be samples, Is observed the reverse annealing of RD, but the reverse annealing of current charge carriers in n-type samples is observed only at such conditions, of the integral flow of accelerated elections exceeds the primary concentration of current charge carriers about 4 time of magnitude (φ≥4n 0 ). Besides, the complete annealing of RD in germanium samples concentrated with oxygen, takes place at more high temperatures in comparison with the non-oxygen samples

Manipulation of magnetic properties of glass-coated microwires by annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhukov, A., E-mail: arkadi.joukov@ehu.es [Dpto. Fisica de Materiales, Fac. Quimicas, UPV/EHU, 20009 San Sebastian (Spain); IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao (Spain); Chichay, K. [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 236041 Kaliningrad (Russian Federation); Talaat, A. [Dpto. Fisica de Materiales, Fac. Quimicas, UPV/EHU, 20009 San Sebastian (Spain); Rodionova, V. [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 236041 Kaliningrad (Russian Federation); National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), 119049 Moscow (Russian Federation); Blanco, J.M. [Dpto. Física Aplicada, EUPDS Basque Country University UPV/EHU (Spain); Ipatov, M.; Zhukova, V. [Dpto. Fisica de Materiales, Fac. Quimicas, UPV/EHU, 20009 San Sebastian (Spain)

2015-06-01

We demonstrated that magnetic properties (hysteresis loops, domain wall propagation and giant magnetoimpedance effect) of Fe and Co-rich amorphous microwires can be tailored by stress and conventional annealing. Observed dependences discussed considering stress relaxation, back stresses and change of the magnetostriction after samples annealing. These considerations have been proved by experimental observation of the change of the magnetostriction coefficient sign induced by annealing. - Highlights: • Manipulation of hysteresis loop of amorphous Co–Fe- rich microwires by annealing. • Coexistence of Giant magnetoimpedance effect and fast domain wall propagation in the same sample. • Evidence of annealing dependence of the magnetostriction coefficient. • Effect of stress induced anisotropy on magnetic properties and GMI effect.

Manipulation of magnetic properties of glass-coated microwires by annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhukov, A.; Chichay, K.; Talaat, A.; Rodionova, V.; Blanco, J.M.; Ipatov, M.; Zhukova, V.

2015-01-01

We demonstrated that magnetic properties (hysteresis loops, domain wall propagation and giant magnetoimpedance effect) of Fe and Co-rich amorphous microwires can be tailored by stress and conventional annealing. Observed dependences discussed considering stress relaxation, back stresses and change of the magnetostriction after samples annealing. These considerations have been proved by experimental observation of the change of the magnetostriction coefficient sign induced by annealing. - Highlights: • Manipulation of hysteresis loop of amorphous Co–Fe- rich microwires by annealing. • Coexistence of Giant magnetoimpedance effect and fast domain wall propagation in the same sample. • Evidence of annealing dependence of the magnetostriction coefficient. • Effect of stress induced anisotropy on magnetic properties and GMI effect

Propagating self-sustained annealing of radiation-induced interstitial complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bokov, P M; Selyshchev, P A

2016-01-01

A propagating self-sustained annealing of radiation induced defects as a result of thermal-concentration instability is studied. The defects that are considered in the model are complexes. Each of them consists of one atom of impunity and of one interstitial atom. Crystal with defects has extra energy which is transformed into heat during defect annealing. Simulation of the auto-wave of annealing has been performed. The front and the speed of the auto-wave have been obtained. It is shown that annealing occurs in a narrow region of time and space. There are two kinds of such annealing behaviour. In the first case the speed of the auto-wave oscillates near its constant mean value and the front of temperature oscillates in a complex way. In the second case the speed of propagation is constant and fronts of temperature and concentration look like sigmoid functions. (paper)

Neutron scattering study of dilute supercritical solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochran, H.D.; Wignall, G.D.; Shah, V.M.; Londono, J.D.; Bienkowski, P.R.

1994-01-01

Dilute solutions in supercritical solvents exhibit interesting microstructures that are related to their dramatic macroscopic behavior. In typical attractive solutions, solutes are believed to be surrounded by clusters of solvent molecules, and solute molecules are believed to congregate in the vicinity of one another. Repulsive solutions, on the other hand, exhibit a local region of reduced solvent density around the solute with solute-solute congregation. Such microstructures influence solubility, partial molar volume, reaction kinetics, and many other properties. We have undertaken to observe these interesting microstructures directly by neutron scattering experiments on dilute noble gas systems including Ar. The three partial structure factors for such systems and the corresponding pair correlation functions can be determined by using the isotope substitution technique. The systems studied are uniquely suited for our objectives because of the large coherent neutron scattering length of the isotope 36 Ar and because of the accurate potential energy functions that are available for use in molecular simulations and theoretical calculations to be compared with the scattering results. We will describe our experiment, the unique apparatus we have built for it, and the neutron scattering results from our initial allocations of beam time. We will also describe planned scattering experiments to follow those with noble gases, including study of long-chain molecules in supercritical solvents. Such studies will involve hydrocarbon mixtures with and without deuteration to provide contrast

Storm Sewage Dilution in Smaller Streams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Torben; Vestergaard, Kristian

1987-01-01

A numerical model has been used to show how dilution in smaller streams can be effected by unsteady hydraulic conditions caused by a storm sewage overflow.......A numerical model has been used to show how dilution in smaller streams can be effected by unsteady hydraulic conditions caused by a storm sewage overflow....

Nuclear techniques of analysis in diamond synthesis and annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, D. N.; Prawer, S.; Gonon, P.; Walker, R.; Dooley, S.; Bettiol, A.; Pearce, J. [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

1996-12-31

Nuclear techniques of analysis have played an important role in the study of synthetic and laser annealed diamond. These measurements have mainly used ion beam analysis with a focused MeV ion beam in a nuclear microprobe system. A variety of techniques have been employed. One of the most important is nuclear elastic scattering, sometimes called non-Rutherford scattering, which has been used to accurately characterise diamond films for thickness and composition. This is possible by the use of a database of measured scattering cross sections. Recently, this work has been extended and nuclear elastic scattering cross sections for both natural boron isotopes have been measured. For radiation damaged diamond, a focused laser annealing scheme has been developed which produces near complete regrowth of MeV phosphorus implanted diamonds. In the laser annealed regions, proton induced x-ray emission has been used to show that 50 % of the P atoms occupy lattice sites. This opens the way to produce n-type diamond for microelectronic device applications. All these analytical applications utilize a focused MeV microbeam which is ideally suited for diamond analysis. This presentation reviews these applications, as well as the technology of nuclear techniques of analysis for diamond with a focused beam. 9 refs., 6 figs.

Nuclear techniques of analysis in diamond synthesis and annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, D N; Prawer, S; Gonon, P; Walker, R; Dooley, S; Bettiol, A; Pearce, J [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

1997-12-31

Nuclear techniques of analysis have played an important role in the study of synthetic and laser annealed diamond. These measurements have mainly used ion beam analysis with a focused MeV ion beam in a nuclear microprobe system. A variety of techniques have been employed. One of the most important is nuclear elastic scattering, sometimes called non-Rutherford scattering, which has been used to accurately characterise diamond films for thickness and composition. This is possible by the use of a database of measured scattering cross sections. Recently, this work has been extended and nuclear elastic scattering cross sections for both natural boron isotopes have been measured. For radiation damaged diamond, a focused laser annealing scheme has been developed which produces near complete regrowth of MeV phosphorus implanted diamonds. In the laser annealed regions, proton induced x-ray emission has been used to show that 50 % of the P atoms occupy lattice sites. This opens the way to produce n-type diamond for microelectronic device applications. All these analytical applications utilize a focused MeV microbeam which is ideally suited for diamond analysis. This presentation reviews these applications, as well as the technology of nuclear techniques of analysis for diamond with a focused beam. 9 refs., 6 figs.

Nuclear techniques of analysis in diamond synthesis and annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamieson, D. N.; Prawer, S.; Gonon, P.; Walker, R.; Dooley, S.; Bettiol, A.; Pearce, J.

1996-01-01

Nuclear techniques of analysis have played an important role in the study of synthetic and laser annealed diamond. These measurements have mainly used ion beam analysis with a focused MeV ion beam in a nuclear microprobe system. A variety of techniques have been employed. One of the most important is nuclear elastic scattering, sometimes called non-Rutherford scattering, which has been used to accurately characterise diamond films for thickness and composition. This is possible by the use of a database of measured scattering cross sections. Recently, this work has been extended and nuclear elastic scattering cross sections for both natural boron isotopes have been measured. For radiation damaged diamond, a focused laser annealing scheme has been developed which produces near complete regrowth of MeV phosphorus implanted diamonds. In the laser annealed regions, proton induced x-ray emission has been used to show that 50 % of the P atoms occupy lattice sites. This opens the way to produce n-type diamond for microelectronic device applications. All these analytical applications utilize a focused MeV microbeam which is ideally suited for diamond analysis. This presentation reviews these applications, as well as the technology of nuclear techniques of analysis for diamond with a focused beam. 9 refs., 6 figs

Phase transformation from cubic ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by thermal annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmood, K.; Asghar, M.; Amin, N.; Ali, Adnan

2015-03-01

We have investigated the mechanism of phase transformation from ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by high-temperature thermal annealing. The ZnS thin films were grown on Si (001) substrate by thermal evaporation system using ZnS powder as source material. The grown films were annealed at different temperatures and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), four-point probe, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX). The results demonstrated that as-deposited ZnS film has mixed phases but high-temperature annealing leads to transition from ZnS to ZnO. The observed result can be explained as a two-step process: (1) high-energy O atoms replaced S atoms in lattice during annealing process, and (2) S atoms diffused into substrate and/or diffused out of the sample. The dissociation energy of ZnS calculated from the Arrhenius plot of 1000/T versus log (resistivity) was found to be 3.1 eV. PL spectra of as-grown sample exhibits a characteristic green emission at 2.4 eV of ZnS but annealed samples consist of band-to-band and defect emission of ZnO at 3.29 eV and 2.5 eV respectively. SEM and EDX measurements were additionally performed to strengthen the argument.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Water Contact Angle of PVD Hard Coatings.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yu-Sen; Cho, Ting-Pin

2013-08-07

Various PVD (physical vapor deposition) hard coatings including nitrides and metal-doped diamond-like carbons (Me-DLC) were applied in plastic injection and die-casting molds to improve wear resistance and reduce sticking. In this study, nitrides hcp-AlN (hexagonal close-packed AlN), Cr₂N, (CrAl)₂N) and Me-DLC (Si-DLC and Cr-DLC) coatings were prepared using a closed field unbalanced magnetron reactive sputtering system. The coatings were annealed in air for 2 h at various temperatures, after which the anti-sticking properties were assessed using water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The as-deposited hcp-AlN, Cr₂N and (CrAl)₂N coatings exhibit hydrophobic behavior and exhibit respective WCAs of 119°, 106° and 101°. The as-deposited Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings exhibit hydrophilic behavior and exhibit respective WCAs of 74° and 88°. The annealed Cr₂N and (CrAl)₂N coatings exhibit hydrophobic behavior with higher WCAs, while the annealed hcp-AlN, Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings are hydrophilic. The increased WCA of the annealed Cr₂N and (CrAl)₂N coatings is related to their crystal structure and increased roughness. The decreased WCA of the annealed hcp-AlN, Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings is related to their crystal structures and has little correlation with roughness.

Developments on drug discovery and on new therapeutics: highly diluted tinctures act as biological response modifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Carolina C; Abud, Ana Paula R; de Oliveira, Simone M; Guimarães, Fernando de S F; de Andrade, Lucas F; Di Bernardi, Raffaello P; Coletto, Ediely L de O; Kuczera, Diogo; Da Lozzo, Eneida J; Gonçalves, Jenifer P; Trindade, Edvaldo da S; Buchi, Dorly de F

2011-10-26

In the search for new therapies novel drugs and medications are being discovered, developed and tested in laboratories. Highly diluted substances are intended to enhance immune system responses resulting in reduced frequency of various diseases, and often present no risk of serious side-effects due to its low toxicity. Over the past years our research group has been investigating the action of highly diluted substances and tinctures on cells from the immune system. We have developed and tested several highly diluted tinctures and here we describe the biological activity of M1, M2, and M8 both in vitro in immune cells from mice and human, and in vivo in mice. Cytotoxicity, cytokines released and NF-κB activation were determined after in vitro treatment. Cell viability, oxidative response, lipid peroxidation, bone marrow and lymph node cells immunophenotyping were accessed after mice in vivo treatment. None of the highly diluted tinctures tested were cytotoxic to macrophages or K562. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages treated with all highly diluted tinctures decreased tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) release and M1, and M8 decreased IFN-γ production. M1 has decreased NF-κB activity on TNF-α stimulated reporter cell line. In vivo treatment lead to a decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO) production was increased by M1, and M8, and lipid peroxidation was induced by M1, and M2. All compounds enhanced the innate immunity, but M1 also augmented acquired immunity and M2 diminished B lymphocytes, responsible to acquired immunity. Based on the results presented here, these highly diluted tinctures were shown to modulate immune responses. Even though further investigation is needed there is an indication that these highly diluted tinctures could be used as therapeutic interventions in disorders where the immune system is compromised.

Defect evolution and dopant activation in laser annealed Si and Ge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cristiano, F.; Shayesteh, M.; Duffy, R.

2016-01-01

Defect evolution and dopant activation are intimately related to the use of ion implantation and annealing, traditionally used to dope semiconductors during device fabrication. Ultra-fast laser thermal annealing (LTA) is one of the most promising solutions for the achievement of abrupt and highly...... doped junctions. In this paper, we report some recent investigations focused on this annealing method, with particular emphasis on the investigation of the formation and evolution of implant/anneal induced defects and their impact on dopant activation. In the case of laser annealed Silicon, we show...

Isothermal annealing of silicon implanted with 50 keV 10B ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidner, B.; Zaschke, G.

1974-01-01

Isothermal annealing characteristics of silicon implanted with boron were measured and compared with calculated results. Implantation was performed with 50 keV 10 B ions in the dose range of 7.5 x 10 12 cm -2 to 2.0 x 10 15 cm -2 . Annealing temperatures ranged from 700 to 900 0 C. Maximum annealing time was 10 4 minutes. Annealing time strongly increases with increasing dose and decreasing temperature. Assuming that there is only one activation energy the isothermal annealing curves of constant dose and different temperatures were combined to a reduced annealing curve and the reduced isothermal annealing curve calculated. Starting from first order kinetics, considering the doping profile of boron in silicon and assuming a depth-dependent decay constant the experimentally determined annealing curves could be easily described over the total dose and time range

Mössbauer Studies of dilute Magnetic Semiconductors

CERN Multimedia

Gislason, H P; Debernardi, A; Dlamini, W B

2002-01-01

The recent discovery of (dilute) magnetic semiconductors with wide band gaps, e.g. GaN, ZnO and other oxides, having Curie temperatures, T$_{\\textrm{c}}$, well above room temperature, has prompted extraordinary experimental and theoretical efforts to understand, control and exploit this unexpected finding not least in view of the obvious potential of such materials for the fabrication of "spin-(elec)tronic" or magneto-optic devices. Ferromagnetism (FM) was achieved mostly by doping with dilute 3d transition metal impurities, notably Mn, Fe, and Co (in \\% concentrations), during growth or by subsequent ion implantation. However, it is fair to state that experimentally the conditions for the occurrence of ferro-, antiferro- or paramagnetism with these impurities are not yet controlled as generally at least two conflicting forms of magnetism or none have been reported for each system - albeit often produced by different techniques. Theory is challenged as "conventional" models seem to fail and no generally accep...

Structural and magnetic investigation of dilute magnetic semiconductors based on GaN and ZnO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kammermeier, Tom

2010-01-19

The two wide band gap dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS) Gd:GaN and Co:ZnO are among the most favored materials for spintronic applications. Despite intense research efforts during the last years, the origin of the magnetic order is still under debate. This work reports structural and magnetic investigations on these DMS materials employing several complementary techniques. The X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) has been used to gain element-specific insight into the local structure of dopants and cations. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to probe the global structural properties. Magnetic characterization by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) has been complemented by electron spin resonance (ESR) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). Gd:GaN samples were fabricated by focused-ion-beam (FIB) implantation and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Room temperature ferromagnetic-like behavior as found for some of our samples by SQUID could not be reliably reproduced. Instead XMCD measurements at the Gd L{sub 3}-edge reveal paramagnetic behavior of the dopant. Additionally a possible magnetic polarization of Ga atoms of the host crystal is shown to be too small to explain the total magnetization of these samples. In some samples the formation of Gd and GdN clusters was evidenced by ESR measurements but it can only account for low temperature ferromagnetic-like behavior. Intrinsic room temperature ferromagnetism of this material as seen by SQUID cannot be confirmed by any other technique - neither ESR nor XMCD. Co:ZnO samples used for this work were predominantly grown by reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS). As shown by XLD analysis, 95% of the Co atoms are incorporated on substitutional Zn-sites in samples of best structural quality. These samples consistently show paramagnetic behavior as found by SQUID, XMCD and ESR. RMS growth of Co:ZnO with reduced oxygen partial pressure yields a magnetic behavior known from ferromagnetic nanoclusters. The X

Cryogen-free dilution refrigerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uhlig, K

2012-01-01

We review briefly our first cryogen-free dilution refrigerator (CF-DR) which was precooled by a GM cryocooler. We then show how today's dry DRs with pulse tube precooling have developed. A few examples of commercial DRs are explained and noteworthy features pointed out. Thereby we describe the general advantages of cryogen-free DRs, but also show where improvements are still desirable. At present, our dry DR has a base temperature of 10 mK and a cooling capacity of 700 μW at a mixing chamber temperature of 100 mK. In our cryostat, in most recent work, an additional refrigeration loop was added to the dilution circuit. This 4 He circuit has a lowest temperature of about 1 K and a refrigeration capacity of up to 100 mW at temperatures slightly above 1 K; the dilution circuit and the 4 He circuit can be run separately or together. The purpose of this additional loop is to increase the cooling capacity for experiments where the cooling power of the still of the DR is not sufficient to cool cold amplifiers and cables, e.g. in studies on superconducting quantum circuits or astrophysical applications.

Cryogen-free dilution refrigerators

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlig, K.

2012-12-01

We review briefly our first cryogen-free dilution refrigerator (CF-DR) which was precooled by a GM cryocooler. We then show how today's dry DRs with pulse tube precooling have developed. A few examples of commercial DRs are explained and noteworthy features pointed out. Thereby we describe the general advantages of cryogen-free DRs, but also show where improvements are still desirable. At present, our dry DR has a base temperature of 10 mK and a cooling capacity of 700 μW at a mixing chamber temperature of 100 mK. In our cryostat, in most recent work, an additional refrigeration loop was added to the dilution circuit. This 4He circuit has a lowest temperature of about 1 K and a refrigeration capacity of up to 100 mW at temperatures slightly above 1 K; the dilution circuit and the 4He circuit can be run separately or together. The purpose of this additional loop is to increase the cooling capacity for experiments where the cooling power of the still of the DR is not sufficient to cool cold amplifiers and cables, e.g. in studies on superconducting quantum circuits or astrophysical applications.

The effect of emulsifying salts on the turbidity of a diluted milk system with varying pH and protein concentration.

Science.gov (United States)

Culler, M D; Saricay, Y; Harte, F M

2017-06-01

Solutions of 10 commonly used emulsifying salts (ES) listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (21CFR133.179) for pasteurized process cheese were tested for their effect on the turbidity of a diluted milk system at different pH and protein concentrations to characterize the conditions that affect micellar structure. Emulsifying salt solutions were made by mixing the ES in a 1-in-20 dilution of water in skim milk ultrafiltrate (3 kDa molecular weight cut-off) to obtain ES concentrations from 0 to 248 mM. Skim milk was added to solutions containing nanopure water, skim milk ultrafiltrate, and a specific ES ranging in concentration from 0 to 248 mM and pH 5, 5.8, 6.8, 7.8, and 8.8. The turbidity of the samples was measured as the optical density at 400 nm immediately after mixing (time, t = 0), after 30 s (t = 30s), and after 30 min (t = 30min). Emulsifying salts were found to cause a decrease in the turbidity of the system, which was modeled using an exponential decay model, where C* represents a threshold salt concentration at which rapid dissociation occurs. At pH values 5.8 and 6.8, the ES caused the greatest decrease in turbidity of the diluted milk system. At pH 5, the ES had the least effect on the turbidity of the system. Sodium hexametaphosphate was found to have the strongest dissociative effect, with a C* value of 0.33 mM for t = 0 at pH 6.8. In contrast, the largest C* value calculated at pH 6.8 was monosodium phosphate at 278.22 mM. Increased time resulted in lower C* values. The model established for this study can be used to predict the dissociation of casein micelles in the presence of various types of ES. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behaviour of Charge Carriers in As-Deposited and Annealed Undoped TCO Films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Yan-Wen; Wu Fa-Yu; Zheng Chun-Yan

2011-01-01

We examine the structures, cut-off points of transmittance spectra and electric properties of undoped ZnO, SnO 2 and CdO films by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, spectrophotometer and Hall-effect measurements, respectively. The films are deposited by using an rf magnetron sputtering system from powder targets in argon and then annealed in vacuum. The structures and properties of the as-deposited films are compared with those of the annealed one. We try to explain the behaviour of charge carriers based on the semiconductor physics theory. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Quantifying dilution caused by execution efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taís Renata Câmara

Full Text Available Abstract In open pit mining, dilution is not always a factor systematically analyzed and calculated. Often it is only an adjusted number, for example, calculated or even empirically determined for a certain operational condition perpetuating along time in the form of a constant applied to calculating reserves or mine planning in attendance of audit requirements. Dilution and loss are factors that should be always considered for tonnage and grade estimates. These factors are always associated and can be determined considering several particularities of the deposit and the operation itself. In this study, a methodology was determined to identify blocks adjacent to the blocks previously planned to be mined. Thus, it is possible to estimate the dilution caused by poor operating efficiency, taking into account the inability of the equipment to perfectly remove each block, respecting its limits. Mining dilution is defined as the incorporation of waste material to ore due to the operational incapacity to efficiently separate the materials during the mining process, considering the physical processes, and the operating and geometric configurations of the mining with the equipment available.

Defects in dilute nitrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W.M.; Buyanova, I.A.; Tu, C.W.; Yonezu, H.

2005-01-01

We provide a brief review our recent results from optically detected magnetic resonance studies of grown-in non-radiative defects in dilute nitrides, i.e. Ga(In)NAs and Ga(Al,In)NP. Defect complexes involving intrinsic defects such as As Ga antisites and Ga i self interstitials were positively identified.Effects of growth conditions, chemical compositions and post-growth treatments on formation of the defects are closely examined. These grown-in defects are shown to play an important role in non-radiative carrier recombination and thus in degrading optical quality of the alloys, harmful to performance of potential optoelectronic and photonic devices based on these dilute nitrides. (author)

Non-diluted seawater enhances nasal ciliary beat frequency and wound repair speed compared to diluted seawater and normal saline.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnomet, Arnaud; Luczka, Emilie; Coraux, Christelle; de Gabory, Ludovic

2016-10-01

The regulation of mucociliary clearance is a key part of the defense mechanisms developed by the airway epithelium. If a high aggregate quality of evidence shows the clinical effectiveness of nasal irrigation, there is a lack of studies showing the intrinsic role of the different irrigation solutions allowing such results. This study investigated the impact of solutions with different pH and ionic compositions, eg, normal saline, non-diluted seawater and diluted seawater, on nasal mucosa functional parameters. For this randomized, controlled, blinded, in vitro study, we used airway epithelial cells obtained from 13 nasal polyps explants to measure ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and epithelial wound repair speed (WRS) in response to 3 isotonic nasal irrigation solutions: (1) normal saline 0.9%; (2) non-diluted seawater (Physiomer®); and (3) 30% diluted seawater (Stérimar). The results were compared to control (cell culture medium). Non-diluted seawater enhanced the CBF and the WRS when compared to diluted seawater and to normal saline. When compared to the control, it significantly enhanced CBF and slightly, though nonsignificantly, improved the WRS. Interestingly, normal saline markedly reduced the number of epithelial cells and ciliated cells when compared to the control condition. Our results suggest that the physicochemical features of the nasal wash solution is important because it determines the optimal conditions to enhance CBF and epithelial WRS thus preserving the respiratory mucosa in pathological conditions. Non-diluted seawater obtains the best results on CBF and WRS vs normal saline showing a deleterious effect on epithelial cell function. © 2016 The Authors International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, published by ARSAAOA, LLC.

Dynamic dilution exponent in monodisperse entangled polymer solutions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shahid, T.; Huang, Qian; Oosterlinck, F.

2017-01-01

of concentration but also depends on the molar mass of the chains. While the proposed approach successfully explains the viscoelastic properties of a large number of semi-dilute solutions of polymers in their own oligomers, important discrepancies are found for semi-dilute entangled polymers in small-molecule......We study and model the linear viscoelastic properties of several entangled semi-dilute and concentrated solutions of linear chains of different molar masses and at different concentrations dissolved in their oligomers. We discuss the dilution effect of the oligomers on the entangled long chains....... In particular, we investigate the influence of both concentration and molar mass on the value of the effective dynamic dilution exponent determined from the level of the storage plateau at low and intermediate frequencies. We show that the experimental results can be quantitatively explained by considering...

Annealing behavior of solution grown polyethylene single crystals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loos, J.; Tian, M.

2006-01-01

The morphology evolution of solution grown polyethylene single crystals has been studied upon annealing below their melting temperature by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM investigations have been performed ex situ, which means AFM investigations at room temperature after the annealing

Prediction of two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductors: Doped monolayer MoS2 systems

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Yingchun; Guo, Z. B.; Mi, W. B.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Zhu, Zhiyong

2013-01-01

Using first-principles calculations, we propose a two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductor: monolayer MoS2 doped by transition metals. Doping of transition metal atoms from the IIIB to VIB groups results in nonmagnetic states, since the number

Annealing temperature effect on self-assembled Au droplets on Si (111).

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Mao; Li, Ming-Yu; Kim, Eun-Soo; Lee, Jihoon

2013-12-13

We investigate the effect of annealing temperature on self-assembled Au droplets on Si (111). The annealing temperature is systematically varied while fixing other growth parameters such as deposition amount and annealing duration clearly to observe the annealing temperature effect. Self-assembled Au droplets are fabricated by annealing from 50°C to 850°C with 2-nm Au deposition for 30 s. With increased annealing temperatures, Au droplets show gradually increased height and diameter while the density of droplets progressively decreases. Self-assembled Au droplets with fine uniformity can be fabricated between 550°C and 800°C. While Au droplets become much larger with increased deposition amount, the extended annealing duration only mildly affects droplet size and density. The results are systematically analyzed with cross-sectional line profiles, Fourier filter transform power spectra, height histogram, surface area ratio, and size and density plots. This study can provide an aid point for the fabrication of nanowires on Si (111).

Annealing effects on electron-beam evaporated Al2O3 films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang Shuzhen; Chen Lei; Hou Haihong; Yi Kui; Fan Zhengxiu; Shao Jianda

2005-01-01

The effects of post-deposited annealing on structure and optical properties of electron-beam evaporated Al 2 O 3 single layers were investigated. The films were annealed in air for 1.5 h at different temperatures from 250 to 400 deg. C. The optical constants and cut-off wavelength were deduced. Microstructure of the samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Profile and surface roughness measurement instrument was used to determine the rms surface roughness. It was found that the cut-off wavelength shifted to short wavelength as the annealing temperature increased and the total optical loss decreased. The film structure remained amorphous even after annealing at 400 deg. C temperature and the samples annealed at higher temperature had the higher rms surface roughness. The decreasing total optical loss with annealing temperature was attributed to the reduction of absorption owing to oxidation of the film by annealing. Guidance to reduce the optical loss of excimer laser mirrors was given

Annealing effects on electron-beam evaporated Al 2O 3 films

Science.gov (United States)

Shuzhen, Shang; Lei, Chen; Haihong, Hou; Kui, Yi; Zhengxiu, Fan; Jianda, Shao

2005-04-01

The effects of post-deposited annealing on structure and optical properties of electron-beam evaporated Al 2O 3 single layers were investigated. The films were annealed in air for 1.5 h at different temperatures from 250 to 400 °C. The optical constants and cut-off wavelength were deduced. Microstructure of the samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Profile and surface roughness measurement instrument was used to determine the rms surface roughness. It was found that the cut-off wavelength shifted to short wavelength as the annealing temperature increased and the total optical loss decreased. The film structure remained amorphous even after annealing at 400 °C temperature and the samples annealed at higher temperature had the higher rms surface roughness. The decreasing total optical loss with annealing temperature was attributed to the reduction of absorption owing to oxidation of the film by annealing. Guidance to reduce the optical loss of excimer laser mirrors was given.

Hydration-annealing of chemical radiation damage in calcium nitrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, S.M.K.; James, C.

1984-01-01

The effect of hydration on the annealing of chemical radiation damage in anhydrous calcium nitrate has been investigated. Rehydration of the anhydrous irradiated nitrate induces direct recovery of the damage. The rehydrated salt is susceptible to thermal annealing but the extent of annealing is small compared to that in the anhydrous salt. The direct recovery of damage on rehydration is due to enhanced lattice mobility. The recovery process is unimolecular. (author)

Cost effectiveness of dilute chemical decontamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LeSurf, J.E.; Weyman, G.D.

The basic principles of dilute chemical decontamination are described, as well as the method of application. Methods of computing savings in radiation dose and costs are presented, with results from actual experience and illustrative examples. It is concluded that dilute chemical decontamination is beneficial in many cases. It reduces radiation exposure of workers, saves money, and simplifies maintenance work

Principal and secondary luminescence lifetime components in annealed natural quartz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chithambo, M.L.; Ogundare, F.O.; Feathers, J.

2008-01-01

Time-resolved luminescence spectra from quartz can be separated into components with distinct principal and secondary lifetimes depending on certain combinations of annealing and measurement temperature. The influence of annealing on properties of the lifetimes related to irradiation dose and temperature of measurement has been investigated in sedimentary quartz annealed at various temperatures up to 900 deg. C. Time-resolved luminescence for use in the analysis was pulse stimulated from samples at 470 nm between 20 and 200 deg. C. Luminescence lifetimes decrease with measurement temperature due to increasing thermal effect on the associated luminescence with an activation energy of thermal quenching equal to 0.68±0.01eV for the secondary lifetime but only qualitatively so for the principal lifetime component. Concerning the influence of annealing temperature, luminescence lifetimes measured at 20 deg. C are constant at about 33μs for annealing temperatures up to 600 0 C but decrease to about 29μs when the annealing temperature is increased to 900 deg. C. In addition, it was found that lifetime components in samples annealed at 800 deg. C are independent of radiation dose in the range 85-1340 Gy investigated. The dependence of lifetimes on both the annealing temperature and magnitude of radiation dose is described as being due to the increasing importance of a particular recombination centre in the luminescence emission process as a result of dynamic hole transfer between non-radiative and radiative luminescence centres

Reduction of thermal quenching of biotite mineral due to annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalita, J.M.; Wary, G.

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Thermoluminescence of X-ray irradiate biotite was studied at various heating rates. • Thermal quenching was found to decrease with increase in annealing temperature. • Due to annealing one trap level was vanished and a new shallow trap level generated. • The new trap level contributes low thermally quenched thermoluminescence signal. - Abstract: Thermoluminescence (TL) of X-ray irradiated natural biotite annealed at 473, 573, 673 and 773 K were studied within 290–480 K at various linear heating rates (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 K/s). A Computerized Glow Curve Deconvolution technique was used to study various TL parameters. Thermal quenching was found to be very high for un-annealed sample, however it decreased significantly with increase in annealing temperature. For un-annealed sample thermal quenching activation energy (W) and pre-exponential frequency factor (C) were found to be W = (2.71 ± 0.05) eV and C = (2.38 ± 0.05) × 10 12 s −1 respectively. However for 773 K annealed sample, these parameters were found to be W = (0.63 ± 0.03) eV, C = (1.75 ± 0.27) × 10 14 s −1 . Due to annealing, the initially present trap level at depth 1.04 eV was vanished and a new shallow trap state was generated at depth of 0.78 eV which contributes very low thermally quenched TL signal

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Vanessa L.; Dou, Benjia; Van Campen, Douglas G.; Klein-Stockert, Talysa R.; Barnes, Frank S.; Shaheen, Sean E.; Ahmad, Md I.; van Hest, Maikel F. A. M.; Toney, Michael F.

2017-01-01

Lead halide perovskites have emerged as successful optoelectronic materials with high photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies and low material cost. However, substantial challenges remain in the scalability, stability and fundamental understanding of the materials. Here we present the application of radiative thermal annealing, an easily scalable processing method for synthesizing formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite solar absorbers. Devices fabricated from films formed via radiative thermal annealing have equivalent efficiencies to those annealed using a conventional hotplate. By coupling results from in situ X-ray diffraction using a radiative thermal annealing system with device performances, we mapped the processing phase space of FAPbI3 and corresponding device efficiencies. Our map of processing-structure-performance space suggests the commonly used FAPbI3 annealing time, 10 min at 170 °C, can be significantly reduced to 40 s at 170 °C without affecting the photovoltaic performance. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami model was used to determine the activation energy for decomposition of FAPbI3 into PbI2. PMID:28094249

/sup 15/N dilution technique of assessing the contribution of nitrogen fixation to rice plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ventura, W; Watanabe, Iwao [International Rice Research Inst., College, Laguna (Phillippines)

1983-06-01

An attempt to correlate the positive nitrogen balance in rice-soil system with the /sup 15/N dilution in rice plants was made to see if isotope dilution can be used to assess the contribution of nitrogen fixation to the nitrogen nutrition of rice. /sup 15/N ammonium sulfate and sucrose were added to the moist soil in pots to label biomass nitrogen fraction. The rice-soil system with higher nitrogen gain had lower /sup 15/N content in the rice plants. When the surface of pots was covered with black cloths to suppress photodependent N/sub 2/ fixation, no significant nitrogen gain was observed. Significant gain was found in the rice-flooded soil system exposed to light, and the /sup 15/N content of plants decreased in allowing the photodependent N/sub 2/ fixation by blue-green algae symbiosis. The contribution of plant nitrogen derived from photodependent N/sub 2/ fixation was estimated to be 20-30 % of the positive nitrogen gain in the system by the /sup 15/N dilution technique using the rice-covered soil as reference system.

Effect of Annealing on the Thermoluminescence Properties of ZnO Nanophosphor

Science.gov (United States)

Kalita, J. M.; Wary, G.

2017-07-01

We report the effect of annealing on the thermoluminescence (TL) properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanophosphor. The sample was synthesised by a wet chemical process. The characterisation report shows that the size of the grains is within 123.0 nm-160.5 nm. TL measured at 2 K/s from a fresh un-annealed sample irradiated to 60 mGy shows a composite glow curve containing three peaks at 353.2 K, 429.1 K, and 455.3 K. On the other hand, samples annealed at 473 K and 573 K followed by irradiation to 60 mGy do not give TL. However, annealing at 673 K and 773 K followed by irradiation to the same dose produces a glow curve comprising two overlapping peaks at 352.3 K and 370.6 K. In the TL emission spectrum of un-annealed sample, two emission peaks were found in green ( 523 nm) and orange ( 620 nm) regions whereas in annealed samples, only a peak was found in the orange region ( 618 nm). Kinetic analysis shows that the activation energy corresponding to TL peaks at 353.2 K, 429.1 K, and 455.3 K of the un-annealed sample are 0.64 eV, 0.80 eV, and 1.20 eV whereas that of the peaks at 352.3 K and 370.6 K of 673 K and 773 K annealed samples are 0.64 eV and 0.70 eV, respectively. All peaks of un-annealed and annealed samples, except the one at 429.1 K of the un-annealed sample, follow first-order kinetics whereas the peak at 429.1 K follows second-order kinetics. Considering the kinetic and spectral features, an energy band model for ZnO nanophosphor has been proposed.

A quantum annealing architecture with all-to-all connectivity from local interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Wolfgang; Hauke, Philipp; Zoller, Peter

2015-10-01

Quantum annealers are physical devices that aim at solving NP-complete optimization problems by exploiting quantum mechanics. The basic principle of quantum annealing is to encode the optimization problem in Ising interactions between quantum bits (qubits). A fundamental challenge in building a fully programmable quantum annealer is the competing requirements of full controllable all-to-all connectivity and the quasi-locality of the interactions between physical qubits. We present a scalable architecture with full connectivity, which can be implemented with local interactions only. The input of the optimization problem is encoded in local fields acting on an extended set of physical qubits. The output is-in the spirit of topological quantum memories-redundantly encoded in the physical qubits, resulting in an intrinsic fault tolerance. Our model can be understood as a lattice gauge theory, where long-range interactions are mediated by gauge constraints. The architecture can be realized on various platforms with local controllability, including superconducting qubits, NV-centers, quantum dots, and atomic systems.

A quantum annealing architecture with all-to-all connectivity from local interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Wolfgang; Hauke, Philipp; Zoller, Peter

2015-01-01

Quantum annealers are physical devices that aim at solving NP-complete optimization problems by exploiting quantum mechanics. The basic principle of quantum annealing is to encode the optimization problem in Ising interactions between quantum bits (qubits). A fundamental challenge in building a fully programmable quantum annealer is the competing requirements of full controllable all-to-all connectivity and the quasi-locality of the interactions between physical qubits. We present a scalable architecture with full connectivity, which can be implemented with local interactions only. The input of the optimization problem is encoded in local fields acting on an extended set of physical qubits. The output is—in the spirit of topological quantum memories—redundantly encoded in the physical qubits, resulting in an intrinsic fault tolerance. Our model can be understood as a lattice gauge theory, where long-range interactions are mediated by gauge constraints. The architecture can be realized on various platforms with local controllability, including superconducting qubits, NV-centers, quantum dots, and atomic systems. PMID:26601316

Unified model of damage annealing in CMOS, from freeze-in to transient annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sander, H.H.; Gregory, B.L.

Results of an experimental study at 76 0 K, are presented showing that radiation-produced holes in SiO 2 are immobile at this temperature. If an electric field is present in the SiO 2 during low temperature (76 0 K) irradiation to sweep out the mobile electrons, the holes will virtually all be trapped where created and produce a uniform positive charge density in the oxide. These results are the basis for concluding that if a complimentary p,n metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device is irradiated for sufficient time at 76 0 K to build-in an appreciable field, further irradiation with gate bias removed will produce very little additional change in V/sub th/, since the field in the oxide tends to keep all generated electrons in the oxide where they recombine with trapped holes. Hence the hole trapping rate = the hole annihilation rate. The room-temperature annealing following a pulsed gamma exposure occurs in two regimes. The first recovery of V/sub th/ occurs prior to 10 -4 seconds. The magnitude of this very early-time recovery, at room temperature, is oxide-dependent, and oxide process dependent. The rate-of-annealing is what is truly different between a rad-hard and a rad-soft device, since annealing in the hardest devices occurs very quickly at room temperature. (U.S.)

Strain relaxation near high-k/Si interface by post-deposition annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emoto, T.; Akimoto, K.; Yoshida, Y.; Ichimiya, A.; Nabatame, T.; Toriumi, A.

2005-01-01

We studied the effect of post-deposition annealing on a HfO 2 /Si interface of by extremely asymmetric X-ray diffraction. Comparing the rocking curves before annealing the sample with those of the annealed sample, it is found that an interfacial layer with a density of 3 g/cm 3 grows at the interface between the HfO 2 layer and the substrate during post-deposition annealing. The wavelength dependency of the integrated intensities of the rocking curve for the as-deposited sample fluctuated with the observation position. This fluctuation was suppressed by annealing. From these results we concluded that the strain introduced into the substrate becomes homogeneous by annealing. Moreover, a quantitative estimation of the strain by curve fitting reveals the existence of compressive strain under the HfO 2 layer

Annealing effect on structural and optical properties of chemical bath deposited MnS thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ulutas, Cemal, E-mail: cemalulutas@hakkari.edu.tr [Faculty of Education, Hakkari Universty, 30000, Hakkari (Turkey); Gumus, Cebrail [Faculty of Science and Letters, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana (Turkey)

2016-03-25

MnS thin film was prepared by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on commercial microscope glass substrate deposited at 30 °C. The as-deposited film was given thermal annealing treatment in air atmosphere at various temperatures (150, 300 and 450 °C) for 1 h. The MnS thin film was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectrophotometer and Hall effect measurement system. The effect of annealing temperature on the structural, electrical and optical properties such as optical constants of refractive index (n) and energy band gap (E{sub g}) of the film was determined. XRD measurements reveal that the film is crystallized in the wurtzite phase and changed to tetragonal Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} phase after being annealed at 300 °C. The energy band gap of film decreased from 3.69 eV to 3.21 eV based on the annealing temperature.

The changes of ADI structure during high temperature annealing

OpenAIRE

A. Krzyńska; M. Kaczorowski

2010-01-01

The results of structure investigations of ADI during it was annealing at elevated temperature are presented. Ductile iron austempered at temperature 325oC was then isothermally annealed 360 minutes at temperature 400, 450, 500 and 550oC. The structure investigations showed that annealing at these temperatures caused substantial structure changes and thus essential hardness decrease, which is most useful property of ADI from point of view its practical application. Degradation advance of the ...

Melting phenomenon and laser annealing in semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, J.

1981-03-01

The work on annealing of displacement damage, dissolution of boron precipitates, and the broadening of dopant profiles in semiconductors after treating with ruby and dye laser pulses is reviewed in order to provide convincing evidence for the melting phenomenon and illustrate the mechanism associated with laser annealing. The nature of the solid-liquid interface and the interface instability during rapid solidification is considered in detail. It is shown that solute concentrations after pulsed laser annealing can far exceed retrograde maxima values. However, there is a critical solute concentration above which a planar solid-liquid interface becomes unstable and breaks into a cellular structure. The solute concentrations and cell sizes associated with this instability are calculated using a perturbation theory, and compared with experimental results

Determination of diffusion coefficients of various livestock antibiotics in water at infinite dilution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soriano Allan N.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The fate of antibiotics entering the environment raised concerns on the possible effect of antimicrobial resistance bacteria. Prediction of the fate and transport of these particles are needed to be determined, significantly the diffusion coefficient of antibiotic in water at infinite dilution. A systematic determination of diffusion coefficient of antibiotic in water at infinite dilution of five different kinds of livestock antibiotics namely: Amtyl, Ciprotyl, Doxylak Forte, Trisullak, and Vetracin Gold in the 293.15 to 313.15 K temperature range are reported through the use of the method involving the electrolytic conductivity measurements. A continuous stirred tank reactor is utilized to measure the electrolytic conductivities of the considered systems. These conductivities are correlated by using the Nernst-Haskell equation to determine the infinite dilution diffusion coefficient. Determined diffusion coefficients are based on the assumption that in dilute solution, these antibiotics behave as strong electrolyte from which H+ cation dissociate from the antibiotic’s anion.

Determination of diffusion coefficients of various livestock antibiotics in water at infinite dilution

Science.gov (United States)

Soriano, Allan N.; Adamos, Kristoni G.; Bonifacio, Pauline B.; Adornado, Adonis P.; Bungay, Vergel C.; Vairavan, Rajendaran

2017-11-01

The fate of antibiotics entering the environment raised concerns on the possible effect of antimicrobial resistance bacteria. Prediction of the fate and transport of these particles are needed to be determined, significantly the diffusion coefficient of antibiotic in water at infinite dilution. A systematic determination of diffusion coefficient of antibiotic in water at infinite dilution of five different kinds of livestock antibiotics namely: Amtyl, Ciprotyl, Doxylak Forte, Trisullak, and Vetracin Gold in the 293.15 to 313.15 K temperature range are reported through the use of the method involving the electrolytic conductivity measurements. A continuous stirred tank reactor is utilized to measure the electrolytic conductivities of the considered systems. These conductivities are correlated by using the Nernst-Haskell equation to determine the infinite dilution diffusion coefficient. Determined diffusion coefficients are based on the assumption that in dilute solution, these antibiotics behave as strong electrolyte from which H+ cation dissociate from the antibiotic's anion.

Strain of laser annealed silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Nemanich, R. J.; Haneman, D.

1982-05-01

High resolution Raman scattering measurements have been carried out on pulse and continuous-wave laser annealed silicon samples with various surface preparations. These included polished and ion-bombarded wafers, and saw-cut crystals. The pulse annealing treatments were carried out in ultrahigh vacuum and in air. The residual strain was inferred from the frequency shift of the first-order Raman active mode of Si, and was detectable in the range 10-2-10-3 in all except the polished samples.

Annealing of ion implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chivers, D.; Smith, B.J.; Stephen, J.; Fisher, M.

1980-09-01

The newer uses of ion implantation require a higher dose rate. This has led to the introduction of high beam current implanters; the wafers move in front of a stationary beam to give a scanning effect. This can lead to non-uniform heating of the wafer. Variations in the sheet resistance of the layers can be very non-uniform following thermal annealing. Non-uniformity in the effective doping both over a single wafer and from one wafer to another, can affect the usefulness of ion implantation in high dose rate applications. Experiments to determine the extent of non-uniformity in sheet resistance, and to see if it is correlated to the annealing scheme have been carried out. Details of the implantation parameters are given. It was found that best results were obtained when layers were annealed at the maximum possible temperature. For arsenic, phosphorus and antimony layers, improvements were observed up to 1200 0 C and boron up to 950 0 C. Usually, it is best to heat the layer directly to the maximum temperature to produce the most uniform layer; with phosphorus layers however it is better to pre-heat to 1050 0 C. (U.K.)

Crystallization degree change of expanded graphite by milling and annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Qunwei; Wu Jihuai; Sun Hui; Fang Shijun

2009-01-01

Expanded graphite was ball milled with a planetary mill in air atmosphere, and subsequently thermal annealed. The samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that in the milling initial stage (less than 12 h), the crystallization degree of the expanded graphite declined gradually, but after milling more than 16 h, a recrystallization of the expanded graphite toke place, and ordered nanoscale expanded graphite was formed gradually. In the annealing initial stage, the non-crystallization of the graphite occurred, but, beyond an annealing time, recrystallizations of the graphite arise. Higher annealing temperature supported the recrystallization. The milled and annealed expanded graphite still preserved the crystalline structure as raw material and hold high thermal stability.

Isotope dilution analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fudge, A.

1978-12-15

The following aspects of isotope dilution analysis are covered in this report: fundamental aspects of the technique; elements of interest in the nuclear field, choice and standardization of spike nuclide; pre-treatment to achieve isotopic exchange and chemical separation; sensitivity; selectivity; and accuracy.

Contribution to implanted silicon layers and their annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combasson, J.-L.

1976-01-01

Defects created by boron implantation in silicon have been characterized by measuring the diffusion coefficient during annealing. Implanted impurity distributions were calculated after analyzing the hypotheses relating to charged particle slowing down through matter. Profiles are predicted with a good accuracy, by replacing occasionally the electronic stopping law by an empirical law. The asymmetries predicted are generally observed but deviations may occur for crystalline targets, or when the ion is heavy with regard to the substrate (in the event the Thomas-Fermi potential is not yet valid due to the high impact parameters). When deviations are neglected, the displacement cascade from implantation is represented by a damage profile proportional to the distribution of the Frenkel pairs. The annealing of the implanted layers is characterized by three annealing stages. The first one (400 deg C-600 deg C) is imputed to divacancy annealing associated to the formation and migration of boron-vacancy complexes. The second one (500 deg C-650 deg C) is characterized by the Watkins replacement mechanism. At high temperatures, when the annealing duration is longer than that of precipitation, interstitial loops are dissolved, and the thermal diffusion of boron atoms involves the vacancy mechanism of thermal diffusion [fr

Laser annealing heals radiation damage in avalanche photodiodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Jin Gyu [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Anisimova, Elena; Higgins, Brendon L.; Bourgoin, Jean-Philippe [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Jennewein, Thomas [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Quantum Information Science Program, Toronto, ON (Canada); Makarov, Vadim [University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Waterloo, ON (Canada); University of Waterloo, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo, ON (Canada)

2017-12-15

Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are a practical option for space-based quantum communications requiring single-photon detection. However, radiation damage to APDs significantly increases their dark count rates and thus reduces their useful lifetimes in orbit. We show that high-power laser annealing of irradiated APDs of three different models (Excelitas C30902SH, Excelitas SLiK, and Laser Components SAP500S2) heals the radiation damage and several APDs are restored to typical pre-radiation dark count rates. Of nine samples we test, six APDs were thermally annealed in a previous experiment as another solution to mitigate the radiation damage. Laser annealing reduces the dark count rates further in all samples with the maximum dark count rate reduction factor varying between 5.3 and 758 when operating at -80 C. This indicates that laser annealing is a more effective method than thermal annealing. The illumination power to reach these reduction factors ranges from 0.8 to 1.6 W. Other photon detection characteristics, such as photon detection efficiency, timing jitter, and afterpulsing probability, fluctuate but the overall performance of quantum communications should be largely unaffected by these variations. These results herald a promising method to extend the lifetime of a quantum satellite equipped with APDs. (orig.)

A quantum annealing approach for fault detection and diagnosis of graph-based systems

Science.gov (United States)

Perdomo-Ortiz, A.; Fluegemann, J.; Narasimhan, S.; Biswas, R.; Smelyanskiy, V. N.

2015-02-01

Diagnosing the minimal set of faults capable of explaining a set of given observations, e.g., from sensor readouts, is a hard combinatorial optimization problem usually tackled with artificial intelligence techniques. We present the mapping of this combinatorial problem to quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO), and the experimental results of instances embedded onto a quantum annealing device with 509 quantum bits. Besides being the first time a quantum approach has been proposed for problems in the advanced diagnostics community, to the best of our knowledge this work is also the first research utilizing the route Problem → QUBO → Direct embedding into quantum hardware, where we are able to implement and tackle problem instances with sizes that go beyond previously reported toy-model proof-of-principle quantum annealing implementations; this is a significant leap in the solution of problems via direct-embedding adiabatic quantum optimization. We discuss some of the programmability challenges in the current generation of the quantum device as well as a few possible ways to extend this work to more complex arbitrary network graphs.

Nd:YAG laser annealing investigation of screen-printed CIGS layer on PET: Layer annealing method for photovoltaic cell fabrication process

KAUST Repository

Alsaggaf, Ahmed

2014-06-01

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) ink was formulated from CIGS powder, polyvinyl butyral PVB, terpineol and polyester/polyamine co-polymeric dispersant KD-1. Thin films with different thicknesses were deposited on PET substrate using screen-printing followed by heat treatment using a Nd:YAG laser. The structure and morphology of the heated thin films were studied. The characterization of the CIGS powder, ink, and film was done using TGA, SEM, FIB, EDS, and XRD. TGA analysis shows that the CIGS ink is drying at 200 °C, which is well below the decomposition temperature of the PET substrate. It was observed by SEM that 20 pulses of 532nm and 60 mJ/cm2 Nd:YAG laser annealing causes atomic diffusion on the near surface area. Furthermore, FIB cross section images were utilized to monitor the effect of laser annealing in the depth of the layer. Laser annealing effects were compared to as deposited layer using XRD in reference to CIGS powder. The measurement shows that crystallinity of deposited CIGS is retained while EDS quantification and atomic ratio result in gradual loss of selenium as laser energy increases. The laser parameters were tuned in an effort to utilize laser annealing of screen-printed CIGS layer as a layer annealing method for solar cell fabrication process.

On the correlation between annealing and variabilities in pulsed-luminescence from quartz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chithambo, M.L.

2006-01-01

Properties of luminescence lifetimes in quartz related to annealing between 500 and 900 deg. C have been investigated. The luminescence was pulse-stimulated at 470nm from sets of granular quartz annealed at 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 deg. C. The lifetimes decrease with annealing temperature from about 42 to 33μs when the annealing temperature is increased from 500 to 900 deg. C. Luminescence lifetimes are most sensitive to duration of annealing at 600 deg. C, decreasing from 40.2+/-0.7μs by as much as 7μs when the duration of annealing is changed from 10 to 60min. However, at 800-900 deg. C lifetimes are essentially independent of annealing temperature at about 33μs. Increasing the exciting beta dose causes an increase in the lifetimes of the stimulated luminescence in the sample annealed at 800 deg. C but not in those annealed at either 500 or 600 deg. C. The temperature-resolved distribution of luminescence lifetimes is affected by thermal quenching of luminescence. These features may be accounted for with reference to two principal luminescence centres involved in the luminescence emission process

Influence of low-temperature annealing on InSb properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsitsina, N.P.; Fadeeva, A.P.; Vdovkina, E.E.; Baryshev, N.S.; Aver'yanov, I.S.

1975-01-01

Annealing at 200 deg C during 6 days does not cause inversion of conductivity in n-InSb, leads to the increase of the carrier concentration and the decrease of the specific resistance in samples both of n- and of p-type; these variations being more significant in the material of n-type. The existence of a level at a distance of 0.15-0.17 eV from the ceiling of the valency zone in non-annealed samples of InSb is confirmed. The level is of acceptor type and disappears with low-temperature annealing. The low-temperature annealing practically does not influence the lifetime in p-type samples and results in the 5-20-fold increase in the lifetime in n-type samples

A determination of the benefits of annealing irradiated pressure vessel weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lott, R.G.; Mager, T.R.

1988-01-01

The long-term benefit of annealing an irradiated reactor pressure vessel steel may be described in terms of a benefit factor, B. The benefit factor compares the mechanical properties of an annealed and reirradiated specimen with an equivalent specimen having no intermediate anneal. The benefit factor was determined using a series of microhardness specimens prepared from nuclear pressure vessel surveillance program materials. These specimens were annealed and then reirradiated in a test reactor. There was an obvious long-term benefit in the specimens annealed at 450 0 C. The long-term benefit was less obvious at 400 0 C and no significant benefit was noted at 350 0 C. The benefit factor may also be used as the basis of a surveillance program for an annealed pressure vessel. A strategy for such a surveillance program is described. (author)

Effect of tensile stress on the annealed structure of a metallic glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vianco, P.T.; Li, J.C.M.

1987-01-01

The low-temperature (120 0 --245 0 C) structural relaxation of Metglas/sup R/ 2826B (Ni 49 Fe 29 P 14 B 6 Si 2 ) amorphous alloy was investigated for samples subjected to a tensile stress in the range of 20--400 MPa during annealing. The stress-annealed samples demonstrated a much smaller increase of microhardness than was observed in similarly annealed ribbons without a stress. Further heat treatment of the stress-annealed specimens, this time without the stress, was capable of increasing the microhardnesses of only some ribbons to values equal to those of samples similarly heat treated initially without a stress. An additional exothermic peak in the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms of the stress-annealed specimens indicated the presence of a more disordered structure at room temperature, which was found to correlate with the lower microhardness values. Otherwise, those artifacts of the DSC thermograms that were characteristic of samples annealed without a stress were still present in the stress-annealed ribbons. No effect on the crystallization temperature was noted but the glass transition temperature was increased in the stress-annealed case with respect to values attained when the stress was absent during heat treatment. A reduction in the degree of embrittlement of those samples annealed with a tensile stress was a further indication of more disorder in the stress-annealed ribbons

User's manual for the ARMLID (Argonne metallic lithium/isotopic dilution) tritium assay system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porges, K.G.; Bretscher, M.M.; Bennett, E.F.; DiIorio, G.; Mattas, R.F.; Lewandowski, E.F.

1992-08-01

The Argonne Metallic Lithium - Isotopic Dilution (ARMLID) system described in this report, originally developed at ANL for other purposes, was recently redeployed to measure the tritium production rate (TPR) in a series of US/Japanese collaborative fusion blanket integral experiments, involving large assemblies of fusion breeder blanket materials that were irradiated with a fusion neutron source at FNS/JAERI, Japan. Whereas previous uses of the ARMUD scheme involved just a few samples, its application infusion blanket TPR mapping called for large sample numbers per experiment, implying a commensurate scale of sample fabrication and encapsulation, on one hand, and tritium extraction and counting on the other hand. To shorten the time required for these various tasks, yet still yield reliable and accurate results, both the sample fabrication - encapsulation facility and the tritium extraction system had to be extensively revised from original versions that were designed for accuracy, but not necessarily for speed. The present report describes overall revisions in sufficient detail to serve as a User's Manual for this facility, and/or suggest how a new system might be put together. Either possibility may develop in the near future, in support of ITER design studies. Preliminary and partial descriptions of various aspects and features of the system were presented orally, in the course of annual ANL/JAERI/UCLA ''workshops'', over the last 34 years, as well as elsewhere

Thermoluminescence of annealed and shock-loaded feldspar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmetz, C.P.

1988-01-01

Samples of oligoclase and bytownite were shock-loaded to a variety of pressures, and annealed for a variety of temperatures and times. The effect of Mrad doses of gamma-rays on oligoclase TL were also studied. After these treatments, thermoluminescence (TL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were made to: (1) determine the effects of shock on terrestrial feldspar and compare with variations in the TL emission of ordinary chondrites (OCs); (2) determine if disordering in feldspar was responsible for any related changes in TL properties of OCs; (3) determine if the combined effect of shock plus annealing causes the changes in TL properties; (4) see if radiation damage from cosmic ray exposure plays a role in the TL variations; (5) examine the implications of this work to the thermal and shock histories of OCs. The lightly shock-loaded and annealed oligoclase samples have a dominant peak temperature of 120-140 C, identical to type 3.3-3.5 OCs. The heavily shocked samples dominant peak is at 230C, similar to type > 3.5 OCs . While the heavily annealed/disordered oligoclase samples have a peak at 280C, this peak is rarely observed in OCs. Radiation damage from Mrad doses of gamma-rays produced no change in peak temperature, but facilitated the shift to higher peak temperatures. The TL sensitivity of the shocked samples decreased by a factor of 25. Samples annealed at low temperatures (438-533C) showed a factor of 2 decrease in TL, but at the highest temperatures, the TL was a factor of 8 higher

Low temperature thermal annealing in fast neutron-irradiated potassium permanganate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owens, C W; Lecington, W C [New Hampshire Univ., Durham (USA). Dept. of Chemistry

1975-01-01

The effect of thermal annealing on the retention of recoil /sup 54/Mn as permanganate in crystalline KMnO/sub 4/ irradiated with fast neutrons at liquid nitrogen temperature has been studied. The retention after 4 hrs of annealing increases from about 8% at -196/sup 0/ to a maximum of 61% at 180/sup 0/, then decreases at higher temperatures. A single activation energy (approximately 0.01 eV) applies to the thermal annealing process between -196/sup 0/ and -40/sup 0/. Extrapolation of the data suggests that below -229/sup 0/ no thermal annealing would occur.

Defect studies in annealed ZnO by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanyal, D; Roy, Tapatee Kundu; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Dechoudhury, Siddhartha; Bhowmick, Debasis; Chakrabarti, Alok [Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, 1/AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064 (India)

2008-01-30

Coincidence Doppler broadening of the positron annihilation technique has been employed to identify the defects in thermally annealed 'as-received' ZnO and thermally annealed ball-milled nanocrystalline ZnO. Results indicate that a significant amount of oxygen vacancy has been created in ZnO due to annealing at about 500 deg. C and above. The results also indicate that the Zn vacancy created during the ball milling process can be easily removed by annealing the sample at about 500 deg. C and above. The defect characterization has also been correlated with the magnetic properties of ZnO.

Defect studies in annealed ZnO by positron annihilation spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyal, D; Roy, Tapatee Kundu; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Dechoudhury, Siddhartha; Bhowmick, Debasis; Chakrabarti, Alok

2008-01-01

Coincidence Doppler broadening of the positron annihilation technique has been employed to identify the defects in thermally annealed 'as-received' ZnO and thermally annealed ball-milled nanocrystalline ZnO. Results indicate that a significant amount of oxygen vacancy has been created in ZnO due to annealing at about 500 deg. C and above. The results also indicate that the Zn vacancy created during the ball milling process can be easily removed by annealing the sample at about 500 deg. C and above. The defect characterization has also been correlated with the magnetic properties of ZnO

Effects of Thermal Annealing Conditions on Cupric Oxide Thin Film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyo Seon; Oh, Hee-bong; Ryu, Hyukhyun [Inje University, Gimhae (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Won-Jae [Dong-Eui University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

In this study, cupric oxide (CuO) thin films were grown on fluorine doped tin oxide(FTO) substrate by using spin coating method. We investigated the effects of thermal annealing temperature and thermal annealing duration on the morphological, structural, optical and photoelectrochemical properties of the CuO film. From the results, we could find that the morphologies, grain sizes, crystallinity and photoelectrochemical properties were dependent on the annealing conditions. As a result, the maximum photocurrent density of -1.47 mA/cm{sup 2} (vs. SCE) was obtained from the sample with the thermal annealing conditions of 500 ℃ and 40 min.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Water Contact Angle of PVD Hard Coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yu-Sen; Cho, Ting-Pin

2013-01-01

Various PVD (physical vapor deposition) hard coatings including nitrides and metal-doped diamond-like carbons (Me-DLC) were applied in plastic injection and die-casting molds to improve wear resistance and reduce sticking. In this study, nitrides hcp-AlN (hexagonal close-packed AlN), Cr2N, (CrAl)2N) and Me-DLC (Si-DLC and Cr-DLC) coatings were prepared using a closed field unbalanced magnetron reactive sputtering system. The coatings were annealed in air for 2 h at various temperatures, after which the anti-sticking properties were assessed using water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The as-deposited hcp-AlN, Cr2N and (CrAl)2N coatings exhibit hydrophobic behavior and exhibit respective WCAs of 119°, 106° and 101°. The as-deposited Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings exhibit hydrophilic behavior and exhibit respective WCAs of 74° and 88°. The annealed Cr2N and (CrAl)2N coatings exhibit hydrophobic behavior with higher WCAs, while the annealed hcp-AlN, Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings are hydrophilic. The increased WCA of the annealed Cr2N and (CrAl)2N coatings is related to their crystal structure and increased roughness. The decreased WCA of the annealed hcp-AlN, Si-DLC and Cr-DLC coatings is related to their crystal structures and has little correlation with roughness. PMID:28811440

Coherence and stiffness of spin waves in diluted ferromagnets

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Turek, Ilja; Kudrnovský, Josef; Drchal, Václav

2016-01-01

Roč. 94, č. 17 (2016), č. článku 174447. ISSN 2469-9950 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-13436S Institutional support: RVO:68081723 ; RVO:68378271 Keywords : spin wave s * diluted ferromagnets * disordered systems Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.836, year: 2016

Spin diffusion in the Mn2+ ion system of II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor heterostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Maksimov, A. A.; Yakovlev, D. R.; Debus, J.; Tartakovskii, I. I.; Waag, A.; Karczewski, G.; Wojtowicz, T.; Kossut, J.; Bayer, M.

2010-07-01

The magnetization dynamics in diluted magnetic semiconductor heterostructures based on (Zn,Mn)Se and (Cd,Mn)Te were studied optically and simulated numerically. In samples with inhomogeneous magnetic ion distribution, these dynamics are contributed by spin-lattice relaxation and spin diffusion in the Mn spin system. A spin-diffusion coefficient of 7×10-8cm2/s was evaluated for Zn0.99Mn0.01Se from comparison of experiment and theory. Calculations of the exciton giant Zeeman splitting and the magnetization dynamics in ordered alloys and digitally grown parabolic quantum wells show perfect agreement with the experimental data. In both structure types, spin diffusion contributes essentially to the magnetization dynamics.

Influence of annealing conditions on anodic tungsten oxide layers and their photoelectrochemical activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syrek, Karolina; Zych, Marta; Zaraska, Leszek; Sulka, Grzegorz D.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Effect of annealing temperature on the morphology and crystalline structure of anodic WO 3 was investigated. • Photoelectrochemical properties of WO 3 layers annealed at different temperatures were studied. • Edges of conduction and valence bands were estimated for tungsten oxide layers annealed at different temperatures. • Influence of annealing time on crystalline structure, morphology and photoelectrochemical performance was studied. - Abstract: The nanoporous tungsten oxide films having an amorphous structure were prepared in an electrolyte containing fluoride ions via an anodization process. The as-synthesized anodic oxide layers can be easily converted to the monoclinic WO 3 phase upon annealing in air. The as-synthesized and annealed WO 3 layers were investigated by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photocurrent spectroscopy. The effect of annealing temperature and annealing time on the oxide morphology, crystal structure and electrochemical properties were studied. The samples were annealed in air at the temperatures ranging from 400 to 600 °C, and it was found that the original porous morphology of oxide is completely lost after annealing at 600 °C. The changes in the average crystallite sizes upon annealing were confirmed by XRD measurements. The photoelectrochemical performance of the annealed WO 3 layers were studied under pulsed UV illumination, and the highest photocurrents were observed at the incident light wavelength of 350 nm for the sample annealed at 500 °C for 2 h. The band gap energy and the positions of conduction and valence band edges were determined for all studied samples.

Crystallinity and mechanical effects from annealing Parylene thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jackson, Nathan, E-mail: Nathan.Jackson@tyndall.ie [Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland); Stam, Frank; O' Brien, Joe [Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland); Kailas, Lekshmi [University of Limerick, Limerick (Ireland); Mathewson, Alan; O' Murchu, Cian [Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland)

2016-03-31

Parylene is commonly used as thin film polymer for MEMS devices and smart materials. This paper investigates the impact on bulk properties due to annealing various types of Parylene films. A thin film of Parylene N, C and a hybrid material consisting of Parylene N and C were deposited using a standard Gorham process. The thin film samples were annealed at varying temperatures from room temperature up to 300 °C. The films were analyzed to determine the mechanical and crystallinity effects due to different annealing temperatures. The results demonstrate that the percentage of crystallinity and the full-width-half-maximum value on the 2θ X-ray diffraction scan increases as the annealing temperature increases until the melting temperature of the Parylene films was achieved. Highly crystalline films of 85% and 92% crystallinity were achieved for Parylene C and N respectively. Investigation of the hybrid film showed that the individual Parylene films behave independently to each other, and the crystallinity of one film had no significant impact to the other film. Mechanical testing showed that the elastic modulus and yield strength increase as a function of annealing, whereas the elongation-to-break parameter decreases. The change in elastic modulus was more significant for Parylene C than Parylene N and this is attributed to the larger change in crystallinity that was observed. Parylene C had a 112% increase in crystallinity compared to a 61% increase for Parylene N, because the original Parylene N material was more crystalline than Parylene C so the change of crystallinity was greater for Parylene C. - Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of Parylene N and C was developed. • Parylene N has greater crystallinity than Parylene C. • Phase transition of Parylene N due to annealing results in increased crystallinity. • Annealing caused increased crystallinity and elastic modulus in Parylene films. • Annealed hybrid Parylene films crystallinity behave

Annealing effects on resistivity and Hall coefficient of neutron irradiated silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biggeri, U.

1995-01-01

High Temperature Annealing (HTA) treatment has been carried out on fast-neutron irradiated silicon samples with temperatures up to 300 C. Fluences of irradiation up to 1x10 14 n/cm 2 were used. Before annealing, samples irradiated with fluences higher than 1x10 13 n/cm 2 suffered the type conductivity inversion from n-type to p-type. The changes in the resisitivity and Hall coefficient during each annealing step have been measured by Hall effect analysis. Results indicate the possible creation of acceptors for low temperature annealing up to 150 C and the phosphorous release by E centres at annealing temperatures among 150 C and 200 C. Heating samples up to 300 C allows the recovering of the sample resistivity to its value before irradiation, with the peculiarity that bulks inverted to p-type after irradiation does not come back to n-type after annealing. (orig.)

Annealing relaxation of ultrasmall gold nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Chaban, Vitaly

2015-01-01

Except serving as an excellent gift on proper occasions, gold finds applications in life sciences, particularly in diagnostics and therapeutics. These applications were made possible by gold nanoparticles, which differ drastically from macroscopic gold. Versatile surface chemistry of gold nanoparticles allows coating with small molecules, polymers, biological recognition molecules. Theoretical investigation of nanoscale gold is not trivial, because of numerous metastable states in these systems. Unlike elsewhere, this work obtains equilibrium structures using annealing simulations within the recently introduced PM7-MD method. Geometries of the ultrasmall gold nanostructures with chalcogen coverage are described at finite temperature, for the first time.

{sup 57}Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy following dilute implantation of {sup 57}Mn into In {sub 2}O{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mokhles Gerami, A.; Johnston, K.; Gunnlaugsson, H. P., E-mail: Haraldur.p.gunnlaugsson@cern.ch [PH Div, CERN (Switzerland); Nomura, K. [Tokyo University of Science, Photocatalysis International Research Center (Japan); Mantovan, R. [IMM-CNR, Laboratorio MDM (Italy); Masenda, H. [University of the Witwatersrand, School of Physics (South Africa); Matveyev, Y. A. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Russian Federation); Mølholt, T. E. [PH Div, CERN (Switzerland); Ncube, M. [University of the Witwatersrand, School of Physics (South Africa); Shayestehaminzadeh, S. [University of Iceland, Science Institute (Iceland); Unzueta, I. [Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), BCMaterials & Elektrizitate eta Elektronika Saila (Spain); Gislason, H. P. [University of Iceland, Science Institute (Iceland); Krastev, P. B. [Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (Bulgaria); Langouche, G. [Instituut voor Kern-en Stralings Fysika, KU Leuven (Belgium); Naidoo, D. [University of the Witwatersrand, School of Physics (South Africa); Ólafsson, S. [University of Iceland, Science Institute (Iceland); Collaboration: the ISOLDE collaboration

2016-12-15

Emission Mössbauer spectroscopy has been utilised to characterize dilute {sup 57}Fe impurities in In {sub 2}O{sub 3} following implantation of {sup 57}Mn (T{sub 1/2} = 1.5 min.) at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. From stoichiometry considerations, one would expect Fe to adopt the valence state 3 + , substituting In {sup 3+}, however the spectra are dominated by spectral lines due to paramagnetic Fe{sup 2+}. Using first principle calculations in the framework of density functional theory (DFT), the density of states of dilute Fe and the hyperfine parameters have been determined. The hybridization between the 3d-band of Fe and the 2p band of oxygen induces a spin-polarized hole on the O site close to the Fe site, which is found to be the cause of the Fe{sup 2+} state in In {sub 2}O{sub 3}. Comparison of experimental data to calculated hyperfine parameters suggests that Fe predominantly enters the 8b site rather than the 24d site of the cation site in the Bixbyite structure of In {sub 2}O{sub 3}. A gradual transition from an amorphous to a crystalline state is observed with increasing implantation/annealing temperature.

Possible ergodic-nonergodic regions in the quantum Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass model and quantum annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Sudip; Rajak, Atanu; Chakrabarti, Bikas K.

2018-02-01

We explore the behavior of the order parameter distribution of the quantum Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model in the spin glass phase using Monte Carlo technique for the effective Suzuki-Trotter Hamiltonian at finite temperatures and that at zero temperature obtained using the exact diagonalization method. Our numerical results indicate the existence of a low- but finite-temperature quantum-fluctuation-dominated ergodic region along with the classical fluctuation-dominated high-temperature nonergodic region in the spin glass phase of the model. In the ergodic region, the order parameter distribution gets narrower around the most probable value of the order parameter as the system size increases. In the other region, the Parisi order distribution function has nonvanishing value everywhere in the thermodynamic limit, indicating nonergodicity. We also show that the average annealing time for convergence (to a low-energy level of the model, within a small error range) becomes system size independent for annealing down through the (quantum-fluctuation-dominated) ergodic region. It becomes strongly system size dependent for annealing through the nonergodic region. Possible finite-size scaling-type behavior for the extent of the ergodic region is also addressed.

A Study on N{sub 2}O Direct Oxidation Process with Re-oxidation Annealing for the Improvement of Interface Properties in 4H-SiC MOS Capacitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Doohyung; Park, Kunsik; Yoo, Seongwook; Kim, Sanggi; Lee, Jinhwan; Kim, Kwangsoo [Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-15

The effect of N{sub 2}O direct oxidation processes with re-oxidation on SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface characteristics has been investigated. With different oxidation and post oxidation annealing (POA) processes, the flat-band voltage, effective dielectric charge density, and interface trap density are obtained from the capacitance-voltage curves. For the proposed N{sub 2}O direct oxidation processes with re-oxidation, oxides were grown in N{sub 2}O ambient, diluted in high-purity N{sub 2} to 10% concentration, for 5 h at 1230 ℃. After the growth, some samples were annealed additionally at 1200 ℃ in O{sub 2} or H{sub 2}O for 20 min. N{sub 2}O direct oxidation with re-oxidation processes was confirmed that SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface properties and dielectric stability have better performance than with other conventional oxidation processes. This oxidation technique is expected to improve gate dielectric stability for application to SiC MOS devices; in particular, it can be used to obtain high-quality SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface properties.

Implantation annealing by scanning electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaussaud, C.; Biasse, B.; Cartier, A.M.; Bontemps, A.

1983-11-01

Samples of ion implanted silicon (BF 2 , 30keV, 10 15 ions x cm -2 ) have been annealed with a multiple scan electron beam, at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1200 0 C. The curves of sheet resistance versus time show a minimum. Nuclear reaction measurements of the amount of boron remaining after annealing show that the increase in sheet resistance is due to a loss of boron. The increase in junction depths, measured by spreading resistance on bevels is between a few hundred A and 1000 A [fr

Enhanced dielectric and electrical properties of annealed PVDF thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Arshad, A. N.; Rozana, M. D.; Wahid, M. H. M.; Mahmood, M. K. A.; Sarip, M. N.; Habibah, Z.; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

Poly (vinylideneflouride) (PVDF) thin films were annealed at various annealing temperatures ranging from 70°C to 170°C. This study demonstrates that PVDF thin films annealed at temperature of 70°C (AN70) showed significant enhancement in their dielectric constant (14) at frequency of 1 kHz in comparison to un-annealed PVDF (UN-PVDF), dielectric constant (10) at the same measured frequency. As the annealing temperature was increased from 90°C (AN90) to 150°C (AN150), the dielectric constant value of PVDF thin films was observed to decrease gradually to 11. AN70 also revealed low tangent loss (tan δ) value at similar frequency. With respect to its resistivity properties, the values were found to increase from 1.98×104 Ω.cm to 3.24×104 Ω.cm for AN70 and UN-PVDF films respectively. The improved in dielectric constant, with low tangent loss and high resistivity value suggests that 70°C is the favorable annealing temperature for PVDF thin films. Hence, AN70 is a promising film to be utilized for application in electronic devices such as low frequency capacitor.

Study of photoluminescence from annealed bulk-ZnO single crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoneta, M.; Ohishi, M.; Saito, H. [Department of Applied Physics, Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai-cho, Okayama 700-0005 (Japan); Yoshino, K. [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Miyazaki University, 1-1 Gakuen Kibanadai-nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192 (Japan); Honda, M. [Faculty of Science, Naruto University of Education, 748 Nakajima, Takashima, Naruto-cho, Naruto-shi 772-8502 (Japan)

2006-03-15

We have investigated the influence of rapid thermal annealing on the photoluminescence of bulk-ZnO single crystal. As-grown ZnO wafer, illuminated by 325 nm ultraviolet light at 4.2 K, emitted the visible luminescence of pale green centered of 2.29 eV. The luminescence was observed by the anneal at the temperature range between 400 C and 1000 C, however, its intensity decreased with anneal temperature. The free-exciton and the 2.18 eV emission line were obtained by the anneal at 1200 C for 60 sec. From the X-ray diffraction and the surface morphology measurements, the improvement of the crystallinity of bulk-ZnO crystal were confirmed. We suggest that a rapid thermal annealing technique is convenience to improve the the quality of bul-ZnO single crystals. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

On simulated annealing phase transitions in phylogeny reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Strobl, Maximilian A R; Barker, Daniel

2016-08-01

Phylogeny reconstruction with global criteria is NP-complete or NP-hard, hence in general requires a heuristic search. We investigate the powerful, physically inspired, general-purpose heuristic simulated annealing, applied to phylogeny reconstruction. Simulated annealing mimics the physical process of annealing, where a liquid is gently cooled to form a crystal. During the search, periods of elevated specific heat occur, analogous to physical phase transitions. These simulated annealing phase transitions play a crucial role in the outcome of the search. Nevertheless, they have received comparably little attention, for phylogeny or other optimisation problems. We analyse simulated annealing phase transitions during searches for the optimal phylogenetic tree for 34 real-world multiple alignments. In the same way in which melting temperatures differ between materials, we observe distinct specific heat profiles for each input file. We propose this reflects differences in the search landscape and can serve as a measure for problem difficulty and for suitability of the algorithm's parameters. We discuss application in algorithmic optimisation and as a diagnostic to assess parameterisation before computationally costly, large phylogeny reconstructions are launched. Whilst the focus here lies on phylogeny reconstruction under maximum parsimony, it is plausible that our results are more widely applicable to optimisation procedures in science and industry. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developments on drug discovery and on new therapeutics: highly diluted tinctures act as biological response modifiers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Oliveira Carolina C

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the search for new therapies novel drugs and medications are being discovered, developed and tested in laboratories. Highly diluted substances are intended to enhance immune system responses resulting in reduced frequency of various diseases, and often present no risk of serious side-effects due to its low toxicity. Over the past years our research group has been investigating the action of highly diluted substances and tinctures on cells from the immune system. Methods We have developed and tested several highly diluted tinctures and here we describe the biological activity of M1, M2, and M8 both in vitro in immune cells from mice and human, and in vivo in mice. Cytotoxicity, cytokines released and NF-κB activation were determined after in vitro treatment. Cell viability, oxidative response, lipid peroxidation, bone marrow and lymph node cells immunophenotyping were accessed after mice in vivo treatment. Results None of the highly diluted tinctures tested were cytotoxic to macrophages or K562. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS-stimulated macrophages treated with all highly diluted tinctures decreased tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α release and M1, and M8 decreased IFN-γ production. M1 has decreased NF-κB activity on TNF-α stimulated reporter cell line. In vivo treatment lead to a decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS, nitric oxide (NO production was increased by M1, and M8, and lipid peroxidation was induced by M1, and M2. All compounds enhanced the innate immunity, but M1 also augmented acquired immunity and M2 diminished B lymphocytes, responsible to acquired immunity. Conclusions Based on the results presented here, these highly diluted tinctures were shown to modulate immune responses. Even though further investigation is needed there is an indication that these highly diluted tinctures could be used as therapeutic interventions in disorders where the immune system is compromised.

Use of diluted urine for cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaatinen, Sanna; Lakaniemi, Aino-Maija; Rintala, Jukka

2016-01-01

Our aim was to study the biomass growth of microalga Chlorella vulgaris using diluted human urine as a sole nutrient source. Batch cultivations (21 days) were conducted in five different urine dilutions (1:25-1:300), in 1:100-diluted urine as such and with added trace elements, and as a reference, in artificial growth medium. The highest biomass density was obtained in 1:100-diluted urine with and without additional trace elements (0.73 and 0.60 g L(-1), respectively). Similar biomass growth trends and densities were obtained with 1:25- and 1:300-diluted urine (0.52 vs. 0.48 gVSS L(-1)) indicating that urine at dilution 1:25 can be used to cultivate microalgal based biomass. Interestingly, even 1:300-diluted urine contained sufficiently nutrients and trace elements to support biomass growth. Biomass production was similar despite pH-variation from < 5 to 9 in different incubations indicating robustness of the biomass growth. Ammonium formation did not inhibit overall biomass growth. At the beginning of cultivation, the majority of the biomass consisted of living algal cells, while towards the end, their share decreased and the estimated share of bacteria and cell debris increased.

Influence of extragent dilution upon light rare earths separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korpusova, R.D.; Smirnova, N.N.

1978-01-01

The effect of diluting the extragent on separation of REE in the presence of 6 g-equiv. of LiNO 3 has been studied. For experiments use was made of TBP diluted with kerosene or butylbenzene (40,50,70 vol.%). The separation coefficients have been determined under conditions of saturation. The content of trace amounts of the components has been determined by the weight method; the content of macroimpurities - by the radiometric method. It has been established that the coefficient of Ce-La, Pr-La separation is not affected by the dilution of the extragent. The only exception is the Pr 142 -La pair; in the presence of trace amounts of better extracted element and two-fold dilution the separation coefficient increases almost by 150%. For the Pr-Ce pair the effect of dilution is better noticeable in that case when more extracted element is present in trace amounts. However, a comparison of the effect of dilution on separation coefficients of all REE pairs under study has shown that this effect is the strongest for the samarium-neodymium pair. The data obtained allow an assumption to be made that kerosene, as a diluent, affects the steric factor and coordination. Therefore, upon dilution the coefficient of the samarium-neodymium pair separation is affected most of all

Vibrations on pulse tube based Dry Dilution Refrigerators for low noise measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olivieri, E. [CSNSM, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay (France); Billard, J.; De Jesus, M.; Juillard, A. [Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IPN-Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Leder, A. [Massachussets Institute of Technology, Laboratory for Nuclear Science, 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States)

2017-06-21

Dry Dilution Refrigerators (DDR) based on pulse tube cryo-coolers have started to replace Wet Dilution Refrigerators (WDR) due to the ease and low cost of operation. However these advantages come at the cost of increased vibrations, induced by the pulse tube. In this work, we present the vibration measurements performed on three different commercial DDRs. We describe in detail the vibration measurement system we assembled, based on commercial accelerometers, conditioner and DAQ, and examined the effects of the various damping solutions utilized on three different DDRs, both in the low and high frequency regions. Finally, we ran low temperature, pseudo-massive (30 and 250 g) germanium bolometers in the best vibration-performing system under study and report on the results.

Laser-annealed GaP OHMIC contacts for high-temperature devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eknoyan, O.; Van der Hoeven, W.; Richardson, T.; Porter, W.A.; Coquat, J.A.

1980-01-01

The results of successful Nd:YAG laser annealed ohmic contacts on n-type GaP are reported. Comparisons on identical laser and thermal annealed contacts on the same substrates are performed. Aging investigations are also studied. The results indicate that laser annealed contacts have far superior electrical characteristics, much better surface morphology and are substantially more stable with aging than the same but thermally alloyed ones

Improving Simulated Annealing by Replacing Its Variables with Game-Theoretic Utility Maximizers

Science.gov (United States)

Wolpert, David H.; Bandari, Esfandiar; Tumer, Kagan

2001-01-01

The game-theory field of Collective INtelligence (COIN) concerns the design of computer-based players engaged in a non-cooperative game so that as those players pursue their self-interests, a pre-specified global goal for the collective computational system is achieved as a side-effect. Previous implementations of COIN algorithms have outperformed conventional techniques by up to several orders of magnitude, on domains ranging from telecommunications control to optimization in congestion problems. Recent mathematical developments have revealed that these previously developed algorithms were based on only two of the three factors determining performance. Consideration of only the third factor would instead lead to conventional optimization techniques like simulated annealing that have little to do with non-cooperative games. In this paper we present an algorithm based on all three terms at once. This algorithm can be viewed as a way to modify simulated annealing by recasting it as a non-cooperative game, with each variable replaced by a player. This recasting allows us to leverage the intelligent behavior of the individual players to substantially improve the exploration step of the simulated annealing. Experiments are presented demonstrating that this recasting significantly improves simulated annealing for a model of an economic process run over an underlying small-worlds topology. Furthermore, these experiments reveal novel small-worlds phenomena, and highlight the shortcomings of conventional mechanism design in bounded rationality domains.

Visible light emission from silicon implanted and annealed SiO2layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghislotti, G.; Nielsen, B.; Asoka-Kumar, P.; Lynn, K.G.; Di Mauro, L.F.; Bottani, C.E.; Corni, F.; Tonini, R.; Ottaviani, G.P.

1997-01-01

Silicon implanted and annealed SiO 2 layers are studied using photoluminescence (PL) and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). Two PL emission bands are observed. A band centered at 560 nm is present in as-implanted samples and it is still observed after 1,000 C annealing. The emission time is fast. A second band centered at 780 nm is detected after 1,000 C annealing. The intensity of the 780 nm band further increased when hydrogen annealing was performed. The emission time is long (1 micros to 0.2 ms). PAS results show that defects produced by implantation anneal at 600 C. Based on the annealing behavior and on the emission times, the origin of the two bands is discussed

Solvent annealing induced phase separation and dewetting in PMMA∕SAN blend film: film thickness and solvent dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

You, Jichun; Zhang, Shuangshuang; Huang, Gang; Shi, Tongfei; Li, Yongjin

2013-06-28

The competition between "dewetting" and "phase separation" behaviors in polymer blend films attracts significant attention in the last decade. The simultaneous phase separation and dewetting in PMMA∕SAN [poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(styrene-ran-acrylonitrile)] blend ultrathin films upon solvent annealing have been observed for the first time in our previous work. In this work, film thickness and annealing solvent dependence of phase behaviors in this system has been investigated using atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). On one hand, both vertical phase separation and dewetting take place upon selective solvent vapor annealing, leading to the formation of droplet∕mimic-film structures with various sizes (depending on original film thickness). On the other hand, the whole blend film dewets the substrate and produces dispersed droplets on the silicon oxide upon common solvent annealing. GISAXS results demonstrate the phase separation in the big dewetted droplets resulted from the thicker film (39.8 nm). In contrast, no period structure is detected in small droplets from the thinner film (5.1 nm and 9.7 nm). This investigation indicates that dewetting and phase separation in PMMA∕SAN blend film upon solvent annealing depend crucially on the film thickness and the atmosphere during annealing.

SU-F-BRD-13: Quantum Annealing Applied to IMRT Beamlet Intensity Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nazareth, D [Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY (United States); Spaans, J [Hawarden, IA (United States)

2014-06-15

Purpose: We report on the first application of quantum annealing (QA) to the process of beamlet intensity optimization for IMRT. QA is a new technology, which employs novel hardware and software techniques to address various discrete optimization problems in many fields. Methods: We apply the D-Wave Inc. proprietary hardware, which natively exploits quantum mechanical effects for improved optimization. The new QA algorithm, running on this hardware, is most similar to simulated annealing, but relies on natural processes to directly minimize the free energy of a system. A simple quantum system is slowly evolved into a classical system, representing the objective function. To apply QA to IMRT-type optimization, two prostate cases were considered. A reduced number of beamlets were employed, due to the current QA hardware limitation of ∼500 binary variables. The beamlet dose matrices were computed using CERR, and an objective function was defined based on typical clinical constraints, including dose-volume objectives. The objective function was discretized, and the QA method was compared to two standard optimization Methods: simulated annealing and Tabu search, run on a conventional computing cluster. Results: Based on several runs, the average final objective function value achieved by the QA was 16.9 for the first patient, compared with 10.0 for Tabu and 6.7 for the SA. For the second patient, the values were 70.7 for the QA, 120.0 for Tabu, and 22.9 for the SA. The QA algorithm required 27–38% of the time required by the other two methods. Conclusion: In terms of objective function value, the QA performance was similar to Tabu but less effective than the SA. However, its speed was 3–4 times faster than the other two methods. This initial experiment suggests that QA-based heuristics may offer significant speedup over conventional clinical optimization methods, as quantum annealing hardware scales to larger sizes.

SU-F-BRD-13: Quantum Annealing Applied to IMRT Beamlet Intensity Optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazareth, D; Spaans, J

2014-01-01

Purpose: We report on the first application of quantum annealing (QA) to the process of beamlet intensity optimization for IMRT. QA is a new technology, which employs novel hardware and software techniques to address various discrete optimization problems in many fields. Methods: We apply the D-Wave Inc. proprietary hardware, which natively exploits quantum mechanical effects for improved optimization. The new QA algorithm, running on this hardware, is most similar to simulated annealing, but relies on natural processes to directly minimize the free energy of a system. A simple quantum system is slowly evolved into a classical system, representing the objective function. To apply QA to IMRT-type optimization, two prostate cases were considered. A reduced number of beamlets were employed, due to the current QA hardware limitation of ∼500 binary variables. The beamlet dose matrices were computed using CERR, and an objective function was defined based on typical clinical constraints, including dose-volume objectives. The objective function was discretized, and the QA method was compared to two standard optimization Methods: simulated annealing and Tabu search, run on a conventional computing cluster. Results: Based on several runs, the average final objective function value achieved by the QA was 16.9 for the first patient, compared with 10.0 for Tabu and 6.7 for the SA. For the second patient, the values were 70.7 for the QA, 120.0 for Tabu, and 22.9 for the SA. The QA algorithm required 27–38% of the time required by the other two methods. Conclusion: In terms of objective function value, the QA performance was similar to Tabu but less effective than the SA. However, its speed was 3–4 times faster than the other two methods. This initial experiment suggests that QA-based heuristics may offer significant speedup over conventional clinical optimization methods, as quantum annealing hardware scales to larger sizes

Electrical and structural characterization of as-grown and annealed hydrothermal bulk ZnO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassier, G. H.; Hayes, M.; Auret, F. D.; Mamor, M.; Bouziane, K.

2007-01-01

Hall effect measurements in the range 20-370 K on as-grown and annealed hydrothermal bulk ZnO have been performed. The bulk conductivity in the highly resistive as-grown sample was found to decrease and then increase after annealing at 550 deg. C and 930 deg. C, respectively. The conduction in the as-grown material is attributed to a deep donor which is replaced by a much shallower donor after annealing at 930 deg. C. Annealing at both temperatures also produced strong surface conduction effects. Nondegenerate low-mobility surface conduction dominated the electrical properties of the sample annealed at 550 deg. C, while a degenerate surface channel was formed after annealing at 930 deg. C. In addition, Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS/C) was used to assess the effect of annealing on the crystalline quality of the samples. RBS/C measurements reveal that annealing at 930 deg. C leads to significant improvement of the crystalline quality of the material, while annealing at 550 deg. C results in the segregation of a nonchanneling impurity at the surface

A probabilistic analysis of rapid boron dilution scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohut, P.; Diamond, D.J.

1993-01-01

A probabilistic and deterministic analysis of a rapid boron dilution scenario related to reactor restart was performed. The event is initiated by a loss of off-site power during the startup dilution process. The automatic restart of the charging pump in such cases may lead to the accumulation of a diluted slug of water in the lower plenum. The restart of the reactor coolant pumps may send the diluted slug through the core, adding sufficient reactivity to overcome the shutdown margin and cause a power excursion. The concern is that the power excursion is sufficient in certain circumstances to cause fuel damage. The estimated core damage frequency based on the scoping analysis is 1.0--3.0E-05/yr for the plants analyzed. These are relatively significant values when compared to desirable goals. The analysis contained assumptions related to plant specific design characteristics which may lead to non-conservative estimates. The most important conservative assumptions were that mixing of the injected diluted water is insignificant and that fuel damage occurs when the slug passes through the core

Ferrimagnetic Properties of Bond Dilution Mixed Blume-Capel Model with Random Single-Ion Anisotropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Lei; Yan Shilei

2005-01-01

We study the ferrimagnetic properties of spin 1/2 and spin-1 systems by means of the effective field theory. The system is considered in the framework of bond dilution mixed Blume-Capel model (BCM) with random single-ion anisotropy. The investigation of phase diagrams and magnetization curves indicates the existence of induced magnetic ordering and single or multi-compensation points. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of bond dilution and random single-ion anisotropy on normal or induced magnetic ordering states and single or multi-compensation points. Normal magnetic ordering states take on new phase diagrams with increasing randomness (bond and anisotropy), while anisotropy induced magnetic ordering states are always occurrence no matter whether concentration of anisotropy is large or small. Existence and disappearance of compensation points rely strongly on bond dilution and random single-ion anisotropy. Some results have not been revealed in previous papers and predicted by Neel theory of ferrimagnetism.

Annealing effects in low upper-shelf welds (series 9)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskander, S.K.; Nanstad, R.K.

1995-01-01

The purpose of the Ninth Irradiation Series is to evaluate the correlation between fracture toughness and CVN impact energy during irradiation, annealing, and reirradiation (IAR). Results of annealing CVN specimens from the low-USE welds from the Midland beltline and nozzle course welds, as well as HSST plate 02 and HSSI weld 73W are given. Also presented is the effect of annealing on the initiation fracture toughness of annealed material from Midland beltline weld and HSST plate 02. The results from capsule 10-5 specimens of weld 73W confirm those previously obtained on the so-called undersize specimens that were irradiated in the Fifth Irradiation Series, namely that the recovery due to annealing at 343 degrees C (650 degrees F) for 1 week is insignificant. The fabrication of major components for the IAR facility for two positions on the east side of the FNR at the University of Michigan has begun. Fabrication of two reusable capsules (one for temperature verification and the other for dosimetry verification), as well as two capsules for IAR, studies is also under way. The design of a reusable capsule capable of reirradiating previously irradiated and annealed CVN and 1T C(T) specimens is also progressing. The data acquisition and control (DAC) instrumentation for the first two IAR facilities is essentially complete and awaiting completion of the IAR facilities and temperature test capsule for checkout and control algorithm development

Kinetics of annealing of irradiated surveillance pressure vessel steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harvey, D.J.; Wechsler, M.S.

1982-01-01

Indentation hardness measurements as a function of annealing were made on broken halves of Charpy impact surveillance samples. The samples had been irradiated in commercial power reactors to a neutron fluence of approximately 1 x 10 18 neutrons per cm 2 , E > 1 MeV, at a temperature of about 300 0 C (570 0 F). Results are reported for the weld metal, which showed greater radiation hardening than the base plate or heat-affected zone material. Isochronal and isothermal anneals were conducted on the irradiated surveillance samples and on unirradiated control samples. No hardness changes upon annealing occurred for the control samples. The recovery in hardness for the irradiated samples took place mostly between 400 and 500 0 C. Based on the Meechan-Brinkman method of analysis, the activation energy for annealing was found to be 0.60 +- 0.06 eV. According to computer simulation calculations of Beeler, the activation energy for migration of vacancies in alpha iron is about 0.67 eV. Therefore, the results of this preliminary study appear to be consistent with a mechanism of annealing of radiation damage in pressure vessel steels based on the migration of radiation-produced lattice vacancies

GPU-Accelerated Population Annealing Algorithm: Frustrated Ising Antiferromagnet on the Stacked Triangular Lattice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borovský Michal

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The population annealing algorithm is a novel approach to study systems with rough free-energy landscapes, such as spin glasses. It combines the power of simulated annealing, Boltzmann weighted differential reproduction and sequential Monte Carlo process to bring the population of replicas to the equilibrium even in the low-temperature region. Moreover, it provides a very good estimate of the free energy. The fact that population annealing algorithm is performed over a large number of replicas with many spin updates, makes it a good candidate for massive parallelism. We chose the GPU programming using a CUDA implementation to create a highly optimized simulation. It has been previously shown for the frustrated Ising antiferromagnet on the stacked triangular lattice with a ferromagnetic interlayer coupling, that standard Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations fail to equilibrate at low temperatures due to the effect of kinetic freezing of the ferromagnetically ordered chains. We applied the population annealing to study the case with the isotropic intra- and interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling (J2/|J1| = −1. The reached ground states correspond to non-magnetic degenerate states, where chains are antiferromagnetically ordered, but there is no long-range ordering between them, which is analogical with Wannier phase of the 2D triangular Ising antiferromagnet.

Direct comparison of quantum and simulated annealing on a fully connected Ising ferromagnet

Science.gov (United States)

Wauters, Matteo M.; Fazio, Rosario; Nishimori, Hidetoshi; Santoro, Giuseppe E.

2017-08-01

We compare the performance of quantum annealing (QA, through Schrödinger dynamics) and simulated annealing (SA, through a classical master equation) on the p -spin infinite range ferromagnetic Ising model, by slowly driving the system across its equilibrium, quantum or classical, phase transition. When the phase transition is second order (p =2 , the familiar two-spin Ising interaction) SA shows a remarkable exponential speed-up over QA. For a first-order phase transition (p ≥3 , i.e., with multispin Ising interactions), in contrast, the classical annealing dynamics appears to remain stuck in the disordered phase, while we have clear evidence that QA shows a residual energy which decreases towards zero when the total annealing time τ increases, albeit in a rather slow (logarithmic) fashion. This is one of the rare examples where a limited quantum speedup, a speedup by QA over SA, has been shown to exist by direct solutions of the Schrödinger and master equations in combination with a nonequilibrium Landau-Zener analysis. We also analyze the imaginary-time QA dynamics of the model, finding a 1 /τ2 behavior for all finite values of p , as predicted by the adiabatic theorem of quantum mechanics. The Grover-search limit p (odd )=∞ is also discussed.

Annealing evolutionary stochastic approximation Monte Carlo for global optimization

KAUST Repository

Liang, Faming

2010-01-01

outperform simulated annealing, the genetic algorithm, annealing stochastic approximation Monte Carlo, and some other metaheuristics in function optimization. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Inverse simulated annealing: Improvements and application to amorphous InSb

OpenAIRE

Los, Jan H.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco; Kühne, Thomas D.

2014-01-01

An improved inverse simulated annealing method is presented to determine the structure of complex disordered systems from first principles in agreement with available experimental data or desired predetermined target properties. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by revisiting the structure of amorphous InSb. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral and in excellent agreement with available experimental data.

Structural relaxation in annealed hyperquenched basaltic glasses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Xiaoju; Mauro, John C.; Potuzak, M.

2012-01-01

The enthalpy relaxation behavior of hyperquenched (HQ) and annealed hyperquenched (AHQ) basaltic glass is investigated through calorimetric measurements. The results reveal a common onset temperature of the glass transition for all the HQ and AHQ glasses under study, indicating that the primary...... relaxation is activated at the same temperature regardless of the initial departure from equilibrium. The analysis of secondary relaxation at different annealing temperatures provides insights into the enthalpy recovery of HQ glasses....

Comparison between thermal annealing and ion mixing of alloyed Ni-W films on Si. I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pai, C.S.; Lau, S.S.; Poker, D.B.; Hung, L.S.

1985-01-01

The reactions between Ni-W alloys and Si substrates induced by thermal annealing and ion mixing were investigated and compared. Samples were prepared by sputtering of Ni-W alloys, both Ni-rich and W-rich, onto the Si substrates, and followed by either furnace annealing (200--900 0 C) or ion mixing (2 x 10 15 -- 4 x 10 16 86 Kr + ions/cm 2 ). The reactions were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering and x-ray diffraction (Read camera). In general, thermal annealing and ion mixing lead to similar reactions. Phase separation between Ni and W with Ni silicides formed next to the Si substrate and W silicide formed on the surface was observed for both Ni-rich and W-rich samples under thermal annealing. Phase separation was also observed for Ni-rich samples under ion mixing; however, a Ni-W-Si ternary compound was possibly formed for ion-mixed W-rich samples. These reactions were rationalized in terms of the mobilities of various atoms and the energetics of the systems

Use of superheated steam to anneal the reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porowski, J.S.

1994-01-01

Thermal annealing of an embrittled Reactor Pressure Shell is the only recognized means for recovering material properties lost due to long-term exposure of the reactor walls to radiation. Reduced toughness of the material during operation is a major concern in evaluations of structural integrity of older reactors. Extensive studies performed within programs related to life extension of nuclear plants have confirmed that the thermal treatment of 850 degrees F for 168 hours on irradiated material essentially recovers material properties lost due to neutron exposure. Dry and wet annealing methods have been considered. Wet annealing involves operating the reactor at near design temperatures and pressures. Since the temperature of wet annealing must be limited to vessel design temperature of 650 degrees F, only partial recovery of the lost properties is achieved. Thus dry annealing was selected as an alternative for future development and industrial implementation to extend the safe life of reactors

Pulsed electron-beam annealing of selenium-implanted gallium arsenide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inada, T.; Tokunaga, K.; Taka, S.

1979-01-01

Electrical properties of selenium-implanted gallium arsenide annealed by a single shot of high-power pulsed electron beams have been investigated by differential Hall-effect and sheet-resistivity measurements. It has been shown that higher electrical activation of implanted selenium can be obtained after electron-beam annealing at an incident energy density of 1.2 J/cm 2 , independent of heating of GaAs substrate during implantation. Measured carrier concentrations exhibit uniformly distributed profiles having carrier concentrations of 2--3 x 10 19 /cm 3 , which is difficult to realize by conventional thermal annealing

Comparative studies of laser annealing technique and furnace annealing by X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis of lithium manganese oxide thin films for lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pröll, J.; Weidler, P.G.; Kohler, R.; Mangang, A.; Heißler, S.; Seifert, H.J.; Pfleging, W.

2013-01-01

The structure and phase formations of radio frequency magnetron sputtered lithium manganese oxide thin films (Li 1.1 Mn 1.9 O 4 ) under ambient air were studied. The influence of laser annealing and furnace annealing, respectively, on the bulk structure and surface phases was compared by using ex-situ X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis. Laser annealing technique formed a dominant (440)-reflection, furnace annealing led to both, (111)- and (440)-reflections within a cubic symmetry (S.G. Fd3m (227)). Additionally, in-situ Raman and in-situ X-ray diffraction were applied for online detection of phase transformation temperatures. In-situ X-ray diffraction measurements clearly identified the starting temperature for the (111)- and (440)-reflections around 525 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The 2θ Bragg peak positions of the characteristic (111)- and (440)-reflections were in good agreement with those obtained through conventional furnace annealing. Laser annealing of lithium manganese oxide films provided a quick and efficient technique and delivered a dominant (440)-reflection which showed the expected electrochemical behavior of the well-known two-step de-/intercalation process of lithium-ions into the cubic spinel structure within galvanostatic testing and cyclic voltammetry. - Highlights: ► Formation of cubic spinel-like phase of Li–Mn–O thin films by rapid laser annealing ► Laser annealing at 680 °C and 100 s was demonstrated as quick crystallization method. ► 400 °C was identified as characteristic onset temperature for (440)-reflex formation

Post-annealing effects on pulsed laser deposition-grown GaN thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yu-Wen; Wu, Hao-Yu; Lin, Yu-Zhong; Lee, Cheng-Che; Lin, Ching-Fuh

2015-01-01

In this work, the post-annealing effects on gallium nitride (GaN) thin films grown from pulsed laser deposition (PLD) are investigated. The as-deposited GaN thin films grown from PLD are annealed at different temperatures in nitrogen ambient. Significant changes of the GaN crystal properties are observed. Raman spectroscopy is used to observe the crystallinity, the change of residual stress, and the thermal decomposition of the annealed GaN thin films. X-ray diffraction is also applied to identify the crystal phase of GaN thin films, and the surface morphology of GaN thin films annealed at different temperatures is observed by scanning electron microscopy. Through the above analyses, the GaN thin films grown by PLD undergo three stages: phase transition, stress alteration, and thermal decomposition. At a low annealing temperature, the rock salt GaN in GaN films is transformed into wurtzite. The rock salt GaN diminishes with increasing annealing temperature. At a medium annealing temperature, the residual stress of the film changes significantly from compressive strain to tensile strain. As the annealing temperature further increases, the GaN undergoes thermal decomposition and the surface becomes granular. By investigating the annealing temperature effects and controlling the optimized annealing temperature of the GaN thin films, we are able to obtain highly crystalline and strain-free GaN thin films by PLD. - Highlights: • The GaN thin film is grown on sapphire by pulsed laser deposition. • The GaN film undergoes three stages with increasing annealing temperature. • In the first stage, the film transfers from rock salt to wurtzite phase. • In the second stage, the stress in film changes from compressive to tensile. • In the final stage, the film thermally decomposes and becomes granular

Ion-beam mixing and thermal annealing of Al--Nb and Al--Ta thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rai, A.K.; Bhattacharya, R.S.; Mendiratta, M.G.; Subramanian, P.R.; Dimiduk, D.M.

1988-01-01

Ion-beam mixing and thermal annealing of thin, alternating layers of Al and Nb, as well as Al and Ta, were investigated by selected area diffraction and Rutherford backscattering. The individual layer thicknesses were adjusted to obtain the overall compositions as Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta. The films were ion mixed with 1 MeV Au + ions at a dose of 1 x 10 16 ions cm/sup -2/ . Uniform mixing and amorphization were achieved for both Al--Nb and Al--Ta systems. Equilibrium crystalline Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta phases were formed after annealing of ion mixed amorphous films at 400 0 C for 6 h. Unmixed films, however, remained unreacted at 400 0 C for 1 h. Partial reaction was observed in the unmixed film of Al--Nb at 400 0 C for 6 h. After annealing at 500 0 C for 1 h, a complete reaction and formation of Al 3 Nb and Al 3 Ta phases in the respective films were observed. The influence of thermodynamics on the phase formation by ion mixing and thermal annealing is discussed

Toward understanding dynamic annealing processes in irradiated ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myers, Michael Thomas [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2013-05-01

High energy particle irradiation inevitably generates defects in solids. The ballistic formation and thermalization of the defect creation process occur rapidly, and are believed to be reasonably well understood. However, knowledge of the evolution of defects after damage cascade thermalization, referred to as dynamic annealing, is quite limited. Unraveling the mechanisms associated with dynamic annealing is crucial since such processes play an important role in the formation of stable postirradiation disorder in ion-beam-processing of semiconductors, and determines the “radiation tolerance” of many nuclear materials. The purpose of this dissertation is to further our understanding of the processes involved in dynamic annealing. In order to achieve this, two main tasks are undertaken.

The effect of humidity on annealing of polymer optical fibre bragg gratings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Woyessa, Getinet; Nielsen, Kristian; Bang, Ole

2015-01-01

The effect of humidity on annealing of PMMA based microstructured polymer optical fiber (mPOF) Bragg gratings is studied. Polymer optical fibers (POFs) are annealed in order to release stress formed during the fabrication process. Un-annealed fibers will have high hysteresis and low sensitivity...... to humidity, particularly when operated at high temperature. Typically annealing of PMMA POFs is done at 80oC in an oven with no humidity control and therefor at low humidity. The response to humidity of PMMA FBGs annealed at different levels of humidity at the same temperature has also been studied. PMMA...

Production and beam annealing of damage in carbon implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kool, W.H.; Roosendaal, H.E.; Wiggers, L.W.; Saris, F.W.

1978-01-01

The annealing of damage introduced by 70 keV C implantation of Si is studied for impact of H + and He + beams in the energy interval 30 to 200 keV. For a good description of the annealing behaviour it is necessary to account for the damage introduction which occurs simultaneously. It turns out that the initial damage annealing rate is proportional to the amount of damage. The proportionality constant is related to a quantity introduced in an earlier paper in order to describe saturation effects in the damage production after H + or He + impact in unimplanted Si. This indicates that the same mechanism governs both processes: beam induced damage annealing and saturation of the damage introduction. (author)

The precipitation in annealing and its effect on permittivity of Fe–Si–Al powders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Gang; Cui, Yin; Zhang, Nan; Wang, Xin; Xie, Jian Liang

2016-01-01

SEM images show that some precipitates distributed on the surface of as-annealed Fe–Si–Al powders. Subsequent experimental results indicate that both morphology and microstructure of as-annealed Fe–Si–Al powders change with increasing annealing temperature. Meanwhile, dielectric properties analysis suggesting that both real part ε′ and imaginary part ε″ of the Fe–Si–Al powders decrease significantly after annealed at 450 °C or higher temperature. We assume that it’s the precipitates with low electrical conductivity developed on the surface of powders that increase the surface resistivity of as-annealed powders and leading to a lower imagine part of permittivity. The drop of real part ε′ ascribed to the weakened interfacial polarization which resulted from the decrease of structural defects such as grain boundaries and interfaces during annealing process. - Highlights: • As-milled Fe–Si–Al powders were annealed at various temperature. • The change of morphology and microstructure of as-annealed Fe–Si–Al was examined. • Complex permittivity decrease significantly after annealed over 400 °C and permeability increase as annealing temperature rises. • The precipitation process in annealing and its effect on permittivity were analyzed.

Influence of growth flux solvent on anneal-tuning of ground states in CaFe2As2

Science.gov (United States)

Roncaioli, Connor; Drye, Tyler; Saha, Shanta R.; Paglione, Johnpierre

2018-04-01

The effects of anneal-tuning of single-crystalline samples of CaFe2As2 synthesized via a molten Sn-flux method are investigated using x-ray diffraction, chemical composition, electrical transport, and magnetic susceptibility measurements in order to understand the role of growth conditions on the resultant phase diagram. Previous studies of CaFe2As2 crystals synthesized using a self-flux (FeAs) method revealed an ability to tune the structural and magnetic properties of this system by control of post-synthesis annealing conditions, resulting in an ambient pressure phase diagram that spans from tetragonal/orthorhombic antiferromagnetism to the collapsed tetragonal phase of this system. In this work, we compare previous results to those obtained on crystals synthesized via Sn flux, finding similar tunability in both self- and Sn-flux cases, but less sensitivity to annealing temperatures in the latter case, resulting in a temperature-shifted phase diagram.

Dynamical Properties of a Diluted Dipolar-Interaction Heisenberg Spin Glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Kai-Cheng; Liu Yong; Chi Feng

2014-01-01

Up to now the chirality is seldom studied in the diluted spin glass although many investigations have been performed on the site-ordered Edwards—Anderson model. By simulation, we investigate the dynamical properties of both the spin-glass and the chiral-glass phases in a diluted dipolar system, which was manifested to have a spin-glass transition by recent numerical study. By scaling we find that both phases have the same aging behavior and closer aging parameter μ. Similarly, the domains grow in the same way and both phases have a closer barrier exponent Ψ. It means that both the spins and the chirality have the same dynamical properties and they may freeze at the same temperature. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Plasma assisted heat treatment: annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunatto, S F; Guimaraes, N V

2009-01-01

This work comprises a new dc plasma application in the metallurgical-mechanical field, called plasma assisted heat treatment, and it presents the first results for annealing. Annealing treatments were performed in 90% reduction cold-rolled niobium samples at 900 deg. C and 60 min, in two different heating ways: (a) in a hollow cathode discharge (HCD) configuration and (b) in a plasma oven configuration. The evolution of the samples' recrystallization was determined by means of the microstructure, microhardness and softening rate characterization. The results indicate that plasma species (ions and neutrals) bombardment in HCD plays an important role in the recrystallization process activation and could lead to technological and economical advantages considering the metallic materials' heat treatment application. (fast track communication)

Pulsed Q-switched ruby laser annealing of Bi implanted Si crystals investigated by channeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deutch, B.I.; Shih-Chang, T.; Shang-Hwai, L.; Zu-Yao, Z.; Jia-Zeng, H.; Ren-Zhi, D.; Te-Chang, C.; De-Xin, C.

1979-01-01

Channeling was used to investigate pulsed, Q switched ruby-laser annealed and thermally annealed Si single crystals implanted with 40-keV Bi ions to a dose of 10 15 atoms/cm 2 . After thermal annealing, residual damage decreased with increasing annealing temperature to a minimum value of 30% at 900 0 C. The Bi atoms in substitutional sites reached a maximum value (50%) after annealing at 750 0 C but decreased with increasing annealing temperature. Out diffusion of Bi atoms occurred at temperatures higher than 625 0 C. For comparison, the residual damage disappeared almost completely after pulsed-laser annealing (30 ns pulse width, Energy, E = 3J/cm 2 ). The concentration of Bi in Si exceeded its solid solubility by an order of magnitude; 95% of Bi atoms were annealed to substitutional sites. Laser pulses of different energies were used to investigate the efficiency of annealing. (author)

Effects of annealing on evaporated SnS thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samsudi Sakrani; Bakar Ismail

1994-01-01

The effects of annealing of evaporated tin sulphide thin films (SnS) are described. The films were initially deposited onto glass substrate, followed by annealing in an encapsulated carbon block under the running argon gas at 310 degree Celsius. Short time annealing of the films results in a slight change of the compositions to a mix SnS/SnS sub 2 compound, and the tendency of increasing SnS sub 2 formation was observed on the films annealed for longer periods up to 20 hours. X-ray results showed the transformation of SnS peaks (040) and (080) to predominantly SnS sub 2 peaks - (001), (100), (101), and (110). The associated absorption coefficients measured on the films were found to be greater than 10 sup 5 cm sup -1, with indication of higher photon energy leading to the formation of SnS sub 2 compound

Effects of annealing on evaporated SnS thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakrani, Samsudi; Ismail, Bakar [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru (Malaysia). Dept. of Physics

1994-12-31

The effects of annealing of evaporated tin sulphide thin films (SnS) are described. The films were initially deposited onto glass substrate, followed by annealing in an encapsulated carbon block under the running argon gas at 310 degree Celsius. Short time annealing of the films results in a slight change of the compositions to a mix SnS/SnS sub 2 compound, and the tendency of increasing SnS sub 2 formation was observed on the films annealed for longer periods up to 20 hours. X-ray results showed the transformation of SnS peaks (040) and (080) to predominantly SnS sub 2 peaks - (001), (100), (101), and (110). The associated absorption coefficients measured on the films were found to be greater than 10 sup 5 cm sup -1, with indication of higher photon energy leading to the formation of SnS sub 2 compound.

Improved luminescence properties of nanocrystalline silicon based electroluminescent device by annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Keisuke; Hirakuri, Kenji

2006-01-01

We report an annealing effect on electrical and luminescence properties of a red electroluminescent device consisting of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si). The red luminescence was generated by flowing the forward current into the device at a low threshold direct current (DC) forward voltage with a rise of annealing temperature up to 500 deg. C. Moreover, the luminescence of the device annealed at 500 deg. C was more intense than that of the device annealed at 200 deg. C or less under the same forward current density, because of the injection of a large quantity of carriers to the radiative recombination centers at the nc-Si surface vicinity. These were attained by a low resistivity of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and good contact at the ITO electrode/luminous layer interface region by the annealing treatment. The above results indicated that the annealing treatment of the device is effective for the realization of high luminance due to the improvement in the injection efficiency of carriers to the radiative recombination centers

Effect of annealing temperature on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy-4 cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beauregard, R.J.; Clevinger, G.S.; Murty, K.L.

1977-01-01

The mechanical properties of Zircaloy cladding materials are sensitive to those fabrication variables which have an effect on the preferred crystallographic orientation or texture of the finished tube. The effect of one such variable, the final annealing temperature, on various mechanical properties is examined using tube reduced Zircaloy-4 fuel rod cladding annealed at temperatures from 905F to 1060F. This temperature range provides cladding with varying degrees of recrystallization including full recrystallization. The burst strength of the cladding at 650F decreased with the annealing temperature reaching a saturation value at approximately 1000F. The total circumferential elongation increased with the annealing temperature reaching a maximum at approximately 1000F and decreasing at higher temperatures. Hoop creep characteristics of Zircaloy cladding were studied as a function of the annealing temperature using closed-end internal pressurization tests at 750F and hoop stresses of 10, 15, 20 and 25 ksi. The effect of annealing temperature on the room temperature mechanical anisotropy parameters, R and P, was studied. The R-parameter was essentially independent of the annealing temperature while the P-parameter increased with annealing temperature. The mechanical anisotropy parameters were also studied as a function of the test temperature from ambient to approximately 800F using continuously monitored high precision extensometry. (Auth.)

Superheated steam annealing of pressurized water reactor vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porowski, J.S.

1993-01-01

Thermal annealing of an embrittled Reactor Pressure Shell is the only recognized means for recovering material properties lost due to long-term exposure of the reactor walls to radiation. Reduced toughness of the material during operation is a major concern in evaluations of structural integrity of older reactors. Extensive studies performed within programs related to life extension of nuclear plants have confirmed that the thermal treatment of 850 deg. F for 168 hours on irradiated material essentially recovers material properties lost due to neutron exposure. Dry and wet annealing methods have been considered. Wet annealing involves operating the reactor at near design temperatures and pressures. Since the temperature of wet annealing must be limited to vessel design temperature of 650 deg. F, only partial recovery of the lost properties is achieved. Thus dry annealing was selected as an alternative for future development and industrial implementation to extend the safe life of reactors. Dry thermal annealing consists of heating portions of the reactor vessel at a specific temperature for a given period of time using a high temperature heat source. The use of spent fuel assemblies, induction heating and resistance heating elements as well as the circulation of heated fluid were investigated as potential candidate methods. To date the use of resistance heating elements which are lowered into a dry empty reactor was considered to be the preferred method. In-depth research in the United States and practical applications of such a method in Russia have confirmed feasibility of the method. The method of using circulating superheated steam to anneal the vessel at 850 deg. F without complete removal of the reactor internals is described herein. After removing the reactor head and fuel, the core barrel along with the upper and lower core in PWRs is lifted to open an annular space between the reactor shell flange and the core barrel flange. The thermal shield can remain

Effects of different annealing atmospheres on the properties of cadmium sulfide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yücel, E., E-mail: dr.ersinyucel@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Mustafa Kemal University, 31034 Hatay (Turkey); Kahraman, S. [Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Mustafa Kemal University, 31034 Hatay (Turkey); Güder, H.S. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Mustafa Kemal University, 31034 Hatay (Turkey)

2015-08-15

Graphical abstract: The effects of different annealing atmospheres (air and sulfur) on the structural, morphological and optical properties of CdS thin films were studied at three different pH values. - Highlights: • Compactness and smoothness of the films were enhanced after sulfur annealing. • Micro-strain values of some films were improved after sulfur annealing. • Dislocation density values of some films were improved after sulfur annealing. • Band gap values of the films were improved after sulfur annealing. - Abstract: Cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The effects of different annealing atmospheres (air and sulfur) on the structural, morphological and optical properties of CdS thin films were studied at three different pH values. Compactness and smoothness of the films (especially for pH 10.5 and 11) enhanced after sulfur annealing. pH value of the precursor solution remarkably affected the roughness, uniformity and particle sizes of the films. Based on the analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the films, micro-strain and dislocation density values of the sulfur-annealed films (pH 10.5 and 11) were found to be lower than those of air-annealed films. Air-annealed films (pH 10.5, 11 and 11.5) exhibited higher transmittance than sulfur-annealed films in the wavelength region of 550–800 nm. Optical band gap values of the films were found between 2.31 eV and 2.36 eV.

Desynchronization in diluted neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zillmer, Ruediger; Livi, Roberto; Politi, Antonio; Torcini, Alessandro

2006-01-01

The dynamical behavior of a weakly diluted fully inhibitory network of pulse-coupled spiking neurons is investigated. Upon increasing the coupling strength, a transition from regular to stochasticlike regime is observed. In the weak-coupling phase, a periodic dynamics is rapidly approached, with all neurons firing with the same rate and mutually phase locked. The strong-coupling phase is characterized by an irregular pattern, even though the maximum Lyapunov exponent is negative. The paradox is solved by drawing an analogy with the phenomenon of 'stable chaos', i.e., by observing that the stochasticlike behavior is 'limited' to an exponentially long (with the system size) transient. Remarkably, the transient dynamics turns out to be stationary

An overview the boron dilution issue in PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyvaerinen, J.

1994-01-01

The presentation is an overview of boron (boric acid) dilution in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Boric acid has been widely used in PWRs as a dissolved poison, as one of the main reactivity controlling means, for a long time, from nearly but not quite from the beginning of the design, construction and operation of PWRs in the present-day sense. The specific safety issue, namely the risk of uncontrolled reactivity insertion due to inadvertent boron dilution, is discussed first, followed by a brief look on the history of boron usage in PWRs. A discussion of boron dilution phenomenology is presented next in general terms. Some particular concerns that boron dilution phenomena arouse in the minds of a regulator will also be presented before concluding with a brief look on the future of dissolved poisons. (11 refs.)

Thermal annealing and pressure effects on BaFe2-xCoxAs2 single crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dongwon; Jung, Soon-Gil; Prathiba, G; Seo, Soonbeom; Choi, Ki-Young; Kim, Kee Hoon; Park, Tuson

2017-11-26

We investigate the pressure and thermal annealing effects on BaFe_2-xCo_xAs₂ (Co-Ba122) single crystals with x = 0.1 and 0.17 via electrical transport measurements. The thermal annealing treatment not only enhances the superconducting transition temperature (T_c) from 9.6 to 12.7 K for x = 0.1 and from 18.1 to 21.0 K for x = 0.17, but also increases the antiferromagnetic transition temperature (T_N). Simultaneous enhancement of T_c and T_N by the thermal annealing treatment indicates that thermal annealing could substantially improve the quality of the Co-doped Ba122 samples. Interestingly, T_c of the Co-Ba122 compounds shows a scaling behavior with a linear dependence on the resistivity value at 290 K, irrespective of tuning parameters, such as chemical doping, pressure, and thermal annealing. These results not only provide an effective way to access the intrinsic properties of the BaFe₂As₂ system, but also may shed a light on designing new materials with higher superconducting transition temperature. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Specific heat in diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum ring

Science.gov (United States)

Babanlı, A. M.; Ibragimov, B. G.

2017-11-01

In the present paper, we have calculated the specific heat and magnetization of a quantum ring of a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) material in the presence of magnetic field. We take into account the effect of Rashba spin-orbital interaction, the exchange interaction and the Zeeman term on the specific heat. We have calculated the energy spectrum of the electrons in diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum ring. Moreover we have calculated the specific heat dependency on the magnetic field and Mn concentration at finite temperature of a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum ring.

The effects of different heat treatment annealing on structural properties of LaFe11.5Si1.5 compound

Science.gov (United States)

Norizan, Yang Nurhidayah Asnida; Din, Muhammad Faiz Md; Zamri, Wan Fathul Hakim W.; Hashim, Fakroul Ridzuan; Jusoh, Mohd Taufik; Rahman, Mohd Rashid Abdul

2018-02-01

The cubic NaZn13-type LaFe13-xSix based compounds have been studied systematically and has become one of the most interesting systems for exploring large MCE. Its magnetic properties are strongly doping dependent and provides many of advantage compare to other as magnetic materials for magnetic refrigerator application. In other to produce high quality of cubic NaZn13-type structure, the structural properties of LaFe11.5Si1.5 compounds annealed at different temperature have been investigated. The LaFe11.5Si1.5 compounds was prepared by arc melting and annealed at two different heat treatment which are 1323 K for 14 days and 1523 K for 4 hour. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that a short time and high temperature annealing process has benefits for the formation of the NaZn13-type phase compared to a long time and low temperature annealing process. This is shown by the weight fraction of cubic NaZn13- type structure increases from 80% for low temperature annealing to 83% for high temperature annealing. At the same time, high temperature annealing increase the main structure and decrease the impurity (α-Fe and LaFeSi). Furthermore, it can be clearly seen in the Rietveld refinement results that the lattice parameter is increase at the high temperature annealing because of more cubic NaZn13 is formed at higher temperature.

The dilution effect on the extinction of wall diffusion flame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghiti Nadjib

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The dynamic process of the interaction between a turbulent jet diffusion methane flame and a lateral wall was experimentally studied. The evolution of the flame temperature field with the Nitrogen dilution of the methane jet flame was examined. The interaction between the diffusion flame and the lateral wall was investigated for different distance between the wall and the central axes of the jet flame. The dilution is found to play the central role in the flame extinction process. The flame response as the lateral wall approaches from infinity and the increasing of the dilution rate make the flame extinction more rapid than the flame without dilution, when the nitrogen dilution rate increase the flame temperature decrease.

Annealing to Mitigate Pitting in Electropolished Niobium Coupons and SRF Cavities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooley, L.D.; Hahn, E.; Hicks, D.; Romanenko, A.; Schuessler, R.; Thompson, C.; /Fermilab

2011-06-08

Ongoing studies at Fermilab investigate whether dislocations and other factors instigate pitting during cavity electropolishing (EP), despite careful processing controls and the inherent leveling mechanism of EP itself. Here, cold-worked niobium coupons, which exhibited increased tendencies for pitting in our past study, were annealed in a high vacuum furnace and subsequently processed by EP. Laser confocal scanning microscopy and special defect counting algorithms were used to assess the population of pits formed. Hardness measurements indicated that annealing for 2 hours at 800 C produced recovery, whereas annealing for 12 hours at 600 C did not, as is consistent with known changes for cavities annealed in a similar way. The 800 C anneal was effective in some cases but not others, and we discuss reasons why tendencies for pitting remain. We discuss implications for cavities and continued work to understand pitting.

Considerable improvement in the stability of solution processed small molecule OLED by annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mao Guilin [Key Laboratory of Photonics Technology for Information, Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); Wu Zhaoxin, E-mail: zhaoxinwu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Photonics Technology for Information, Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); He Qiang [Key Laboratory of Photonics Technology for Information, Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); Department of UAV, Wuhan Ordnance Noncommissioned Officers Academy, Wuhan, 430075 (China); Jiao Bo; Xu Guojin; Hou Xun [Key Laboratory of Photonics Technology for Information, Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); Chen Zhijian; Gong Qihuang [State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Department of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 (China)

2011-06-15

We investigated the annealing effect on solution processed small organic molecule organic films, which were annealed with various conditions. It was found that the densities of the spin-coated (SC) films increased and the surface roughness decreased as the annealing temperature rose. We fabricated corresponding organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) by spin coating on the same annealing conditions. The solution processed OLEDs show the considerable efficiency and stability, which were prior or equivalent to the vacuum-deposited (VD) counterparts. Our research shows that annealing process plays a key role in prolonging the lifetime of solution processed small molecule OLEDs, and the mechanism for the improvement of the device performance upon annealing was also discussed.

Dependence of TL-property changes of natural quartzes on aluminium contents accompanied by thermal annealing treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, T.; Sakaue, S.; Aoki, H.; Ichino, M.

1994-01-01

The TL properties were investigated using both an IPDA (Intensified Photo-Diode Array) spectrometric system and a TLCI (Thermoluminescence Colour Image) method after thermal annealing treatment at several temperatures. An apparent colour change from original blue- (BTL) to red-TL(RTL) has unexpectedly occurred in a Z-cut slice of Madagascar quartz, after an annealing treatment around 1000 o C. From the TL-colour change studies of the Z-cut slice, it was confirmed that original BTL intensities are inversely proportional to the Al contents; the TLCI-patterns of the original or annealed Z-cut slice gave stripe patterns corresponding to Al impurity contents along the crystal growth direction particularly yielding an intense appearance of RTL on higher Al contents after the annealing treatment. This changeability of TL-colour towards RTL after thermal annealing treatment was found to be intimately correlated with the square of Al concentrations, although BTL clearly changed as linearly proportional to Al impurity contents. Finally, the cleavage of Al-O-Al bonds or some sites in the vicinity of Al-O-Al bonds were plausibly considered to play an important role for the formation of RTL colour centres in natural quartzes as a result of the operation of high temperature effects. (Author)

Annealed silver-islands for enhanced optical absorption in organic solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otieno, Francis, E-mail: frankotienoo@gmail.com [Material Physics Research Institute, School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050Johannesburg (South Africa); Materials for Energy Research Group, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 Johannesburg (South Africa); Airo, Mildred [School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 (South Africa); Ranganathan, Kamalakannan [School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 (South Africa); DST-NRF Centre of Strong Materials and the Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, 2193 Johannesburg (South Africa); Wamwangi, Daniel [Material Physics Research Institute, School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050Johannesburg (South Africa); Materials for Energy Research Group, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 Johannesburg (South Africa)

2016-01-01

Silver nano-islands are explored for enhancing optical absorption and photo-conversion efficiency in organic solar cells (OSCs) based on the surface plasmon resonance effect under diverse annealing conditions. Ag nano-islands have been deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at 15 W for 10 s and subsequently annealed between 100 °C–250 °C in air and Argon ambient. The optical properties of the reconstructed Ag islands demonstrate an increase and a blue shift in the absorption bands with increasing annealing temperature. This is the localized surface plasmon effect due to the Ag islands of diverse sizes, shapes and coverages. The increase in optical absorption with temperature is attributed to changes in island shape and density as collaborated by atomic force microscopy and TEM. As a proof of concept, an organic solar cell was characterized for current–voltage (I–V) measurements under dark and under solar simulated white light. Incorporation of annealed Ag islands has yielded an efficiency increment of between 4–24%. - Highlights: • RF Sputtering can be used to produce Ag NPs at low power. • Annealing enhances size, shape reconstruction as well as inter-particle separation. • Annealing in Argon ambient is more suitable than in air. • Ag NPs annealed at 250 °C enhances device absorption and PCE by up to 24%.

The influence of annealing temperature on the strength of TRISO coated particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rooyen, I.J. van; Neethling, J.H.; Rooyen, P.M. van

2010-01-01

The integrity of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) fuel, and specifically the SiC layer system of the Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) coated particle (CP), namely inner pyrolytic carbon, silicon carbide and outer pyrolytic carbon (I-PyC-SiC-O-PyC), determines the containment of fission products. The PBMR fuel consists of TRISO coated particles (CPs) embedded in a graphite matrix. One of the characterization techniques investigated by PBMR is the determination of strength of CPs. It is a well known metallurgical fact that temperature, amongst many other parameters, may influence the strength of a material. A recently developed method for measuring the strength of the TRISO coated particles was used and is briefly described in this article. The advantages of this method are demonstrated by the comparison of strength measurements of five experimental PBMR CP batches as a function of annealing temperature. Significant modification of strength after annealing was measured with increased temperature within the range 1000-2100 o C. The interesting feature of decreasing standard deviation of the strength with increasing temperature will also be discussed with a possible explanation. A significant difference in coated particle strength is also demonstrated for two CP batches with layer thickness on the extremities of the SiC layer thickness specification. The effect of long duration annealing on these strength values will also be demonstrated by comparing results from 1 h to 100 h annealing periods of coated particles at a temperature of 1600 o C.

Effect of heat moisture treatment and annealing on physicochemical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Red sorghum starch was physically modified by annealing and heat moisture treatment. The swelling power and solubility increased with increasing temperature range (60-90°), while annealing and heatmoisture treatment decreased swelling power and solubility of starch. Solubility and swelling were pH dependent with ...

High annealing temperature induced rapid grain coarsening for efficient perovskite solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xiaobing; Zhi, Lili; Jia, Yi; Li, Yahui; Cui, Xian; Zhao, Ke; Ci, Lijie; Ding, Kongxian; Wei, Jinquan

2018-08-15

Thermal annealing plays multiple roles in fabricating high quality perovskite films. Generally, it might result in large perovskite grains by elevating annealing temperature, but might also lead to decomposition of perovskite. Here, we study the effects of annealing temperature on the coarsening of perovskite grains in a temperature range from 100 to 250 °C, and find that the coarsening rate of the perovskite grain increase significantly with the annealing temperature. Compared with the perovskite films annealed at 100 °C, high quality perovskite films with large columnar grains are obtained by annealing perovskite precursor films at 250 °C for only 10 s. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of best solar cell increased from 12.35% to 16.35% due to its low recombination rate and high efficient charge transportation in solar cells. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Annealing effects on the migration of ion-implanted cadmium in glassy carbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hlatshwayo, T.T., E-mail: thulani.hlatshwayo@up.ac.za [Physics Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria (South Africa); Sebitla, L.D. [Physics Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria (South Africa); Physics Department, University of Botswana, Gaborone (Botswana); Njoroge, E.G.; Mlambo, M.; Malherbe, J.B. [Physics Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria (South Africa)

2017-03-15

The migration behaviour of cadmium (Cd) implanted into glassy carbon and the effects of annealing on radiation damage introduced by ion implantation were investigated. The glassy carbon substrates were implanted with Cd at a dose of 2 × 10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2} and energy of 360 keV. The implantation was performed at room temperature (RT), 430 °C and 600 °C. The RT implanted samples were isochronally annealed in vacuum at 350, 500 and 600 °C for 1 h and isothermally annealed at 350 °C up to 4 h. The as-implanted and annealed samples were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Raman results revealed that implantation at room temperature amorphized the glassy carbon structure while high temperature implantations resulted in slightly less radiation damage. Isochronal annealing of the RT implanted samples resulted in some recrystallization as a function of increasing temperature. The original glassy carbon structure was not achieved at the highest annealing temperature of 600 °C. Diffusion of Cd in glassy carbon was already taking place during implantation at 430 °C. This diffusion of Cd was accompanied by significant loss from the surface during implantation at 600 °C. Isochronal annealing of the room temperature implanted samples at 350 °C for 1 h caused Cd to diffuse towards the bulk while isothermal annealing at 500 and 600 °C resulted in the migration of implanted Cd toward the surface accompanied by a loss of Cd from the surface. Isothermal annealing at 350 °C for 1 h caused Cd to diffuse towards the bulk while for annealing time >1 h Cd diffused towards the surface. These results were interpreted in terms of trapping and de-trapping of implanted Cd by radiation damage.

Damage recovery in ZnO by post-implantation annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audren, A.; Hallen, A.; Linnarsson, M.K.; Possnert, G.

2010-01-01

ZnO bulk samples were implanted with 200 keV-Co ions at room temperature with two fluences, 1 x 10 16 and 8 x 10 16 cm -2 , and then annealed in air for 30 min at different temperatures up to 900 o C. After the implantation and each annealing step, the samples were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) in random and channeling directions to follow the evolution of the disorder profile. The RBS spectra reveal that disorder is created during implantation in proportion to the Co fluence. The thermal treatments induce a disorder recovery, which is however, not complete after annealing at 900 o C, where about 15% of the damage remains. To study the Co profile evolution during annealing, the samples were, in addition to RBS, characterized by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The results show that Co diffusion starts at 800 o C, but also that a very different behavior is seen for Co concentrations below and above the solubility limit.

Structural evolution of tunneling oxide passivating contact upon thermal annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sungjin; Min, Kwan Hong; Jeong, Myeong Sang; Lee, Jeong In; Kang, Min Gu; Song, Hee-Eun; Kang, Yoonmook; Lee, Hae-Seok; Kim, Donghwan; Kim, Ka-Hyun

2017-10-16

We report on the structural evolution of tunneling oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) for high efficient solar cells upon thermal annealing. The evolution of doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) into polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) by thermal annealing was accompanied with significant structural changes. Annealing at 600 °C for one minute introduced an increase in the implied open circuit voltage (V oc ) due to the hydrogen motion, but the implied V oc decreased again at 600 °C for five minutes. At annealing temperature above 800 °C, a-Si:H crystallized and formed poly-Si and thickness of tunneling oxide slightly decreased. The thickness of the interface tunneling oxide gradually decreased and the pinholes are formed through the tunneling oxide at a higher annealing temperature up to 1000 °C, which introduced the deteriorated carrier selectivity of the TOPCon structure. Our results indicate a correlation between the structural evolution of the TOPCon passivating contact and its passivation property at different stages of structural transition from the a-Si:H to the poly-Si as well as changes in the thickness profile of the tunneling oxide upon thermal annealing. Our result suggests that there is an optimum thickness of the tunneling oxide for passivating electron contact, in a range between 1.2 to 1.5 nm.

3-D Surface Visualization of pH Titration "Topos": Equivalence Point Cliffs, Dilution Ramps, and Buffer Plateaus

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Garon C.; Hossain, Md Mainul; MacCarthy, Patrick

2014-01-01

3-D topographic surfaces ("topos") can be generated to visualize how pH behaves during titration and dilution procedures. The surfaces are constructed by plotting computed pH values above a composition grid with volume of base added in one direction and overall system dilution on the other. What emerge are surface features that…

Annealing effects on the photoresponse properties of CdSe nanocrystal thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lou Shiyun; Zhou Changhua; Wang Hongzhe; Shen Huaibin; Cheng Gang; Du Zuliang; Zhou, Shaomin; Li Linsong

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The as-prepared CdSe nanocrystal films were treated at 500 deg. C for 3 h under continuous N 2 . → Annealing process removed the organic capping completely and eliminated oxide on the CdSe surface. → Thermal annealing resulted the increase of the crystallite sizes and necking the NCs. → The photoresponse speed of the CdSe nanocrystal films was improved. - Abstract: The photoresponse properties of the as-prepared and annealed close-packed CdSe nanocrystal (NC) films were investigated under laser illumination by Kelvin probe force microscopy. The annealing process improved the photoresponse speed of the CdSe NC films. The work function of the annealed CdSe NC films changed more rapidly than that of the non-annealed film in air at room temperature. Combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and thermogravimetric analysis, the observed phenomena can be interpreted that annealing process removed the organic capping agents completely and eliminated oxide on the CdSe surface, which formed the tunnel barrier between NCs in the CdSe NC films. Consequently, it improved the separation rate of photoelectric charges and thus provided high speed photoresponse.

cw argon laser annealing of anodic oxide on GaAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakravarti, S.N.; Das, P.; Webster, R.T.; Bhat, K.N.

1981-01-01

Anodic oxide films (850 +- 50 A thick) grown on n + (100) bulk GaAs were subjected to selective area annealing using a cw argon laser operating at an output power of 1.2 W. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements performed on Al-anodic oxide-GaAs MOS capacitor structures show that laser-annealed capacitor dots have greatly reduced field-induced hysteresis effects in their capacitance-voltage characteristics compared to the unannealed ones. The oxide leakage current also shows a significant improvement: the leakage current magnitude of MOS capacitors in laser-annealed oxide island is over four orders of magnitude less than the oxide region which was not exposed to the laser radiation. Dielectric breakdown measurement indicates that laser-annealed capacitors have considerably higher breakdown voltages, about a factor of 2 higher than the unannealed capacitors

Annealing behaviour of excess carriers in neutron-transmutation-doped silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maekawa, T.; Nogami, S.; Inoue, S.

1993-01-01

In neutron-transmutation-doped silicon wafers excess carriers are clearly generated over the transmuted phosphorus atoms. The generation occurs for annealing temperatures above 900 o C. The maximum percentage of excess carriers obtained is about 24.5% of the final carrier concentration. Due to the difference in energy of generation and removal, the excess carriers can be removed by annealing above 800 o C. The radiation damage responsible for generation of excess carriers is fairly thermostable in the range of annealing temperatures below 800 o C. From deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements, it is found that the radiation damage remains insensitive to changes in carrier concentration. The activation energies of excess carrier generation and removal are estimated from the analysis of the thermal and temporal behaviours of radiation damage in the annealing process. (Author)

Buffer erosion in dilute groundwater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schatz, T.; Kanerva, N.; Martikainen, J.; Sane, P.; Olin, M.; Seppaelae, A.; Koskinen, K.

2013-08-01

One scenario of interest for repository safety assessment involves the loss of bentonite buffer material in contact with dilute groundwater flowing through a transmissive fracture interface. In order to examine the extrusion/erosion behavior of bentonite buffer material under such circumstances, a series of experiments were performed in a flow-through, 1 mm aperture, artificial fracture system. These experiments covered a range of solution chemistry (salt concentration and composition), material composition (sodium montmorillonite and admixtures with calcium montmorillonite), and flow velocity conditions. No erosion was observed for sodium montmorillonite against solution compositions from 0.5 g/L to 10 g/L NaCl. No erosion was observed for 50/50 calcium/sodium montmorillonite against 0.5 g/L NaCl. Erosion was observed for both sodium montmorillonite and 50/50 calcium/sodium montmorillonite against solution compositions ≤ 0.25 g/L NaCl. The calculated erosion rates for the tests with the highest levels of measured erosion, i.e., the tests run under the most dilute conditions (ionic strength (IS) < ∼1 mM), were well-correlated to flow velocity, whereas the calculated erosion rates for the tests with lower levels of measured erosion, i.e., the tests run under somewhat less dilute conditions (∼1 mM < IS < ∼4 mM), were not similarly correlated indicating that material and solution composition can significantly affect erosion rates. In every experiment, both erosive and non-erosive, emplaced buffer material extruded into the fracture and was observed to be impermeable to water flowing in the fracture effectively forming an extended diffusive barrier around the intersecting fracture/buffer interface. Additionally, a model which was developed previously to predict the rate of erosion of bentonite buffer material in low ionic strength water in rock fracture environments was applied to three different cases: sodium montmorillonite expansion in a vertical tube, a

An Isotopic Dilution Experiment Using Liquid Scintillation: A Simple Two-System, Two-Phase Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moehs, Peter J.; Levine, Samuel

1982-01-01

A simple isotonic, dilution analysis whose principles apply to methods of more complex radioanalyses is described. Suitable for clinical and instrumental analysis chemistry students, experimental manipulations are kept to a minimum involving only aqueous extraction before counting. Background information, procedures, and results are discussed.…

Positron annihilation spectroscopy study on annealing effect of CuO nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Jianjian; Wang, Jiaheng; Yang, Wei; Zhu, Zhejie; Wu, Yichu

2016-01-01

The microstructure and defects of CuO nanoparticles under isochronal annealing were investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD and SEM results indicated that the average grain sizes of CuO nanoparticles grew slowly below 800 °C, and then increased rapidly with the annealing temperature from 800 to 1000 °C. Positron lifetime analysis exhibited that positrons were mainly annihilated in mono-vacancies (V Cu , V O ) and vacancy clusters when annealing from 200 to 800 °C. Furthermore, W-S plot of Doppler broadening spectra at different annealing temperatures found that the (W, S) points distributed on two different defect species, which suggested that V − Cu - V + O complexes were produced when the grains grew to bigger size after annealing above 800 °C, and positrons might annihilate at these complexes. (author)

Positron annihilation spectroscopy study on annealing effect of CuO nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Jianjian; Wang, Jiaheng; Yang, Wei; Zhu, Zhejie; Wu, Yichu, E-mail: ycwu@whu.edu.cn [School of Physics and Technology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Nuclear Solid State Physics, Wuhan University (WHU), Wuhan (China)

2016-03-15

The microstructure and defects of CuO nanoparticles under isochronal annealing were investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD and SEM results indicated that the average grain sizes of CuO nanoparticles grew slowly below 800 °C, and then increased rapidly with the annealing temperature from 800 to 1000 °C. Positron lifetime analysis exhibited that positrons were mainly annihilated in mono-vacancies (V{sub Cu}, V{sub O}) and vacancy clusters when annealing from 200 to 800 °C. Furthermore, W-S plot of Doppler broadening spectra at different annealing temperatures found that the (W, S) points distributed on two different defect species, which suggested that V{sup −}{sub Cu} - V{sup +}{sub O} complexes were produced when the grains grew to bigger size after annealing above 800 °C, and positrons might annihilate at these complexes. (author)

Effects of dissolved species on radiolysis of diluted seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hata, Kuniki; Hanawa, Satoshi; Kasahara, Shigeki; Motooka, Takafumi; Tsukada, Takashi; Muroya, Yusa; Yamashita, Shinichi; Katsumura, Yosuke

2014-01-01

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) experienced seawater injection into the cores and fuel pools as an emergent measure after the accident. After the accident, retained water has been continuously desalinized, and subsequently the concentration of chloride ion (Cl"-) has been kept at a lower level these days. These ions in seawater are known to affect water radiolysis, which causes the production of radiolytic products, such as hydrogen peroxide (H_2O_2), molecular hydrogen (H_2) and molecular oxygen (O_2). However, the effects of dissolved ions relating seawater on the production of the stable radiolytic products are not well understood in the diluted seawater. To understand of the production behavior in diluted seawater under radiation, radiolysis calculations were carried out. Production of H_2 is effectively suppressed by diluting by up to vol10%. The concentrations of oxidants (H_2O_2 and O_2) are also suppressed by dilution of dissolved species. The effect of oxidants on corrosion of materials is thought to be low when the seawater was diluted by less than 1 vol% by water. It is also shown that deaeration is one of the effective measure to suppress the concentrations of oxidants at a lower level for any dilution conditions. (author)

Annealing effects of ZnO nanorods on dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Jooyoung; Lee, Juneyoung [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Sangwoo, E-mail: swlim@yonsei.ac.k [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2010-06-01

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using ZnO nanorod arrays vertically grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using a low-temperature hydrothermal method. When the ZnO seed layer was annealed, greater DSSC efficiency was obtained. This may be attributed to the improvement of adhesion between the FTO and the seed layer and the corresponding effective growth of the ZnO nanorods. The DSSCs fabricated using ZnO nanorods which underwent annealing were more efficient than those that did not undergo annealing. The ZnO nanorods which were annealed in N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} or O{sub 2} had increased dye loadings due to higher OH concentrations on the hydrophilic surface, which contributed to the improved DSSC efficiency. The fill factor increased after the annealing of the ZnO nanorods, potentially due to the improved crystallinity of the ZnO nanorods. In this study, annealing of both the seed layer and the ZnO nanorods resulted in the greatest DSSC efficiency.

Rapid magnetic hardening by rapid thermal annealing in NdFeB-based nanocomposites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chu, K.-T.; Jin, Z Q; Chakka, Vamsi M; Liu, J P [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 (United States)

2005-11-21

A systematic study of heat treatments and magnetic hardening of NdFeB-based melt-spun nanocomposite ribbons have been carried out. Comparison was made between samples treated by rapid thermal annealing and by conventional furnace annealing. Heating rates up to 200 K s{sup -1} were adopted in the rapid thermal processing. It was observed that magnetic hardening can be realized in an annealing time as short as 1 s. Coercivity of 10.2 kOe in the nanocomposites has been obtained by rapid thermal annealing for 1 s, and prolonged annealing did not give any increase in coercivity. Detailed results on the effects of annealing time, temperature and heating rate have been obtained. The dependence of magnetic properties on the annealing parameters has been investigated. Structural characterization revealed that there is a close correlation between magnetic hardening and nanostructured morphology. The coercivity mechanism was also studied by analysing the magnetization minor loops.

Effects of post-annealing and cobalt co-doping on superconducting properties of (Ca,Pr)Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} single crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okada, T., E-mail: 8781303601@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Ogino, H.; Yakita, H.; Yamamoto, A.; Kishio, K.; Shimoyama, J.

2014-10-15

Highlights: • Post-annealing at 400 °C killed superconductivity for Co-free sample. • Pr,Co co-doped samples maintained superconductivity even after annealing. • Two-step superconducting transition was observed via magnetization measurement. • Bulk superconductivity of low-T{sub c} component was confirmed. • Superconducting volume fraction of high-T{sub c} component was always small. - Abstract: In order to clarify the origin of anomalous superconductivity in (Ca,RE)Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} system, Pr doped and Pr,Co co-doped CaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} single crystals were grown by the FeAs flux method. These samples showed two-step superconducting transition with T{sub c1} = 25–42 K, and T{sub c2} < 16 K, suggesting that (Ca,RE)Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} system has two superconducting components. Post-annealing performed for these crystals in evacuated quartz ampoules at various temperatures revealed that post-annealing at ∼400 °C increased the c-axis length for all samples. This indicates that as-grown crystals have a certain level of strain, which is released by post-annealing at ∼400 °C. Superconducting properties also changed dramatically by post-annealing. After annealing at 400 °C, some of the co-doped samples showed large superconducting volume fraction corresponding to the perfect diamagnetism below T{sub c2} and high J{sub c} values of 10{sup 4}–10{sup 5} A cm{sup −2} at 2 K in low field, indicating the bulk superconductivity of (Ca,RE)Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} phase occurred below T{sub c2}. On the contrary, the superconducting volume fraction above T{sub c2} was always very small, suggesting that 40 K-class superconductivity observed in this system is originating in the local superconductivity in the crystal.

Near-wall molecular ordering of dilute ionic liquids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jitvisate, Monchai; Seddon, James Richard Thorley

2017-01-01

The interfacial behavior of ionic liquids promises tunable lubrication as well as playing an integral role in ion diffusion for electron transfer. Diluting the ionic liquids optimizes bulk parameters, such as electric conductivity, and one would expect dilution to disrupt the near-wall molecular

Exponentially Biased Ground-State Sampling of Quantum Annealing Machines with Transverse-Field Driving Hamiltonians.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandrà, Salvatore; Zhu, Zheng; Katzgraber, Helmut G

2017-02-17

We study the performance of the D-Wave 2X quantum annealing machine on systems with well-controlled ground-state degeneracy. While obtaining the ground state of a spin-glass benchmark instance represents a difficult task, the gold standard for any optimization algorithm or machine is to sample all solutions that minimize the Hamiltonian with more or less equal probability. Our results show that while naive transverse-field quantum annealing on the D-Wave 2X device can find the ground-state energy of the problems, it is not well suited in identifying all degenerate ground-state configurations associated with a particular instance. Even worse, some states are exponentially suppressed, in agreement with previous studies on toy model problems [New J. Phys. 11, 073021 (2009)NJOPFM1367-263010.1088/1367-2630/11/7/073021]. These results suggest that more complex driving Hamiltonians are needed in future quantum annealing machines to ensure a fair sampling of the ground-state manifold.

On the Wigner law in dilute random matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Khorunzhy, A.; Rodgers, G. J.

1998-12-01

We consider ensembles of N × N symmetric matrices whose entries are weakly dependent random variables. We show that random dilution can change the limiting eigenvalue distribution of such matrices. We prove that under general and natural conditions the normalised eigenvalue counting function coincides with the semicircle (Wigner) distribution in the limit N → ∞. This can be explained by the observation that dilution (or more generally, random modulation) eliminates the weak dependence (or correlations) between random matrix entries. It also supports our earlier conjecture that the Wigner distribution is stable to random dilution and modulation.

Asymptotic Distribution of Eigenvalues of Weakly Dilute Wishart Matrices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khorunzhy, A. [Institute for Low Temperature Physics (Ukraine)], E-mail: khorunjy@ilt.kharkov.ua; Rodgers, G. J. [Brunel University, Uxbridge, Department of Mathematics and Statistics (United Kingdom)], E-mail: g.j.rodgers@brunel.ac.uk

2000-03-15

We study the eigenvalue distribution of large random matrices that are randomly diluted. We consider two random matrix ensembles that in the pure (nondilute) case have a limiting eigenvalue distribution with a singular component at the origin. These include the Wishart random matrix ensemble and Gaussian random matrices with correlated entries. Our results show that the singularity in the eigenvalue distribution is rather unstable under dilution and that even weak dilution destroys it.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of annealed SUS 304H austenitic stainless steel with copper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sen, Indrani [Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Amankwah, E. [Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Department of Materials Science, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja (Nigeria); Kumar, N.S. [Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Fleury, E. [Center for High Temperature Energy Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Oh-ishi, K.; Hono, K. [National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047 (Japan); Ramamurty, U., E-mail: ramu@materials.iisc.ernet.in [Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India)

2011-05-25

Research highlights: {yields} SUS 304H austenitic stainless steel containing 3 wt.% Cu was annealed at 700 deg. C for up to 100 h. {yields} Microstructure and mechanical properties of annealed alloys are examined. {yields} Nano-sized Cu-rich precipitation upon annealing. {yields} Strength of the alloy remains invariant with annealing whereas ductility improves. {yields} Fatigue crack growth threshold of 3 wt.% Cu added alloy increases with annealing. - Abstract: An experimental investigation into the effect of Cu on the mechanical properties of 0 and 3 wt.% Cu added SUS 304H austenitic stainless steel upon annealing at 700 deg. C for up to 100 h was conducted. Optical microscopy reveals grain coarsening in both the alloys upon annealing. Observations by transmission electron microscopy revealed the precipitation of nanometer-sized spherical Cu particles distributed within the austenitic grains and the presence of carbides at the dislocations. Both the yield and ultimate tensile strengths of the alloys were found to remain invariant with annealing. Tensile ductility and the threshold stress intensity factor range for fatigue crack growth for 3 wt.% Cu added alloy increase with annealing. These are attributed to the grain coarsening with annealing. In all, the addition of Cu to SUS 304H does not affect the mechanical performance adversely while improving creep resistance.

Adequacy of annealing duration in reducing the background counts of personnel monitoring TLD cards - a study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, Kshama; Varadharajan, Geetha; Punekar, M.P.; Chougaokar, M.P.; Ayappan, P.

2010-01-01

In India, the personnel monitoring service of ∼ 70,000 radiation workers is being provided using indigenously developed TLD system comprising three CaSO 4 :Dy embedded Teflon discs. In order to remove TL and reset the distribution of defects/trapping centres, all TLD cards are subjected to an annealing treatment at elevated temperature prior to their next use. As per the standardized protocol annealing is carried out in a hot air circulating oven at 230 deg C for 4 hr, which is sufficient to reset the TL dosemeters for dose levels upto 100 mSv. In order to verify the appropriateness of annealing procedures adopted by the Laboratory, a detailed study was conducted using four sets of cards namely A, B, C and D series, exposed to various dose levels

Modeling syngas-fired gas turbine engines with two dilutants

Science.gov (United States)

Hawk, Mitchell E.

2011-12-01

Prior gas turbine engine modeling work at the University of Wyoming studied cycle performance and turbine design with air and CO2-diluted GTE cycles fired with methane and syngas fuels. Two of the cycles examined were unconventional and innovative. The work presented herein reexamines prior results and expands the modeling by including the impacts of turbine cooling and CO2 sequestration on GTE cycle performance. The simple, conventional regeneration and two alternative regeneration cycle configurations were examined. In contrast to air dilution, CO2 -diluted cycle efficiencies increased by approximately 1.0 percentage point for the three regeneration configurations examined, while the efficiency of the CO2-diluted simple cycle decreased by approximately 5.0 percentage points. For CO2-diluted cycles with a closed-exhaust recycling path, an optimum CO2-recycle pressure was determined for each configuration that was significantly lower than atmospheric pressure. Un-cooled alternative regeneration configurations with CO2 recycling achieved efficiencies near 50%, which was approximately 3.0 percentage points higher than the conventional regeneration cycle and simple cycle configurations that utilized CO2 recycling. Accounting for cooling of the first two turbine stages resulted in a 2--3 percentage point reduction in un-cooled efficiency, with air dilution corresponding to the upper extreme. Additionally, when the work required to sequester CO2 was accounted for, cooled cycle efficiency decreased by 4--6 percentage points, and was more negatively impacted when syngas fuels were used. Finally, turbine design models showed that turbine blades are shorter with CO2 dilution, resulting in fewer design restrictions.

Recent evaluation of 'wet' thermal annealing to resolve reactor pressure vessel embrittlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Server, W.L.; Biemiller, E.C.

1993-01-01

Prior to the decision to close the Yankee Rowe plant in 1992, a great deal of effort was expended in trying to resolve the degree of neutron embrittlement that the reactor pressure vessel had experienced after 30 years of operation. One mitigative measure that was examined in detail was the possibility of performing a relatively low temperature thermal anneal (at approximately 650 deg. F) to partially restore the original design level of mechanical properties of the reactor pressure vessel beltline region which were lost due to the neutron radiation exposure. This low temperature anneal was to involve heating of the primary coolant water using pump heat in a similar manner as that used to anneal the Belgian BR-3 reactor pressure vessel in the early 1980s. This 'wet' anneal was successful in recovering mechanical properties for the BR-3 vessel, but the extent of the recovery, as well as the rate of re-embrittlement after the anneal, were issues that were difficult to quantify since the exact reactor pressure vessel steels were not available for experimental verification. For the case of Yankee Rowe, material was available from past surveillance programs for at least one of the materials in the vessel, as well as materials obtained from various sources which could act as bounding surrogates. An irradiation /annealing/reirradiation program was developed to better quantify the degree of recovery and re-embrittlement for these materials, but this program was halted before significant test results were obtained. Prior to the initiation of the testing program, a review of past annealing data was performed and the data were scrutinized for direct relevance to the annealing response of the Yankee Rowe vessel. This paper discusses the results derived from this review. The results from the critical review of the past annealing data indicated that a 'wet' anneal of the Yankee Rowe vessel may have been successful in reducing the degree of embrittlement to the point that the

Effect of thermal annealing on the structure and magnetism of Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals synthesized by solid state reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dong; Chen, Z. Q.; Wang, D. D.; Gong, J.; Cao, C. Y.; Tang, Z.; Huang, L. R.

2010-11-01

High purity Fe 2O 3/ZnO nanocomposites were annealed in air at different temperatures between 100 and 1200 °C to get Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals. The structure and grain size of the Fe 2O 3/ZnO nanocomposites were investigated by X-ray diffraction 2θ scans. Annealing induces an increase of the grain size from 25 to 195 nm and appearance of franklinite phase of ZnFe 2O 4. Positron annihilation measurements reveal large number of vacancy defects in the interface region of the Fe 2O 3/ZnO nanocomposites, and they are gradually recovered with increasing annealing temperature. After annealing at temperatures higher than 1000 °C, the number of vacancies decreases to the lower detection limit of positrons. Room temperature ferromagnetism can be observed in Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals using physical properties measurement system. The ferromagnetism remains after annealing up to 1000 °C, suggesting that it is not related with the interfacial defects.

Effect of thermal annealing on the structure and magnetism of Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals synthesized by solid state reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Dong; Chen, Z.Q.; Wang, D.D.; Gong, J.; Cao, C.Y.; Tang, Z.; Huang, L.R.

2010-01-01

High purity Fe 2 O 3 /ZnO nanocomposites were annealed in air at different temperatures between 100 and 1200 o C to get Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals. The structure and grain size of the Fe 2 O 3 /ZnO nanocomposites were investigated by X-ray diffraction 2θ scans. Annealing induces an increase of the grain size from 25 to 195 nm and appearance of franklinite phase of ZnFe 2 O 4 . Positron annihilation measurements reveal large number of vacancy defects in the interface region of the Fe 2 O 3 /ZnO nanocomposites, and they are gradually recovered with increasing annealing temperature. After annealing at temperatures higher than 1000 o C, the number of vacancies decreases to the lower detection limit of positrons. Room temperature ferromagnetism can be observed in Fe-doped ZnO nanocrystals using physical properties measurement system. The ferromagnetism remains after annealing up to 1000 o C, suggesting that it is not related with the interfacial defects.

Graphite moderator annealing of the experimental reactor for irradiation (0.5 MW)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira Avila, Carlos Alberto de; Pires, Luis Fernando Goncalves

1995-01-01

This work describes an operational procedure for the annealing of the graphite moderator in the 0,5 MW Experimental Reactor for Irradiation. A theoretical methodology has been developed for calculating the temperature field during the annealing process. The equations for mass, momentum, and energy conservation for the coolant as well as for the energy conservation in the moderator are solved numerically. The energy stored in the graphite and released in the annealing is accounted for by the use of a modified source term in the energy conservation equation for the moderator. A good agreement has been found for comparisons of the calculations with annealing data from the BEPO reactor. The major parameters affecting annealing have also been determined. (author). 8 refs, 11 figs

Effects of annealing on tensile property and corrosion behavior of Ti-Al-Zr alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae-Kyu; Choi, Byung-Seon; Jeong, Yong-Hwan; Lee, Doo-Jeong; Chang, Moon-Hee

2002-01-01

The effects of annealing on the tensile property and corrosion behavior of Ti-Al-Zr alloy were evaluated. The annealing in the temperature range from 500 to 800 deg. C for 1 h induced the growth of the grain and the precipitate sizes. The results of tensile tests at room temperature showed that the strengths and the ductility were almost independent of the annealing temperature. However, the results of corrosion test in an ammonia aqueous solution of pH 9.98 at 360 deg. C showed that the corrosion resistance depended on the annealing temperature, and the corrosion rate was accelerated with increasing annealing temperature. Hydrogen contents absorbed during the corrosion test of 220 days also increased with the annealing temperature. It could be attributed to the growth of Fe-rich precipitates by annealing. It is thus suggested that the lower annealing temperatures provide the better corrosion properties without degrading the tensile properties

Cyclical Annealing Technique To Enhance Reliability of Amorphous Metal Oxide Thin Film Transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hong-Chih; Chang, Ting-Chang; Lai, Wei-Chih; Chen, Guan-Fu; Chen, Bo-Wei; Hung, Yu-Ju; Chang, Kuo-Jui; Cheng, Kai-Chung; Huang, Chen-Shuo; Chen, Kuo-Kuang; Lu, Hsueh-Hsing; Lin, Yu-Hsin

2018-02-26

This study introduces a cyclical annealing technique that enhances the reliability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) via-type structure thin film transistors (TFTs). By utilizing this treatment, negative gate-bias illumination stress (NBIS)-induced instabilities can be effectively alleviated. The cyclical annealing provides several cooling steps, which are exothermic processes that can form stronger ionic bonds. An additional advantage is that the total annealing time is much shorter than when using conventional long-term annealing. With the use of cyclical annealing, the reliability of the a-IGZO can be effectively optimized, and the shorter process time can increase fabrication efficiency.

Solving a Higgs optimization problem with quantum annealing for machine learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Mott, Alex; Job, Joshua; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Lidar, Daniel; Spiropulu, Maria

2017-10-18

The discovery of Higgs-boson decays in a background of standard-model processes was assisted by machine learning methods. The classifiers used to separate signals such as these from background are trained using highly unerring but not completely perfect simulations of the physical processes involved, often resulting in incorrect labelling of background processes or signals (label noise) and systematic errors. Here we use quantum and classical annealing (probabilistic techniques for approximating the global maximum or minimum of a given function) to solve a Higgs-signal-versus-background machine learning optimization problem, mapped to a problem of finding the ground state of a corresponding Ising spin model. We build a set of weak classifiers based on the kinematic observables of the Higgs decay photons, which we then use to construct a strong classifier. This strong classifier is highly resilient against overtraining and against errors in the correlations of the physical observables in the training data. We show that the resulting quantum and classical annealing-based classifier systems perform comparably to the state-of-the-art machine learning methods that are currently used in particle physics. However, in contrast to these methods, the annealing-based classifiers are simple functions of directly interpretable experimental parameters with clear physical meaning. The annealer-trained classifiers use the excited states in the vicinity of the ground state and demonstrate some advantage over traditional machine learning methods for small training datasets. Given the relative simplicity of the algorithm and its robustness to error, this technique may find application in other areas of experimental particle physics, such as real-time decision making in event-selection problems and classification in neutrino physics.

Point defects in dilute nitride III-N-As and III-N-P

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W.M.; Buyanova, I.A.; Tu, C.W.; Yonezu, H.

2006-01-01

We provide a brief review of our recent results from optically detected magnetic resonance studies of grown-in non-radiative defects in two most important dilute nitride systems-Ga(In)NAs grown on GaAs substrates and Ga(Al,In)NP grown on Si and GaP substrates. These results have led to the identification of defect complexes in the alloys, involving intrinsic defects such as As Ga antisites and Ga i self-interstitials. They have also shed light on formation mechanisms of the defects and on their role in non-radiative carrier recombination that is harmful to the performance of potential optoelectronic and photonic devices based on these dilute nitrides

Annealing of chemical radiation damage in zirconium nitrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahamood, Aysha; Chandunni, E.; Nair, S.M.K.

1979-01-01

A kinetic study of the annealing of γ-irradiation damage in zirconium nitrate is presented. The annealing can be represented as a combination of a first order and a second order process. It is considered that the first order process is the combination of close correlated pairs of Osup(-) and NO fragments and the second order process involves the single reaction of random recombination of the fragments throughout the crystal. (auth.)

Experiment data report for LOFT Boron dilution Experiment L6-6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stitt, B.D.; Divine, J.M.

1982-06-01

Selected pertinent and uninterpreted data from the sixth anticipated transient experiment (Experiment L6-6) conducted in the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) facility are presented. Experiment L6-6 simulated a boron dilution accident by injecting demineralized water into the primary coolant system (PCS) at a rate of 0.47 L/s while the reactor was in a cold shutdown condition with the control rods withdrawn. System pressure was maintained at approximately 285 kPa throughout the experiment. The experiment was divided into two parts. In the first part, L6-6A, a recirculation flow of 4.7 L/s was maintained through the PCS and criticality was achieved 7416 +- 10 s after the initiation of the dilution flow. The second part, L6-6B, was identical to L6-6A except that a recirculation flow of 9.5 L/s was maintained and criticality occurred at 8058 +- 10 s

Liquid nitrogen enhancement of partially annealed fission tracks in glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilione, L.J.; Gold, D.P.

1976-01-01

It is known that the number density of fission tracks in solids is reduced if the sample is heated before chemical etching, and the effect of annealing must be allowed for before an age can be assigned to the sample. The extent of annealing can be determined by measuring the reduction of track parameters (diameter and/or length) and comparison with unannealed tracks. Correct ages can be obtained by careful calibration studies of track density reduction against track diameter or length reduction at different annealing temperatures and times. For crystallised minerals, however, the resulting correction techniques are not generally valid. In the experimental work described glass samples were partially annealed and then immersed in liquid N 2 for various periods, and it was shown that the properties of the glass and the track parameters could be altered so as to observe tracks that would normally be erased by annealing. The results of track density measurements against liquid N 2 immersion times are shown graphically. A gain of about 40% was achieved after 760 hours immersion time. The size of the tracks was not noticeably affected by the immersion. It was thought that thermal shock might be the cause of the track enhancement, but it was found that repeated immersion for about 2 hours did not lead to an increase in track density. Other studies suggest that the mechanism that erases the tracks through annealing may be partially reversed when the temperature of the sample is significantly lowered for a sufficient length of time. Further work is under way to find whether or not the process of enhancement is a reversal of the annealing process. Similar enhancement effects using liquid N 2 have been observed for d-particle tracks in polycarbonate detectors. (U.K.)

Effects of annealing on the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of Ti-Al-V alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, T. K.; Choi, B. S.; Baek, J. H.; Choi, B. K.; Jeong, Y. H.; Lee, D. J.; Jang, M. H.; Jeong, Y. H.

2002-01-01

In order to determine the annealing condition after cold rolling, the effects of annealing on the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of Ti-Al-V alloy were evaluated. The results of tensile tests at room temperature showed that the strengths and the ductility were almost independent of the annealing temperature. The results of hardness test also revealed that the hardness was independent of the annealing, However, the results of corrosion test in an ammoniated water of pH 9.98 at 360 .deg. C showed that the corrosion resistance depended on the annealing temperature, and the corrosion rate was accelerated with increasing annealing temperature. Hydrogen contents absorbed during the corrosion test of 120 days also increased with the annealing temperature. It may be attributed to the growth of α' precipitates by annealing. It is thus suggested that the lower annealing temperatures provide the better corrosion properties without degrading the tensile properties

Synthesis and characterization of nickel oxide particulate annealed at different temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Khem Raj; Thakur, Shilpa; Negi, N. S.

2018-04-01

Nickel oxide has been synthesized by solution combustion technique. The nickel oxide ceramic was annealed at 600°C and 1000°C for 2 hours. Structural, electrical, dielectric and magnetic properties were analyzed which are strongly dependent upon the synthesis method. Structural properties were examined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), which confirmed the purity and cubic phase of nickel oxide. XRD data reveals the increase in crystallite size and decrease in full width half maximum (FWHM) as the annealing temperature increases. Electrical conductivity is found to increase from 10-6 to 10-5 (Ω-1cm-1) after annealing. Dielectric constant is observed to increase from 26 to 175 when the annealing temperature is increased from 600°C to 1000°C. Low value of coercive field is found which shows weak ferromagnetic behavior of NiO. It is observed that all the properties of NiO particulate improve with increasing annealing temperature.

Radiation annealing in Ag and Au due to energetic displacement cascades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Averback, R.S.; Merkle, K.L.

1975-01-01

Radiation annealing due to energetic displacement cascades has been studied in Ag and Au. Thin film specimens, 2500 A, were doped to various concentrations of Frenkel pair defects by irradiating with 150 keV protons at temperatures below 10 K. Subsequently, the specimens were irradiated below 10 K with energetic, approximately 540 keV, self-ions. Electrical resistivity measurements were used to monitor the concentration of defects as a function of dose. In Au, approximately 5 percent of the doped-in Frenkel pairs, annealed during the 540 keV Au irradiation. The annealing volume associated with individual cascades was found to be 2.1 x 10 -16 cm 3 . In Ag approximately 5 percent of the doped-in defects annealed during a 500 keV Ag irradiation and the annealing volume of the cascade was found to be 5 x 10 -16 cm 3 . In addition, the effects of doping concentration and specimen temperature during doping were investigated

Water-based adhesives with tailored hydrophobic association: dilution resistance and improved setting behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Dundua, Alexander; Landfester, Katharina; Taden, Andreas

2014-11-01

Hydrophobic association and stimuli-responsiveness is a powerful tool towards water-based adhesives with strongly improved properties, which is demonstrated based on the example of hydrophobically modified alkali-soluble latexes (HASE) with modulated association. Their rheological properties are highly tunable due to the hydrophobic domains that act as physical crosslinking sites of adjustable interaction strength. Ethanol, propanol, and butanol are used as water-soluble model additives with different hydrophobicity in order to specifically target the association sites and impact the viscoelastic properties and stimuli-responsiveness. The rheological and mechanical property response upon dilution with water can be tailored, and dilution-resistant or even dilution-thickening systems are obtained. The investigations are of high importance for water-based adhesives, as our findings provide insight into general structure-property relationships to improve their setting behavior, especially upon contact with wet substrates. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Rapid thermal and swift heavy ion induced annealing of Co ion implanted GaN films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranwal, V.; Pandey, A. C.; Gerlach, J. W.; Rauschenbach, B.; Karl, H.; Kanjilal, D.; Avasthi, D. K.

2008-01-01

Thin epitaxial GaN films grown on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates were implanted with 180 keV Co ions at three different fluences. As-implanted samples were characterized with secondary ion mass spectrometry and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry to obtain the Co depth profiles and the maximum Co concentrations. As-implanted samples were annealed applying two different techniques: rapid thermal annealing and annealing by swift heavy ion irradiation. Rapid thermal annealing was done at two temperatures: 1150 deg. C for 20 s and 700 deg. C for 5 min. 200 MeV Ag ions at two fluences were used for annealing by irradiation. Crystalline structure of the pristine, as-implanted, and annealed samples was investigated using x-ray diffraction, and the results were compared. Improvement of the crystalline quality was observed for rapid thermal annealed samples at the higher annealing temperature as confirmed with rocking curve measurements. The results indicate the presence of Co clusters in these annealed samples. Swift heavy ion irradiation with the parameters chosen for this study did not lead to a significant annealing

Effect of Al doping on the magnetic and electrical properties of Zn(Cu)O based diluted magnetic semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborti, D.; Trichy, G.; Narayan, J.; Prater, J. T.; Kumar, D.

2007-12-01

The effect of Al doping on the magnetic properties of Zn(Cu)O based dilute magnetic semiconducting thin films has been systematically investigated. Epitaxial thin films have been deposited onto sapphire c-plane single crystals using pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies show that the Zn(Cu,Al)O films are epitaxially grown onto (0001) sapphire substrates with a 30°/90° rotation in the basal plane. The large lattice misfit of the order of 16% is accommodated by matching integral multiples of lattice and substrate planes. In these large mismatch systems, the resulting films are fully relaxed following deposition of the first complete monolayer of ZnO (consistent with a critical thickness that is less than one monolayer). Magnetic hysteresis measurements indicate that the pure Zn(Cu)O thin films are ferromagnetic at room temperature. Doping with up to 5% Al (n type) does not significantly affect the ferromagnetism even though it results in an increase in carrier densities of more than 3 orders of magnitude, rising from 1×1017 to 1.5×1020 cm-3. However, for Al additions above 5%, a drop in net magnetization is observed. Annealing the films in an oxygen atmosphere at 600 °C also resulted in a dramatic drop in magnetic moment of the samples. These results strongly suggest that carrier induced exchange is not directly responsible for the magnetic properties of these materials. Rather, a defect mediated exchange mechanism needs to be invoked for this system.

Effect of CO_2 dilution on combustion and emissions characteristics of the hydrogen-enriched gasoline engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shuofeng; Ji, Changwei; Zhang, Bo; Cong, Xiaoyu; Liu, Xiaolong

2016-01-01

CO_2 (Carbon dioxide) dilution is a feasible way for controlling NOx (Nitrogen oxides) emissions and loads of the internal combustion engines. This paper investigated the effect of CO_2 dilution on the combustion and emissions characteristics of a hydrogen-enriched gasoline engine. The experiment was conducted on a 1.6 L spark-ignition engine with electronically controlled hydrogen and gasoline injection systems. At two hydrogen volume fractions of 0 and 3%, the CO_2 volume fraction in the intake was gradually increased from 0 to 4%. The fuel-air mixtures were kept at the stoichiometric. The experimental results demonstrated that brake mean effective pressure of the gasoline engine was quickly reduced after adopting CO_2 dilution. Comparatively, Bmep (Brake mean effective pressure) of the 3% hydrogen-enriched engine was gently decreased with the increase of CO_2 dilution level. Thermal efficiency of the 3% hydrogen-enriched gasoline engine was raised under properly increased CO_2 dilution levels. However, thermal efficiency of the pure gasoline engine was generally dropped after the CO_2 dilution. The addition of hydrogen could shorten flame development and propagation durations under CO_2 diluent conditions for the gasoline engine. Increasing CO_2 fraction in the intake caused the dropped NOx and raised HC (Hydrocarbon) emissions. Increasing hydrogen fraction in the intake could effectively reduce HC emissions under CO_2 diluent conditions. - Highlights: • CO_2 dilution reduces cooling loss and NOx of H_2-enriched gasoline engines. • H_2-blended gasoline engine gains better efficiency after CO_2 dilution. • CoVimep of H_2-blended gasoline engine is kept at low level after CO_2 addition. • CO_2 dilution has small effect on reducing Bmep of H_2-blended gasoline engine.

Annealing behaviour of a nanostructured Cu–45 at.%Ni alloy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Hui; Suo, H. L.; Mishin, Oleg

2013-01-01

The microstructure and crystallographic texture have been investigated in a Cu–45 at.%Ni alloy after heavy rolling and subsequent annealing at different temperatures. Cold-rolling to a von Mises strain of 5.7 produced a sample with an average boundary spacing along the normal direction of ~70 nm...... and a large fraction of high-angle boundaries (HABs), ~70 %. Annealing of this sample for 1 h at temperatures ≤450 °C causes structural coarsening, during which the fraction of HABs decreases. Annealing at higher temperatures results in pronounced discontinuous recrystallization accompanied by twinning. Large...... frequencies of twin boundaries contribute to high HAB fractions measured in the as-recrystallized condition. Cube-oriented grains demonstrate a size advantage compared to grains of other orientations, thus creating a strong cube texture in the recrystallized material. Further annealing of the recrystallized...

Thermal annealing of tilted fiber Bragg gratings

Science.gov (United States)

González-Vila, Á.; Rodríguez-Cobo, L.; Mégret, P.; Caucheteur, C.; López-Higuera, J. M.

2016-05-01

We report a practical study of the thermal decay of cladding mode resonances in tilted fiber Bragg gratings, establishing an analogy with the "power law" evolution previously observed on uniform gratings. We examine how this process contributes to a great thermal stability, even improving it by means of a second cycle slightly increasing the annealing temperature. In addition, we show an improvement of the grating spectrum after annealing, with respect to the one just after inscription, which suggests the application of this method to be employed to improve saturation issues during the photo-inscription process.

Identification of nitrogen- and host-related deep-level traps in n-type GaNAs and their evolution upon annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelczuk, Ł.; Kudrawiec, R.; Henini, M.

2014-01-01

Deep level traps in as-grown and annealed n-GaNAs layers (doped with Si) of various nitrogen concentrations (N = 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.2%) were investigated by deep level transient spectroscopy. In addition, optical properties of GaNAs layers were studied by photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance. The identification of N- and host-related traps has been performed on the basis of band gap diagram [Kudrawiec, Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 082109 (2012)], which assumes that the activation energy of electron traps of the same microscopic nature decreases with the rise of nitrogen concentration in accordance with the N-related shift of the conduction band towards trap levels. The application of this diagram has allowed to investigate the evolution of donor traps in GaNAs upon annealing. In general, it was observed that the concentration of N- and host-related traps decreases after annealing and PL improves very significantly. However, it was also observed that some traps are generated due to annealing. It explains why the annealing conditions have to be carefully optimized for this material system.

Sugar yields from dilute oxalic acid pretreatment of maple wood compared to those with other dilute acids and hot water.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Taiying; Kumar, Rajeev; Wyman, Charles E

2013-01-30

Dilute oxalic acid pretreatment was applied to maple wood to improve compatibility with downstream operations, and its performance in pretreatment and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis was compared to results for hydrothermal and dilute hydrochloric and sulfuric acid pretreatments. The highest total xylose yield of ∼84% of the theoretical maximum was for both 0.5% oxalic and sulfuric acid pretreatment at 160 °C, compared to ∼81% yield for hydrothermal pretreatment at 200 °C and for 0.5% hydrochloric acid pretreatment at 140 °C. The xylooligomer fraction from dilute oxalic acid pretreatment was only 6.3% of the total xylose in solution, similar to results with dilute hydrochloric and sulfuric acids but much lower than the ∼70% value for hydrothermal pretreatment. Combining any of the four pretreatments with enzymatic hydrolysis with 60 FPU cellulase/g of glucan plus xylan in the pretreated maple wood resulted in virtually the same total glucose plus xylose yields of ∼85% of the maximum possible. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Atomic scale simulations of arsenic ion implantation and annealing in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caturla, M.J.; Diaz de la Rubia, T.; Jaraiz, M.

1995-01-01

We present results of multiple-time-scale simulations of 5, 10 and 15 keV low temperature ion implantation of arsenic on silicon (100), followed by high temperature anneals. The simulations start with a molecular dynamics (MD) calculation of the primary state of damage after 10ps. The results are then coupled to a kinetic Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of bulk defect diffusion and clustering. Dose accumulation is achieved considering that at low temperatures the damage produced in the lattice is stable. After the desired dose is accumulated, the system is annealed at 800 degrees C for several seconds. The results provide information on the evolution for the damage microstructure over macroscopic length and time scales and affords direct comparison to experimental results. We discuss the database of inputs to the MC model and how it affects the diffusion process

Oxidation phase growth diagram of vanadium oxides film fabricated by rapid thermal annealing

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Tamura KOZO; Zheng-cao LI; Yu-quan WANG; Jie NI; Yin HU; Zheng-jun ZHANG

2009-01-01

Thermal evaporation deposited vanadium oxide films were annealed in air by rapid thermal annealing (RTP). By adjusting the annealing temperature and time, a series of vanadium oxide films with various oxidation phases and surface morphologies were fabricated, and an oxidation phase growth diagram was established. It was observed that different oxidation phases appear at a limited and continuous annealing condition range, and the morphologic changes are related to the oxidation process.

Structural study of conventional and bulk metallic glasses during annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pineda, E.; Hidalgo, I.; Bruna, P.; Pradell, T.; Labrador, A.; Crespo, D.

2009-01-01

Metallic glasses with conventional glass-forming ability (Al-Fe-Nd, Fe-Zr-B, Fe-B-Nb compositions) and bulk metallic glasses (Ca-Mg-Cu compositions) were studied by synchrotron X-ray diffraction during annealing throughout glass transition and crystallization temperatures. The analysis of the first diffraction peak position during the annealing process allowed us to follow the free volume change during relaxation and glass transition. The structure factor and the radial distribution function of the glasses were obtained from the X-ray measurements. The structural changes occurred during annealing are analyzed and discussed.

Composition dependent thermal annealing behaviour of ion tracks in apatite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nadzri, A., E-mail: allina.nadzri@anu.edu.au [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Schauries, D.; Mota-Santiago, P.; Muradoglu, S. [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Trautmann, C. [GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Gleadow, A.J.W. [School of Earth Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 (Australia); Hawley, A. [Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168 (Australia); Kluth, P. [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia)

2016-07-15

Natural apatite samples with different F/Cl content from a variety of geological locations (Durango, Mexico; Mud Tank, Australia; and Snarum, Norway) were irradiated with swift heavy ions to simulate fission tracks. The annealing kinetics of the resulting ion tracks was investigated using synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) combined with ex situ annealing. The activation energies for track recrystallization were extracted and consistent with previous studies using track-etching, tracks in the chlorine-rich Snarum apatite are more resistant to annealing than in the other compositions.

Investigations of morphological changes during annealing of polyethylene single crystals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tian, M.; Loos, J.

2001-01-01

The morphological evolution of isolated individual single crystals deposited on solid substrates was investigated during annealing experiments using in situ and ex situ atomic force microscopy techniques. The crystal morphology changed during annealing at temperatures slightly above the original

Large-deviation theory for diluted Wishart random matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Isaac Pérez; Metz, Fernando L.

2018-03-01

Wishart random matrices with a sparse or diluted structure are ubiquitous in the processing of large datasets, with applications in physics, biology, and economy. In this work, we develop a theory for the eigenvalue fluctuations of diluted Wishart random matrices based on the replica approach of disordered systems. We derive an analytical expression for the cumulant generating function of the number of eigenvalues IN(x ) smaller than x ∈R+ , from which all cumulants of IN(x ) and the rate function Ψx(k ) controlling its large-deviation probability Prob[IN(x ) =k N ] ≍e-N Ψx(k ) follow. Explicit results for the mean value and the variance of IN(x ) , its rate function, and its third cumulant are discussed and thoroughly compared to numerical diagonalization, showing very good agreement. The present work establishes the theoretical framework put forward in a recent letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 104101 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.104101] as an exact and compelling approach to deal with eigenvalue fluctuations of sparse random matrices.

The annealing effects on irradiated SiC piezo resistive pressure sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almaz, E.; Blue, T. E.; Zhang, P.

2009-01-01

The effects of temperature on annealing of Silicon Carbide (SiC) piezo resistive pressure sensor which was broken after high fluence neutron irradiation, were investigated. Previously, SiC piezo resistive sensor irradiated with gamma ray and fast neutron in the Co-60 gamma-ray irradiator and Beam Port 1 (BP1) and Auxiliary Irradiation Facility (AIF) at the Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (OSUNRL) respectively. The Annealing temperatures were tested up to 400 C. The Pressure-Output voltage results showed recovery after annealing process on SiC piezo resistive pressure sensor. The bridge resistances of the SiC pressure sensor stayed at the same level up to 300 C. After 400 C annealing, the resistance values changed dramatically.

Solid-state microwave annealing of ion-implanted 4H-SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundaresan, Siddarth G.; Tian, Yong-lai; Ridgway, Mark C.; Mahadik, Nadeemullah A.; Qadri, Syed B.; Rao, Mulpuri V.

2007-01-01

Solid-state microwave annealing was performed at temperatures up to 2120 deg, C for 30 s on ion-implanted 4H-SiC in N 2 ambient. The surface roughness in the samples annealed without a surface cap at 1950 deg, C is 2.65 nm for 10 μm x 10 μm atomic force microscopy scans. The sheet resistances measured on Al + - and P + -implanted 4H-SiC, annealed by microwaves, are lower than the best conventional furnace annealing results reported in literature. X-ray diffraction spectra indicate alleviation of the lattice damage induced by the ion-implantation and also incorporation of most of the implanted species into substitutional lattice sites

Electrically-inactive phosphorus re-distribution during low temperature annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Peral, Ana; Youssef, Amanda; Dastgheib-Shirazi, Amir; Akey, Austin; Peters, Ian Marius; Hahn, Giso; Buonassisi, Tonio; del Cañizo, Carlos

2018-04-01

An increased total dose of phosphorus (P dose) in the first 40 nm of a phosphorus diffused emitter has been measured after Low Temperature Annealing (LTA) at 700 °C using the Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry technique. This evidence has been observed in three versions of the same emitter containing different amounts of initial phosphorus. A stepwise chemical etching of a diffused phosphorus emitter has been carried out to prepare the three types of samples. The total P dose in the first 40 nm increases during annealing by 1.4 × 1015 cm-2 for the sample with the highly doped emitter, by 0.8 × 1015 cm-2 in the middle-doped emitter, and by 0.5 × 1015 cm-2 in the lowest-doped emitter. The presence of surface dislocations in the first few nanometers of the phosphorus emitter might play a role as preferential sites of local phosphorus gettering in phosphorus re-distribution, because the phosphorus gettering to the first 40 nm is lower when this region is etched stepwise. This total increase in phosphorus takes place even though the calculated electrically active phosphorus concentration shows a reduction, and the measured sheet resistance shows an increase after annealing at a low temperature. The reduced electrically active P dose is around 0.6 × 1015 cm-2 for all the emitters. This can be explained with phosphorus-atoms diffusing towards the surface during annealing, occupying electrically inactive configurations. An atomic-scale visual local analysis is carried out with needle-shaped samples of tens of nm in diameter containing a region of the highly doped emitter before and after LTA using Atom Probe Tomography, showing phosphorus precipitates of 10 nm and less before annealing and an increased density of larger precipitates after annealing (25 nm and less).

Burst annealing of electron damage in silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Day, A.C.; Horne, W.E.; Thompson, M.A.; Lancaster, C.A.

1985-01-01

A study has been performed of burst annealing of electron damage in silicon solar cells. Three groups of cells consisting of 3 and 0.3 ohm-cm silicon were exposed to fluences of 2 x 10 to the 14th power, 4 x 10 to the 14th power, and 8 x 10 to the 14th power 1-MeV electrons/sq cm, respectively. They were subsequently subjected to 1-minute bursts of annealing at 500 C. The 3 ohm-cm cells showed complete recovery from each fluence level. The 0.3 ohm-cm cells showed complete recovery from the 2 x 10 to the 14th power e/sq cm fluence; however, some of the 0.3 ohm-cm cells did not recover completely from the higher influences. From an analysis of the results it is concluded that burst annealing of moderate to high resistivity silicon cell arrays in space is feasible and that with more complete understanding, even the potentially higher efficiency low resistivity cells may be usable in annealable arrays in space

Applications of transient annealing to solar cell processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bentini, G.G. (C.N.R. Istituto LAMEL, Bologna (Italy))

1983-01-01

The economical reasons supporting the introduction of transient annealing in solar cell manufacturing are briefly discussed. Such techniques may play an important role, as they are compatible with the request of high throughput, automated processing together with the high quality of the p-n junction which are necessary for large scale economical production of photovoltaic energy. A survey of the applications of the different transient annealing techniques to solar cell processing has been developed by comparing in detail the results obtained up to now the case of solid and liquid phase transient annealing, associated with dry techniques such as Ion Implantation or dopant deposition on the wafer surface. The possibility of using laser pulses for the formation of the p-n junction by incorporation of dopant atoms from a suitable gaseous environment, has also been examined.

Fast assembly of ordered block copolymer nanostructures through microwave annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaojiang; Harris, Kenneth D; Wu, Nathanael L Y; Murphy, Jeffrey N; Buriak, Jillian M

2010-11-23

Block copolymer self-assembly is an innovative technology capable of patterning technologically relevant substrates with nanoscale precision for a range of applications from integrated circuit fabrication to tissue interfacing, for example. In this article, we demonstrate a microwave-based method of rapidly inducing order in block copolymer structures. The technique involves the usage of a commercial microwave reactor to anneal block copolymer films in the presence of appropriate solvents, and we explore the effect of various parameters over the polymer assembly speed and defect density. The approach is applied to the commonly used poly(styrene)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) and poly(styrene)-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) families of block copolymers, and it is found that the substrate resistivity, solvent environment, and anneal temperature all critically influence the self-assembly process. For selected systems, highly ordered patterns were achieved in less than 3 min. In addition, we establish the compatibility of the technique with directed assembly by graphoepitaxy.

Effect of vacuum annealing on evaporated pentacene thin films for memory device applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gayathri, A.G.; Joseph, C.M.

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: Switching of ITO/pentacene/Al thin films for different annealing temperatures. - Highlights: • Memory device performance in pentacene improved considerably with annealing. • ON/OFF ratio of the pentacene device increases due to annealing. • Threshold voltage reduces from 2.55 V to 1.35 V due to annealing. • Structure of pentacene thin films is also dependent on annealing temperature. - Abstract: Thin films of pentacene were deposited thermally onto glass substrates and annealed at 323 K, 373 K, 423 K, 473 K and 523 K in high vacuum. Effect of annealing on the morphological and structural properties of these films was studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the crystalline nature of the films. Electrical studies for the use as write once read many (WORM) memory devices were done for the vacuum deposited pentacene thin films on indium tin oxide coated glass. Due to annealing, a sharp increase in the ON/OFF ratio of current and a decrease in threshold voltage were observed at around 373 K. This device showed a stable switching with an ON/OFF current ratio as high as 10 9 and a switching threshold voltage of 1.35 V. The performance of the device degraded above 423 K due to the changes in the crystallinity of the film.

Effect of transient annealing on patterned CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Kuo-Ming; Huang, Chao-Hsien; Lin, Shiao-Chi; Wu, Jong-Ching [Department of Physics and Taiwan SPIN Research Center, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua 50007 (China); Kao, Ming-Jer; Tsai, Ming-Jinn [Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 31040 (China); Horng, Lance

2007-12-15

In this study, the transient annealing effect on the switching behavior of microstructured Co{sub 60}Fe{sub 20}B{sub 20}-based magnetic tunnel junctions has been studied through magnetoresistance measurements (R-H loop). Elliptical shape of devices with long/short axis of 4/2 micrometers was patterned out of sheet film stack of: Ta(20)/PtMn(15)/CoFeB(3)/Al(0.7)-oxide/CoFeB(2)/Ru(8)/Ta(40) (thickness unit in nanometers) after a conventional long time field cooling annealing. The transient annealing was then executed by sample loading into a furnace with pre-set temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 C for only 5 minutes in the absence of any external magnetic field. The vortex-like reverse of free layer in as-etched MTJ evidently changes to single-domain-like reverser after 200{proportional_to}250 C transient annealing. The magnetoresistance was found to increase with increasing annealing temperatures up to 265 C and then slowly decrease at higher annealing temperatures. The transient thermal annealing creates obvious efforts to repair magnetic properties of MTJ cell befor 265 C annealing and results in less damage at temperature of 350 C and 400 C. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Effect of transient annealing on patterned CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Kuo-Ming; Huang, Chao-Hsien; Lin, Shiao-Chi; Wu, Jong-Ching; Kao, Ming-Jer; Tsai, Ming-Jinn; Horng, Lance

2007-01-01

In this study, the transient annealing effect on the switching behavior of microstructured Co 60 Fe 20 B 20 -based magnetic tunnel junctions has been studied through magnetoresistance measurements (R-H loop). Elliptical shape of devices with long/short axis of 4/2 micrometers was patterned out of sheet film stack of: Ta(20)/PtMn(15)/CoFeB(3)/Al(0.7)-oxide/CoFeB(2)/Ru(8)/Ta(40) (thickness unit in nanometers) after a conventional long time field cooling annealing. The transient annealing was then executed by sample loading into a furnace with pre-set temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 C for only 5 minutes in the absence of any external magnetic field. The vortex-like reverse of free layer in as-etched MTJ evidently changes to single-domain-like reverser after 200∝250 C transient annealing. The magnetoresistance was found to increase with increasing annealing temperatures up to 265 C and then slowly decrease at higher annealing temperatures. The transient thermal annealing creates obvious efforts to repair magnetic properties of MTJ cell befor 265 C annealing and results in less damage at temperature of 350 C and 400 C. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Effect of vacuum annealing on evaporated pentacene thin films for memory device applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gayathri, A.G., E-mail: gaythri305@yahoo.com; Joseph, C.M., E-mail: cmjoseph@rediffmail.com

2016-09-15

Graphical abstract: Switching of ITO/pentacene/Al thin films for different annealing temperatures. - Highlights: • Memory device performance in pentacene improved considerably with annealing. • ON/OFF ratio of the pentacene device increases due to annealing. • Threshold voltage reduces from 2.55 V to 1.35 V due to annealing. • Structure of pentacene thin films is also dependent on annealing temperature. - Abstract: Thin films of pentacene were deposited thermally onto glass substrates and annealed at 323 K, 373 K, 423 K, 473 K and 523 K in high vacuum. Effect of annealing on the morphological and structural properties of these films was studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the crystalline nature of the films. Electrical studies for the use as write once read many (WORM) memory devices were done for the vacuum deposited pentacene thin films on indium tin oxide coated glass. Due to annealing, a sharp increase in the ON/OFF ratio of current and a decrease in threshold voltage were observed at around 373 K. This device showed a stable switching with an ON/OFF current ratio as high as 10{sup 9} and a switching threshold voltage of 1.35 V. The performance of the device degraded above 423 K due to the changes in the crystallinity of the film.

Effect of additional nickel on crystallization degree evolution of expanded graphite during ball-milling and annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Liqin; Yue Xueqing; Zhang Fucheng; Zhang Ruijun

2010-01-01

Expanded graphite (EG) and a mixture of EG and nickel (EG-Ni system) were ball-milled and subsequently annealed, respectively. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After 100 h milling, the average crystallite thickness (L c ) of EG and EG-Ni system deceases from 14.5 to 8.0 and 9.6 nm, respectively, while the interlayer spacing (d 002 ) increases from 0.3341 to 0.3371 and 0.3348 nm, respectively. It can be concluded that ball-milling decreases the crystallization degree of EG, while the additional nickel restrains this process. For the samples ball-milled for 80 h, the disorder parameter I D /(I D + I G ) ratio of EG and EG-Ni system is in the range of 20.7-55.8% and 31.7-45.8%, respectively, implying that the presence of nickel is beneficial to more homogeneous ball-milling of EG. When the samples after ball-milling for 80 h were annealed for 4 h, the average crystallite thickness of EG and EG-Ni system increases from 8.5 to 9.0 nm and from 11.8 to 15.5 nm, respectively. It is deduced that annealing improves the crystallization degree of ball-milled EG, and the additional nickel is helpful for this process.

Towards p-type ZnO using post-growth annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dangbegnon, J.K.; Roro, K.T.; Botha, J.R. [Department of Physics, P.O. Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

2008-01-15

The optical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs substrate are investigated. Samples were annealed in two different ambients, namely nitrogen and oxygen, and studied by photoluminescence (PL). Samples annealed in oxygen at 600 C show arsenic acceptor-related signatures. The near-band-edge emission is dominated by an excitonic feature at 3.355 eV and compensation broadens the spectra. No such changes are observed when similar samples are annealed in nitrogen. The diffusion of arsenic from the GaAs substrate appears to be a source of acceptors. This effect is enhanced in an oxygen atmosphere. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Reduction of Annealing Times for Energy Conservation in Aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anthony D. Rollett; Hasso Weiland; Mohammed Alvi; Abhijit Brahme

2005-08-31

Carnegie Mellon University was teamed with the Alcoa Technical Center with support from the US Dept. of Energy (Office of Industrial Technology) and the Pennsylvania Technology Investment Authority (PTIA) to make processing of aluminum less costly and more energy efficient. Researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have investigated how annealing processes in the early stages of aluminum processing affect the structure and properties of the material. Annealing at high temperatures consumes significant amounts of time and energy. By making detailed measurements of the crystallography and morphology of internal structural changes they have generated new information that will provide a scientific basis for shortening processing times and consuming less energy during annealing.

Influence of rolling and annealing conditions on texture and mechanical properties of zirconium (1960)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orssaud, J.

1958-06-01

Rolling and annealing textures of KROLL zirconium samples at several rolling rates were studied by pole figures with an automatic recorder versus the position in the sheet thickness. Tensile tests, hardness measurements and micrographic examinations allowed to study the evolution of the recrystallization and the variation of the mechanical properties after rolling and/or annealing. Annealing textures slightly varies with the annealing temperature. Annealing at 500 deg. C gives several peculiarities. This temperature seems characteristic in the study of zirconium. (author) [fr

Effects of Annealing on TiN Thin Film Growth by DC Magnetron Sputtering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azadeh Jafari

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We have reviewed the deposition of titanium nitride (TiN thin films on stainless steel substrates by a DC magnetron sputtering method and annealing at different annealing temperatures of 500, 600, and 700°C for 120 min in nitrogen/argon atmospheres. Effects of annealing temperatures on the structural and the optical properties of TiN films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD, atomic force microscope (AFM, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, and UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Our experimental studies reveal that the annealing temperature appreciably affected the structures, crystallite sizes, and reflection of the films. By increasing the annealing temperature to 700°C crystallinity and reflection of the film increase. These results suggest that annealed TiN films can be good candidate for tokamak first wall due to their structural and optical properties.

Study of dilute aluminum--gold alloys for superconducting stabilizer applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartwig, K.T. Jr.

1977-01-01

Control over a wide variation in mechanical and physical characteristics was achieved by subjecting Al--Au alloys to precipitation hardening treatments. Annealing phenomena were monitored by resistivity measurements at 273, 77, and 4.2 K and by yield strength measurements at 296, 77, and 4.2 K. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to confirm the presence of an intermetallic precipitate dispersion in aged Al--Au. Artificial aging of Al--Au results in a remarkable strength increase and a large decrease in resistivity at 4.2 K as numerous Al 2 Au precipitates form. The precipitation mechanism is independent of composition up to at least 0.2 wt % Au. Regardless of the heat treatment used to induce aging the alloy resistivity is directly proportional to gold concentration. At long aging times the residual resistivity ratio (RRR identical with rho/sub 273 K//rho sub 4.2 K/) of Al--0.2 wt % Au approaches 1000. The yield strength of Al--Au alloys at 4.2 K is shown to be directly proportional to gold concentration for aged alloy and is six to seven times greater than that of pure aluminum. The optimum strength-resistivity relationship was defined for Al--0.2 wt % Au. Thus, Al--Au seems to be comparable to other materials now used as stabilizers. Consideration was also given to the potential stabilizer use of dilute Al--Sb alloys, the prospect for use was not promising

The influence of annealing temperature on the strength of TRISO coated particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rooyen, I.J. van, E-mail: Isabel.vanrooyen@pbmr.co.z [Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd., 1279 Mike Crawford Avenue, Centurion (South Africa); Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Neethling, J.H. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); Rooyen, P.M. van [Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd., 1279 Mike Crawford Avenue, Centurion (South Africa)

2010-07-31

The integrity of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) fuel, and specifically the SiC layer system of the Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) coated particle (CP), namely inner pyrolytic carbon, silicon carbide and outer pyrolytic carbon (I-PyC-SiC-O-PyC), determines the containment of fission products. The PBMR fuel consists of TRISO coated particles (CPs) embedded in a graphite matrix. One of the characterization techniques investigated by PBMR is the determination of strength of CPs. It is a well known metallurgical fact that temperature, amongst many other parameters, may influence the strength of a material. A recently developed method for measuring the strength of the TRISO coated particles was used and is briefly described in this article. The advantages of this method are demonstrated by the comparison of strength measurements of five experimental PBMR CP batches as a function of annealing temperature. Significant modification of strength after annealing was measured with increased temperature within the range 1000-2100 {sup o}C. The interesting feature of decreasing standard deviation of the strength with increasing temperature will also be discussed with a possible explanation. A significant difference in coated particle strength is also demonstrated for two CP batches with layer thickness on the extremities of the SiC layer thickness specification. The effect of long duration annealing on these strength values will also be demonstrated by comparing results from 1 h to 100 h annealing periods of coated particles at a temperature of 1600 {sup o}C.

Simulated annealing image reconstruction for positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundermann, E.; Lemahieu, I.; Desmedt, P.

1994-01-01

In Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images have to be reconstructed from moisy projection data. The noise on the PET data can be modeled by a Poison distribution. In this paper, we present the results of using the simulated annealing technique to reconstruct PET images. Various parameter settings of the simulated annealing algorithm are discussed and optimized. The reconstructed images are of good quality and high contrast, in comparison to other reconstruction techniques. (authors)

Low-temperature annealing of radiation defects in electron-irradiated gallium phosphide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, A.A.; Megela, I.G.; Buturlakin, A.P.; Goyer, D.B.

1990-01-01

The isochronal annealing of radiation defects in high-energy electron irradiated n-GaP monocrystals within the 77 to 300 K range has been investigated by optical and electrical techniques. The changes in conductance and charge carrier mobility as functions of annealing temperature as well as the variation of optical absorption spectra of GaP under irradiation and annealing provide evidence that most of radiation defects are likely secondary complexes of defects

Response of neutron-irradiated RPV steels to thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskander, S.K.; Sokolov, M.A.; Nanstad, R.K.

1997-01-01

One of the options to mitigate the effects of irradiation on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) is to thermally anneal them to restore the fracture toughness properties that have been degraded by neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes experimental results of work performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to study the annealing response of several irradiated RPV steels

Annealing effect on the microstructure and magnetic properties of 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, H.L.; Gao, R.; Zhang, T.; Wang, X.P.; Fang, Q.F.; Liu, C.S.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: TEM images of microstructure for 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel annealed for 2 h at different temperatures: (a) 600 °C, (b) 800 °C, (c) 950 °C, and (d) 1150 °C, and the evolution trends of coercivity field (H_C) and Vickers microhardness for samples annealed at above temperatures for 2 h and 50 h. - Highlights: • The thermal stability of annealed 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel was investigated. • The particle size keeps fairly constant with increasing annealing temperature. • The grain size is still 2–4 μm even after annealing for 50 h at 1150 °C. • The hardness and H_C are almost unchanged after annealing from 800 °C to 1150 °C. - Abstract: The microstructure and magnetic properties of the 14%Cr oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steel fabricated by sol–gel and HIP method were investigated by annealing in vacuum for 2 h (at 300, 600, 800, 950 and 1150 °C) and 50 h (at 600, 800, 950 and 1150 °C). Microstructure analysis shows that as the annealing temperature increases, the size of oxide nanoparticles becomes smaller and their dispersion in matrix becomes more homogeneous. Grain size remains stable when the annealing temperature is below 800 °C, while above 800 °C, grain size grows with the increasing annealing temperature and time. The Vickers microhardness and coercivity (H_C) display almost similar evolution trend with annealing temperature for 2 h and 50 h. No obvious recrystallization appears after 1150 °C annealing, which indicates the high microstructural stability of 14%Cr-ODS ferritic steel. The possible mechanism for above behaviors is discussed in this paper.

454-Pyrosequencing Analysis of Bacterial Communities from Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal Bioreactors Utilizing Universal Primers: Effect of Annealing Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Martinez, Alejandro; Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alejandro; Rodelas, Belén; Abbas, Ben A; Martinez-Toledo, Maria Victoria; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Osorio, F; Gonzalez-Lopez, Jesus

2015-01-01

Identification of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria by molecular tools aimed at the evaluation of bacterial diversity in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems is limited by the difficulty to design universal primers for the Bacteria domain able to amplify the anammox 16S rRNA genes. A metagenomic analysis (pyrosequencing) of total bacterial diversity including anammox population in five autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies, two bench-scale models (MBR and Low Temperature CANON) and three full-scale bioreactors (anammox, CANON, and DEMON), was successfully carried out by optimization of primer selection and PCR conditions (annealing temperature). The universal primer 530F was identified as the best candidate for total bacteria and anammox bacteria diversity coverage. Salt-adjusted optimum annealing temperature of primer 530F was calculated (47°C) and hence a range of annealing temperatures of 44-49°C was tested. Pyrosequencing data showed that annealing temperature of 45°C yielded the best results in terms of species richness and diversity for all bioreactors analyzed.

Design of a scanning gate microscope for mesoscopic electron systems in a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelliccione, M; Sciambi, A; Bartel, J; Keller, A J; Goldhaber-Gordon, D

2013-03-01

We report on our design of a scanning gate microscope housed in a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of 15 mK. The recent increase in efficiency of pulse tube cryocoolers has made cryogen-free systems popular in recent years. However, this new style of cryostat presents challenges for performing scanning probe measurements, mainly as a result of the vibrations introduced by the cryocooler. We demonstrate scanning with root-mean-square vibrations of 0.8 nm at 3 K and 2.1 nm at 15 mK in a 1 kHz bandwidth with our design. Using Coulomb blockade thermometry on a GaAs/AlGaAs gate-defined quantum dot, we demonstrate an electron temperature of 45 mK.

Nitrogen annealing of zirconium or titanium metals and their alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eucken, C.M.

1982-01-01

A method is described of continuously nitrogen annealing zirconium and titanium metals and their alloys at temperatures at from 525 0 to 875 0 C for from 1/2 minute to 15 minutes. The examples include the annealing of Zircaloy-4. (U.K.)

Reduced-Complexity Deterministic Annealing for Vector Quantizer Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ortega Antonio

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a reduced-complexity deterministic annealing (DA approach for vector quantizer (VQ design by using soft information processing with simplified assignment measures. Low-complexity distributions are designed to mimic the Gibbs distribution, where the latter is the optimal distribution used in the standard DA method. These low-complexity distributions are simple enough to facilitate fast computation, but at the same time they can closely approximate the Gibbs distribution to result in near-optimal performance. We have also derived the theoretical performance loss at a given system entropy due to using the simple soft measures instead of the optimal Gibbs measure. We use thederived result to obtain optimal annealing schedules for the simple soft measures that approximate the annealing schedule for the optimal Gibbs distribution. The proposed reduced-complexity DA algorithms have significantly improved the quality of the final codebooks compared to the generalized Lloyd algorithm and standard stochastic relaxation techniques, both with and without the pairwise nearest neighbor (PNN codebook initialization. The proposed algorithms are able to evade the local minima and the results show that they are not sensitive to the choice of the initial codebook. Compared to the standard DA approach, the reduced-complexity DA algorithms can operate over 100 times faster with negligible performance difference. For example, for the design of a 16-dimensional vector quantizer having a rate of 0.4375 bit/sample for Gaussian source, the standard DA algorithm achieved 3.60 dB performance in 16 483 CPU seconds, whereas the reduced-complexity DA algorithm achieved the same performance in 136 CPU seconds. Other than VQ design, the DA techniques are applicable to problems such as classification, clustering, and resource allocation.

Evaluating impact of market changes on increasing cell-load variation in dynamic cellular manufacturing systems using a hybrid Tabu search and simulated annealing algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aidin Delgoshaei

2016-06-01