Induced Magnetic Moment in Defected Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Hong

2006-01-01

The existence of a large induced magnetic moment in defect single-walled carbon nanotube(SWNT) is predicted using the Green's function method. Specific to this magnetic moment of defect SWNT is its magnitude which is several orders of magnitude larger than that of perfect SWNT. The induced magnetic moment also shows certain remarkable features. Therefore, we suggest that two pair-defect orientations in SWNT can be distinguished in experiment through the direction of the induced magnetic moment at some Specific energy points

Point defects and magnetic properties of neutron irradiated MgO single crystal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mengxiong Cao

2017-05-01

Full Text Available (100-oriented MgO single crystals were irradiated to introduce point defects with different neutron doses ranging from 1.0×1016 to 1.0×1020 cm-2. The point defect configurations were studied with X-ray diffuse scattering and UV-Vis absorption spectra. The isointensity profiles of X-ray diffuse scattering caused by the cubic and double-force point defects in MgO were theoretically calculated based on the Huang scattering theory. The magnetic properties at different temperature were measured with superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID. The reciprocal space mappings (RSMs of irradiated MgO revealed notable diffuse scattering. The UV-Vis spectra indicated the presence of O Frenkel defects in irradiated MgO. Neutron-irradiated MgO was diamagnetic at room temperature and became ferromagnetic at low temperature due to O Frenkel defects induced by neutron-irradiation.

Observation of point defects in impurity-doped zinc selenide films using a monoenergetic positron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyajima, T.; Okuyama, H.; Akimoto, K.; Mori, Y.; Wei, L.; Tanigawa, S.

1992-01-01

We studied point defects in ZnSe films grown by molecular beam epitaxy using the positron annihilation method. We found that doping with Ga atoms induces vacancy-type defects such as Zn vacancies, and that heavy doping with oxygen atoms induces interstitial type defects. We think that these defects are one of the causes of active carrier saturation in doped ZnSe films. (author)

Absorption and atom mobility in electric field: point defect role in glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serruys, Y.; Vigouroux, J.P.

1986-10-01

During the surface analysis of dielectric materials, the impinging ionising particles induce point defects localised in the band gap and build an electrical charge. The electric field created by the charged defects modifies the physico-chemical properties of surface and bulk. We show that the fundamental study of defects allows a better understanding of technological phenomena such as dielectric breakdown, fracture and diffusion [fr

Point defects and atomic transport in crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lidiard, A.B.

1981-02-01

There are two principle aspects to the theory of atomic transport in crystals as caused by the action of point defects, namely (1) the calculation of relevant properties of the point defects (energies and other thermodynamic characteristics of the different possible defects, activation energies and other mobility parameters) and (2) the statistical mechanics of assemblies of defects, both equilibrium and non-equilibrium assemblies. In the five lectures given here both these aspects are touched on. The first two lectures are concerned with the calculation of relevant point defect properties, particularly in ionic crystals. The first lecture is more general, the second is concerned particularly with some recent calculations of the free volumes of formation of defects in various ionic solids; these solve a rather long-standing problem in this area. The remaining three lectures are concerned with the kinetic theory of defects mainly in relaxation, drift and diffusion situations

Point defects in platinum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piercy, G.R.

1960-01-01

An investigation was made of the mobility and types of point defect introduced in platinum by deformation in liquid nitrogen, quenching into water from 1600 o C, or reactor irradiation at 50 o C. In all cases the activation energy for motion of the defect was determined from measurements of electrical resistivity. Measurements of density, hardness, and x-ray line broadening were also made there applicable. These experiments indicated that the principal defects remaining in platinum after irradiation were single vacant lattice sites and after quenching were pairs of vacant lattice sites. Those present after deformation In liquid nitrogen were single vacant lattice sites and another type of defect, perhaps interstitial atoms. (author)

Irradiation damage in boron carbide: point defects, clusters and helium bubbles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoto, T.; Zuppiroli, L.

1986-06-01

Boron carbide is a refractory hard and light material of interest in nuclear technology (fission and also fusion). Transmission electron microscopy was used to examine the properties of radiation induced damage. Firstly, the production of point defects and their clustering was studied in samples irradiated by 1 MeV electron in a high voltage electron microscope at selected temperatures from 12 K to 1000 K. Secondly, conventional transmission electron microscopy was used to understand the production of helium bubbles in neutron irradiated boron carbide and their role in the generation of microcracks. Finally, the interaction between point defects and bubbles was also examined

Point defects in cubic boron nitride after neutron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atobe, Kozo; Honda, Makoto; Ide, Munetoshi; Yamaji, Hiromichi; Matsukawa, Tokuo; Fukuoka, Noboru; Okada, Moritami; Nakagawa, Masuo.

1993-01-01

The production of point defects induced by reactor neutrons and the thermal behavior of defects in sintered cubic boron nitride are investigated using the optical absorption and electron spin resonance (ESR) methods. A strong structureless absorption over the visible region was observed after fast neutron irradiation to a dose of 5.3 x 10 16 n/cm 2 (E > 0.1 MeV) at 25 K. This specimen also shows an ESR signal with g-value 2.006 ± 0.001, which can be tentatively identified as an electron trapped in a nitrogen vacancy. On examination of the thermal decay of the signal, the activation energy for recovery of the defects was determined to be about 1.79 eV. (author)

Electronic structure of point defects in semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruneval, Fabien

2014-01-01

This 'Habilitation a diriger des Recherches' memoir presents most of my scientific activities during the past 7 years, in the field of electronic structure calculations of defects in solids. Point defects (vacancies, interstitials, impurities) in functional materials are a key parameter to determine if these materials will actually fill the role they have been assigned or not. Indeed, the presence of defects cannot be avoided when the temperature is increased or when the material is subjected to external stresses, such as irradiation in the nuclear reactors and in artificial satellites with solar radiations. However, in many cases, defects are introduced in the materials on purpose to tune the electronic transport, optical or even magnetic properties. This procedure is called the doping of semiconductors, which is the foundation technique for transistors, diodes, or photovoltaic cells. However, doping is not always straightforward and unexpected features may occur, such as doping asymmetry or Fermi level pinning, which can only be explained by complex phenomena involving different types of defects or complexes of defects. In this context, the calculations of electronic structure ab initio is an ideal tool to complement the experimental observations, to gain the understanding of phenomena at the atomic level, and even to predict the properties of defects. The power of the ab initio calculations comes from their ability to describe any system of electrons and nuclei without any specific adjustment. But although there is a strong need for numerical simulations in this field, the ab initio calculations for defects are still under development as of today. The work presented in this memoir summarizes my contributions to methodological developments on this subject. These developments have followed two main tracks. The first topic is the better understanding of the unavoidable finite size effects. Indeed, defects in semiconductors or insulators are generally present in

Point defects and defect clusters examined on the basis of some fundamental experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuppiroli, L.

1975-01-01

On progressing from the centre of the defect to the surface the theoretical approach to a point defect passes from electronic theories to elastic theory. Experiments by which the point defect can be observed fall into two categories. Those which detect long-range effects: measurement of dimensional variations in the sample; measurement of the mean crystal parameter variation; elastic X-ray scattering near the nodes of the reciprocal lattice (Huang scattering). Those which detect more local effects: low-temperature resistivity measurement; positron capture and annihilation; local scattering far from the reciprocal lattice nodes. Experiments involving both short and long-range effects can always be found. This is the case for example with the dechanneling of α particles by defects. Certain of the experimental methods quoted above apply also to the study of point defect clusters. These methods are illustrated by some of their most striking results which over the last twenty years have refined our knowledge of point defects and defect clusters: length and crystal parameter measurements; diffuse X-ray scattering; low-temperature resistivity measurements; ion emission microscopy; electron microscopy; elastoresistivity [fr

Radiation induced segregation and point defects in binary copper alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteiro, W.A.

1984-01-01

Considerable progress, both theoretical and experimental, has been made in establishing and understanding the influence of factors such as temperature, time, displacement rate dependence and the effect of initial solute misfit on radiation induced solute diffusion and segregation. During irradiation, the composition of the alloy changes locally, due to defect flux driven non-equilibrium segregation near sinks such as voids, external surfaces and grain boundaries. This change in composition could influence properties and phenomena such as ductility, corrosion resistance, stress corrosion cracking, sputtering and blistering of materials used in thermo-nuclear reactors. In this work, the effect of 1 MeV electron irradiation on the initiation and development of segregation and defect diffusion in binary copper alloys has been studied in situ, with the aid of a high voltage electron microscope. The binary copper alloys had Be, Pt and Sn as alloying elements which had atomic radii less than, similar and greater than that of copper, respectively. It has been observed that in a wide irradiation temperature range, stabilization and growth of dislocation loops took place in Cu-Sn and Cu-Pt alloys. Whereas in the Cu-Be alloy, radiation induced precipitates formed and transformed to the stable γ phase. (Author) [pt

Fundamental investigation of point defect interactions in FE-CR alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirth, B.D.; Lee, H.J.; Wong, K.

2008-01-01

Full text of publication follows. Fe-Cr alloys are a leading candidate material for structural applications in Generation TV and fusion reactors, and there is a relatively large database on their irradiation performance. However, complete understanding of the response of Fe-Cr alloys to intermediate-to-high temperature irradiation, including the radiation induced segregation of Cr, requires knowledge of point defect and point defect cluster interactions with Cr solute atoms and impurities. We present results from a hierarchical multi-scale modelling approach of defect cluster behaviour in Fe-Cr alloys. The modelling includes ab initio electronic structure calculations performed using the VASP code with projector-augmented electron wave functions using PBE pseudo-potentials and a collinear treatment of magnetic spins, molecular dynamics using semi-empirical Finnic-Sinclair type potentials, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of coupled defect and Cr transport responsible for microstructural evolution. The modelling results are compared to experimental observations in both binary Fe-Cr and more complex ferritic-martensitic alloys, and provide a basis for understanding a dislocation loop evolution and the observations of Cr enrichment and depletion at grain boundaries in various irradiation experiments. (authors)

Spectral dependence of point defect production by x rays in RbBr

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, F.C.; Heald, S.M.; Jiang, D.; Brewe, D.L.; Kim, K.H.; Stern, E.A.

1999-01-01

F-center formation by monochromatic x rays has been studied above and below the bromine and rubidium K-absorption edges in crystals of RbBr. The x-ray beam from a double silicon crystal monochromator on an undulator at the Advanced Photon Source was used to produce these point defects, which were detected by a sensitive laser-induced luminescence method. Experiments were carried out over a wide range of monochromatic x-ray intensity, with emphasis on the nearly linear initial slope of defect formation with exposure. No significant increase in F-center formation efficiency was found upon crossing the bromine K edge, which indicates that additional Auger-cascade mechanisms do not appreciably add to the usual multiple ionization electron-hole recombination processes known to generate point defects. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Elastic dipoles of point defects from atomistic simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Varvenne, Céline; Clouet, Emmanuel

2017-12-01

The interaction of point defects with an external stress field or with other structural defects is usually well described within continuum elasticity by the elastic dipole approximation. Extraction of the elastic dipoles from atomistic simulations is therefore a fundamental step to connect an atomistic description of the defect with continuum models. This can be done either by a fitting of the point-defect displacement field, by a summation of the Kanzaki forces, or by a linking equation to the residual stress. We perform here a detailed comparison of these different available methods to extract elastic dipoles, and show that they all lead to the same values when the supercell of the atomistic simulations is large enough and when the anharmonic region around the point defect is correctly handled. But, for small simulation cells compatible with ab initio calculations, only the definition through the residual stress appears tractable. The approach is illustrated by considering various point defects (vacancy, self-interstitial, and hydrogen solute atom) in zirconium, using both empirical potentials and ab initio calculations.

FIBER OPTICS: Role of point defects in the photosensitivity of hydrogen-loaded phosphosilicate glass

Science.gov (United States)

Larionov, Yu V.

2010-08-01

It is shown that point defect modifications in hydrogen-loaded phosphosilicate glass (PSG) do not play a central role in determining its photosensitivity. Photochemical reactions that involve a two-step point defect modification and pre-exposure effect are incapable of accounting for photoinduced refractive index changes. It seems likely that a key role in UV-induced refractive index modifications is played by structural changes in the PSG network. Experimental data are presented that demonstrate intricate network rearrangement dynamics during UV exposure of PSG.

Modification of electronic structure, magnetic structure, and topological phase of bismuthene by point defects

Science.gov (United States)

Kadioglu, Yelda; Kilic, Sevket Berkay; Demirci, Salih; Aktürk, O. Üzengi; Aktürk, Ethem; Ciraci, Salim

2017-12-01

This paper reveals how the electronic structure, magnetic structure, and topological phase of two-dimensional (2D), single-layer structures of bismuth are modified by point defects. We first showed that a free-standing, single-layer, hexagonal structure of bismuth, named h-bismuthene, exhibits nontrivial band topology. We then investigated interactions between single foreign adatoms and bismuthene structures, which comprise stability, bonding, electronic structure, and magnetic structures. Localized states in diverse locations of the band gap and resonant states in band continua of bismuthene are induced upon the adsorption of different adatoms, which modify electronic and magnetic properties. Specific adatoms result in reconstruction around the adsorption site. Single vacancies and divacancies can form readily in bismuthene structures and remain stable at high temperatures. Through rebondings, Stone-Whales-type defects are constructed by divacancies, which transform into a large hole at high temperature. Like adsorbed adatoms, vacancies induce also localized gap states, which can be eliminated through rebondings in divacancies. We also showed that not only the optical and magnetic properties, but also the topological features of pristine h-bismuthene can be modified by point defects. The modification of the topological features depends on the energies of localized states and also on the strength of coupling between point defects.

In-Situ Photoexcitation-Induced Suppression of Point Defect Generation in Ion Implanted Silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, C.R.; Rozgonyi, G.A.; Yarykin, N.; Zuhr, R.A.

1999-01-01

The formation of vacancy-related defects in n-type silicon has been studied immediately after implantation of He, Si, or Ge ions at 85 K using in-situ DLTS. A-center concentrations in He-implanted samples reach a maximum immediately after implantation, whereas, with Si or Ge ion implanted samples they continuously increase during subsequent anneals. It is proposed that defect clusters, which emit vacancies during anneals, are generated in the collision cascades of Si or Ge ions. An illumination-induced suppression of A-center formation is seen immediately after implantation of He ions at 85 K. This effect is also observed with Si or Ge ions, but only after annealing. The suppression of vacancy complex formation via photoexcitation is believed to occur due to an enhanced recombination of defects during ion implantation, and results in reduced number of vacancies remaining in the defect clusters. In p-type silicon, a reduction in K-center formation and an enhanced migration of defects are concurrently observed in the illuminated sample implanted with Si ions. These observations are consistent with a model where the injection of excess carriers modifies the defect charge state and impacts their diffusion

Characterization of point defects in monolayer arsenene

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Xiongyi; Ng, Siu-Pang; Ding, Ning; Wu, Chi-Man Lawrence

2018-06-01

Topological defects that are inevitably found in 2D materials can dramatically affect their properties. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) method, the structural, thermodynamic, electronic and magnetic properties of six types of typical point defects in arsenene, i.e. the Stone-Wales defect, single and double vacancies and adatoms, were systemically studied. It was found that these defects were all more easily generated in arsenene with lower formation energies than those with graphene and silicene. Stone-Wales defects can be transformed from pristine arsenene by overcoming a barrier of 2.19 eV and single vacancy defects tend to coalesce into double vacancy defects by diffusion. However, a type of adatom defect does not exhibit kinetic stability at room temperature. In addition, SV defects and another type of adatom defect can remarkably affect the electronic and magnetic properties of arsenene, e.g. they can introduce localized states near the Fermi level, as well as a strongly local magnetic moment due to dangling bond and unpaired electron. Furthermore, the simulated scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Raman spectroscopy were computed and the types of point defects can be fully characterized by correlating the STM images and Raman spectra to the defective atomistic structures. The results provide significant insights to the effect of defects in arsenene for potential applications, as well as identifications of two helpful tools (STM and Raman spectroscopy) to distinguish the type of defects in arsenene for future experiments.

Diffuse scattering from crystals with point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrushevsky, N.M.; Shchedrin, B.M.; Simonov, V.I.; Malakhova, L.F.

2002-01-01

The analytical expressions for calculating the intensities of X-ray diffuse scattering from a crystal of finite dimensions and monatomic substitutional, interstitial, or vacancy-type point defects have been derived. The method for the determination of the three-dimensional structure by experimental diffuse-scattering data from crystals with point defects having various concentrations is discussed and corresponding numerical algorithms are suggested

Electron-spin-resonance study of radiation-induced paramagnetic defects in oxides grown on (100) silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.Y.; Lenahan, P.M.

1988-01-01

We have used electron-spin resonance to investigate radiation-induced point defects in Si/SiO 2 structures with (100) silicon substrates. We find that the radiation-induced point defects are quite similar to defects generated in Si/SiO 2 structures grown on (111) silicon substrates. In both cases, an oxygen-deficient silicon center, the E' defect, appears to be responsible for trapped positive charge. In both cases trivalent silicon (P/sub b/ centers) defects are primarily responsible for radiation-induced interface states. In earlier electron-spin-resonance studies of unirradiated (100) substrate capacitors two types of P/sub b/ centers were observed; in oxides prepared in three different ways only one of these centers, the P/sub b/ 0 defect, is generated in large numbers by ionizing radiation

Defects induced by helium implantation in SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliviero, E.; Barbot, J.F.; Declemy, A.; Beaufort, M.F.; Oliviero, E.

2008-01-01

SiC is one of the considered materials for nuclear fuel conditioning and for the fabrication of some core structures in future nuclear generation reactors. For the development of this advance technology, a fundamental research on this material is of prime importance. In particular, the implantation/irradiation effects have to be understood and controlled. It is with this aim that the structural alterations induced by implantation/irradiation in SiC are studied by different experimental techniques as transmission electron microscopy, helium desorption, X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. In this work, the different types of defects induced by helium implantation in SiC, point or primary defects (obtained at low energy (∼100 eV) until spread defects (obtained at higher energy (until ∼2 MeV)) are exposed. The amorphization/recrystallization and swelling phenomena are presented too. (O.M.)

Point defect weakened thermal contraction in monolayer graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Zha, Xian-Hu; Zhang, Rui-Qin; Lin, Zijing

2014-08-14

We investigate the thermal expansion behaviors of monolayer graphene and three configurations of graphene with point defects, namely the replacement of one carbon atom with a boron or nitrogen atom, or of two neighboring carbon atoms by boron-nitrogen atoms, based on calculations using first-principles density functional theory. It is found that the thermal contraction of monolayer graphene is significantly decreased by point defects. Moreover, the corresponding temperature for negative linear thermal expansion coefficient with the maximum absolute value is reduced. The cause is determined to be point defects that enhance the mechanical strength of graphene and then reduce the amplitude and phonon frequency of the out-of-plane acoustic vibration mode. Such defect weakening of graphene thermal contraction will be useful in nanotechnology to diminish the mismatching or strain between the graphene and its substrate.

A molecular dynamics simulation study of irradiation induced defects in gold nanowire

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wenqiang; Chen, Piheng; Qiu, Ruizhi; Khan, Maaz; Liu, Jie; Hou, Mingdong; Duan, Jinglai

2017-08-01

Displacement cascade in gold nanowires was studied using molecular dynamics computer simulations. Primary knock-on atoms (PKAs) with different kinetic energies were initiated either at the surface or at the center of the nanowires. We found three kinds of defects that were induced by the cascade, including point defects, stacking faults and crater at the surface. The starting points of PKAs influence the number of residual point defects, and this consequently affect the boundary of anti-radiation window which was proposed by calculation of diffusion of point defects to the free surface of nanowires. Formation of stacking faults that expanded the whole cross-section of gold nanowires was observed when the PKA's kinetic energy was higher than 5 keV. Increasing the PKA's kinetic energy up to more than 10 keV may lead to the formation of crater at the surface of nanowires due to microexplosion of hot atoms. At this energy, PKAs started from the center of nanowires can also result in the creation of crater because length of cascade region is comparable to diameter of nanowires. Both the two factors, namely initial positions of PKAs as well as the craters induced by higher energy irradiation, would influence the ability of radiation resistance of metal nanowires.

Point defect induced degradation of electrical properties of Ga2O3 by 10 MeV proton damage

Science.gov (United States)

Polyakov, A. Y.; Smirnov, N. B.; Shchemerov, I. V.; Yakimov, E. B.; Yang, Jiancheng; Ren, F.; Yang, Gwangseok; Kim, Jihyun; Kuramata, A.; Pearton, S. J.

2018-01-01

Deep electron and hole traps in 10 MeV proton irradiated high-quality β-Ga2O3 films grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) on bulk β-Ga2O3 substrates were measured by deep level transient spectroscopy with electrical and optical injection, capacitance-voltage profiling in the dark and under monochromatic irradiation, and also electron beam induced current. Proton irradiation caused the diffusion length of charge carriers to decrease from 350-380 μm in unirradiated samples to 190 μm for a fluence of 1014 cm-2, and this was correlated with an increase in density of hole traps with optical ionization threshold energy near 2.3 eV. These defects most likely determine the recombination lifetime in HVPE β-Ga2O3 epilayers. Electron traps at Ec-0.75 eV and Ec-1.2 eV present in as-grown samples increase in the concentration after irradiation and suggest that these centers involve native point defects.

The effect of point defects on ferroelastic phase transition of lanthanum-doped calcium titanate ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Yan; Zhang, Zhen; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yu; Ren, Xiaobing

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The effect of point defects on phase transitions in Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 was studied. ► When x = 0.45, normal ferroelastic phase transition happens. ► When x = 0.7, a “glassy-like” frozen process appears. ► Point defects weaken the thermodynamic stability of ferroelastic phase. ► Point defects induce a “glassy-like” frozen process. -- Abstract: In the present paper, La-doped CaTiO 3 is studied to investigate the effect of point defects on ferroelastic phase transition of the ceramics. The dynamic mechanical measurements show that the transition temperature of the orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transition of Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 decreases with increasing dopant (La) concentration x. The samples with the dopant content of x = 0.45 and 0.7 exhibit different structure evolution features during their transition processes as revealed by in situ powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. Moreover, when x = 0.7, the storage modulus shows a frequency-dependent minimum at T g , which can be well fitted with the Vogel–Fulcher relation, and the corresponding internal friction also exhibits a frequency-dependent peak within the same temperature regime. These results thus indicate that doping La suppresses ferroelastic phase transition in CaTiO 3 and induces a “glassy-like” behavior in Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 , which is similar to “strain glass” in Ni-doped Ti 50−x Ni 50+x

Point defects and irradiation in oxides: simulations at the atomic scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crocombette, J.P.

2005-11-01

The author gives an overview of his research activity since 1995. This activity concerns research in materials science, and more particularly the ageing of oxides present in the nuclear industry, or more generally, the evolution of these materials under irradiation. The first part deals with the investigation of point defects, and more particularly of the structures and energies of these defects. The author discusses results obtained on uranium dioxide, on amorphous silica, and on the solution of oxygen in silver. The second part deals with irradiation-induced damages in crystalline matrices storing radioactive actinides, and more particularly with the effect of alpha disintegration decay nuclei which are the main sources of long term irradiation in these materials

Point-defect migration into an infinitesimal dislocation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, C.H.

1981-11-01

Point-defect migration into an infinitesimal dislocation loop in an isotropic linear elastic medium is described. Particular care has been taken to include the effects of the saddle-point shape anisotropy of the point defect. Expressions for the reaction radii and the bias are derived, both in the presence and absence of an external applied stress. These are found to depend on intrinsic parameters, such as the loop strength, the loop nature (vacancy or interstitial), the relaxation volume, the saddle-point shape, and extrinsic parameters, such as the magnitude and direction of the external stress, and the temperature. The implications of the results are discussed

Combining DFT, Cluster Expansions, and KMC to Model Point Defects in Alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Modine, N. A.; Wright, A. F.; Lee, S. R.; Foiles, S. M.; Battaile, C. C.; Thomas, J. C.; van der Ven, A.

In an alloy, defect energies are sensitive to the occupations of nearby atomic sites, which leads to a distribution of defect properties. When radiation-induced defects diffuse from their initially non-equilibrium locations, this distribution becomes time-dependent. The defects can become trapped in energetically favorable regions of the alloy leading to a diffusion rate that slows dramatically with time. Density Functional Theory (DFT) allows the accurate determination of ground state and transition state energies for a defect in a particular alloy environment but requires thousands of processing hours for each such calculation. Kinetic Monte-Carlo (KMC) can be used to model defect diffusion and the changing distribution of defect properties but requires energy evaluations for millions of local environments. We have used the Cluster Expansion (CE) formalism to ``glue'' together these seemingly incompatible methods. The occupation of each alloy site is represented by an Ising-like variable, and products of these variables are used to expand quantities of interest. Once a CE is fit to a training set of DFT energies, it allows very rapid evaluation of the energy for an arbitrary configuration, while maintaining the accuracy of the underlying DFT calculations. These energy evaluations are then used to drive our KMC simulations. We will demonstrate the application of our DFT/MC/KMC approach to model thermal and carrier-induced diffusion of intrinsic point defects in III-V alloys. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract DE.

Defect production due to quenching through a multicritical point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Divakaran, Uma; Mukherjee, Victor; Dutta, Amit; Sen, Diptiman

2009-01-01

We study the generation of defects when a quantum spin system is quenched through a multicritical point by changing a parameter of the Hamiltonian as t/τ, where τ is the characteristic timescale of quenching. We argue that when a quantum system is quenched across a multicritical point, the density of defects (n) in the final state is not necessarily given by the Kibble–Zurek scaling form n∼1/τ dν/(zν+1) , where d is the spatial dimension, and ν and z are respectively the correlation length and dynamical exponent associated with the quantum critical point. We propose a generalized scaling form of the defect density given by n∼1/τ d/(2z 2 ) , where the exponent z 2 determines the behavior of the off-diagonal term of the 2 × 2 Landau–Zener matrix at the multicritical point. This scaling is valid not only at a multicritical point but also at an ordinary critical point

Weyl geometry and the nonlinear mechanics of distributed point defects

KAUST Repository

Yavari, A.; Goriely, A.

2012-01-01

The residual stress field of a nonlinear elastic solid with a spherically symmetric distribution of point defects is obtained explicitly using methods from differential geometry. The material manifold of a solid with distributed point defects

Point Defects in Two-Dimensional Layered Semiconductors: Physics and Its Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, Joonki

Recent advances in material science and semiconductor processing have been achieved largely based on in-depth understanding, efficient management and advanced application of point defects in host semiconductors, thus finding the relevant techniques such as doping and defect engineering as a traditional scientific and technological solution. Meanwhile, two- dimensional (2D) layered semiconductors currently draw tremendous attentions due to industrial needs and their rich physics at the nanoscale; as we approach the end of critical device dimensions in silicon-based technology, ultra-thin semiconductors have the potential as next- generation channel materials, and new physics also emerges at such reduced dimensions where confinement of electrons, phonons, and other quasi-particles is significant. It is therefore rewarding and interesting to understand and redefine the impact of lattice defects by investigating their interactions with energy/charge carriers of the host matter. Potentially, the established understanding will provide unprecedented opportunities for realizing new functionalities and enhancing the performance of energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices. In this thesis, multiple novel 2D layered semiconductors, such as bismuth and transition- metal chalcogenides, are explored. Following an introduction of conventional effects induced by point defects in semiconductors, the related physics of electronically active amphoteric defects is revisited in greater details. This can elucidate the complication of a two-dimensional electron gas coexisting with the topological states on the surface of bismuth chalcogenides, recently suggested as topological insulators. Therefore, native point defects are still one of the keys to understand and exploit topological insulators. In addition to from a fundamental science point of view, the effects of point defects on the integrated thermal-electrical transport, as well as the entropy-transporting process in

Point defects and precipitation phenomena in Cu-Zn-Al alloys. A study by positrons annihilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero, R.; Salgueiro, W.; Somoza, A.; Ahlers, M.H.

1990-01-01

Monocrystalline phase Cu-Zn-Al samples in phase β (derived from a bcc structure) were treated with different homogenization thermal treatments, isothermal annealing, and tempering at different time intervals. In this way, point defects are fixed and gamma phase precipitation is induced. The evolution of this technique's characteristic parameters was followed with positron annihilation temporal spectroscopy at room temperature. Owing to the extreme sensitivity of positrons to defects like vacancies, it is possible to study the migration of these defects in detail. It can be seen that the presence of precipitates within the matrix phase modifies the annihilation parameters. Results are discussed as a function of the standard model for positron trapping by defects. (Author). 9 refs., 4 figs

Interaction of alpha radiation with thermally-induced defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Akbar; Majid, Abdul

2008-01-01

The interaction of radiation-induced defects created by energetic alpha particles and thermally-induced defects in silicon has been studied using a Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) technique. Two thermally-induced defects at energy positions E c -0.48 eV and E c -0.25 eV and three radiation-induced defects E2, E3 and E5 have been observed. The concentration of both of the thermally-induced defects has been observed to increase on irradiation. It has been noted that production rates of the radiation-induced defects are suppressed in the presence of thermally-induced defects. A significant difference in annealing characteristics of thermally-induced defects in the presence of radiation-induced defects has been observed compared to the characteristics measured in pre-irradiated samples

Point defect balance in epitaxial GaSb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segercrantz, N.; Slotte, J.; Makkonen, I.; Kujala, J.; Tuomisto, F.; Song, Y.; Wang, S.

2014-01-01

Positron annihilation spectroscopy in both conventional and coincidence Doppler broadening mode is used for studying the effect of growth conditions on the point defect balance in GaSb:Bi epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Positron annihilation characteristics in GaSb are also calculated using density functional theory and compared to experimental results. We conclude that while the main positron trapping defect in bulk samples is the Ga antisite, the Ga vacancy is the most prominent trap in the samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The results suggest that the p–type conductivity is caused by different defects in GaSb grown with different methods.

Behavior of deep level defects on voltage-induced stress of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, D.W.; Cho, S.E. [Department of Physics and Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, J.H. [Solar Cell Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Cho, H.Y., E-mail: hycho@dongguk.edu [Department of Physics and Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-01

The behavior of deep level defects by a voltage-induced stress for CuInGaSe{sub 2} (CIGS) solar cells has been investigated. CIGS solar cells were used with standard structures which are Al-doped ZnO/i-ZnO/CdS/CIGSe{sub 2}/Mo on soda lime glass, and that resulted in conversion efficiencies as high as 16%. The samples with the same structure were isothermally stressed at 100 °C under the reverse voltages. The voltage-induced stressing in CIGS samples causes a decrease in the carrier density and conversion efficiency. To investigate the behavior of deep level defects in the stressed CIGS cells, photo-induced current transient spectroscopy was utilized, and normally 3 deep level defects (including 2 hole traps and 1 electron trap) were found to be located at 0.18 eV and 0.29 eV above the valence band maximum (and 0.36 eV below the conduction band). In voltage-induced cells, especially, it was found that the decrease of the hole carrier density could be responsible for the increase of the 0.29 eV defect, which is known to be observed in less efficient CIGS solar cells. And the carrier density and the defects are reversible at least to a large extent by resting at room-temperature without the bias voltage. From optical capture kinetics in photo-induced current transient spectroscopy measurement, the types of defects could be distinguished into the isolated point defect and the extended defect. In this work, it is suggested that the increase of the 0.29 eV defect by voltage-induced stress could be due to electrical activation accompanied by a loss of positive ion species and the activated defect gives rise to reduction of the carrier density. - Highlights: • We investigated behavior of deep level defects by voltage-induced stress. • Defect generation could affect the decrease of the conversion efficiency of cells. • Defect generation could be electrically activated by a loss of positive ion species. • Type of defects could be studied with models of point defects

On the meaning of sink capture efficiency and sink strength for point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansur, L.K.; Wolfer, W.G.

1982-01-01

The concepts of sink capture efficiency and sink strength for point defects are central to the theory of point defect reactions in materials undergoing irradiation. Two fundamentally different definitions of the capture efficiency are in current use. The essential difference can be stated simply. The conventional meaning denotes a measure of the loss rate of point defects to sinks per unit mean point defect concentration. A second definition of capture efficiency, introduced recently, gives a measure of the point defect loss rate without normalization to the mean point defect concentration. The relationship between the two capture efficiencies is here derived. By stating the relationship we hope to eliminate confusion caused by comparisons of the two types of capture efficiencies at face value and to provide a method of obtaining one from the other. Internally consistent usage of either of the capture efficiencies leads to the same results for the calculation of measuable quantities, as is required physically. (orig.)

Combined effect of oxygen deficient point defects and Ni doping in radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposited ZnO thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha, B., E-mail: biswajit.physics@gmail.com [Thin Film and Nano Science Laboratory, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, 700 032 Kolkata (India); Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Jirania 799046, Tripura (India); Das, N.S.; Chattopadhyay, K.K. [Thin Film and Nano Science Laboratory, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, 700 032 Kolkata (India)

2014-07-01

Ni doped ZnO thin films with oxygen deficiency have been synthesized on glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique using argon plasma. The combined effect of point defects generated due to oxygen vacancies and Ni doping on the optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films has been studied in this work. Ni doping concentrations were varied and the structural, optical and electrical properties of the films were studied as a function of doping concentrations. The films were characterized with X-ray diffractometer, UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and electrical conductivity measurements. Oxygen deficient point defects (Schottky defects) made the ZnO thin film highly conducting while incorporation of Ni dopant made it more functional regarding their electrical and optical properties. The films were found to have tunable electrical conductivity with Ni doping concentrations. - Highlights: • ZnO thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique • Synthesis process was stimulated to introduce Schottky-type point defects. • Point defects and external doping of Ni made ZnO thin films more functional. • Point defect induced high electrical conductivity in ZnO thin film. • Significant shift in optical bandgap observed in ZnO with Ni doping concentrations.

Creation of point defects in superconductors. A short review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quere, Yves; Rullier-Albenque, Florence.

1981-11-01

Many experiments have been published concerning the radiation damage in superconductors, but relatively few about the mechanisms of defect creation. A short review is presented of what is known on point defect creation in superconductors either by cold-work or by irradiation

Nonlinear elastic longitudinal strain-wave propagation in a plate with nonequilibrium laser-generated point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirzade, Fikret Kh.

2005-01-01

The propagation of longitudinal strain wave in a plate with quadratic nonlinearity of elastic continuum was studied in the context of a model that takes into account the joint dynamics of elastic displacements in the medium and the concentration of the nonequilibrium laser-induced point defects. The input equations of the problem are reformulated in terms of only the total displacements of the medium points. In this case, the presence of structural defects manifests itself in the emergence of a delayed response of the system to the propagation of the strain-related perturbations, which is characteristic of media with relaxation or memory. The model equations describing the nonlinear displacement wave were derived with allowance made for the values of the relaxation parameter. The influence of the generation and relaxation of lattice defects on the propagation of this wave was analyzed. It is shown that, for short relaxation times of defects, the strain can propagate in the form of shock fronts. In the case of longer relaxation times, shock waves do not form and the strain wave propagates only in the form of solitary waves or a train of solitons. The contributions of the finiteness of the defect-recombination rate to linear and nonlinear elastic modulus, and spatial dispersion are determined

Point defects in lines in single crystalline phosphorene: directional migration and tunable band gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiuling; Ma, Liang; Wang, Dayong; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wu, Xiaojun; Yang, Jinlong

2016-10-20

Extended line defects in two-dimensional (2D) materials can play an important role in modulating their electronic properties. During the experimental synthesis of 2D materials, line defects are commonly generated at grain boundaries between domains of different orientations. In this work, twelve types of line-defect structures in single crystalline phosphorene are examined by using first-principles calculations. These line defects are typically formed via migration and aggregation of intrinsic point defects, including the Stone-Wales (SW), single or double vacancy (SV or DV) defects. Our calculated results demonstrate that the migration of point defects in phosphorene is anisotropic, for instance, the lowest migration energy barriers are 1.39 (or 0.40) and 2.58 (or 0.49) eV for SW (or SV) defects in zigzag and armchair directions, respectively. The aggregation of point defects into lines is energetically favorable compared with the separated point defects in phosphorene. In particular, the axis of line defects in phosphorene is direction-selective, depending on the composed point defects. The presence of line defects effectively modulates the electronic properties of phosphorene, rendering the defect-containing phosphorene either metallic or semiconducting with a tunable band gap. Of particular interest is the fact that the SV-based line defect can behave as a metallic wire, suggesting a possibility to fabricate a circuit with subnanometer widths in the semiconducting phosphorene for nanoscale electronic application.

Sigma models in the presence of dynamical point-like defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doikou, Anastasia; Karaiskos, Nikos

2013-01-01

Point-like Liouville integrable dynamical defects are introduced in the context of the Landau–Lifshitz and Principal Chiral (Faddeev–Reshetikhin) models. Based primarily on the underlying quadratic algebra we identify the first local integrals of motion, the associated Lax pairs as well as the relevant sewing conditions around the defect point. The involution of the integrals of motion is shown taking into account the sewing conditions.

Nonlinear electron-density distribution around point defects in simple metals. I. Formulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, A.K.; Jena, P.; Singwi, K.S.

1978-01-01

Modification, which is exact in the limit of long wavelength, of the nonlinear theory of Sjoelander and Stott of electron distribution around point defects is given. This modification consists in writing a nonlinear integral equations for the Fourier transform γ 12 (q) of the induced charge density surrounding the point defect, which includes a term involving the density derivative of γ 12 (q). A generalization of the Pauli-Feynman coupling-constant-integration method, together with the Kohn-Sham formalism, is used to exactly determine the coefficient of this derivative term in the long-wavelength limit. The theory is then used to calculate electron-density profiles around a vacancy, an eight-atom void, and a point ion. The results are compared with those of (i) a linear theory, (ii) Sjoelander-Stott theory, and (iii) a fully self-consistent calculation based on the density-functional formalism of Kohn and Sham. It is found that in the case of a vacancy, the results of the present theory are in very good agreement with those based on Kohn-Sham formalism, whereas in the case of a singular attractive potential of a proton, the results are quite poor in the vicinity of the proton, but much better for larger distances. A critical discussion of the theory vis a vis the Kohn-Sham formalism is also given. Some applications of the theory are pointed out

Introduction and recovery of point defects in electron-irradiated ZnO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuomisto, F.; Saarinen, K.; Look, D.C.; Farlow, G.C.

2005-01-01

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy to study the introduction and recovery of point defects in electron-irradiated n-type ZnO. The irradiation (E el =2 MeV, fluence 6x10 17 cm -2 ) was performed at room temperature, and isochronal annealings were performed from 300 to 600 K. In addition, monochromatic illumination of the samples during low-temperature positron measurements was used in identification of the defects. We distinguish two kinds of vacancy defects: the Zn and O vacancies, which are either isolated or belong to defect complexes. In addition, we observe negative-ion-type defects, which are attributed to O interstitials or O antisites. The Zn vacancies and negative ions act as compensating centers and are introduced at a concentration [V Zn ]≅c ion ≅2x10 16 cm -3 . The O vacancies are introduced at a 10-times-larger concentration [V O ]≅3x10 17 cm -3 and are suggested to be isolated. The O vacancies are observed as neutral at low temperatures, and an ionization energy of 100 meV could be fitted with the help of temperature-dependent Hall data, thus indicating their deep donor character. The irradiation-induced defects fully recover after the annealing at 600 K, in good agreement with electrical measurements. The Zn vacancies recover in two separate stages, indicating that the Zn vacancies are parts of two different defect complexes. The O vacancies anneal simultaneously with the Zn vacancies at the later stage, with an activation energy of E V,O m =1.8±0.1 eV. The negative ions anneal out between the two annealing stages of the vacancies

Bremsstrahlung-induced highly penetrating probes for nondestructive assay and defect analysis

CERN Document Server

Selim, F A; Harmon, J F; Kwofie, J; Spaulding, R; Erickson, G; Roney, T

2002-01-01

Nondestructive assay and defect analysis probes based on bremsstrahlung-induced processes have been developed to identify elements and probe defects in large volume samples. Bremsstrahlung beams from (electron accelerators) with end-point energies both above and below neutron emission threshold have been used. Below neutron emission threshold these beams (from 6 MeV small pulsed linacs), which exhibit high penetration, create positrons via pair production inside the material and produce X-ray fluorescence (XRF) radiation. Chemical assays of heavy elements in thick samples up to 10 g/cm sup 2 thick are provided by energy dispersive XRF measurements. The pair-produced positrons annihilate within the material, thereby emitting 511 keV gamma radiation. Doppler broadening spectroscopy of the 511 keV radiation can be performed to characterize the material and measure defects in samples of any desired thickness. This technique has successfully measured induced strain due to tensile stress in steel samples of 0.64 cm...

Light-induced defect creation in hydrogenated polymorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morigaki, K.; Takeda, K.; Hikita, H.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P.

2005-01-01

Light-induced defect creation in hydrogenated polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H) is investigated from electron spin resonance measurements and is compared with that in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Light-induced defect creation occurs at room temperature similarly for both types of films prepared at 250 deg. C. Thermal annealing of light-induced defects is also investigated as a function of temperature. Different behaviours of annealing characteristics for pm-Si:H from those for a-Si:H are observed and discussed. In particular, we observed a decrease of the light-induced defect creation efficiency with repeated light-soaking-annealing cycles and discuss it with respect to the hydrogen bonding in pm-Si:H films

A computational framework for automation of point defect calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goyal, Anuj; Gorai, Prashun; Peng, Haowei

2017-01-01

We have developed a complete and rigorously validated open-source Python framework to automate point defect calculations using density functional theory. Furthermore, the framework provides an effective and efficient method for defect structure generation, and creation of simple yet customizable workflows to analyze defect calculations. This package provides the capability to compute widely-accepted correction schemes to overcome finite-size effects, including (1) potential alignment, (2) image-charge correction, and (3) band filling correction to shallow defects. Using Si, ZnO and In2O3 as test examples, we demonstrate the package capabilities and validate the methodology.

Zirconium - ab initio modelling of point defects diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasca, Petrica

2010-01-01

Zirconium is the main element of the cladding found in pressurized water reactors, under an alloy form. Under irradiation, the cladding elongate significantly, phenomena attributed to the vacancy dislocation loops growth in the basal planes of the hexagonal compact structure. The understanding of the atomic scale mechanisms originating this process motivated this work. Using the ab initio atomic modeling technique we studied the structure and mobility of point defects in Zirconium. This led us to find four interstitial point defects with formation energies in an interval of 0.11 eV. The migration paths study allowed the discovery of activation energies, used as entry parameters for a kinetic Monte Carlo code. This code was developed for calculating the diffusion coefficient of the interstitial point defect. Our results suggest a migration parallel to the basal plane twice as fast as one parallel to the c direction, with an activation energy of 0.08 eV, independent of the direction. The vacancy diffusion coefficient, estimated with a two-jump model, is also anisotropic, with a faster process in the basal planes than perpendicular to them. Hydrogen influence on the vacancy dislocation loops nucleation was also studied, due to recent experimental observations of cladding growth acceleration in the presence of this element [fr

Weyl geometry and the nonlinear mechanics of distributed point defects

KAUST Repository

Yavari, A.

2012-09-05

The residual stress field of a nonlinear elastic solid with a spherically symmetric distribution of point defects is obtained explicitly using methods from differential geometry. The material manifold of a solid with distributed point defects-where the body is stress-free-is a flat Weyl manifold, i.e. a manifold with an affine connection that has non-metricity with vanishing traceless part, but both its torsion and curvature tensors vanish. Given a spherically symmetric point defect distribution, we construct its Weyl material manifold using the method of Cartan\\'s moving frames. Having the material manifold, the anelasticity problem is transformed to a nonlinear elasticity problem and reduces the problem of computing the residual stresses to finding an embedding into the Euclidean ambient space. In the case of incompressible neo-Hookean solids, we calculate explicitly this residual stress field. We consider the example of a finite ball and a point defect distribution uniform in a smaller ball and vanishing elsewhere. We show that the residual stress field inside the smaller ball is uniform and hydrostatic. We also prove a nonlinear analogue of Eshelby\\'s celebrated inclusion problem for a spherical inclusion in an isotropic incompressible nonlinear solid. © 2012 The Royal Society.

Simulation of surface crack initiation induced by slip localization and point defects kinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauzay, Maxime; Liu, Jia; Rachdi, Fatima

2014-01-01

Crack initiation along surface persistent slip bands (PSBs) has been widely observed and modelled. Nevertheless, from our knowledge, no physically-based fracture modelling has been proposed and validated with respect to the numerous recent experimental data showing the strong relationship between extrusion and microcrack initiation. The whole FE modelling accounts for: - localized plastic slip in PSBs; - production and annihilation of vacancies induced by cyclic slip. If temperature is high enough, point defects may diffuse in the surrounding matrix due to large concentration gradients, allowing continuous extrusion growth in agreement with Polak's model. At each cycle, the additional atoms diffusing from the matrix are taken into account by imposing an incremental free dilatation; - brittle fracture at the interfaces between PSBs and their surrounding matrix which is simulated using cohesive zone modelling. Any inverse fitting of parameter is avoided. Only experimental single crystal data are used such as hysteresis loops and resistivity values. Two fracture parameters are required: the {111} surface energy which depends on environment and the cleavage stress which is predicted by the universal binding energy relationship. The predicted extrusion growth curves agree rather well with the experimental data published for copper and the 316L steel. A linear dependence with respect to PSB length, thickness and slip plane angle is predicted in agreement with recent AFM measurement results. Crack initiation simulations predict fairly well the effects of PSB length and environment for copper single and poly-crystals. (authors)

Constitutional and thermal point defects in B2 NiAl

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korzhavyi, P. A.; Ruban, Andrei; Lozovoi, A. Y.

2000-01-01

The formation energies of point defects and the interaction energies of various defect pairs in NiAl are calculated from first principles within an order N, locally self-consistent Green's-function method in conjunction with multipole electrostatic corrections to the atomic sphere approximation...... distance on their sublattice. The dominant thermal defects in Ni-rich and stoichiometric NiAl are calculated to be triple defects. In Al-rich alloys another type of thermal defect dominates, where two Ni vacancies are replaced by one antisite Al atom. As a result, the vacancy concentration decreases...

Thermal conductivity of graphene with defects induced by electron beam irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Malekpour, Hoda; Ramnani, Pankaj; Srinivasan, Srilok; Balasubramanian, Ganesh; Nika, Denis L.; Mulchandani, Ashok; Lake, Roger K.; Balandin, Alexander A.

2016-07-01

We investigate the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene as a function of the density of defects, ND, introduced in a controllable way. High-quality graphene layers are synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, transferred onto a transmission electron microscopy grid, and suspended over ~7.5 μm size square holes. Defects are induced by irradiation of graphene with the low-energy electron beam (20 keV) and quantified by the Raman D-to-G peak intensity ratio. As the defect density changes from 2.0 × 1010 cm-2 to 1.8 × 1011 cm-2 the thermal conductivity decreases from ~(1.8 +/- 0.2) × 103 W mK-1 to ~(4.0 +/- 0.2) × 102 W mK-1 near room temperature. At higher defect densities, the thermal conductivity reveals an intriguing saturation-type behavior at a relatively high value of ~400 W mK-1. The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density is analyzed using the Boltzmann transport equation and molecular dynamics simulations. The results are important for understanding phonon - point defect scattering in two-dimensional systems and for practical applications of graphene in thermal management.We investigate the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene as a function of the density of defects, ND, introduced in a controllable way. High-quality graphene layers are synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, transferred onto a transmission electron microscopy grid, and suspended over ~7.5 μm size square holes. Defects are induced by irradiation of graphene with the low-energy electron beam (20 keV) and quantified by the Raman D-to-G peak intensity ratio. As the defect density changes from 2.0 × 1010 cm-2 to 1.8 × 1011 cm-2 the thermal conductivity decreases from ~(1.8 +/- 0.2) × 103 W mK-1 to ~(4.0 +/- 0.2) × 102 W mK-1 near room temperature. At higher defect densities, the thermal conductivity reveals an intriguing saturation-type behavior at a relatively high value of ~400 W mK-1. The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density is

Point defects behavior in beta Cu-based shape memory alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero, R.; Somoza, A.

1999-01-01

A summary of positron annihilation spectroscopy data relating to the point defect behavior after quenching and to thermal equilibrium in β-phase Cu-based shape memory alloys Cu-Zn-Al and Cu-Al-Be is presented. Particular attention is given to the initial concentration of quenched-in vacancies as a function of the quenching temperature, migration of the retained point defects with aging temperature and time, and the vacancy formation and migration energies. (orig.)

Study of point defect mobilities in zirconium during electron irradiation in a HVEM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffiths, M.

1993-01-01

A high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) was used to investigate the nature of intrinsic point defects in α-Zr by direct observation of dislocation climb and cavity growth or shrinkage. The material used was Marz-grade Zr that had been pre-irradiated with neutrons at about 740 K in the Dounreay Fast Reactor. Dislocation loops of vacancy character that had been produced during the neutron irradiation were studied by further irradiation with electrons in the HVEM. Growth of the loops was observed at temperatures as low as 230 K, indicating that, under the conditions of the experiment, some vacancy-type defects were mobile in the temperature regime 230 K-300 K. The nature of these defects is unknown. One possibility is that these defects are not intrinsic in nature, but may be vacancy-Fe complexes. In addition to the climb of dislocation loops, c-component network dislocations and cavities were also studied. Basal plane climb of the network dislocations was observed at 573 K, but was not readily apparent at 320 K. This suggests that preferred climb planes (and possibly loop habit planes) are sensitive to temperature. Cavities that were already in the foil after neutron irradiation or were induced by electron irradiation grew along the c-axis and shrank along a-directions during electron irradiation. This radiation-induced shape change of the cavities strongly suggests the existence of a diffusional anisotropy difference between interstitials and vacancies in α-Zr. (Author) 14 figs., 22 refs

Point defect thermodynamics and diffusion in Fe3C: A first-principles study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao Jiang; Uberuaga, B.P.; Srinivasan, S.G.

2008-01-01

The point defect structure of cementite (Fe 3 C) is investigated using a combination of the statistical mechanical Wagner-Schottky model and first-principles calculations within the generalized gradient approximation. Large 128-atom supercells are employed to obtain fully converged point defect formation energies. The present study unambiguously shows that carbon vacancies and octahedral carbon interstitials are the structural defects in C-depleted and C-rich cementite, respectively. The dominant thermal defects in C-depleted and stoichiometric cementite are found to be carbon Frenkel pairs. In C-rich cementite, however, the primary thermal excitations are strongly temperature-dependent: interbranch, Schottky and Frenkel defects dominate successively with increasing temperature. Using the nudged elastic band technique, the migration barriers of major point defects in cementite are also determined and compared with available experiments in the literature

Point-Defect Mediated Bonding of Pt Clusters on (5,5) Carbon Nanotubes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, J. G.; Lv, Y. A.; Li, X. N.

2009-01-01

The adhesion of various sizes of Pt clusters on the metallic (5,5) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with and without the point defect has been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT). The calculations show that the binding energies of Pt-n (n = 1-6) clusters on the defect free CNTs are more......). The stronger orbital hybridization between the Pt atom and the carbon atom shows larger charge transfers on the defective CNTs than on the defect free CNTs, which allows the strong interaction between Pt clusters and CNTs. On the basis of DFT calculations, CNTs with point defect can be used as the catalyst...

Point defects and transport properties in carbides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matzke, Hj.

1984-01-01

Carbides of transition metals and of actinides are interesting and technologically important. The transition-metal carbides (or carbonitrides) are extensively being used as hard materials and some of them are of great interest because of the high transition temperature for superconductivity, e.g. 17 K for Nb(C,N). Actinide carbides and carbonitrides, (U,Pu)C and (U,Pu)(C,N) are being considered as promising advanced fuels for liquid metal cooled fast breeder nuclear reactors. Basic interest exists in all these materials because of their high melting points (e.g. 4250 K for TaC) and the unusually broad range of homogeneity of nonstoichiometric compositions (e.g. from UCsub(0.9) to UCsub(1.9) at 2500 K). Interaction of point defects to clusters and short-range ordering have recently been studied with elastic neutron diffraction and diffuse scattering techniques, and calculations of energies of formation and interaction of point defects became available for selected carbides. Diffusion measurements also exist for a number of carbides, in particular for the actinide carbides. The existing knowledge is discussed and summarized with emphasis on informative examples of particular technological relevance. (Auth.)

Study of the point defects formed in cobalt by electron bombardment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sulpice, G.

1968-12-01

A study of the point defects formed in cobalt by electron bombardment is presented. The results are compared with those previously obtained for two other ferromagnetic metals of different structure, iron and nickel. In the first part we give a review of the literature concerning the creation of point defects, their contribution to resistivity and their annihilation mode in the three structure types. We then describe the experimental techniques adapted, in particular the study of the resistivity increase during a linear temperature rise. Our investigations concern the following, essential points : the observation of the successive annihilation stages of the point defects formed in pure cobalt, a study of the variations with respect to the doses and energy of the incident particles, and the determination of the annealing kinetics and the corresponding activation energies. The results are finally compared with the various models of point defect annihilation proposed for other metals: none of these interpretations is in perfect agreement with our results. In the case of cobalt we are thus led to modify the model proposed by our laboratory for iron an nickel. The difference between these three metals is explained by the anisotropic character of the cobalt matrix. (author) [fr

Formation Energies of Native Point Defects in Strained-Layer Superlattices (Postprint)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-05

potential; bulk materials; total energy calculations; entropy; strained- layer superlattice (SLS) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF...AFRL-RX-WP-JA-2017-0217 FORMATION ENERGIES OF NATIVE POINT DEFECTS IN STRAINED- LAYER SUPERLATTICES (POSTPRINT) Zhi-Gang Yu...2016 Interim 11 September 2013 – 5 November 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE FORMATION ENERGIES OF NATIVE POINT DEFECTS IN STRAINED- LAYER SUPERLATTICES

Defect induced d0 ferromagnetism in a ZnO grain boundary

KAUST Repository

Devi, Assa Aravindh Sasikala

2015-12-08

Several experimental studies have referred to the grain boundary(GB) defect as the origin of ferromagnetism in zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the mechanism of this hypothesis has never been confirmed. Present study investigates the atomic structure and the effect of point defects in a ZnOGB using the generalized gradient approximation+U approximation. The relaxed GB possesses large periodicity and channels with 8 and 10 numbered atoms having 4 and 3 fold coordination. The Znvacancy (VZn) shows a tendency to be attracted to the GB, relative to the bulk-like region. Although no magnetization is obtained from point defect-free GB, VZn induces spin polarization as large as 0.68 μB/atom to the O sites at the GB.Ferromagnetic exchange energy >150 eV is obtained by increasing the concentration of VZn and by the injection of holes into the system. Electronic structure analysis indicates that the spin polarization without external dopants originates from the O 2p orbitals, a common feature of d0semiconductors.

Defect induced d0 ferromagnetism in a ZnO grain boundary

KAUST Repository

Devi, Assa Aravindh Sasikala; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Roqan, Iman S.

2015-01-01

Several experimental studies have referred to the grain boundary(GB) defect as the origin of ferromagnetism in zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the mechanism of this hypothesis has never been confirmed. Present study investigates the atomic structure and the effect of point defects in a ZnOGB using the generalized gradient approximation+U approximation. The relaxed GB possesses large periodicity and channels with 8 and 10 numbered atoms having 4 and 3 fold coordination. The Znvacancy (VZn) shows a tendency to be attracted to the GB, relative to the bulk-like region. Although no magnetization is obtained from point defect-free GB, VZn induces spin polarization as large as 0.68 μB/atom to the O sites at the GB.Ferromagnetic exchange energy >150 eV is obtained by increasing the concentration of VZn and by the injection of holes into the system. Electronic structure analysis indicates that the spin polarization without external dopants originates from the O 2p orbitals, a common feature of d0semiconductors.

Defect-impurity complex induced long-range ferromagnetism in GaN nanowires

KAUST Repository

Assa Aravindh, S

2015-12-14

Present work investigates the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Gd doped wurtzite GaN nanowires (NWs) oriented along the [0001] direction in presence of intrinsic defects by employing the GGA + U approximation. We find that Ga vacancy (VGa) exhibits lower formation energy compared to N vacancy. Further stabilization of point defects occurs due to the presence of Gd. The strength of ferromagnetism (FM) increases by additional positive charge induced by the VGa. Electronic structure analysis shows that VGa introduces defect levels in the band gap leading to ferromagnetic coupling due to the hybridization of the p states of the Ga and N atoms with the Gd d and f states. Ferromagnetic exchange coupling energy of 76.4 meV is obtained in presence of Gd-VGa complex; hence, the FM is largely determined by the cation vacancy-rare earth complex defects in GaN NWs.

Defect-impurity complex induced long-range ferromagnetism in GaN nanowires

KAUST Repository

Assa Aravindh, S; Roqan, Iman S.

2015-01-01

Present work investigates the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Gd doped wurtzite GaN nanowires (NWs) oriented along the [0001] direction in presence of intrinsic defects by employing the GGA + U approximation. We find that Ga vacancy (VGa) exhibits lower formation energy compared to N vacancy. Further stabilization of point defects occurs due to the presence of Gd. The strength of ferromagnetism (FM) increases by additional positive charge induced by the VGa. Electronic structure analysis shows that VGa introduces defect levels in the band gap leading to ferromagnetic coupling due to the hybridization of the p states of the Ga and N atoms with the Gd d and f states. Ferromagnetic exchange coupling energy of 76.4 meV is obtained in presence of Gd-VGa complex; hence, the FM is largely determined by the cation vacancy-rare earth complex defects in GaN NWs.

Point defects and irradiation in oxides: simulations at the atomic scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crocombette, J.P.

2005-12-01

The studies done by Jean-Paul Crocombette between 1996 and 2005 in the Service de Recherches de Metallurgie Physique of the Direction de l'Energie Nucleaire in Saclay are presented in this Habilitation thesis. These works were part of the material science researches on the ageing, especially under irradiation, of oxides of interest for the nuclear industry. In this context simulation studies at the atomic scale were performed on two elementary components of ageing under irradiation : point defects and displacement cascades ; using two complementary simulation techniques : ab initio electronic structure calculations and empirical potential molecular dynamics. The first part deals with point defects : self defects (vacancies or interstitials) or hetero-atomic dopants. One first recalls the energetics of such defects in oxides, the specific features of defects calculations and the expected accuracy of these calculations. Then one presents the results obtained on uranium dioxide, oxygen in silver and amorphous silica. The second part tackles the modelling of disintegration recoil nuclei in various?displacement cascades created by crystalline matrices for actinide waste disposal. Cascade calculations give access to the amorphization mechanisms under irradiation of these materials. One thus predicts that the amorphization in zircon takes place directly in the tracks whereas in lanthanum zirconate, the amorphization proceeds through the accumulation of point defects. Finally the prospects of these studies are discussed. (author)

Point defects in ZnO crystals grown by various techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Čížek, J; Vlček, M; Hruška, P; Lukáč, F; Melikhova, O; Anwand, W; Selim, F; Hugenschmidt, Ch; Egger, W

2017-01-01

In the present work point defects in ZnO crystals were characterized by positron lifetime spectroscopy combined with back-diffusion measurement of slow positrons. Defects in ZnO crystals grown by various techniques were compared. Hydrothermally grown ZnO crystals contain defects characterized by lifetime of ≈181 ps. These defects were attributed to Zn vacancies associated with hydrogen. ZnO crystals prepared by other techniques (Bridgman, pressurized melt growth, and seeded chemical vapour transport) exhibit shorter lifetime of ≈165 ps. Positron back-diffusion studies revealed that hydrothermally grown ZnO crystals contain higher density of defects than the crystals grown by other techniques. The lowest concentration of defects was detected in the crystal grown by seeded chemical vapor transport. (paper)

Dislocations and point defects in hydrostatically compressed crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosevich, A.M.; Tokij, V.V.; Strel'tsov, V.A.

1978-01-01

Within the framework of the theory of finite deformations, the elastic fields are considered, which are induced by the sources of internal stresses in a crystal compressed under a high pressure. In the case of a hydrostatically compressed crystal with defects, the use of a variation principle is discussed. Using the smallness of distorsions, the linear theory of elastic fields of defects in the crystal compressed under a high pressure, is developed. An analysis of the main relationships of the theory results in the following conclusion: in a course of the linear approximation the taking into account of the hydrostatic pressure brings to the renorming of the elasticity moduli and to the replacing of the hydrostatic parameters of defects by their values in the compressed crystal. That conclusion allows the results of the elasticity linear theory of the crystal with defects to be used to the full extent

Effect of point defects on the thermal conductivity of UO2: molecular dynamics simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xiang-Yang [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stanek, Christopher Richard [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Andersson, Anders David Ragnar [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-07-21

The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide (UO₂) fuel is an important materials property that affects fuel performance since it is a key parameter determining the temperature distribution in the fuel, thus governing, e.g., dimensional changes due to thermal expansion, fission gas release rates, etc. [1] The thermal conductivity of UO₂ nuclear fuel is also affected by fission gas, fission products, defects, and microstructural features such as grain boundaries. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are carried out to determine quantitatively, the effect of irradiation induced point defects on the thermal conductivity of UO₂, as a function of defect concentrations, for a range of temperatures, 300 – 1500 K. The results will be used to develop enhanced continuum thermal conductivity models for MARMOT and BISON by INL. These models express the thermal conductivity as a function of microstructure state-variables, thus enabling thermal conductivity models with closer connection to the physical state of the fuel [2].

Properties of point defects either native or induced by irradiation in the 3C and 6H polytypes of silicon carbide determined by positron annihilation and EPR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerbiriou, X.

2006-02-01

Potential applications of silicon carbide (SiC) in micro-electronics have justified many studies on point defects, which play an important role in the electrical compensation. Moreover, this material has many assets to take part in the fissile materials confining in the gas cooled reactors of the future (4. generation). In this thesis, we have used Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance and Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy to study the properties of point defects (nature, size, charge state, migration and agglomeration during annealing), either native or induced by irradiation with various particles (H + , e - , carbon ions), in the 3C and 6H polytypes of SiC. The positron annihilation study of native defects in 6H-SiC has shown the presence of a strong concentration of non-vacancy traps of acceptor type, which are not present in the 3C-SiC crystals. The nature of the defects detected after irradiation with low energy electrons (190 keV) depends on the polytype. Indeed, while silicon Frenkel pairs and carbon mono-vacancies are detected in the 6H crystals, only carbon mono-vacancies are detected in the 3C crystals. We propose that these differences concerning the populations of detected point defects result from different values of the silicon displacement threshold energy for the two polytypes (approximately 20 eV for 6H and 25 V for 3C). In addition, the irradiations with 12 MeV protons and 132 MeV carbon ions have created silicon mono-vacancies as well as VSi-VC di-vacancies. Neither the particle (protons or ions carbon), nor the polytype (3C or 6H) influence the nature of the generated defects. Finally the study of the annealing of 6H-SiC monocrystals irradiated with 12 MeV protons have revealed several successive processes. The most original result is the agglomeration of the silicon mono-vacancies with the VSi-VC di-vacancies which leads to the formation of VSi-VC-VSi tri-vacancies. (author)

Insight into point defects and impurities in titanium from first principles

Science.gov (United States)

Nayak, Sanjeev K.; Hung, Cain J.; Sharma, Vinit; Alpay, S. Pamir; Dongare, Avinash M.; Brindley, William J.; Hebert, Rainer J.

2018-03-01

Titanium alloys find extensive use in the aerospace and biomedical industries due to a unique combination of strength, density, and corrosion resistance. Decades of mostly experimental research has led to a large body of knowledge of the processing-microstructure-properties linkages. But much of the existing understanding of point defects that play a significant role in the mechanical properties of titanium is based on semi-empirical rules. In this work, we present the results of a detailed self-consistent first-principles study that was developed to determine formation energies of intrinsic point defects including vacancies, self-interstitials, and extrinsic point defects, such as, interstitial and substitutional impurities/dopants. We find that most elements, regardless of size, prefer substitutional positions, but highly electronegative elements, such as C, N, O, F, S, and Cl, some of which are common impurities in Ti, occupy interstitial positions.

Ab initio study of point defects in magnesium oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, C. A.; Kenny, S. D.; Smith, R.; Sanville, E.

2007-01-01

Energetics of a variety of point defects in MgO have been considered from an ab initio perspective using density functional theory. The considered defects are isolated Schottky and Frenkel defects and interstitial pairs, along with a number of Schottky defects and di-interstitials. Comparisons were made between the density functional theory results and results obtained from empirical potential simulations and these generally showed good agreement. Both methodologies predicted the first nearest neighbor Schottky defects to be the most energetically favorable of the considered Schottky defects and that the first, second, and fifth nearest neighbor di-interstitials were of similar energy and were favored over the other di-interstitial configurations. Relaxed structures of the defects were analyzed, which showed that empirical potential simulations were accurately predicting the displacements of atoms surrounding di-interstitials, but were overestimating O atom displacement for Schottky defects. Transition barriers were computed for the defects using the nudged elastic band method. Vacancies and Schottky defects were found to have relatively high energy barriers, the majority of which were over 2 eV, in agreement with conclusions reached using empirical potentials. The lowest barriers for di-interstitial transitions were found to be for migration into a first nearest neighbor configuration. Charges were calculated using a Bader analysis and this found negligible charge transfer during the defect transitions and only small changes in the charges on atoms surrounding defects, indicating why fixed charge models work as well as they do

The role of point defect clusters in reactor pressure vessel embrittlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoller, R.E.

1993-01-01

Radiation-induced point defect clusters (PDC) are a plausible source of matrix hardening in reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels in addition to copper-rich precipitates. These PDCs can be of either interstitial or vacancy type, and could exist in either 2 or 3-D shapes, e.g. small loops, voids, or stacking fault tetrahedra. Formation and evolution of PDCs are primarily determined by displacement damage rate and irradiation temperature. There is experimental evidence that size distributions of these clusters are also influenced by impurities such as copper. A theoretical model has been developed to investigate potential role of PDCs in RPV embrittlement. The model includes a detailed description of interstitial cluster population; vacancy clusters are treated in a more approximate fashion. The model has been used to examine a broad range of irradiation and material parameters. Results indicate that magnitude of hardening increment due to these clusters can be comparable to that attributed to copper precipitates. Both interstitial and vacancy type defects contribute to this hardening, with their relative importance determined by the specific irradiation conditions

Many-Body Theory of Proton-Generated Point Defects for Losses of Electron Energy and Photons in Quantum Wells

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Danhong; Iurov, Andrii; Gao, Fei; Gumbs, Godfrey; Cardimona, D. A.

2018-02-01

The effects of point defects on the loss of either energies of ballistic electron beams or incident photons are studied by using a many-body theory in a multi-quantum-well system. This theory includes the defect-induced vertex correction to a bare polarization function of electrons within the ladder approximation, and the intralayer and interlayer screening of defect-electron interactions is also taken into account in the random-phase approximation. The numerical results of defect effects on both energy-loss and optical-absorption spectra are presented and analyzed for various defect densities, numbers of quantum wells, and wave vectors. The diffusion-reaction equation is employed for calculating distributions of point defects in a layered structure. For completeness, the production rate for Frenkel-pair defects and their initial concentration are obtained based on atomic-level molecular-dynamics simulations. By combining the defect-effect, diffusion-reaction, and molecular-dynamics models with an available space-weather-forecast model, it will be possible in the future to enable specific designing for electronic and optoelectronic quantum devices that will be operated in space with radiation-hardening protection and, therefore, effectively extend the lifetime of these satellite onboard electronic and optoelectronic devices. Specifically, this theory can lead to a better characterization of quantum-well photodetectors not only for high quantum efficiency and low dark current density but also for radiation tolerance or mitigating the effects of the radiation.

Point defect engineering strategies to retard phosphorous diffusion in germanium

KAUST Repository

Tahini, H. A.; Chroneos, Alexander I.; Grimes, Robin W.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Bracht, Hartmut A.

2013-01-01

The diffusion of phosphorous in germanium is very fast, requiring point defect engineering strategies to retard it in support of technological application. Density functional theory corroborated with hybrid density functional calculations are used to investigate the influence of the isovalent codopants tin and hafnium in the migration of phosphorous via the vacancy-mediated diffusion process. The migration energy barriers for phosphorous are increased significantly in the presence of oversized isovalent codopants. Therefore, it is proposed that tin and in particular hafnium codoping are efficient point defect engineering strategies to retard phosphorous migration. © the Owner Societies 2013.

Point defect properties of ternary fcc Fe-Cr-Ni alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wróbel, J.S., E-mail: jan.wrobel@inmat.pw.edu.pl [Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Woloska 141, 02-507 Warsaw (Poland); Nguyen-Manh, D.; Dudarev, S.L. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Kurzydłowski, K.J. [Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Woloska 141, 02-507 Warsaw (Poland)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Properties of point defects depend on the local atomic environment. • As the degree of chemical order increases, the formation energies increase, too. • Relaxation volumes are larger for the more ordered structures. - Abstract: The properties of point defects in Fe-Cr-Ni alloys are investigated, using density functional theory (DFT), for two alloy compositions, Fe{sub 50}Cr{sub 25}Ni{sub 25} and Fe{sub 55}Cr{sub 15}Ni{sub 30}, assuming various degrees of short-range order. DFT-based Monte Carlo simulations are applied to explore short-range order parameters and generate representative structures of alloys. Chemical potentials for the relevant structures are estimated from the minimum of the substitutional energy at representative atoms sites. Vacancies and 〈1 0 0〉 dumbbells are introduced in the Fe{sub 2}CrNi intermetallic phase as well as in two Fe{sub 55}Cr{sub 15}Ni{sub 30} alloy structures: the disordered and short range-ordered structures, generated using Monte Carlo simulations at 2000 K and 300 K, respectively. Formation energies and relaxation volumes of defects as well as changes of magnetic moments caused by the presence of defects are investigated as functions of the local environment of a defect.

Study of point defects in pure iron by means of electrical resistivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minier-Cassayre, C.

1965-04-01

In the first part of this work, after having reviewed the production, observation and the annealing of point defects In metals, we resume the present state of research. In the second part, we explain the techniques we have employed to produce point defects at low temperatures: irradiation, quenching and cold-work; and go on to the study of their migration and annealing. The experimental results obtained for pure iron and for iron containing certain impurities are presented in the third part. In the fourth part we suggest a model which explains the different stages of annealing observed, and their properties. We then compare the energies of interaction between point defects with the values deduced from the theory of elasticity. (author) [fr

Imaging atomic-level random walk of a point defect in graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Kotakoski, Jani; Mangler, Clemens; Meyer, Jannik C.

2014-05-01

Deviations from the perfect atomic arrangements in crystals play an important role in affecting their properties. Similarly, diffusion of such deviations is behind many microstructural changes in solids. However, observation of point defect diffusion is hindered both by the difficulties related to direct imaging of non-periodic structures and by the timescales involved in the diffusion process. Here, instead of imaging thermal diffusion, we stimulate and follow the migration of a divacancy through graphene lattice using a scanning transmission electron microscope operated at 60 kV. The beam-activated process happens on a timescale that allows us to capture a significant part of the structural transformations and trajectory of the defect. The low voltage combined with ultra-high vacuum conditions ensure that the defect remains stable over long image sequences, which allows us for the first time to directly follow the diffusion of a point defect in a crystalline material.

Defect induced d{sup 0} ferromagnetism in a ZnO grain boundary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assa Aravindh, Sasikala Devi; Schwingenschloegl, Udo; Roqan, Iman S, E-mail: iman.roqan@kaust.edu.sa [Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 2955-6900 (Saudi Arabia)

2015-12-14

Several experimental studies have referred to the grain boundary (GB) defect as the origin of ferromagnetism in zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the mechanism of this hypothesis has never been confirmed. Present study investigates the atomic structure and the effect of point defects in a ZnO GB using the generalized gradient approximation+U approximation. The relaxed GB possesses large periodicity and channels with 8 and 10 numbered atoms having 4 and 3 fold coordination. The Zn vacancy (V{sub Zn}) shows a tendency to be attracted to the GB, relative to the bulk-like region. Although no magnetization is obtained from point defect-free GB, V{sub Zn} induces spin polarization as large as 0.68 μ{sub B}/atom to the O sites at the GB. Ferromagnetic exchange energy >150 eV is obtained by increasing the concentration of V{sub Zn} and by the injection of holes into the system. Electronic structure analysis indicates that the spin polarization without external dopants originates from the O 2p orbitals, a common feature of d{sup 0} semiconductors.

Effect of irradiation-induced defects on fusion reactor ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clinard, F.W. Jr.

1986-01-01

Structural, thermal, and electrical properties critical to performance of ceramics in a fusion environment can be profoundly altered by irradiation effects. Neutron damage may cause swelling, reduction of thermal conductivity, increase in dielectric loss, and either reduction or enhancement of strength depending on the crystal structure and defect content of the material. Absorption of ionizing energy inevitably leads to degradation of insulating properties, but these changes can be reduced by alterations in structural or compositional makeup. Assessment of the irradiation response of candidate ceramics Al 2 O 3 , MgAl 2 O 4 , SiC and Si 3 N 4 shows that each may find use in advanced fusion devices. The present understanding of irradiation-induced defects in ceramics, while far from complete, nevertheless points the way to methods for developing improved materials for fusion applications

Optical transitions in two-dimensional topological insulators with point defects

Science.gov (United States)

Sablikov, Vladimir A.; Sukhanov, Aleksei A.

2016-12-01

Nontrivial properties of electronic states in topological insulators are inherent not only to the surface and boundary states, but to bound states localized at structure defects as well. We clarify how the unusual properties of the defect-induced bound states are manifested in optical absorption spectra in two-dimensional topological insulators. The calculations are carried out for defects with short-range potential. We find that the defects give rise to the appearance of specific features in the absorption spectrum, which are an inherent property of topological insulators. They have the form of two or three absorption peaks that are due to intracenter transitions between electron-like and hole-like bound states.

Photoluminescence as a tool for characterizing point defects in semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Reshchikov, Michael

2012-02-01

Photoluminescence is one of the most powerful tools used to study optically-active point defects in semiconductors, especially in wide-bandgap materials. Gallium nitride (GaN) and zinc oxide (ZnO) have attracted considerable attention in the last two decades due to their prospects in optoelectronics applications, including blue and ultraviolet light-emitting devices. However, in spite of many years of extensive studies and a great number of publications on photoluminescence from GaN and ZnO, only a few defect-related luminescence bands are reliably identified. Among them are the Zn-related blue band in GaN, Cu-related green band and Li-related orange band in ZnO. Numerous suggestions for the identification of other luminescence bands, such as the yellow band in GaN, or green and yellow bands in ZnO, do not stand up under scrutiny. In these conditions, it is important to classify the defect-related luminescence bands and find their unique characteristics. In this presentation, we will review the origin of the major luminescence bands in GaN and ZnO. Through simulations of the temperature and excitation intensity dependences of photoluminescence and by employing phenomenological models we are able to obtain important characteristics of point defects such as carrier capture cross-sections for defects, concentrations of defects, and their charge states. These models are also used to find the absolute internal quantum efficiency of photoluminescence and obtain information about nonradiative defects. Results from photoluminescence measurements will be compared with results of the first-principle calculations, as well as with the experimental data obtained by other techniques such as positron annihilation spectroscopy, deep-level transient spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry.

Study of point defects in bismuth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bois, P.

1987-03-01

Single crystalline samples of bismuth, pure and n or p - doped by adding tellurium or tin, were electron irradiated at low temperature (4.2 K and 20 K). In the energy range 0.7 - 2.5 MeV, a displacement threshold energy of 13 eV and an athermal recombination volume of 150 atomic volumes were determined. Joint measurements of resistivity, magnetotransport and positron annihilation enabled to precised the nature of the annealing stages: 40-50 K, free migration of interstitials; 90-120 K long range migration of vacancy. Point defects have according to their nature a different effect on the electronic properties of bismuth: isolated Frenkel pairs are globally donnors with a charge of + 0.16 e- and the vacancy is donnor, which seems to attribute to it a negative formation volume. A simple model with non-deformating bands is no longer sufficient to explain the behaviour under irradiation: one has to take into account an acceptor level with a charge of - 0,27 e-, linked to the cascade-type defects and resonating with the valence band. It's position in the band overlap and it's width (8 meV) could be precised. In first approximation this coupling with less mobile carriers does not affect the simple additive rule which exists for relaxation times. Some yet obscure magnetic properties seem to be linked to this defect level [fr

Ab initio study of Cr interactions with point defects in bcc Fe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsson, P.; Domain, Ch.; Wallenius, J.

2008-01-01

Full text of publication follows. Ferritic martensitic steels are candidate structural materials for fast neutron reactors, and in particular high-Cr reduced-activation steels. In Fe-Cr alloys, Cr plays a major role in the radiation-induced evolution of the mechanical properties. Using ab initio calculations based on density functional theory, the properties of Cr in α-Fe have been investigated. The intrinsic point defect formation energies were found to be larger in model bcc Cr as compared to those in ferromagnetic bcc Fe. The interactions of Cr with point defects (vacancy and self interstitials) have been characterised. Single Cr atoms interact weakly with vacancies but significantly with self-interstitial atoms. Mixed interstitials of any interstitial symmetry are bound. Configurations where two Cr atoms are in nearest neighbour position are generally unfavourable in bcc Fe except when they are a part of a interstitial complex. Mixed interstitials do not have as strong directional stability as pure Fe interstitials have. The effects on the results using the atom description scheme of either the ultrasoft pseudo-potential (USPP) or the projector augmented wave (PAW) formalisms are connected to the differences in local magnetic moments that the two methods predict. As expected for the Fe-Cr system, the results obtained using the PAW method are more reliable than the ones obtained with USPP. (authors)

Point defects induced in LiF by low energy electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldacchini, Giuseppe; Montereali, Rosa Maria [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Frascati, Rome (Italy); Scacco, Augusto [Rome, Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica]|[INFM, Rome (Italy); Cremona, Marco; D`Auria, Giuliano

1997-09-01

A systematic study of the coloring of LiF crystals and films irradiated by 3 keV electrons at various temperatures was carried out analysing their absorption and luminescence spectra. The three stage behaviour of the F coloring curve as a function of the irradiation dose was revealed and the saturation of the process was identified for the first time with this kind of radiation. The kinetics of the defect formation confirmed the expectations derived from the most comprehensive theoretical model developed to explain the coloring process. The irradiation temperature was found to have an influence on both the proportion of different defects created and on their stability and the overall coloring efficiency turned out to be higher when the irradiation was performed on films. Various explanations to these observations are put forward and discussed.

Point defects induced in LiF by low energy electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldacchini, Giuseppe; Montereali, Rosa Maria; Scacco, Augusto; Cremona, Marco; D'Auria, Giuliano.

1997-09-01

A systematic study of the coloring of LiF crystals and films irradiated by 3 keV electrons at various temperatures was carried out analysing their absorption and luminescence spectra. The three stage behaviour of the F coloring curve as a function of the irradiation dose was revealed and the saturation of the process was identified for the first time with this kind of radiation. The kinetics of the defect formation confirmed the expectations derived from the most comprehensive theoretical model developed to explain the coloring process. The irradiation temperature was found to have an influence on both the proportion of different defects created and on their stability and the overall coloring efficiency turned out to be higher when the irradiation was performed on films. Various explanations to these observations are put forward and discussed

Influence of radiation induced defect clusters on silicon particle detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junkes, Alexandra

2011-10-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) addresses some of today's most fundamental questions of particle physics, like the existence of the Higgs boson and supersymmetry. Two large general-purpose experiments (ATLAS, CMS) are installed to detect the products of high energy protonproton and nucleon-nucleon collisions. Silicon detectors are largely employed in the innermost region, the tracking area of the experiments. The proven technology and large scale availability make them the favorite choice. Within the framework of the LHC upgrade to the high-luminosity LHC, the luminosity will be increased to L=10 35 cm -2 s -1 . In particular the pixel sensors in the innermost layers of the silicon trackers will be exposed to an extremely intense radiation field of mainly hadronic particles with fluences of up to Φ eq =10 16 cm -2 . The radiation induced bulk damage in silicon sensors will lead to a severe degradation of the performance during their operational time. This work focusses on the improvement of the radiation tolerance of silicon materials (Float Zone, Magnetic Czochralski, epitaxial silicon) based on the evaluation of radiation induced defects in the silicon lattice using the Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy and the Thermally Stimulated Current methods. It reveals the outstanding role of extended defects (clusters) on the degradation of sensor properties after hadron irradiation in contrast to previous works that treated effects as caused by point defects. It has been found that two cluster related defects are responsible for the main generation of leakage current, the E5 defects with a level in the band gap at E C -0.460 eV and E205a at E C -0.395 eV where E C is the energy of the edge of the conduction band. The E5 defect can be assigned to the tri-vacancy (V 3 ) defect. Furthermore, isochronal annealing experiments have shown that the V 3 defect exhibits a bistability, as does the leakage current. In oxygen

Influence of radiation induced defect clusters on silicon particle detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Junkes, Alexandra

2011-10-15

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) addresses some of today's most fundamental questions of particle physics, like the existence of the Higgs boson and supersymmetry. Two large general-purpose experiments (ATLAS, CMS) are installed to detect the products of high energy protonproton and nucleon-nucleon collisions. Silicon detectors are largely employed in the innermost region, the tracking area of the experiments. The proven technology and large scale availability make them the favorite choice. Within the framework of the LHC upgrade to the high-luminosity LHC, the luminosity will be increased to L=10{sup 35} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}. In particular the pixel sensors in the innermost layers of the silicon trackers will be exposed to an extremely intense radiation field of mainly hadronic particles with fluences of up to {phi}{sub eq}=10{sup 16} cm{sup -2}. The radiation induced bulk damage in silicon sensors will lead to a severe degradation of the performance during their operational time. This work focusses on the improvement of the radiation tolerance of silicon materials (Float Zone, Magnetic Czochralski, epitaxial silicon) based on the evaluation of radiation induced defects in the silicon lattice using the Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy and the Thermally Stimulated Current methods. It reveals the outstanding role of extended defects (clusters) on the degradation of sensor properties after hadron irradiation in contrast to previous works that treated effects as caused by point defects. It has been found that two cluster related defects are responsible for the main generation of leakage current, the E5 defects with a level in the band gap at E{sub C}-0.460 eV and E205a at E{sub C}-0.395 eV where E{sub C} is the energy of the edge of the conduction band. The E5 defect can be assigned to the tri-vacancy (V{sub 3}) defect. Furthermore, isochronal annealing experiments have shown that the V{sub 3} defect

Point defects in thorium nitride: A first-principles study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez Daroca, D., E-mail: pdaroca@tandar.cnea.gov.ar [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina); Llois, A.M. [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina); Mosca, H.O. [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (Argentina); Instituto de Tecnología Jorge A. Sabato, UNSAM-CNEA (Argentina)

2016-11-15

Thorium and its compounds (carbides and nitrides) are being investigated as possible materials to be used as nuclear fuels for Generation-IV reactors. As a first step in the research of these materials under irradiation, we study the formation energies and stability of point defects in thorium nitride by means of first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory. We focus on vacancies, interstitials, Frenkel pairs and Schottky defects. We found that N and Th vacancies have almost the same formation energy and that the most energetically favorable defects of all studied in this work are N interstitials. These kind of results for ThN, to the best authors' knowledge, have not been obtained previously, neither experimentally, nor theoretically.

Point defects in thorium nitride: A first-principles study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pérez Daroca, D.; Llois, A.M.; Mosca, H.O.

2016-01-01

Thorium and its compounds (carbides and nitrides) are being investigated as possible materials to be used as nuclear fuels for Generation-IV reactors. As a first step in the research of these materials under irradiation, we study the formation energies and stability of point defects in thorium nitride by means of first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory. We focus on vacancies, interstitials, Frenkel pairs and Schottky defects. We found that N and Th vacancies have almost the same formation energy and that the most energetically favorable defects of all studied in this work are N interstitials. These kind of results for ThN, to the best authors' knowledge, have not been obtained previously, neither experimentally, nor theoretically.

PyCDT: A Python toolkit for modeling point defects in semiconductors and insulators

Science.gov (United States)

Broberg, Danny; Medasani, Bharat; Zimmermann, Nils E. R.; Yu, Guodong; Canning, Andrew; Haranczyk, Maciej; Asta, Mark; Hautier, Geoffroy

2018-05-01

Point defects have a strong impact on the performance of semiconductor and insulator materials used in technological applications, spanning microelectronics to energy conversion and storage. The nature of the dominant defect types, how they vary with processing conditions, and their impact on materials properties are central aspects that determine the performance of a material in a certain application. This information is, however, difficult to access directly from experimental measurements. Consequently, computational methods, based on electronic density functional theory (DFT), have found widespread use in the calculation of point-defect properties. Here we have developed the Python Charged Defect Toolkit (PyCDT) to expedite the setup and post-processing of defect calculations with widely used DFT software. PyCDT has a user-friendly command-line interface and provides a direct interface with the Materials Project database. This allows for setting up many charged defect calculations for any material of interest, as well as post-processing and applying state-of-the-art electrostatic correction terms. Our paper serves as a documentation for PyCDT, and demonstrates its use in an application to the well-studied GaAs compound semiconductor. We anticipate that the PyCDT code will be useful as a framework for undertaking readily reproducible calculations of charged point-defect properties, and that it will provide a foundation for automated, high-throughput calculations.

Multiscale Modeling of Point and Line Defects in Cubic Lattices

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chung, P. W; Clayton, J. D

2007-01-01

.... This multiscale theory explicitly captures heterogeneity in microscopic atomic motion in crystalline materials, attributed, for example, to the presence of various point and line lattice defects...

Point defects in GaAs and other semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrhart, P.; Karsten, K.; Pillukat, A.

1993-01-01

In order to understand the properties of intrinsic point defects and their interactions at high defect concentrations GaAs wafers were irradiated at 4.5 K with 3 MeV electrons up to a dose of 4 · 10 19 e - /cm 2 . The irradiated samples were investigated by X-ray Diffraction and optical absorption spectroscopy. The defect production increases linearly with irradiation dose and characteristic differences are observed for the two sublattices. The Ga-Frenkel pairs are strongly correlated and are characterized by much larger lattice relaxations (V rel = 2--3 atomic volumes) as compared to the As-Frenkel pairs (V rel ∼1 at. vol.). The dominating annealing stage around 300 K is attributed to the mobility of the Ga interstitial atoms whereas the As-interstitial atoms can recombine with their vacancies only around 500 K. These results are compared to those for InP, ZnSe and Ge. Implications for the understanding of the damage after ion irradiation and implantation are discussed

Atomistic simulation of the point defects in TaW ordered alloy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

atom method (MAEAM), the formation, migration and activation energies of the point defects for six-kind migration mechanisms in B2-type TaW alloy have been investigated. The results showed that the anti-site defects TaW and WTa were easier to form than Ta and W vacancies owing to their lower formation energies.

Recombination via point defects and their complexes in solar silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peaker, A.R.; Markevich, V.P.; Hamilton, B. [Photon Science Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Parada, G.; Dudas, A.; Pap, A. [Semilab, 2 Prielle Kornelia Str, 1117 Budapest (Hungary); Don, E. [Semimetrics, PO Box 36, Kings Langley, Herts WD4 9WB (United Kingdom); Lim, B.; Schmidt, J. [Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH) Hamlen, 31860 Emmerthal (Germany); Yu, L.; Yoon, Y.; Rozgonyi, G. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7907 (United States)

2012-10-15

Electronic grade Czochralski and float zone silicon in the as grown state have a very low concentration of recombination generation centers (typically <10{sup 10} cm{sup -3}). Consequently, in integrated circuit technologies using such material, electrically active inadvertent impurities and structural defects are rarely detectable. The quest for cheap photovoltaic cells has led to the use of less pure silicon, multi-crystalline material, and low cost processing for solar applications. Cells made in this way have significant extrinsic recombination mechanisms. In this paper we review recombination involving defects and impurities in single crystal and in multi-crystalline solar silicon. Our main techniques for this work are recombination lifetime mapping measurements using microwave detected photoconductivity decay and variants of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). In particular, we use Laplace DLTS to distinguish between isolated point defects, small precipitate complexes and decorated extended defects. We compare the behavior of some common metallic contaminants in solar silicon in relation to their effect on carrier lifetime and cell efficiency. Finally, we consider the role of hydrogen passivation in relation to transition metal contaminants, grain boundaries and dislocations. We conclude that recombination via point defects can be significant but in most multi-crystalline material the dominant recombination path is via decorated dislocation clusters within grains with little contribution to the overall recombination from grain boundaries. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Defect production in nonlinear quench across a quantum critical point.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Diptiman; Sengupta, K; Mondal, Shreyoshi

2008-07-04

We show that the defect density n, for a slow nonlinear power-law quench with a rate tau(-1) and an exponent alpha>0, which takes the system through a critical point characterized by correlation length and dynamical critical exponents nu and z, scales as n approximately tau(-alphanud/(alphaznu+1)) [n approximately (alphag((alpha-1)/alpha)/tau)(nud/(znu+1))] if the quench takes the system across the critical point at time t=0 [t=t(0) not = 0], where g is a nonuniversal constant and d is the system dimension. These scaling laws constitute the first theoretical results for defect production in nonlinear quenches across quantum critical points and reproduce their well-known counterpart for a linear quench (alpha=1) as a special case. We supplement our results with numerical studies of well-known models and suggest experiments to test our theory.

Defect-induced ferromagnetism in semiconductors: A controllable approach by particle irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Shengqiang

2014-01-01

Making semiconductors ferromagnetic has been a long dream. One approach is to dope semiconductors with transition metals (TM). TM ions act as local moments and they couple with free carriers to develop collective magnetism. However, there are no fundamental reasons against the possibility of local moment formation from localized sp states. Recently, ferromagnetism was observed in nonmagnetically doped, but defective semiconductors or insulators including ZnO and TiO 2 . This kind of observation challenges the conventional understanding of ferromagnetism. Often the defect-induced ferromagnetism has been observed in samples prepared under non-optimized condition, i.e. by accident or by mistake. Therefore, in this field theory goes much ahead of experimental investigation. To understand the mechanism of the defect-induced ferromagnetism, one needs a better controlled method to create defects in the crystalline materials. As a nonequilibrium and reproducible approach of inducing defects, ion irradiation provides such a possibility. Energetic ions displace atoms from their equilibrium lattice sites, thus creating mainly vacancies, interstitials or antisites. The amount and the distribution of defects can be controlled by the ion fluence and energy. By ion irradiation, we have generated defect-induced ferromagnetism in ZnO, TiO 2 and SiC. In this short review, we also summarize some results by other groups using energetic ions to introduce defects, and thereby magnetism in various materials. Ion irradiation combined with proper characterizations of defects could allow us to clarify the local magnetic moments and the coupling mechanism in defective semiconductors. Otherwise we may have to build a new paradigm to understand the defect-induced ferromagnetism

Point Defect Properties of Cd(Zn)Te and TlBr for Room-Temperature Gamma Radiation Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Lordi, Vincenzo

2013-03-01

The effects of various crystal defects in CdTe, Cd1-xZnxTe (CZT), and TlBr are critical for their performance as room-temperature gamma radiation detectors. We use predictive first principles theoretical methods to provide fundamental, atomic scale understanding of the defect properties of these materials to enable design of optimal growth and processing conditions, such as doping, annealing, and stoichiometry. Several recent cases will be reviewed, including (i) accurate calculations of the thermodynamic and electronic properties of native point defects and point defect complexes in CdTe and CZT; (ii) the effects of Zn alloying on the native point defect properties of CZT; (iii) point defect diffusion and binding related to Te clustering in Cd(Zn)Te; (iv) the profound effect of native point defects--principally vacancies--on the intrinsic material properties of TlBr, particularly electronic and ionic conductivity; (v) tailored doping of TlBr to independently control the electronic and ionic conductivity; and (vi) the effects of metal impurities on the electronic properties and device performance of TlBr detectors. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 with support from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development NA-22.

Light-induced defects in hybrid lead halide perovskite

Science.gov (United States)

Sharia, Onise; Schneider, William

One of the main challenges facing organohalide perovskites for solar application is stability. Solar cells must last decades to be economically viable alternatives to traditional energy sources. While some causes of instability can be avoided through engineering, light-induced defects can be fundamentally limiting factor for practical application of the material. Light creates large numbers of electron and hole pairs that can contribute to degradation processes. Using ab initio theoretical methods, we systematically explore first steps of light induced defect formation in methyl ammonium lead iodide, MAPbI3. In particular, we study charged and neutral Frenkel pair formation involving Pb and I atoms. We find that most of the defects, except negatively charged Pb Frenkel pairs, are reversible, and thus most do not lead to degradation. Negative Pb defects create a mid-gap state and localize the conduction band electron. A minimum energy path study shows that, once the first defect is created, Pb atoms migrate relatively fast. The defects have two detrimental effects on the material. First, they create charge traps below the conduction band. Second, they can lead to degradation of the material by forming Pb clusters.

Point Defects in Binary Laves-Phase Alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liaw, P.K.; Liu, C.T.; Pike, L.M.; Zhu, J.H.

1999-01-11

Point defects in the binary C15 NbCrQ and NbCoz, and C 14 NbFe2 systems on both sides of stoichiometry were studied by both bulk density and X-ray Iattiee parameter measurements. It was found that the vacancy concentrations in these systems after quenching from 1000"C are essentially zero. The constitutional defects on both sides of stoichiometry for these systems were found to be of the anti-site type in comparison with the model predictions. Thermal vacancies exhibiting a maximum at the stoichiometric composition were obtained in NbCr2 Laves phase alloys after quenching from 1400"C. However, there are essentially no thermal vacancies in NbFe2 alloys after quenching from 1300oC. Anti-site hardening was found on both sides of stoichiometry for all the tie Laves phase systems studied, while the thermal vacancies in NbCr2 alloys quenched from 1400'C were found to soften the Laves phase. The anti-site hardening of the Laves phases is similar to that of the B2 compounds and the thermal vacancy softening is unique to the Laves phase. Neither the anti-site defects nor the thermal vacancies affect the fracture toughness of the Laves phases significantly.

Irradiation-induced defects in ZnO studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuomisto, F.; Saarinen, K.; Look, D.C.

2004-01-01

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy to study the point defects induced by 2 MeV electron irradiation (fluence 6 x 10 17 cm -2 ) in single crystal n-type ZnO samples. The positron lifetime measurements have shown that the zinc vacancies in their doubly negative charge state, which act as dominant compensating centers in the as-grown material, are produced in the irradiation and their contribution to the electrical compensation is important. The lifetime measurements reveal also the presence of competing positron traps with low binding energy and lifetime close to that of the bulk lattice. The analysis of the Doppler broadening of the 511 keV annihilation line indicates that these defects can be identified as neutral oxygen vacancies. (copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Study of EUV induced defects on few-layer graphene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gao, An; Rizo, P.J.; Zoethout, E.; Scaccabarozzi, L.; Lee, Christopher James; Banine, V.; Bijkerk, Frederik

2012-01-01

Defects in graphene greatly affect its properties1-3. Radiation induced-defects may reduce the long-term survivability of graphene-based nano-devices. Here, we expose few-layer graphene to extreme ultraviolet (EUV, 13.5nm) radiation and show there is a power-dependent increase in defect density. We

The role of point defects and defect complexes in silicon device processing. Summary report and papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sopori, B.; Tan, T.Y.

1994-08-01

This report is a summary of a workshop hold on August 24--26, 1992. Session 1 of the conference discussed characteristics of various commercial photovoltaic silicon substrates, the nature of impurities and defects in them, and how they are related to the material growth. Session 2 on point defects reviewed the capabilities of theoretical approaches to determine equilibrium structure of defects in the silicon lattice arising from transitional metal impurities and hydrogen. Session 3 was devoted to a discussion of the surface photovoltaic method for characterizing bulk wafer lifetimes, and to detailed studies on the effectiveness of various gettering operations on reducing the deleterious effects of transition metals. Papers presented at the conference are also included in this summary report.

Point defects migration induced by subthreshold focused collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenenbaum, A.; Doan, N.V.

1976-01-01

The persistence of the phenomenon of focused atomic collisions in a large range of temperature up to 0.3 Tf in copper have been shown using computer simulation by the Molecular Dynamics Technique. On the other hand, different processes by which the subthreshold collisions can induce a vacancy migration have been investigated. A quantitative model relating the induced vacancy migration to the flux density, direction and energy of incident particles has been developed. For example in an electron irradiation, it is found that the induced vacancy jump frequency depends notably on the incident direction and exhibits a maximum value in the range of electron energy between 60 and 100keV

Point-Defect Nature of the Ultraviolet Absorption Band in AlN

Science.gov (United States)

Alden, D.; Harris, J. S.; Bryan, Z.; Baker, J. N.; Reddy, P.; Mita, S.; Callsen, G.; Hoffmann, A.; Irving, D. L.; Collazo, R.; Sitar, Z.

2018-05-01

We present an approach where point defects and defect complexes are identified using power-dependent photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, impurity data from SIMS, and density-functional-theory (DFT)-based calculations accounting for the total charge balance in the crystal. Employing the capabilities of such an experimental computational approach, in this work, the ultraviolet-C absorption band at 4.7 eV, as well as the 2.7- and 3.9-eV luminescence bands in AlN single crystals grown via physical vapor transport (PVT) are studied in detail. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy measurements demonstrate the relationship between the defect luminescent bands centered at 3.9 and 2.7 eV to the commonly observed absorption band centered at 4.7 eV. Accordingly, the thermodynamic transition energy for the absorption band at 4.7 eV and the luminescence band at 3.9 eV is estimated at 4.2 eV, in agreement with the thermodynamic transition energy for the CN- point defect. Finally, the 2.7-eV PL band is the result of a donor-acceptor pair transition between the VN and CN point defects since nitrogen vacancies are predicted to be present in the crystal in concentrations similar to carbon-employing charge-balance-constrained DFT calculations. Power-dependent photoluminescence measurements reveal the presence of the deep donor state with a thermodynamic transition energy of 5.0 eV, which we hypothesize to be nitrogen vacancies in agreement with predictions based on theory. The charge state, concentration, and type of impurities in the crystal are calculated considering a fixed amount of impurities and using a DFT-based defect solver, which considers their respective formation energies and the total charge balance in the crystal. The presented results show that nitrogen vacancies are the most likely candidate for the deep donor state involved in the donor-acceptor pair transition with peak emission at 2.7 eV for the conditions relevant to PVT growth.

Loop Growth and Point-Defect Profiles during HVEM Irradiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leffers, Torben; Singh, Bachu Narain

1979-01-01

The point-defect profile in a thin foil is included in the model for the growth of dislocation loops during HVEM irradiation suggested by Kiritani, Yoshida, Takata, and Maehara, and the possible effect of divacancies is discussed. It is found that there is a fairly wide transition range between...

Point-Defect Mediated Bonding of Pt Clusters on (5,5) Carbon Nanotubes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, J. G.; Lv, Y. A.; Li, X. N.

2009-01-01

The adhesion of various sizes of Pt clusters on the metallic (5,5) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with and without the point defect has been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT). The calculations show that the binding energies of Pt-n (n = 1-6) clusters on the defect free CNTs are mo...

Prediction of high-temperature point defect formation in TiO2 from combined ab initio and thermodynamic calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, J.; Behera, R.K.; Finnis, M.W.; Li, X.; Dickey, E.C.; Phillpot, S.R.; Sinnott, S.B.

2007-01-01

A computational approach that integrates ab initio electronic structure and thermodynamic calculations is used to determine point defect stability in rutile TiO 2 over a range of temperatures, oxygen partial pressures and stoichiometries. Both donors (titanium interstitials and oxygen vacancies) and acceptors (titanium vacancies) are predicted to have shallow defect transition levels in the electronic-structure calculations. The resulting defect formation energies for all possible charge states are then used in thermodynamic calculations to predict the influence of temperature and oxygen partial pressure on the relative stabilities of the point defects. Their ordering is found to be the same as temperature increases and oxygen partial pressure decreases: titanium vacancy → oxygen vacancy → titanium interstitial. The charges on these defects, however, are quite sensitive to the Fermi level. Finally, the combined formation energies of point defect complexes, including Schottky, Frenkel and anti-Frenkel defects, are predicted to limit the further formation of point defects

Luminescence Properties of Surface Radiation-Induced Defects in Lithium Fluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Voitovich, A. P.; Kalinov, V. S.; Martynovich, E. F.; Novikov, A. N.; Runets, L. P.; Stupak, A. P.

2013-11-01

Luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra are recorded for surface radiation-induced defects in lithium fluoride at temperatures of 77 and 293 K. The presence of three bands with relatively small intensity differences is a distinctive feature of the excitation spectrum. These bands are found to belong to the same type of defects. The positions of the peaks and the widths of the absorption and luminescence bands for these defects are determined. The luminescence decay time is measured. All the measured characteristics of these surface defects differ from those of previously known defects induced by radiation in the bulk of the crystals. It is found that the luminescence of surface defects in an ensemble of nanocrystals with different orientations is not polarized. The number of anion vacancies in the surface defects is estimated using the polarization measurements. It is shown that radiative scattering distorts the intensity ratios of the luminescence excitation bands located in different spectral regions.

Irradiation-induced defects in ZnO studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuomisto, F.; Saarinen, K. [Laboratory of Physics, Helsinki University of Technology (Finland); Look, D.C. [Semiconductor Research Center, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (United States)

2004-08-01

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy to study the point defects induced by 2 MeV electron irradiation (fluence 6 x 10{sup 17} cm{sup -2}) in single crystal n-type ZnO samples. The positron lifetime measurements have shown that the zinc vacancies in their doubly negative charge state, which act as dominant compensating centers in the as-grown material, are produced in the irradiation and their contribution to the electrical compensation is important. The lifetime measurements reveal also the presence of competing positron traps with low binding energy and lifetime close to that of the bulk lattice. The analysis of the Doppler broadening of the 511 keV annihilation line indicates that these defects can be identified as neutral oxygen vacancies. (copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Segregation of Spontaneous and Training Induced Recovery from Visual Field Defects in Subacute Stroke Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douwe P. Bergsma

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Whether rehabilitation after stroke profits from an early start is difficult to establish as the contributions of spontaneous recovery and treatment are difficult to tease apart. Here, we use a novel training design to dissociate these components for visual rehabilitation of subacute stroke patients with visual field defects such as hemianopia. Visual discrimination training was started within 6 weeks after stroke in 17 patients. Spontaneous and training-induced recoveries were distinguished by training one-half of the defect for 8 weeks, while monitoring spontaneous recovery in the other (control half of the defect. Next, trained and control regions were swapped, and training continued for another 8 weeks. The same paradigm was also applied to seven chronic patients for whom spontaneous recovery can be excluded and changes in the control half of the defect point to a spillover effect of training. In both groups, field stability was assessed during a no-intervention period. Defect reduction was significantly greater in the trained part of the defect than in the simultaneously untrained part of the defect irrespective of training onset (p = 0.001. In subacute patients, training contributed about twice as much to their defect reduction as the spontaneous recovery. Goal Attainment Scores were significantly and positively correlated with the total defect reduction (p = 0.01, percentage increase reading speed was significantly and positively correlated with the defect reduction induced by training (epoch 1: p = 0.0044; epoch 2: p = 0.023. Visual training adds significantly to the spontaneous recovery of visual field defects, both during training in the early and the chronic stroke phase. However, field recovery as a result of training in this subacute phase was as large as in the chronic phase. This suggests that patients benefited primarily of early onset training by gaining access to a larger visual field sooner.

Cathodoluminescence investigation of Ge-point defects in silica-based optical fibers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reghioua, I., E-mail: imene.reghioua@univ-st-etienne.fr [Univ-Lyon, Laboratoire H. Curien, UMR CNRS 5516, 18 rue du Pr. Benoît Lauras, 42000 Saint-Etienne (France); Girard, S.; Alessi, A.; Di Francesca, D. [Univ-Lyon, Laboratoire H. Curien, UMR CNRS 5516, 18 rue du Pr. Benoît Lauras, 42000 Saint-Etienne (France); Martin-Samos, L.; Fanetti, M. [Materials Research Laboratory, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 11c 5270-Ajdovscina (Slovenia); Richard, N.; Raine, M. [CEA, DAM, DIF, F91297, Arpajon (France); Valant, M. [Materials Research Laboratory, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 11c 5270-Ajdovscina (Slovenia); Boukenter, A.; Ouerdane, Y. [Univ-Lyon, Laboratoire H. Curien, UMR CNRS 5516, 18 rue du Pr. Benoît Lauras, 42000 Saint-Etienne (France)

2016-11-15

Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements have been performed on Ge doped and Ge/F co-doped optical fibers, in the aim of studying the spatial distributions of the emitting precursor defects present in the as-drawn optical fiber as well as those of the radiation induced centers generated by the 10 keV electron exposure. Using the CL instrument, we recorded different emission bands located in the visible spectral domain (300–750 nm) as well as CL imaging of associated defects, with a spatial resolution of about 1 µm, along the fiber transverse cross sections. In the pristine fiber, Germanium Lone Pair Centers (GLPCs) emitting at 400 nm are the main precursor sites observed in both fibers. Whereas during electron exposure, these centers are converted into other Ge-related defects. In this paper, we studied in situ their bleaching kinetic using CL monochromatic imaging. As expected, our results show that the GLPC signal decreases with the electron fluence, confirming its precursor role. Thanks to the CL abilities, we also demonstrate that the GLPC conversion into radiation induced defects (and then its bleaching kinetic) depends on the germanium concentration, opening the way to a better control of the radiation sensitivity of germanosilicate glass.

Irradiation creep by climb-enables glide of dislocations resulting from preferred absorption of point defects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansur, L K [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

1979-04-01

A mechanism of irradiation creep arising from the climb-enabled glide of dislocations due to stress-induced preferred absorption of radiation-produced point defects is proposed. This creep component is here termed preferred absorption glide, PAG. PAG-creep operates in addition to the previously studied components of creep from climb by stress-induced preferred absorption, (SI) PA-creep, and the climb-enabled glide due to excess absorption of interstitials on dislocations during swelling, I-creep. A formulation of the various climb and climb-enabled glide processes which includes earlier results is presented. PAG-creep is comparable in magnitude to PA-creep in the parameter range of applications. While the PSA-creep rate and the I-creep rate are linear in stress, the PAG-creep rate is quadratic in stress and thus dominates at high stresses.

The investigation of radiation induced defects in MgO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puetz, M.

1990-05-01

In this paper Frenkel defects were induced in MgO by 3 MeV electrons at low temperature. These defects were investigated by measurements of the optical absorption, by investigating the lattice parameters and Huang diffuse scattering. (WL)

Fatigue crack initiation – The role of point defects

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Polák, Jaroslav; Man, Jiří

2014-01-01

Roč. 65, AUG (2014), s. 18-27 ISSN 0142-1123 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/10/2371; GA ČR(CZ) GA13-23652S Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : Fatigue crack initiation * Point defects * Persistent slip band * Intrusion * Extrusion Subject RIV: JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics Impact factor: 2.275, year: 2014

Ionization-induced rearrangement of defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinetskij, V.L.; Manojlo, M.A.; Matvijchuk, A.S.; Strikha, V.I.; Kholodar', G.A.

1988-01-01

Ionizing factor effect on defect rearrangement in silicon including centers with deep local electron levels in the p-n-transition region is considered. Deep center parameters were determined using non-steady-state capacity spectroscopy of deep levels (NCDLS) method. NCDLS spectrum measurement was performed using source p + -n - diodes and after their irradiation with 15 keV energy electrons or laser pulses. It is ascertained that in silicon samples containing point defect clusters defect rearrangement under ionizing factor effect takes place, i.e. deep level spectra are changed. This mechanism is efficient in case of silicon irradiation with subthreshold energy photons and electrons and can cause degradation of silicon semiconducting structures

Study of irradiation induced defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pal, Gayatri; Sebastian, K.C.; Somayajulu, D.R.S.; Chintalapudi, S.N.

2000-01-01

Pure high resistivity (6000 ohm-cm) silicon wafers were recoil implanted with 1.8 MeV 111 In ions. As-irradiated wafers showed a 13 MHz quadrupole interaction frequency, which was not observed earlier. The annealing behaviour of these defects in the implanted wafers was studied between room temperature and 1073 K. At different annealing temperatures two more interaction frequencies corresponding to defect complexes D2 and D3 are observed. Even though the experimental conditions were different, these are identical to the earlier reported ones. Based on an empirical point charge model calculation, an attempt is made to identify the configuration of these defect complexes. (author)

One-point functions in defect CFT and integrability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leeuw, Marius de; Kristjansen, Charlotte [The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen Ø, DK-2100 (Denmark); Zarembo, Konstantin [NORDITA, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, Stockholm, SE-106 91 (Sweden); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE-751 08 (Sweden)

2015-08-19

We calculate planar tree level one-point functions of non-protected operators in the defect conformal field theory dual to the D3-D5 brane system with k units of the world volume flux. Working in the operator basis of Bethe eigenstates of the Heisenberg XXX{sub 1/2} spin chain we express the one-point functions as overlaps of these eigenstates with a matrix product state. For k=2 we obtain a closed expression of determinant form for any number of excitations, and in the case of half-filling we find a relation with the Néel state. In addition, we present a number of results for the limiting case k→∞.

Formation Energies of Native Point Defects in Strained layer Superlattices (Postprint)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-05

1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law , no...Hamiltonian, tight-binding Hamiltonian, and Green’s function techniques to obtain energy levels arising from native point defects (NPDs) in InAs-GaSb and...GaSb systems and 2 designs of InAs-InAs 0.7 Sb 0.3 systems lattice matched to GaSb substrate. The calculated defect levels not only agree well with

Formation of radiation-induced point defects in silicon doped thin films upon ion implantation and activating annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bublik, V.T.; Shcherbachev, K.D.; Komarnitskaya, E.A.; Parkhomenko, Yu.N.; Vygovskaya, E.A.; Evgen'ev, S.B.

1999-01-01

The formation and relaxation processes for radiation-induced defects in the implantation of 50 keV Si + ions into gallium arsenide and subsequent 10-min annealing in arsine at 850 deg. C have been studied by the triple-crystal X-ray diffractometry and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy techniques. It is shown that the existence of the vacancy-enriched layer stimulating diffusion of introduced dopants into the substrate surface can significantly affect the distribution profile of the dopant in the course of preparation of thin implanted layers

Anisotropic diffusion of point defects in a two-dimensional crystal of streptavidin observed by high-speed atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Daisuke; Uchihashi, Takayuki; Kodera, Noriyuki; Ando, Toshio

2008-01-01

The diffusion of individual point defects in a two-dimensional streptavidin crystal formed on biotin-containing supported lipid bilayers was observed by high-speed atomic force microscopy. The two-dimensional diffusion of monovacancy defects exhibited anisotropy correlated with the two crystallographic axes in the orthorhombic C 222 crystal; in the 2D plane, one axis (the a-axis) is comprised of contiguous biotin-bound subunit pairs whereas the other axis (the b-axis) is comprised of contiguous biotin-unbound subunit pairs. The diffusivity along the b-axis is approximately 2.4 times larger than that along the a-axis. This anisotropy is ascribed to the difference in the association free energy between the biotin-bound subunit-subunit interaction and the biotin-unbound subunit-subunit interaction. The preferred intermolecular contact occurs between the biotin-unbound subunits. The difference in the intermolecular binding energy between the two types of subunit pair is estimated to be approximately 0.52 kcal mol -1 . Another observed dynamic behavior of point defects was fusion of two point defects into a larger defect, which occurred much more frequently than the fission of a point defect into smaller defects. The diffusivity of point defects increased with increasing defect size. The fusion and the higher diffusivity of larger defects are suggested to be involved in the mechanism for the formation of defect-free crystals

Effect of reorientation of anisotropic point defects on relaxation of crystal elastic coefficients of high order

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Topchyan, I.I.; Dokhner, R.D.

1977-01-01

The effect of reorientation of anisotropic point defects in uniform fields of elastic stresses on the relaxation of the elastic coefficients of a crystal was investigated in the nonlinear elasticity theory approximation. In calculating the interaction of point defects with elastic-stress fields was taken into consideration. The expression for the relaxations of the elasticity coefficients are obtained in an analytical form. The relaxation of the second-order elasticity coefficients is due to the dimentional interaction of a point defect with an applied-stress field, whereas the relaxation of the higher-order elasticity coefficients is determined both by dimentional and module effects

Structure, stability and mobility of point defects in hexagonal close packed zirconium: an ab initio study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verite, G.

2007-09-01

This research aims at determining, by means of DFT (density functional theory) electronic structure computations, the structure, the stability, and the mobility of isolated point defects, lack defects, auto-interstitial defects, or small aggregate defects in the compact hexagonal zirconium (hc Zr). After a literature survey on the studied materials and a review of computer simulation methods in material science, the author presents and comments the available results from experiments or simulations on point defects in hc Zr. He presents the growth phenomenon under radiation. Then, he briefly described the computing techniques used in this study, reports the determination of the network parameters and elastic constants of each material. He reports and comments the results obtained with the SIESTA code and with a Monte Carlo kinetic simulation. The different types of defects are investigated

Investigation of point defects diffusion in bcc uranium and U–Mo alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smirnova, D.E.; Kuksin, A.Yu.; Starikov, S.V.

2015-01-01

We present results of investigation of point defects formation and diffusion in pure γ-U and γ-U–Mo fuel alloys. The study was performed using molecular dynamics simulation with the different interatomic potentials. The point defects formation and migration energies were estimated for bcc γ-U and U–9 wt.%Mo alloy. The calculated diffusivities of atoms via defects are provided for pure γ-U and for the alloy components. Analysis of simulation results shows that self-interstitial atoms play a leading role in the self-diffusion processes in the materials studied. This fact can explain a remarkably high self-diffusion mobility observed experimentally for γ-U. The self-diffusion coefficients in γ-U calculated in this assumption agree with the data measured experimentally. It is shown that alloying of γ-U with Mo increase formation energy for self-interstitial atoms and decelerate their mobility. These changes lead to decrease of self-diffusion coefficients in U–Mo alloy compared to pure U

Estimates of point defect production in α-quartz using molecular dynamics simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Cowen, Benjamin J.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.

2017-07-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to investigate the production of point defects in α-quartz by oxygen and silicon primary knock-on atoms (PKAs) of 0.25-2 keV. The Wigner-Seitz (WS) defect analysis is used to identify the produced vacancies, interstitials, and antisites, and the coordination defect analysis is used to identify the under and over-coordinated oxygen and silicon atoms. The defects at the end of the ballistic phase and the residual defects, after annealing, increase with increased PKA energy, and are statistically the same for the oxygen and silicon PKAs. The WS defect analysis results show that the numbers of the oxygen vacancies and interstitials (VO, Oi) at the end of the ballistic phase is the highest, followed closely by those of the silicon vacancies and interstitials (VSi, Sii). The number of the residual oxygen and silicon vacancies and interstitials are statistically the same. In addition, the under-coordinated OI and SiIII, which are the primary defects during the ballistic phase, have high annealing efficiencies (>89%). The over-coordinated defects of OIII and SiV, which are not nearly as abundant in the ballistic phase, have much lower annealing efficiencies (PKA energy.

A tungsten-rhenium interatomic potential for point defect studies

Science.gov (United States)

Setyawan, Wahyu; Gao, Ning; Kurtz, Richard J.

2018-05-01

A tungsten-rhenium (W-Re) classical interatomic potential is developed within the embedded atom method interaction framework. A force-matching method is employed to fit the potential to ab initio forces, energies, and stresses. Simulated annealing is combined with the conjugate gradient technique to search for an optimum potential from over 1000 initial trial sets. The potential is designed for studying point defects in W-Re systems. It gives good predictions of the formation energies of Re defects in W and the binding energies of W self-interstitial clusters with Re. The potential is further evaluated for describing the formation energy of structures in the σ and χ intermetallic phases. The predicted convex-hulls of formation energy are in excellent agreement with ab initio data. In pure Re, the potential can reproduce the formation energies of vacancies and self-interstitial defects sufficiently accurately and gives the correct ground state self-interstitial configuration. Furthermore, by including liquid structures in the fit, the potential yields a Re melting temperature (3130 K) that is close to the experimental value (3459 K).

Defect properties from X-ray scattering experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peisl, H.

1976-01-01

Lattice distortions due to defects in crystals can be studied most directly by elastic X-ray or neutron scattering experiments. The 'size' of the defects can be determined from the shift of the Bragg reflections. Defect induced diffuse scattering intensity close to and between Bragg reflections gives information on the strength and symmetry of the distortion fields and yields the atomic structure of point defects (interstitials, vacancies, small aggregates). Diffuse scattering is a very sensitive method to decide whether defects are present as isolated point defects or have formed aggregates. X-ray scattering has been used to study defects produced in various ionic crystals by γ- and neutron irradiation. After an introduction to the principles of the method the experimental results will be reviewed and discussed in some detail. (orig.) [de

Evolution of Radiation Induced Defects in SiC: A Multiscale Simulation Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hao

temperatures beyond that. Even though clusters cannot diffuse by thermal vibrations, we found they can migrate at room temperature under the influence of electron radiation. This is the first direct observation of radiation-induced diffusion of defect clusters in bulk materials. We show that the underlying mechanism of this athermal diffusion is elastic collision between incoming electrons and cluster atoms. Our findings suggest that defect clusters may be mobile under certain irradiation conditions, changing current understanding of cluster annealing process in irradiated SiC. With the knowledge of cluster diffusion in SiC demonstrated in this thesis, we now become able to predict cluster evolution in SiC with good agreement with experimental measurements. This ability can enable us to estimate changes in many properties of irradiated SiC relevant for its applications in reactors. Internal interfaces such as grain boundaries can behave as sinks to radiation induced defects. The ability of GBs to absorb, transport, and annihilate radiation-induced defects (sink strength) is important to understand radiation response of polycrystalline materials and to better design interfaces for improved resistance to radiation damage. Nowadays, it is established GBs' sink strength is not a static property but rather evolves with many factors, including radiation environments, grain size, and GB microstructure. In this thesis, I investigated the response of small-angle tilt and twist GBs to point defects fluxes in SiC. First of all, I found the pipe diffusion of interstitials in tilt GBs is slower than bulk diffusion. This is because the increased interatomic distance at dislocation cores raises the migration barrier of interstitial dumbbells. Furthermore, I show that both the annihilation of interstitials at jogs and jog nucleation from clusters are diffusion-controlled and can occur under off-stoichiometric interstitial fluxes. Finally, a dislocation line model is developed to predict the

Radiation-induced defects formation in Bi-containing vitreous chalcogenides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, O.; Vakiv, M.; Balitska, V.; Kovalskiy, A.

1997-01-01

Processes of formation and annihilation of coordination defects in As 2 Se 3 Bi y and (As 2 Se 3 )(Bi 2 Se 3 ) y amorphous chalcogenide semiconductors induced by influence of Co 60 gamma-irradiation are investigated by photoelectric spectroscopy method. It is obtained that radiation-induced changes of photoelectrical properties on bioconcentration of As 2 Se 3 Bi y glasses are characterized by anomalous concentration dependence. The nature of this effect is associated with diamagnetic coordination defects formation. (author). 19 refs, 3 figs

Influence of an uniaxial stress on point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beuneu, B.

1984-03-01

We study two effects of an elastic external uniaxial stress on point defects (created by electron irradiation): 1.- We measure the linear variation of their resistivity rhosub(D) under the elastic strain epsilon in Copper. It gives the specific elastoresistivity (E.R.S.) chisub(D)=delta rhosub(D)/epsilon. With the help of the results of VON STEBUT (fast neutrons) we show that the E.R.S. is characteristic of a defect and of its configuration. 2.- By means of resistivity measurements in molybdenum, we observe a paraelastic phenomenon. It is thermally activated (νsub(0) approximately= 10 12 s -1 and E approximately= 72 meV) and we attribute it to the reorientation of a dumbell interstitial under the uniaxial stress. The resistivity of this dumbbell is higher along its axis than perpendicularly to it. We have completed these results with some configuration energy calculations for the dumbbell and with a simple kinetic model [fr

First-principles study of point defects in thorium carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pérez Daroca, D.; Jaroszewicz, S.; Llois, A.M.; Mosca, H.O.

2014-01-01

Thorium-based materials are currently being investigated in relation with their potential utilization in Generation-IV reactors as nuclear fuels. One of the most important issues to be studied is their behavior under irradiation. A first approach to this goal is the study of point defects. By means of first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory, we study the stability and formation energies of vacancies, interstitials and Frenkel pairs in thorium carbide. We find that C isolated vacancies are the most likely defects, while C interstitials are energetically favored as compared to Th ones. These kind of results for ThC, to the best authors’ knowledge, have not been obtained previously, neither experimentally, nor theoretically. For this reason, we compare with results on other compounds with the same NaCl-type structure

First-principles study of point defects in thorium carbide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez Daroca, D., E-mail: pdaroca@tandar.cnea.gov.ar [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, (1033) Buenos Aires (Argentina); Jaroszewicz, S. [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto de Tecnología Jorge A. Sabato, UNSAM-CNEA, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Llois, A.M. [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, (1033) Buenos Aires (Argentina); Mosca, H.O. [Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto de Tecnología Jorge A. Sabato, UNSAM-CNEA, Av. General Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2014-11-15

Thorium-based materials are currently being investigated in relation with their potential utilization in Generation-IV reactors as nuclear fuels. One of the most important issues to be studied is their behavior under irradiation. A first approach to this goal is the study of point defects. By means of first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory, we study the stability and formation energies of vacancies, interstitials and Frenkel pairs in thorium carbide. We find that C isolated vacancies are the most likely defects, while C interstitials are energetically favored as compared to Th ones. These kind of results for ThC, to the best authors’ knowledge, have not been obtained previously, neither experimentally, nor theoretically. For this reason, we compare with results on other compounds with the same NaCl-type structure.

On the Enthalpy and Entropy of Point Defect Formation in Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Kobelev, N. P.; Khonik, V. A.

2018-03-01

A standard way to determine the formation enthalpy H and entropy S of point defect formation in crystals consists in the application of the Arrhenius equation for the defect concentration. In this work, we show that a formal use of this method actually gives the effective (apparent) values of these quantities, which appear to be significantly overestimated. The underlying physical reason lies in temperature-dependent formation enthalpy of the defects, which is controlled by temperature dependence of the elastic moduli. We present an evaluation of the "true" H- and S-values for aluminum, which are derived on the basis of experimental data by taking into account temperature dependence of the formation enthalpy related to temperature dependence of the elastic moduli. The knowledge of the "true" activation parameters is needed for a correct calculation of the defect concentration constituting thus an issue of major importance for different fundamental and application issues of condensed matter physics and chemistry.

Defects and defect processes in nonmetallic solids

CERN Document Server

Hayes, W

2004-01-01

This extensive survey covers defects in nonmetals, emphasizing point defects and point-defect processes. It encompasses electronic, vibrational, and optical properties of defective solids, plus dislocations and grain boundaries. 1985 edition.

Nucleation of point defects in low-fluence ion-implanted GaAs and GaP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wesch, W.; Wendler, E.; Gaertner, K.

1992-01-01

The defect production due to low-fluence medium-mass ion implantation into GaAs and GaP at room temperature is investigated. In the parameter region analysed weakly damaged layers are created containing point defects and point defects complexes. Temperature dependent channeling measurements show different structures of the damage produced in the two materials. The depth profiles of the near-edge optical absorption coefficient K sufficiently correspond to the profiles of the primarily produced vacancy concentration N vac . The absorption coefficient K(N vac ) determined from the depth profiles of the two magnitudes shows a square root dependence for GaAs, whereas for GaP a linear dependence is found. The differences observed are discussed in the frame of different nucleation mechanisms. (orig.)

First-principles study of point defects in CePO{sub 4} monazite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yi, Yong; Zhao, Xiaofeng [State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010 (China); Teng, Yuancheng, E-mail: tyc239@163.com [State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010 (China); Bi, Beng [Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010 (China); Wang, Lili [Institute of Computer Application, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Wu, Lang; Zhang, Kuibao [State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010 (China)

2016-12-15

CePO{sub 4} monazite is an important radiation-resistant material that may act as a potential minor actinides waste form. Here, we present the results of the calculations for the basic radiation defect modellings in CePO{sub 4} crystals, along with the examination of their defect formation energies and effect of the defect concentrations. This study focused on building a fully-relaxed CePO{sub 4} model with the step iterative optimization from the DFT-GGA calculations using the VASP and CASTEP databases. The results show that the Frenkel defect configuration resulting from the center interstitials has a lower energy when compared to two adjacent orthophosphate centers (the saddle point position). High formation energies were found for all the types of intrinsic Frenkel and vacancy defects. The formation energies conform to the following trend (given in the decreasing order of energy): Ce Frenkel (12.41 eV) > O Frenkel (11.02 eV) > Ce vacancy (9.09 eV) > O vacancy (6.69 eV). We observed almost no effect from the defect concentrations on the defect formation energies.

Effect of thermal-convection-induced defects on the performance of perovskite solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Fei; Xie, Fengxian; Yin, Maoshu; He, Jinjin; Wang, Yanbo; Tang, Wentao; Chen, Han; Yang, Xudong; Han, Liyuan

2017-07-01

Thermal-convection-induced defects can cause huge loss in the power conversion efficiency of solution-processed perovskite solar cells. We investigated two types of convection in perovskite solution during the formation of perovskite films. By balancing the convection via special configurations of surface tension and boiling point in mixed γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), we removed microscopic defects such as rings, bumps, and crevices. The deposited perovskite films were smooth and dense, which enabled a high power conversion efficiency of 17.7% in a 1 cm2 cell area. We believe that the present strategy for controlling the convection can be helpful in improving the perovskite film quality for solvent-rich scalable solution processes of solar cells such as doctor blading, soft-cover deposition, printing, and slot-die coating.

Graphene defects induced by ion beam

Science.gov (United States)

Gawlik, Grzegorz; Ciepielewski, Paweł; Baranowski, Jacek; Jagielski, Jacek

2017-10-01

The CVD graphene deposited on the glass substrate was bombarded by molecular carbon ions C3+ C6+ hydrocarbon ions C3H4+ and atomic ions He+, C+, N+, Ar+, Kr+ Yb+. Size and density of ion induced defects were estimated from evolution of relative intensities of Raman lines D (∼1350 1/cm), G (∼1600 1/cm), and D‧ (∼1620 1/cm) with ion fluence. The efficiency of defect generation by atomic ions depend on ion mass and energy similarly as vacancy generation directly by ion predicted by SRIM simulations. However, efficiency of defect generation in graphene by molecular carbon ions is essentially higher than summarized efficiency of similar group of separate atomic carbon ions of the same energy that each carbon ion in a cluster. The evolution of the D/D‧ ratio of Raman lines intensities with ion fluence was observed. This effect may indicate evolution of defect nature from sp3-like at low fluence to a vacancy-like at high fluence. Observed ion graphene interactions suggest that the molecular ion interacts with graphene as single integrated object and should not be considered as a group of atomic ions with partial energy.

Point defects in hexagonal germanium carbide monolayer: A first-principles calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ersan, Fatih; Gökçe, Aytaç Gürhan; Aktürk, Ethem

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Semiconductor GeC turns into metal by introducing a carbon vacancy. • Semiconductor GeC becomes half-metal by a single Ge vacancy. • Band gap value of GeC system can be tuned in the range of 0.308–1.738 eV by antisite or Stone–Wales defects. - Abstract: On the basis of first-principles plane-wave calculations, we investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of various point defects including single Ge and C vacancies, Ge + C divacancy, Ge↔C antisites and the Stone–Wales (SW) defects in a GeC monolayer. We found that various periodic vacancy defects in GeC single layer give rise to crucial effects on the electronic and magnetic properties. The band gaps of GeC monolayer vary significantly from 0.308 eV to 1.738 eV due to the presence of antisites and Stone–Wales defects. While nonmagnetic ground state of semiconducting GeC turns into metal by introducing a carbon vacancy, it becomes half-metal by a single Ge vacancy with high magnetization (4 μ_B) value per supercell. All the vacancy types have zero net magnetic moments, except single Ge vacancy.

Point defects in hexagonal germanium carbide monolayer: A first-principles calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ersan, Fatih [Department of Physics, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey); Gökçe, Aytaç Gürhan [Department of Physics, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey); Department of Physics, Dokuz Eylül University, 35160 İzmir (Turkey); Aktürk, Ethem, E-mail: ethem.akturk@adu.edu.tr [Department of Physics, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey); Nanotechnology Application and Research Center, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydın (Turkey)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Semiconductor GeC turns into metal by introducing a carbon vacancy. • Semiconductor GeC becomes half-metal by a single Ge vacancy. • Band gap value of GeC system can be tuned in the range of 0.308–1.738 eV by antisite or Stone–Wales defects. - Abstract: On the basis of first-principles plane-wave calculations, we investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of various point defects including single Ge and C vacancies, Ge + C divacancy, Ge↔C antisites and the Stone–Wales (SW) defects in a GeC monolayer. We found that various periodic vacancy defects in GeC single layer give rise to crucial effects on the electronic and magnetic properties. The band gaps of GeC monolayer vary significantly from 0.308 eV to 1.738 eV due to the presence of antisites and Stone–Wales defects. While nonmagnetic ground state of semiconducting GeC turns into metal by introducing a carbon vacancy, it becomes half-metal by a single Ge vacancy with high magnetization (4 μ{sub B}) value per supercell. All the vacancy types have zero net magnetic moments, except single Ge vacancy.

Effect of point defects on the electronic density states of SnC nanosheets: First-principles calculations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soleyman Majidi

Full Text Available In this work, we investigated the electronic and structural properties of various defects including single Sn and C vacancies, double vacancy of the Sn and C atoms, anti-sites, position exchange and the Stone–Wales (SW defects in SnC nanosheets by using density-functional theory (DFT. We found that various vacancy defects in the SnC monolayer can change the electronic and structural properties. Our results show that the SnC is an indirect band gap compound, with the band gap of 2.10 eV. The system turns into metal for both structure of the single Sn and C vacancies. However, for the double vacancy contained Sn and C atoms, the structure remains semiconductor with the direct band gap of 0.37 eV at the G point. We also found that for anti-site defects, the structure remains semiconductor and for the exchange defect, the structure becomes indirect semiconductor with the K-G point and the band gap of 0.74 eV. Finally, the structure of SW defect remains semiconductor with the direct band gap at K point with band gap of 0.54 eV. Keywords: SnC nanosheets, Density-functional theory, First-principles calculations, Electronic density of states, Band gap

Gamma-rays and heat-treatment conversions of point defects in massive rose quartz from the Borborema Pegmatite Province, Northeast Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Guzzo, Pedro L.; Barreto, Sandra B.; Miranda, Milena R.; Gonzaga, Raysa S. G.; Casals, Sandra A.

2017-11-01

An extensive characterization of trace elements and point defects in rose quartz from the Borborema Pegmatite Province (BPP) in the northeast of Brazil was carried out by complementary spectroscopic methods. The aim here was to document the change in the configuration of point defects into the quartz lattice induced by heat-treatment and ionizing radiation. The samples were extracted from the core of two granitic rare element (REL) pegmatites, Taboa (Carnaúba dos Dantas, RN) and Alto do Feio (Pedra Lavrada, PB). The contents of Al, P, Ti, Ni, Fe, Ge, Li, Be, B and K were measured by laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Polished plates were heat-treated at 500 and 1000 °C and then irradiated with 50 kGy of γ rays. Point defects were characterized by optical (UV-Vis), infrared (IR), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. In the as-received condition, [AlO4/H]0 centers, Li- and B-dependent OH defects were observed. Point defects related to Al and Li species were significantly affected by heat-treatment at 1000 °C and/or γ radiation. Paramagnetic centers such as [AlO4]0, [GeO4/Li]0, [TiO4/Li]0 and [O2 3-/Li]0 were created by the diffusion of Li+ ions from their original diamagnetic centers related to substitutional Al3+ and OH-species. The smoky color developed after irradiation and the signal intensities of the paramagnetic centers were independent from the original rose color grade. The samples from the Taboa (TB) pegmatite showed the highest concentration of Al, Ti, Fe and Li elements as well as the highest signal intensities for [AlO4]0, [AlO4/H]0, [GeO4/Li]0 and [TiO4/Li]0 centers. Although TB also showed the higher concentration of B element, the intensity of the 3597 cm-1 IR band related to [BO4/H]0 centers was higher for Alto do Feio (AF) samples. This result suggests that the uptake of B into the quartz core of each pegmatite took place through different mechanisms. It was concluded that the change in

Fermion-induced quantum critical points.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zi-Xiang; Jiang, Yi-Fan; Jian, Shao-Kai; Yao, Hong

2017-08-22

A unified theory of quantum critical points beyond the conventional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm remains unknown. According to Landau cubic criterion, phase transitions should be first-order when cubic terms of order parameters are allowed by symmetry in the Landau-Ginzburg free energy. Here, from renormalization group analysis, we show that second-order quantum phase transitions can occur at such putatively first-order transitions in interacting two-dimensional Dirac semimetals. As such type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points are induced by gapless fermions, we call them fermion-induced quantum critical points. We further introduce a microscopic model of SU(N) fermions on the honeycomb lattice featuring a transition between Dirac semimetals and Kekule valence bond solids. Remarkably, our large-scale sign-problem-free Majorana quantum Monte Carlo simulations show convincing evidences of a fermion-induced quantum critical points for N = 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, consistent with the renormalization group analysis. We finally discuss possible experimental realizations of the fermion-induced quantum critical points in graphene and graphene-like materials.Quantum phase transitions are governed by Landau-Ginzburg theory and the exceptions are rare. Here, Li et al. propose a type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points induced by gapless fermions in two-dimensional Dirac semimetals.

Point defects and electric compensation in gallium arsenide single crystals; Punktdefekte und elektrische Kompensation in Galliumarsenid-Einkristallen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kretzer, Ulrich

2007-12-10

In the present thesis the point-defect budget of gallium arsenide single crystals with different dopings is studied. It is shown, in which way the concentration of the single point defects depende on the concentration of the dopants, the stoichiometry deviation, and the position of the Fermi level. For this serve the results of the measurement-technical characterization of a large number of samples, in the fabrication of which these parameters were directedly varied. The main topic of this thesis lies in the development of models, which allow a quantitative description of the experimentally studied electrical and optical properties of gallium arsenide single crystals starting from the point-defect concentrations. Because from point defects charge carriers can be set free, their concentration determines essentially the charge-carrier concentration in the bands. In the ionized state point defects act as scattering centers for free charge carriers and influence by this the drift mobility of the charge carriers. A thermodynamic modeling of the point-defect formation yields statements on the equilibrium concentrations of the point defects in dependence on dopant concentration and stoichiometry deviation. It is show that the electrical properties of the crystals observed at room temperature result from the kinetic suppression of processes, via which the adjustment of a thermodynamic equilibrium between the point defects is mediated. [German] In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Punktdefekthaushalt von Galliumarsenid-Einkristallen mit unterschiedlichen Dotierungen untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, in welcher Weise die Konzentration der einzelnen Punktdefekte von der Konzentration der Dotierstoffe, der Stoechiometrieabweichung und der Lage des Ferminiveaus abhaengen. Dazu dienen die Ergebnisse der messtechnischen Charakterisierung einer grossen Anzahl von Proben, bei deren Herstellung diese Parameter gezielt variiert wurden. Der Schwerpunkt der Arbeit liegt in der Entwicklung

Intrinsic point defects in off-stoichiometric Cu2ZnSnSe4: A neutron diffraction study

Science.gov (United States)

Gurieva, Galina; Valle Rios, Laura Elisa; Franz, Alexandra; Whitfield, Pamela; Schorr, Susan

2018-04-01

This work is an experimental study of intrinsic point defects in off-stoichiometric kesterite type CZTSe by means of neutron powder diffraction. We revealed the existence of copper vacancies (VCu), various cation anti site defects (CuZn, ZnCu, ZnSn, SnZn, and CuZn), as well as interstitials (Cui, Zni) in a wide range of off-stoichiometric polycrystalline powder samples synthesized by the solid state reaction. The results show that the point defects present in off-stoichiometric CZTSe agree with the off-stoichiometry type model, assuming certain cation substitutions accounting for charge balance. In addition to the known off-stoichiometry types A-H, new types (I-L) have been introduced. For the very first time, a correlation between the chemical composition of the CZTSe kesterite type phase and the occurring intrinsic point defects is presented. In addition to the off-stoichiometry type specific defects, the Cu/Zn disorder is always present in the CZTSe phase. In Cu-poor/Zn-rich CZTSe, a composition considered as the one that delivers the best photovoltaic performance, mainly copper vacancies, ZnCu and ZnSn anti sites are present. Also, this compositional region shows the lowest degree of Cu/Zn disorder.

Radiation-induced defects formation in Bi-containing vitreous chalcogenides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shpotyuk, O.; Vakiv, M.; Balitska, V.; Kovalskiy, A. [Institute of Materials, Lvov (Ukraine)

1997-12-01

Processes of formation and annihilation of coordination defects in As{sub 2}Se{sub 3}Bi{sub y} and (As{sub 2}Se{sub 3})(Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}){sub y} amorphous chalcogenide semiconductors induced by influence of Co{sup 60} gamma-irradiation are investigated by photoelectric spectroscopy method. It is obtained that radiation-induced changes of photoelectrical properties on bioconcentration of As{sub 2}Se{sub 3}Bi{sub y} glasses are characterized by anomalous concentration dependence. The nature of this effect is associated with diamagnetic coordination defects formation. (author). 19 refs, 3 figs.

Thermodynamics of diffusion under pressure and stress: Relation to point defect mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aziz, M.J.

1997-01-01

A thermodynamic formalism is developed for illuminating the predominant point defect mechanism of self- and impurity diffusion in silicon and is used to provide a rigorous basis for point defect-based interpretation of diffusion experiments in biaxially strained epitaxial layers in the Si endash Ge system. A specific combination of the hydrostatic and biaxial stress dependences of the diffusivity is ±1 times the atomic volume, depending upon whether the predominant mechanism involves vacancies or interstitials. Experimental results for Sb diffusion in biaxially strained Si endash Ge films and ab initio calculations of the activation volume for Sb diffusion by a vacancy mechanism are in quantitative agreement with no free parameters. Key parameters are identified that must be measured or calculated for a quantitative test of interstitial-based mechanisms. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

A postprocessing method based on chirp Z transform for FDTD calculation of point defect states in two-dimensional phononic crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Xiaoxing; Wang Yuesheng

2010-01-01

In this paper, a new postprocessing method for the finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculation of the point defect states in two-dimensional (2D) phononic crystals (PNCs) is developed based on the chirp Z transform (CZT), one of the frequency zooming techniques. The numerical results for the defect states in 2D solid/liquid PNCs with single or double point defects show that compared with the fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based postprocessing method, the method can improve the estimation accuracy of the eigenfrequencies of the point defect states significantly when the FDTD calculation is run with relatively few iterations; and furthermore it can yield the point defect bands without calculating all eigenfrequencies outside the band gaps. The efficiency and accuracy of the FDTD method can be improved significantly with this new postprocessing method.

A postprocessing method based on chirp Z transform for FDTD calculation of point defect states in two-dimensional phononic crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su Xiaoxing, E-mail: xxsu@bjtu.edu.c [School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Wang Yuesheng [Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China)

2010-09-01

In this paper, a new postprocessing method for the finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculation of the point defect states in two-dimensional (2D) phononic crystals (PNCs) is developed based on the chirp Z transform (CZT), one of the frequency zooming techniques. The numerical results for the defect states in 2D solid/liquid PNCs with single or double point defects show that compared with the fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based postprocessing method, the method can improve the estimation accuracy of the eigenfrequencies of the point defect states significantly when the FDTD calculation is run with relatively few iterations; and furthermore it can yield the point defect bands without calculating all eigenfrequencies outside the band gaps. The efficiency and accuracy of the FDTD method can be improved significantly with this new postprocessing method.

Ab-initio modelling of thermodynamics and kinetics of point defects in indium oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agoston, Peter; Klein, Andreas; Albe, Karsten; Erhart, Paul

2008-01-01

The electrical and optical properties of indium oxide films strongly vary with the processing parameters. Especially the oxygen partial pressure and temperature determine properties like electrical conductivity, composition and transparency. Since this material owes its remarkable properties like the intrinsic n-type conductivity to its defect chemistry, it is important to understand both, the equilibrium defect thermodynamics and kinetics of the intrinsic point defects. In this contribution we present a defect model based on DFT total energy calculations using the GGA+U method. Further, the nudged elastic band method is employed in order to obtain a set of migration barriers for each defect species. Due to the complicated crystal structure of indium oxide a Kinetic Monte-Carlo algorithm was implemented, which allows to determine diffusion coefficients. The bulk tracer diffusion constant is predicted as a function of oxygen partial pressure, Fermi level and temperature for the pure material

The intrinsic thermal expansion of point defects in Al

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asty, Michel.

1975-11-01

The differential length measurement between two specimens, on pure and the other containing point defects, leads to the intrinsic thermal coefficient of expansion β(d) of the defect. A differential dilatometer by Laser interferometry is described operating between 77 and 300 K, with a sensitivity of about 100A on the length difference between an alloy sample and a pure dummy. Concerning substitutional impurities in aluminium between -190 deg C and -90 deg C, the intrinsic thermal coefficient of expansion of the defect β(d) is shown to have an absolute value much larger than the thermal expansion coefficient β 0 of the aluminium matrix: β(d)/β 0 =+3 to +6 for the magnesium impurity, β(d)/β 0 =-3 to -4 for the calcium impurity, and to be independent of the temperature. The existing theoretical models give evaluations for away from modeles theoriques existant sont tres loin d'expliquer les resultats experimentaux. high temperature, the results show that vacancies and divacancies, before collapsing in dislocation loops, form multivacancy clusters with large formation volumes: such a property makes these clusters comparable to cavities where the formation volume per vacancy is equal to the atomic volume of the matrix [fr

Gamma-induced defect production in ZrO2-Y2O3 crystals with different defectiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashurov, M.Kh.; Amonov, M.Z.; Rakov, A.F.

2002-01-01

Full text: The defectiveness degree of ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 crystals depends on stabilizer concentration. The work is aimed at study gamma-induced defect production in crystals with different concentration of stabilizer and defects generated by neutron irradiation. Absorption spectra were measured with Specord M-40. It was found, that after gamma-irradiation of as-grown crystals up to some dose the intensity of absorption band at 420 nm reaches the maximum level of saturation. The dose of saturation depends of the concentration of stabilizer. It means that gamma-radiation does not produce any additional defects of structure. The oxygen vacancies existing in as-grown crystals are filled by the radiation induced electrons. Since the number of oxygen vacancies depends on the stabilizer concentration, then all these vacancies can be occupied by electrons at different gamma-doses. In crystals pre-irradiated with different neutron fluences followed by gamma-irradiation, the intensity of absorption bands at 420 and 530 nm increases in two stages. The gamma-dose of the second stage beginning decreases as the neutron fluence grows. The first stage of the absorption increase is due to developing of vacancies existing in as-grown crystals. The second stage is caused by generation of additional vacancies as the result of non-radiative exciton decay near the existing structure damages. The decrease of the gamma-dose, when the second stage of vacancy accumulation begins, results from the neutron induced structure damage degree

Steady distribution structure of point defects near crystal-melt interface under pulling stop of CZ Si crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, T.; Takahashi, T.; Shirai, K.

2017-02-01

In order to reveal a steady distribution structure of point defects of no growing Si on the solid-liquid interface, the crystals were grown at a high pulling rate, which Vs becomes predominant, and the pulling was suddenly stopped. After restoring the variations of the crystal by the pulling-stop, the crystals were then left in prolonged contact with the melt. Finally, the crystals were detached and rapidly cooled to freeze point defects and then a distribution of the point defects of the as-grown crystals was observed. As a result, a dislocation loop (DL) region, which is formed by the aggregation of interstitials (Is), was formed over the solid-liquid interface and was surrounded with a Vs-and-Is-free recombination region (Rc-region), although the entire crystals had been Vs rich in the beginning. It was also revealed that the crystal on the solid-liquid interface after the prolonged contact with the melt can partially have a Rc-region to be directly in contact with the melt, unlike a defect distribution of a solid-liquid interface that has been growing. This experimental result contradicts a hypothesis of Voronkov's diffusion model, which always assumes the equilibrium concentrations of Vs and Is as the boundary condition for distribution of point defects on the growth interface. The results were disscussed from a qualitative point of view of temperature distribution and thermal stress by the pulling-stop.

Energetics of intrinsic point defects in uranium dioxide from electronic-structure calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nerikar, Pankaj; Watanabe, Taku; Tulenko, James S.; Phillpot, Simon R.; Sinnott, Susan B.

2009-01-01

The stability range of intrinsic point defects in uranium dioxide is determined as a function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and non-stoichiometry. The computational approach integrates high accuracy ab initio electronic-structure calculations and thermodynamic analysis supported by experimental data. In particular, the density functional theory calculations are performed at the level of the spin polarized, generalized gradient approximation and includes the Hubbard U term; as a result they predict the correct anti-ferromagnetic insulating ground state of uranium oxide. The thermodynamic calculations enable the effects of system temperature and partial pressure of oxygen on defect formation energy to be determined. The predicted equilibrium properties and defect formation energies for neutral defect complexes match trends in the experimental literature quite well. In contrast, the predicted values for charged complexes are lower than the measured values. The calculations predict that the formation of oxygen interstitials becomes increasingly difficult as higher temperatures and reducing conditions are approached

Shp2 knockdown and Noonan/LEOPARD mutant Shp2-induced gastrulation defects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Jopling

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Shp2 is a cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine phosphatase that is essential for normal development. Activating and inactivating mutations have been identified in humans to cause the related Noonan and LEOPARD syndromes, respectively. The cell biological cause of these syndromes remains to be determined. We have used the zebrafish to assess the role of Shp2 in early development. Here, we report that morpholino-mediated knockdown of Shp2 in zebrafish resulted in defects during gastrulation. Cell tracing experiments demonstrated that Shp2 knockdown induced defects in convergence and extension cell movements. In situ hybridization using a panel of markers indicated that cell fate was not affected by Shp2 knock down. The Shp2 knockdown-induced defects were rescued by active Fyn and Yes and by active RhoA. We generated mutants of Shp2 with mutations that were identified in human patients with Noonan or LEOPARD Syndrome and established that Noonan Shp2 was activated and LEOPARD Shp2 lacked catalytic protein-tyrosine phosphatase activity. Expression of Noonan or LEOPARD mutant Shp2 in zebrafish embryos induced convergence and extension cell movement defects without affecting cell fate. Moreover, these embryos displayed craniofacial and cardiac defects, reminiscent of human symptoms. Noonan and LEOPARD mutant Shp2s were not additive nor synergistic, consistent with the mutant Shp2s having activating and inactivating roles in the same signaling pathway. Our results demonstrate that Shp2 is required for normal convergence and extension cell movements during gastrulation and that Src family kinases and RhoA were downstream of Shp2. Expression of Noonan or LEOPARD Shp2 phenocopied the craniofacial and cardiac defects of human patients. The finding that defective Shp2 signaling induced cell movement defects as early as gastrulation may have implications for the monitoring and diagnosis of Noonan and LEOPARD syndrome.

Breakdown, fractoemission, diffusion: role of defects in dielectrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vigouroux, J.P.; Serruys, Y.

1987-01-01

During the surface analysis of dielectric materials, the impinging ionising particles induce point defects localised in the band gap and build an electrical charge. The electric field created by the charged defects modifies the physico-chemical properties of surface and bulk. We show that the fundamental study of defects allows a better understanding of technological phenomena such as dielectric breakdown, fracture and diffusion [fr

Atomic diffusion and point defects in crystals. Final report. Progress report, April 1, 1956--August 31, 1972

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slifkin, L.M.

1972-01-01

Studies were made to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of point defect transport in simple metals and in crystals of the silver halides. Experiments performed include: (a) effect of composition on diffusion in Ag-Au alloys and Ag-Cd alloys; (b) effect of a vacancy flux on diffusion; (c) diffusion of solutes in aluminum and its dilute alloys; (d) dislocation effects in Cu 3 Au; (e) role of electronic structure and ionic radius in diffusion of cations in AgCl; (f) effects of ionic radius on halide impurity ion diffusion in AgCl and AgBr; (g) production of excess point defects in AgCl by deformation and by quenching; (h) the kinetics of the pinning of dislocations by point defects in AgBr crystals. (auth)

α-Synuclein fibril-induced paradoxical structural and functional defects in hippocampal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Froula, Jessica M; Henderson, Benjamin W; Gonzalez, Jose Carlos; Vaden, Jada H; Mclean, John W; Wu, Yumei; Banumurthy, Gokulakrishna; Overstreet-Wadiche, Linda; Herskowitz, Jeremy H; Volpicelli-Daley, Laura A

2018-05-01

Neuronal inclusions composed of α-synuclein (α-syn) characterize Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Cognitive dysfunction defines DLB, and up to 80% of PD patients develop dementia. α-Syn inclusions are abundant in the hippocampus, yet functional consequences are unclear. To determine if pathologic α-syn causes neuronal defects, we induced endogenous α-syn to form inclusions resembling those found in diseased brains by treating hippocampal neurons with α-syn fibrils. At seven days after adding fibrils, α-syn inclusions are abundant in axons, but there is no cell death at this time point, allowing us to assess for potential alterations in neuronal function that are not caused by neuron death. We found that exposure of neurons to fibrils caused a significant reduction in mushroom spine densities, adding to the growing body of literature showing that altered spine morphology is a major pathologic phenotype in synucleinopathies. The reduction in spine densities occurred only in wild type neurons and not in neurons from α-syn knockout mice, suggesting that the changes in spine morphology result from fibril-induced corruption of endogenously expressed α-syn. Paradoxically, reduced postsynaptic spine density was accompanied by increased frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and presynaptic docked vesicles, suggesting enhanced presynaptic function. Action-potential dependent activity was unchanged, suggesting compensatory mechanisms responding to synaptic defects. Although activity at the level of the synapse was unchanged, neurons exposed to α-syn fibrils, showed reduced frequency and amplitudes of spontaneous Ca 2+ transients. These findings open areas of research to determine the mechanisms that alter neuronal function in brain regions critical for cognition at time points before neuron death.

Three-dimensional imaging of individual point defects using selective detection angles in annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Jared M.; Im, Soohyun; Windl, Wolfgang; Hwang, Jinwoo, E-mail: hwang.458@osu.edu

2017-01-15

We propose a new scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) technique that can realize the three-dimensional (3D) characterization of vacancies, lighter and heavier dopants with high precision. Using multislice STEM imaging and diffraction simulations of β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} and SrTiO{sub 3}, we show that selecting a small range of low scattering angles can make the contrast of the defect-containing atomic columns substantially more depth-dependent. The origin of the depth-dependence is the de-channeling of electrons due to the existence of a point defect in the atomic column, which creates extra “ripples” at low scattering angles. The highest contrast of the point defect can be achieved when the de-channeling signal is captured using the 20–40 mrad detection angle range. The effect of sample thickness, crystal orientation, local strain, probe convergence angle, and experimental uncertainty to the depth-dependent contrast of the point defect will also be discussed. The proposed technique therefore opens new possibilities for highly precise 3D structural characterization of individual point defects in functional materials. - Highlights: • A new electron microscopy technique that can visualize 3D position of point defect is proposed. • The technique relies on the electron de-channeling signals at low scattering angles. • The technique enables precise determination of the depth of vacancies and lighter impurity atoms.

Mathematical simulation of point defect interaction with grain boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bojko, V.S.

1987-01-01

Published works, where the interaction of point defects and grain boundaries was studied by mathematical simulation methods, have been analysed. Energetics of the vacancy formation both in nuclei of large-angle special grain boundaries and in lattice regions adjoining them has been considered. The data obtained permit to explain specific features of grain-boundary diffusion processes. Results of mathematical simulation of the interaction of impurity atoms and boundaries have been considered. Specific features of the helium atom interaction with large-angle grain boundaries are analysed as well

Complex Interaction Mechanisms between Dislocations and Point Defects Studied in Pure Aluminium by a Two-Wave Acoustic Coupling Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Bremnes, O.; Progin, O.; Gremaud, G.; Benoit, W.

1997-04-01

Ultrasonic experiments using a two-wave coupling technique were performed on 99.999% pure Al in order to study the interaction mechanisms occurring between dislocations and point defects. The coupling technique consists in measuring the attenuation of ultrasonic waves during low-frequency stress cycles (t). One obtains closed curves () called signatures whose shape and evolution are characteristic of the interaction mechanism controlling the low-frequency dislocation motion. The signatures observed were attributed to the interaction of the dislocations with extrinsic point defects. A new interpretation of the evolution of the signatures measured below 200 K with respect to temperature and stress frequency had to be established: they are linked to depinning of immobile point defects, whereas a thermally activated depinning mechanism does not fit the observations. The signatures measured between 200 and 370 K were interpreted as dragging and depinning of extrinsic point defects which are increasingly mobile with temperature.

Study of Te Inclusion and Related Point Defects in THM-Growth CdMnTe Crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Yifei; Zhang, Jijun; Min, Jiahua; Liang, Xiaoyan; Huang, Jian; Tang, Ke; Ling, Liwen; Li, Ming; Zhang, Ying; Wang, Linjun

2018-02-01

This study establishes a model for describing the interaction between Te inclusions, dislocations and point defects in CdMnTe crystals. The role of the complex environment surrounding the formation of Te inclusions was analyzed. Images of Te inclusions captured by scanning electron microscope and infrared microscope were used to observe the morphology of Te inclusions. The morphology of Te inclusions is discussed in light of crystallography, from the crystal growth temperature at 900°C to the melting temperature of Te inclusions using the traveling heater method. The dislocation nets around Te inclusions were calculated by counting lattice mismatches between the Te inclusions and the bulk CdMnTe at 470°C. The point defects of Te antisites were found to be gathered around Te inclusions, with dislocation climb during the cooling phase of crystal growth from 470°C to room temperature. The Te inclusions, dislocation nets and surrounding point defects are considered to be an entirety for evaluating the effect of Te inclusions on CdMnTe detector performance, and an effective mobility-lifetime product (μτ) was obtained.

Metastable light induced defects in pentacene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liguori, R.; Aprano, S.; Rubino, A. [Department of Industrial Engineering (DIIn), University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Italy)

2014-02-21

In this study we analyzed one of the environmental factors that could affect organic materials. Pentacene thin film samples were fabricated and the degradation of their electrical characteristics was measured when the devices were exposed to ultraviolet light irradiation. The results have been reported in terms of a trap density model, which provides a description of the dynamics of light induced electrically active defects in an organic semiconductor.

Estimation of the temperature dependent interaction between uncharged point defects in Si

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamiyama, Eiji [Department of Communication Engineering, Okayama Prefectural University, 111 Kuboki, Soja-shi, Okayama-ken 719-1197 (Japan); GlobalWafers Japan Co., Ltd., 30 Soya, Hadano, Kanagawa, 257-8566 (Japan); Vanhellemont, Jan [Department of Solid State Sciences, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S1, Ghent B-9000 (Belgium); Sueoka, Koji [Department of Communication Engineering, Okayama Prefectural University, 111 Kuboki, Soja-shi, Okayama-ken 719-1197 (Japan)

2015-01-15

A method is described to estimate the temperature dependent interaction between two uncharged point defects in Si based on DFT calculations. As an illustration, the formation of the uncharged di-vacancy V{sub 2} is discussed, based on the temperature dependent attractive field between both vacancies. For that purpose, all irreducible configurations of two uncharged vacancies are determined, each with their weight given by the number of equivalent configurations. Using a standard 216-atoms supercell, nineteen irreducible configurations of two vacancies are obtained. The binding energies of all these configurations are calculated. Each vacancy is surrounded by several attractive sites for another vacancy. The obtained temperature dependent of total volume of these attractive sites has a radius that is closely related with the capture radius for the formation of a di-vacancy that is used in continuum theory. The presented methodology can in principle also be applied to estimate the capture radius for pair formation of any type of point defects.

Stability and kinetics of point defects in SiO2 and in SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roma, G.

2012-01-01

This document is conceived as an overview of Guido Roma's research achievements on defects stability and kinetics in two materials of interest in nuclear science and for many other application domains: silicon dioxide and silicon carbide. An extended summary in french is followed by the main document, in english. Chapter 1 describes the context, introduces the approach and explains the choice of silicon dioxide and silicon carbide. Chapter 2 discusses several approximations and specific issues of the application of Density Functional Theory to point defects in non-metallic materials for the study of defects energetics and diffusion. Chapter 3 is devoted to native defects in silicon dioxide and the understanding of self-diffusion in crystalline and amorphous SiO 2 . Chapter 4 summarises the results on native defects and palladium impurities in silicon carbide. A conclusion, including suggestions for future developments, closes the main part of the document. (author) [fr

Study of a radiation point defects ensemble in thin GaAs layers implanted by Be+ and Se+ ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shcherbachev, K.D.; Bublik, V.T.; Kuripyatnik, A.V.; Yurchuk, S.Yu.

2001-01-01

The behaviour of a radiation point defects ensemble in SI-GaAs(100) wafers implanted by Be + (a dose of 1x10 14 at/cm 2 , an energy of 50 and 150 keV) and Se + (a dose of 5x10 14 at/cm 2 , an energy of 150, 180 and 240 keV) ions are studied by a triple-crystal diffractometry method. The strain profile and a number of residual radiation point defects are shown to be determined by defects annihilation, their sink to the surface and rechanneling during the implantation [ru

Recent studies of point defects by Huang scattering of x rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeta, Hiroshi

1977-01-01

Huang scattering allows the measurements of the symmetry and strength of point defects produced by irradiations and constitutes a very sensitive method for observing the clustering that occurs during irradiations or annealings. In the present review, the principles and characteristics of the Huang scattering and recent investigations using this technique are described. [J.Cryst.Soc.Japan 19,231(1977)] (auth.)

Vacancy-type defects induced by grinding of Si wafers studied by monoenergetic positron beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uedono, Akira; Yoshihara, Nakaaki [Division of Applied Physics, Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Mizushima, Yoriko [Devices and Materials Labs Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0197 (Japan); ICE Cube Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Kim, Youngsuk [ICE Cube Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Disco Corporation, Ota, Tokyo 143-8580 (Japan); Nakamura, Tomoji [Devices and Materials Labs Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0197 (Japan); Ohba, Takayuki [ICE Cube Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Oshima, Nagayasu; Suzuki, Ryoichi [Research Institute of Instrumentation Frontier, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568 (Japan)

2014-10-07

Vacancy-type defects introduced by the grinding of Czochralski-grown Si wafers were studied using monoenergetic positron beams. Measurements of Doppler broadening spectra of the annihilation radiation and the lifetime spectra of positrons showed that vacancy-type defects were introduced in the surface region (<98 nm), and the major defect species were identified as (i) relatively small vacancies incorporated in dislocations and (ii) large vacancy clusters. Annealing experiments showed that the defect concentration decreased with increasing annealing temperature in the range between 100 and 500°C. After 600–700°C annealing, the defect-rich region expanded up to about 170 nm, which was attributed to rearrangements of dislocation networks, and a resultant emission of point defects toward the inside of the sample. Above 800°C, the stability limit of those vacancies was reached and they started to disappear. After the vacancies were annealed out (900°C), oxygen-related defects were the major point defects and they were located at <25 nm.

Effect of uniaxial stress on the electrochemical properties of graphene with point defects

Science.gov (United States)

Szroeder, Paweł; Sagalianov, Igor Yu.; Radchenko, Taras M.; Tatarenko, Valentyn A.; Prylutskyy, Yuriy I.; Strupiński, Włodzimierz

2018-06-01

We report a calculational study of electron states and the resulting electrochemical properties of uniaxially strained graphene with point defects. For this study the reduction of ferricyanide to ferrocyanide serves as a benchmark electrochemical reaction. We find that the heterogeneous electron transfer activity of the perfect graphene electrode rises under uniaxial strain. However, evolution of the cathodic reaction rate depends on the direction of strain. For moderate lattice deformations, the zigzag strain improves electrochemical performance better than the armchair strain. Standard rate constant increases by 50% at the zigzag strain of 10%. Vacancies, covalently bonded moieties, charged adatoms and substitutional impurities in the zigzag strained graphene induce changes in the shape of the curve of the cathodic reaction rate. However, this changes do not translate into the electrocatalytic activity. Vacancies and covalently bonded moieties at concentration of 0.1% do not affect the electrochemical performance. Charged adatoms and substitutional impurities give a slight increase in the standard rate constant by, respectively, 2.2% and 3.4%.

Impurity diffusion, point defect engineering, and surface/interface passivation in germanium

KAUST Repository

Chroneos, Alexander I.

2012-01-26

In recent years germanium has been emerging as a mainstream material that could have important applications in the microelectronics industry. The principle aim of this study is to review investigations of the diffusion of technologically important p- and n-type dopants as well as surface and interface passivation issues in germanium. The diffusion of impurities in germanium is interrelated to the formation of clusters whenever possible, and possibilities for point defect engineering are discussed in view of recent results. The importance of electrically active defects on the Ge surface and interfaces is addressed considering strategies to suppress them and to passivate the surfaces/interfaces, bearing in mind their importance for advanced devices. © 2012 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Measurement and simulation of the effects of ion-induced defects on ion beam-induced charge (IBIC) measurements in Si schottky diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hearne, S.M.; Lay, M.D.H.; Jamieson, D.N.

2004-01-01

Full text: The Ion Beam Induced Charge (IBIC) technique is a very sensitive tool for investigating the electronic properties of semiconductor materials and devices. However, obtaining quantitative information from IBIC experiments requires an accurate model of the materials properties. The interaction of high energy ions with crystalline materials is known to create point defects within the crystal. A significant proportion of defects introduced by the interaction of the ion with the crystal are electrically active and are therefore an important consideration when undertaking an IBIC experiment. The goal of this work is to investigate the possibility of including the relevant defect parameters in computer simulations of the IBIC experiment implemented using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) software. We will present the results from an IBIC study on Si Schottky diodes using 1 MeV alphas. A reduction of greater than 50% in the detected IBIC signal was observed for fluences greater than 5x10 10 He + /cm 2 . The trap parameters following ion irradiation were determined experimentally using DLTS. Comparisons between the experimental IBIC results and TCAD simulations will be discussed

Coupling reducing k-points for supercell models of defects in three-dimensional photonic crystals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lægsgaard, Jesper; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard

2004-01-01

The optimum choice of k-point for supercell calculations of defect states in a three-dimensional photonic crystal is investigated for the case of a supercell with a simple cubic (SC) structure. By using the k-point (1/4,1/4,1/4) it is possible to eliminate the symmetric part of the repeated...

Computer experiments on the imaging of point defects with the conventional transmission electron microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krakow, W [Xerox Corp., Rochester, N.Y. (USA)

1978-02-01

To aid in the interpretation of high resolution electron micrographs of defect structures in crystals, computer-simulated dark-field electron micrographs have been obtained for a variety of point defects in metals. Interpretation of these images in terms of atomic positions and atom correlations becomes straightforward, and it is a simple matter to distinguish between real structural information and image artifacts produced by the phase contrast mechanism in the electron optical imaging process.

Point defects in nickel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peretto, P.

1969-01-01

The defects in electron irradiated nickel (20 deg. K) or neutron irradiated nickel (28 deg. K) are studied by simultaneous analysis using the magnetic after-effect, electron microscopy and electrical resistivity recovery. We use zone refined nickel (99.999 per cent) which, for some experiments, is alloyed with a small amount of iron (for example 0.1 per cent Fe). The temperature dependant electrical recovery may be divided in four stages. The sub-stages I B (31 deg. K), I C (42 deg. K), I D (from to 57 deg. K) and I E (62 deg. K) of stage I are due to the disappearance of single interstitials into vacancies. The interstitial defect has a split configuration with a migration energy of about 0.15 eV. In the close pair which disappears in stage I B the interstitial is found to be in a 3. neighbour position whilst in stage I D it is near the direction from the vacancy. In stage I E there is no longer any interaction between the interstitial and the vacancy. The stage II is due to more complicated interstitial defects: di-interstitials for stage II B (84 deg. K) and larger and larger interstitial loops for the following sub-stages. The loops may be seen by electron microscopy. Impurities can play the role of nucleation centers for the loops. Stages III A (370 deg. K) and III B (376 deg. K) are due to two types of di-vacancies. During stage IV (410 deg. K) the single vacancies migrate. Vacancy type loops and interstitial type loops grow concurrently and disappear at about 800 deg. K as observed by electron microscopy. (author) [fr

Modelling ionising radiation induced defect generation in bipolar oxides with gated diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnaby, H.J.; Cirba, C.; Schrimpf, R.D.; Kosier, St.; Fouillat, P.; Montagner, X.

1999-01-01

Radiation-induced oxide defects that degrade electrical characteristics of bipolar junction transistor (BJTs) can be measured with the use of gated diodes. The buildup of defects and their effect on device radiation response are modeled with computer simulation. (authors)

Influence of point defects' concentration on the ZnO matrix – a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Numerical simulations of the effect of the presence of point defects in the matrix of ZnO were carried out using MATLAB computation procedure. The variation of impurity atom concentration with the energy gap was simulated. The plot obtained exhibited an exponential increase in energy gap with respect to the concentration ...

X-ray analysis of temperature induced defect structures in boron implanted silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sztucki, M.; Metzger, T. H.; Kegel, I.; Tilke, A.; Rouvière, J. L.; Lübbert, D.; Arthur, J.; Patel, J. R.

2002-10-01

We demonstrate the application of surface sensitive diffuse x-ray scattering under the condition of grazing incidence and exit angles to investigate growth and dissolution of near-surface defects after boron implantation in silicon(001) and annealing. Silicon wafers were implanted with a boron dose of 6×1015 ions/cm2 at 32 keV and went through different annealing treatments. From the diffuse intensity close to the (220) surface Bragg peak we reveal the nature and kinetic behavior of the implantation induced defects. Analyzing the q dependence of the diffuse scattering, we are able to distinguish between point defect clusters and extrinsic stacking faults on {111} planes. Characteristic for stacking faults are diffuse x-ray intensity streaks along directions, which allow for the determination of their growth and dissolution kinetics. For the annealing conditions of our crystals, we conclude that the kinetics of growth can be described by an Ostwald ripening model in which smaller faults shrink at the expense of the larger stacking faults. The growth is found to be limited by the self-diffusion of silicon interstitials. After longer rapid thermal annealing the stacking faults disappear almost completely without shrinking, most likely by transformation into perfect loops via a dislocation reaction. This model is confirmed by complementary cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy.

Resolving Point Defects in the Hydration Structure of Calcite (10.4) with Three-Dimensional Atomic Force Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Söngen, Hagen; Reischl, Bernhard; Miyata, Kazuki; Bechstein, Ralf; Raiteri, Paolo; Rohl, Andrew L.; Gale, Julian D.; Fukuma, Takeshi; Kühnle, Angelika

2018-03-01

It seems natural to assume that defects at mineral surfaces critically influence interfacial processes such as the dissolution and growth of minerals in water. The experimental verification of this claim, however, is challenging and requires real-space methods with utmost spatial resolution, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM). While defects at mineral-water interfaces have been resolved in 2D AFM images before, the perturbation of the surrounding hydration structure has not yet been analyzed experimentally. In this Letter, we demonstrate that point defects on the most stable and naturally abundant calcite (10.4) surface can be resolved using high-resolution 3D AFM—even within the fifth hydration layer. Our analysis of the hydration structure surrounding the point defect shows a perturbation of the hydration with a lateral extent of approximately one unit cell. These experimental results are corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations.

Electron radiation damage of metals and nature of point defects by high voltage electron microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiritani, M.

1975-01-01

The formation of point defect clusters by electron irradiation in a variety of metals (Al, Au, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mo, Pt, W) in a wide range of temperatures 10 to 1000 0 K are observed. A unified explanation is given for their nucleation and growth from the viewpoint of the migration and interaction of point defects. The effect of free surfaces and other permanent sinks are examined. Analysis of the systematic variation of the nucleation of interstitial clustered defects lead to confirm the free migration of interstitials with fairly small activation energies. Their apparent values obtained from the impurity sensitive nucleation at medium temperatures are 0.08 (Al), 0.19 (Au), 0.26 (Fe), 0.18 (Mo) and 0.21 eV (W), and their values obtained from low temperature irradiation are 0.03 (Al), 0.04 (Au) and 0.05 eV (Mo). The trapping of interstitials by foreign atoms and heterogeneous effects on nucleation of interstitial clusters are discussed

The influence of radiation-induced defects on thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence of α-Al_2O_3:C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyirenda, A.N.; Chithambo, M.L.

2017-01-01

It is known that when α-Al_2O_3:C is exposed to excessive amounts of ionising radiation, defects are induced within its matrix. We report the influence of radiation-induced defects on the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measured from α-Al_2O_3:C after irradiation to 1000 Gy. These radiation-induced defects are thermally unstable in the region 450–650 °C and result in TL peaks in this range when the TL is measured at 1 °C/s. Heating a sample to 700 °C obliterates the radiation-induced defects, that is, the TL peaks corresponding to the radiation induced defects are no longer observed in the subsequent TL measurements when moderate irradiation doses below 10 Gy are used. The charge traps associated with these radiation-induced defects are more stable than the dosimetric trap when the sample is exposed to either sunlight or 470-nm blue light from LEDs. TL glow curves measured following the defect-inducing irradiation produce a dosimetric peak that is broader and positioned at a higher temperature than observed in glow curves obtained before the heavy irradiation. In addition, sample sensitization/desensitization occurs due to the presence of these radiation-induced defects. Furthermore, both the activation energy and the kinetic order of the dosimetric peak evaluated when the radiation-induced defects are present in the sample are significantly lower in value than those obtained when these defects are absent. The radiation-induced defects also affect the shape and total light sum of the OSL signal as well as the position and width of the resultant residual phototransferred thermoluminescence main peak.

Contribution to the study of point defects formed in nickel by electron bombardment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oddou, J.L.

1968-12-01

After a short account of the experimental techniques employed in our studies, the experimental results obtained on pure nickel samples are exposed. The apparition of the successive annihilation stages of point defects created by electron bombardment is established by isochronal heat treatments: the annihilation kinetics and the corresponding activation energies are determined. The effect of the incident particle doses is also studied. The experimental results are then compared with R.A. Johnson's theoretical calculations of the stability and the migration of point defects in nickel, and taking into account the results obtained by Peretto in magnetic after effect measurements. This leads us to a model in good agreement with calculations and experiment for the first stages. In a second chapter the behaviour of nickel doped by certain impurities is studied. First, the results concerning the rate of increase of resistivity (function of sample purity) is investigated. Two possible explanations of the observed phenomenon are proposed: either a deviation with respect to Mathiessen's law, or an increase of the number of defects formed in the presence of impurity atoms. Finally, a study of the resistivity recovery of the doped samples permits us to suggest an order of magnitude for the binding energy interstitial/impurity atom in the nickel matrix. (author) [fr

High-dose irradiation induces cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and developmental defects during Drosophila oogenesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee Jin Shim

Full Text Available Ionizing radiation (IR treatment induces a DNA damage response, including cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis in metazoan somatic cells. Because little has been reported in germline cells, we performed a temporal analysis of the DNA damage response utilizing Drosophila oogenesis as a model system. Oogenesis in the adult Drosophila female begins with the generation of 16-cell cyst by four mitotic divisions of a cystoblast derived from the germline stem cells. We found that high-dose irradiation induced S and G2 arrests in these mitotically dividing germline cells in a grp/Chk1- and mnk/Chk2-dependent manner. However, the upstream kinase mei-41, Drosophila ATR ortholog, was required for the S-phase checkpoint but not for the G2 arrest. As in somatic cells, mnk/Chk2 and dp53 were required for the major cell death observed in early oogenesis when oocyte selection and meiotic recombination occurs. Similar to the unscheduled DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs generated from defective repair during meiotic recombination, IR-induced DSBs produced developmental defects affecting the spherical morphology of meiotic chromosomes and dorsal-ventral patterning. Moreover, various morphological abnormalities in the ovary were detected after irradiation. Most of the IR-induced defects observed in oogenesis were reversible and were restored between 24 and 96 h after irradiation. These defects in oogenesis severely reduced daily egg production and the hatch rate of the embryos of irradiated female. In summary, irradiated germline cells induced DSBs, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and developmental defects resulting in reduction of egg production and defective embryogenesis.

Proton irradiation induced defects in Cd and Zn doped InP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybicki, G.C.; Williams, W.S.

1993-01-01

Proton irradiation induced defects in Zn and Cd doped InP have been studied by deep level transient spectroscopy, (DLTS). After 2 MeV proton irradiation the defects H4 and H5 were observed in lightly Zn doped InP, while the defects H3 and H5 were observed in more heavily Zn and Cd doped InP. The defect properties were not affected by the substitution of Cd for Zn, but the introduction rate of H5 was lower in Cd doped InP. The annealing rate of defects was also higher in Cd doped InP. The use of Cd doped InP may thus result in an InP solar cell with even greater radiation resistance

Point defect states in Sb-doped germanium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, Neil S., E-mail: neilp@mit.edu; Monmeyran, Corentin, E-mail: comonmey@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Agarwal, Anuradha [Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Kimerling, Lionel C. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2015-10-21

Defect states in n-type Sb-doped germanium were investigated by deep-level transient spectroscopy. Cobalt-60 gamma rays were used to generate isolated vacancies and interstitials which diffuse and react with impurities in the material to form four defect states (E{sub 37}, E{sub 30}, E{sub 22}, and E{sub 21}) in the upper half of the bandgap. Irradiations at 77 K and 300 K as well as isothermal anneals were performed to characterize the relationships between the four observable defects. E{sub 37} is assigned to the Sb donor-vacancy associate (E-center) and is the only vacancy containing defect giving an estimate of 2 × 10{sup 11 }cm{sup −3} Mrad{sup −1} for the uncorrelated vacancy-interstitial pair introduction rate. The remaining three defect states are interstitial associates and transform among one another. Conversion ratios between E{sub 22}, E{sub 21}, and E{sub 30} indicate that E{sub 22} likely contains two interstitials.

Modelling of thermal field and point defect dynamics during silicon single crystal growth using CZ technique

Science.gov (United States)

Sabanskis, A.; Virbulis, J.

2018-05-01

Mathematical modelling is employed to numerically analyse the dynamics of the Czochralski (CZ) silicon single crystal growth. The model is axisymmetric, its thermal part describes heat transfer by conduction and thermal radiation, and allows to predict the time-dependent shape of the crystal-melt interface. Besides the thermal field, the point defect dynamics is modelled using the finite element method. The considered process consists of cone growth and cylindrical phases, including a short period of a reduced crystal pull rate, and a power jump to avoid large diameter changes. The influence of the thermal stresses on the point defects is also investigated.

Fermi surface contours obtained from scanning tunneling microscope images around surface point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khotkevych-Sanina, N V; Kolesnichenko, Yu A; Van Ruitenbeek, J M

2013-01-01

We present a theoretical analysis of the standing wave patterns in scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images, which occur around surface point defects. We consider arbitrary dispersion relations for the surface states and calculate the conductance for a system containing a small-size tunnel contact and a surface impurity. We find rigorous theoretical relations between the interference patterns in the real-space STM images, their Fourier transforms and the Fermi contours of two-dimensional electrons. We propose a new method for reconstructing Fermi contours of surface electron states, directly from the real-space STM images around isolated surface defects. (paper)

Point and line defects which are common to both degraded light emitting diodes and plastically deformed GaAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liliental, Z.

1983-01-01

Similar dipoles with Burger's vector b = a/2 [101] (also referred to as dark line defects) were found in the active layer of degraded light emitting diodes (LED's) and in plastically deformed GaAs. The dependence of characteristic x-ray production of electron channeling conditions has been used in an electron microscope to study point defects in the neighbourhood of these dipoles. Our results are consistent with the occurence of I/sub As/, I/sub As/ +V/sub Ga/, V/sub Ga/ and IAs in descending order of likelihood. Of these, I/sub As/ +V/sub Ga/ can explain the dislocation climb without any extra point defects involved in such process

Annealing of radiation-induced defects in silicon in a simplified phenomenological model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazanu, S.; Lazanu, I.

2001-01-01

The concentration of primary radiation-induced defects has been previously estimated considering both the explicit mechanisms of the primary interaction between the incoming particle and the nuclei of the semiconductor lattice, and the recoil energy partition between ionisation and displacements, in the frame of the Lindhard theory. The primary displacement defects are vacancies and interstitials that are essentially unstable in silicon. They interact via migration, recombination, annihilation or produce other defects. In the present work, the time evolution of the concentration of defects induced by pions in medium and high resistivity silicon for detectors is modelled, after irradiation. In some approximations, the differential equations representing the time evolution processes could be decoupled. The theoretical equations so obtained are solved analytically in some particular cases, with one free parameter, for a wide range of particle fluences and/or for a wide energy range of incident particles, for different temperatures; the corresponding stationary solutions are also presented

Effect of interaction between irradiation-induced defects and intrinsic defects in the pinning improvement of neutron irradiated YBaCuO sample

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Topal, Ugur; Sozeri, Huseyin; Yavuz, Hasbi

2004-01-01

Interaction between the intrinsic (native) defects and the irradiation-induced defects created by neutron irradiation was examined for the YBCO sample. For this purpose, non-superconducting Y-211 phase was included to the Y-123 samples at different contents as a source of large pinning center. The critical current density enhancement with the irradiation for these samples were analysed and then the role of defects on pinning improvement was discussed

Effect of interaction between irradiation-induced defects and intrinsic defects in the pinning improvement of neutron irradiated YBaCuO sample

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Topal, Ugur; Sozeri, Huseyin; Yavuz, Hasbi

2004-08-01

Interaction between the intrinsic (native) defects and the irradiation-induced defects created by neutron irradiation was examined for the YBCO sample. For this purpose, non-superconducting Y-211 phase was included to the Y-123 samples at different contents as a source of large pinning center. The critical current density enhancement with the irradiation for these samples were analysed and then the role of defects on pinning improvement was discussed.

N+ ion-implantation-induced defects in ZnO studied with a slow positron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Z Q; Sekiguchi, T; Yuan, X L; Maekawa, M; Kawasuso, A

2004-01-01

Undoped ZnO single crystals were implanted with multiple-energy N + ions ranging from 50 to 380 keV with doses from 10 12 to 10 14 cm -2 . Positron annihilation measurements show that vacancy defects are introduced in the implanted layers. The concentration of the vacancy defects increases with increasing ion dose. The annealing behaviour of the defects can be divided into four stages, which correspond to the formation and recovery of large vacancy clusters and the formation and disappearance of vacancy-impurity complexes, respectively. All the implantation-induced defects are removed by annealing at 1200 deg. C. Cathodoluminescence measurements show that the ion-implantation-induced defects act as nonradiative recombination centres to suppress the ultraviolet (UV) emission. After annealing, these defects disappear gradually and the UV emission reappears, which coincides with positron annihilation measurements. Hall measurements reveal that after N + implantation, the ZnO layer still shows n-type conductivity

Anisotropy migration of self-point defects in dislocation stress fields in BCC Fe and FCC Cu

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivak, A.B.; Chernov, V.M.; Dubasova, N.A.; Romanov, V.A.

2007-01-01

Spatial dependence of the interaction energies of self-point defects (vacancies and self interstitial atoms in stable, metastable and saddle point configurations) with edge dislocations in slip systems {1 1 0} and {1 0 0} in BCC Fe and {1 1 1} in FCC Cu was calculated using the anisotropic theory of elasticity and molecular statics (hybrid method). The migration pathways of vacancies and SIA ( dumbbell in Fe and dumbbell in Cu) along which the migration of the defects with the lowest energy barriers were defined in the presence of the dislocation stress fields. These pathways are significantly different in the stress fields of dislocations

Structural peculiarities and point defects of bulk-ZnO single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaurova, I.A.; Kuz’micheva, G.M.; Rybakov, V.B.; Cousson, A.; Gayvoronsky, V.Ya.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • ZnO single crystals of different color were grown by the hydrothermal method. • Point defects in ZnO have been firstly investigated by neutron diffraction. • Presence of additional reflections caused by kinetic growth effects was revealed. • The relationship between the color and zinc and oxygen vacancies was found. • Photoinduced variation of transmittance versus the CW laser intensity was analyzed. - Abstract: ZnO single crystals are related to promising direct wide band gap semiconductor materials belonging to the A II B VI type of compounds with wurtzite structure. “Unintentional” n-type conductivity in ZnO may be caused by zinc and oxygen vacancies, and interstitial zinc atoms. To date, the comprehensive structural investigation and analysis of point defects in ZnO is absent in literature. Green, light green and almost colorless ZnO single crystals grown by the hydrothermal method in concentrated alkali solutions 4M(KOH) + 1M(LiOH) + 0.1M(NH 4 OH) on monohedral seeds [0 0 0 1] at crystallization temperatures in the range of 330–350 °C and pressures in the range of 30–50 MPa have been firstly investigated by neutron diffraction. It was revealed the presence of additional reflections (∼12–∼16%) for all the crystals caused by kinetic growth effects that give grounds to assign them to the space group P3 rather than to P6 3 mc. Analysis of the refined compositions together with the color of ZnO crystals does not rule out the relationship between the color and vacancies in the zinc and oxygen positions whose concentration decreases with the discoloration of the samples. The analysis of the photoinduced variation of the total and on-axis transmittance versus the CW laser intensity showed that the colored samples have profound deep defects related to oxygen vacancies

Electronic and ionic conductivities and point defects in ytterbium sesquioxide at high temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carpentier, J.-L.; Lebrun, A.; Perdu, F.; Tellier, P.

1982-01-01

From the study of complex impedance diagrams applied to a symmetric cell Pt-Yb 2 O 3 -Pt, the authors have shown the mixed character of electrical conduction within the ytterbium sesquioxide. The measurements were performed at thermodynamic equilibrium in the temperature range from 1423 to 1623 K and the partial pressure of oxygen range from 10 -12 to 1 atm. The variations of ionic and electronic conductivity as a function of Psub(O 2 ) were interpreted in terms of four different point defects in the general case of a Frenkel disorder. The relative contributions and the activation energies of conduction of these different defects were determined. (author)

A study of point defects in UO 2+x and their impact upon fuel properties

OpenAIRE

Ma , Yue

2017-01-01

Uranium dioxide is an oxygen excess, non-stoichiometric, fluorite material which exists over a wide range of compositions. At temperatures and oxygen activities that are relevant to its in-reactor behaviour, it has been reported that various types of point defects and clusters thereof may exist with different charge states and different compositions on both the anion and cation sublattices. These defects have a major influence on certain key engineering properties such as cation self -diffusi...

Intrinsic point-defect balance in self-ion-implanted ZnO.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuvonen, Pekka T; Vines, Lasse; Svensson, Bengt G; Kuznetsov, Andrej Yu

2013-01-04

The role of excess intrinsic atoms for residual point defect balance has been discriminated by implanting Zn or O ions into Li-containing ZnO and monitoring Li redistribution and electrical resistivity after postimplant anneals. Strongly Li-depleted regions were detected in the Zn-implanted samples at depths beyond the projected range (R(p)) upon annealing ≥ 600 °C, correlating with a resistivity decrease. In contrast, similar anneals of the O-implanted samples resulted in Li accumulation at R(p) and an increased resistivity. Control samples implanted with Ar or Ne ions, yielding similar defect production as for the Zn or O implants but with no surplus of intrinsic atoms, revealed no Li depletion. Thus, the depletion of Li shows evidence of excess Zn interstitials (Zn(I)) being released during annealing of the Zn-implanted samples. These Zn(I)'s convert substitutional Li atoms (Li(Zn)) into highly mobile interstitial ones leading to the strongly Li-depleted regions. In the O-implanted samples, the high resistivity provides evidence of stable O(I)-related acceptors.

Statistical thermodynamics -- A tool for understanding point defects in intermetallic compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ipser, H.; Krachler, R.

1996-01-01

The principles of the derivation of statistical-thermodynamic models to interpret the compositional variation of thermodynamic properties in non-stoichiometric intermetallic compounds are discussed. Two types of models are distinguished: the Bragg-Williams type, where the total energy of the crystal is taken as the sum of the interaction energies of all nearest-neighbor pairs of atoms, and the Wagner-Schottky type, where the internal energy, the volume, and the vibrational entropy of the crystal are assumed to be linear functions of the numbers of atoms or vacancies on the different sublattices. A Wagner-Schottky type model is used for the description of two examples with different crystal structures: for β'-FeAl (with B2-structure) defect concentrations and their variation with composition are derived from the results of measurements of the aluminum vapor pressure, the resulting values are compared with results of other independent experimental methods; for Rh 3 Te 4 (with an NiAs-derivative structure) the defect mechanism responsible for non-stoichiometry is worked out by application of a theoretical model to the results of tellurium vapor pressure measurements. In addition it is shown that the shape of the activity curve indicates a certain sequence of superstructures. In principle, there are no limitations to the application of statistical thermodynamics to experimental thermodynamic data as long as these are available with sufficient accuracy, and as long as it is ensured that the distribution of the point defects is truly random, i.e. that there are no aggregates of defects

High angle grain boundaries as sources or sinks for point defects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balluffi, R.W.

1979-09-01

A secondary grain boundary dislocation climb model for high angle grain boundaries as sources/sinks for point defects is described in the light of recent advances in our knowledge of grain boundary structure. Experimental results are reviewed and are then compared with the expected behavior of the proposed model. Reasonably good consistency is found at the level of our present understanding of the subject. However, several gaps in our present knowledge still exist, and these are identified and discussed briefly.

Defect-Induced Hedgehog Polarization States in Multiferroics

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Linze; Cheng, Xiaoxing; Jokisaari, Jacob R.; Gao, Peng; Britson, Jason; Adamo, Carolina; Heikes, Colin; Schlom, Darrell G.; Chen, Long-Qing; Pan, Xiaoqing

2018-03-01

Continuous developments in nanotechnology require new approaches to materials synthesis that can produce novel functional structures. Here, we show that nanoscale defects, such as nonstoichiometric nanoregions (NSNRs), can act as nano-building blocks for creating complex electrical polarization structures in the prototypical multiferroic BiFeO3 . An array of charged NSNRs are produced in BiFeO3 thin films by tuning the substrate temperature during film growth. Atomic-scale scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging reveals exotic polarization rotation patterns around these NSNRs. These polarization patterns resemble hedgehog or vortex topologies and can cause local changes in lattice symmetries leading to mixed-phase structures resembling the morphotropic phase boundary with high piezoelectricity. Phase-field simulations indicate that the observed polarization configurations are mainly induced by charged states at the NSNRs. Engineering defects thus may provide a new route for developing ferroelectric- or multiferroic-based nanodevices.

Energy and orientation dependence of electron-irradiation-induced defects in InP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sibille, A.; Suski, J.; LeRoux, G.

1984-01-01

The concentration of several electron-irradiation-induced deep defect levels in InP has been measured by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) as a function of electron energy. The dominant centers exhibit a threshold at about 100 keV, which clearly points to a primary production event by electron--phosphorus-atom collision. This unambiguous determination allowed a test of the recently proposed orientation dependence technique to find the nature of the sublattice involved in the collision process for III-V compounds. A good quantitative agreement is obtained with a hard-sphere model for secondary collisions if disorientation of the beam in the sample is taken into account. Other traps exhibit higher thresholds which correspond either to indium-atom displacements or to the involvement of secondary collisions in the production event

The influence of radiation-induced defects on thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence of α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nyirenda, A.N., E-mail: anyirenda@gmail.com; Chithambo, M.L.

2017-04-15

It is known that when α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:C is exposed to excessive amounts of ionising radiation, defects are induced within its matrix. We report the influence of radiation-induced defects on the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measured from α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:C after irradiation to 1000 Gy. These radiation-induced defects are thermally unstable in the region 450–650 °C and result in TL peaks in this range when the TL is measured at 1 °C/s. Heating a sample to 700 °C obliterates the radiation-induced defects, that is, the TL peaks corresponding to the radiation induced defects are no longer observed in the subsequent TL measurements when moderate irradiation doses below 10 Gy are used. The charge traps associated with these radiation-induced defects are more stable than the dosimetric trap when the sample is exposed to either sunlight or 470-nm blue light from LEDs. TL glow curves measured following the defect-inducing irradiation produce a dosimetric peak that is broader and positioned at a higher temperature than observed in glow curves obtained before the heavy irradiation. In addition, sample sensitization/desensitization occurs due to the presence of these radiation-induced defects. Furthermore, both the activation energy and the kinetic order of the dosimetric peak evaluated when the radiation-induced defects are present in the sample are significantly lower in value than those obtained when these defects are absent. The radiation-induced defects also affect the shape and total light sum of the OSL signal as well as the position and width of the resultant residual phototransferred thermoluminescence main peak.

Study of grown-in and radiation-induced defects in indium phosphide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaban, E.H.

1986-01-01

This research is focused on (1) conducting detailed theoretical and experimental study of grown-in and radiation-induced defects in liquid encapsulated Czohralski (LEC) grown, Zn-doped P-type indium phosphide (InP), (2) identifying the physical origin of the defects detected using Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) method, and (3) and developing a second-order model to interpret the presence of nonexponential capacitance transients in DLTS method. Analysis of grown-in and radiation-induced defects in P-type InP is undertaken. The main research results are summarized as follows: (1) DLTS analysis of grown-in defects in liquid LEC-grown, Zn-doped, P-type InP is made in this study. A single-hole trap of E/sub v/ + 0.52 eV is detected with a trap density of 1.8 x 10 15 cm -3 . The physical origin of this hole trap is attributed to a phosphorus vacancy or phosphorus interstitial-related defect. (2) One-MeV electron-irradiated P-type InP introduced two new hole traps, namely E/sub v/ + 0.34 and E/sub v/ + 0.58 eV with introduction rates (dN/sub T/d phi) of 0.4 and 1.2 per electron-cm, respectively. (3) A theoretical model is developed to interpret nonexponential capacitance transients in a deep-level transient spectroscopy method when the capture process competes with the dominant thermal-emission process

[Use of the induced membrane technique for the treatment of bone defects in the hand or wrist, in emergency].

Science.gov (United States)

Flamans, B; Pauchot, J; Petite, H; Blanchet, N; Rochet, S; Garbuio, P; Tropet, Y; Obert, L

2010-10-01

A prospective study is reported concerning 11 cases of bone defect of the hand and wrist treated by the induced membrane technique. Ten men and one woman with an average age of 49 yrs (17-72) sustained a high-energy trauma with severe mutilation of digit and hand but with intact pulp. Eight cases of open finger fractures with composite loss of substance and three cases of bone and joint infection (thumb, wrist, fifth finger) were included. All cases were treated by the induced membrane technique which consists in stable fixation, flap if necessary, and in filling the bone defect by a cement methyl methacrylate polymere (PMMA) spacer. A secondary procedure at two months is needed where the cement is removed and the void is filled by cancellous bone. The key point of this induced membrane technique is to respect the foreign body membrane which formed around the cement spacer creating a biologic chamber. Bone union was evaluated prospectively by X-ray and CT scan by a surgeon not involved in the treatment. Failure was defined as non-union at one year, or uncontrolled sepsis at one month. Two cases failed to achieve bone union. No septic complications occurred and all septic cases were controlled. In nine cases, bone union was achieved within four months (three to 12). Evidence of osteoid formation was determined by a bone biopsy in one case. Masquelet first reported 35 cases of large tibial non-union defects treated by the induced membrane technique. The cement spacer promotes foreign body membrane induction constituting a biological chamber. Works on animal models reported by Pellissier and Viateau demonstrated membrane properties: secretion of growths factors (VEGF, TGF beta1, BMP2) and osteoinductive cellular activity. The induced membrane seems to mimic a neoperiosteum. This technique is useful in emergency or septic conditions where bone defects cannot be treated by shortening. It avoids microsurgery and is limited by availability of cancellous bone. Copyright �

N{sup +} ion-implantation-induced defects in ZnO studied with a slow positron beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Z Q [Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan (Japan); Sekiguchi, T [Nanomaterials Laboratory, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Yuan, X L [Nanomaterials Laboratory, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Maekawa, M [Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan (Japan); Kawasuso, A [Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan (Japan)

2004-01-21

Undoped ZnO single crystals were implanted with multiple-energy N{sup +} ions ranging from 50 to 380 keV with doses from 10{sup 12} to 10{sup 14} cm{sup -2}. Positron annihilation measurements show that vacancy defects are introduced in the implanted layers. The concentration of the vacancy defects increases with increasing ion dose. The annealing behaviour of the defects can be divided into four stages, which correspond to the formation and recovery of large vacancy clusters and the formation and disappearance of vacancy-impurity complexes, respectively. All the implantation-induced defects are removed by annealing at 1200 deg. C. Cathodoluminescence measurements show that the ion-implantation-induced defects act as nonradiative recombination centres to suppress the ultraviolet (UV) emission. After annealing, these defects disappear gradually and the UV emission reappears, which coincides with positron annihilation measurements. Hall measurements reveal that after N{sup +} implantation, the ZnO layer still shows n-type conductivity.

The influence of point defects on the entropy profiles of Lithium Ion Battery cathodes: a lattice-gas Monte Carlo study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercer, Michael P.; Finnigan, Sophie; Kramer, Denis; Richards, Daniel; Hoster, Harry E.

2017-01-01

In-situ diagnostic tools have become established to as a means to understanding the aging processes that occur during charge/discharge cycles in Li-ion batteries (LIBs). One electrochemical thermodynamic technique that can be applied to this problem is known as entropy profiling. Entropy profiles are obtained by monitoring the variation in the open circuit potential as a function of temperature. The peaks in these profiles are related to phase transitions, such as order/disorder transitions, in the lattice. In battery aging studies of cathode materials, the peaks become suppressed but the mechanism by which this occurs is currently poorly understood. One suggested mechanism is the formation of point defects. Intentional modifications of LIB electrodes may also lead to the introduction of point defects. To gain quantitative understanding of the entropy profile changes that could be caused by point defects, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations on lattices of variable defect content. As a model cathode, we have chosen manganese spinel, which has a well-described order-disorder transition when it is half filled with Li. We assume, in the case of trivalent defect substitution (M = Cr,Co) that each defect M permanently pins one Li atom. This assumption is supported by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Assuming that the distribution of the pinned Li sites is completely random, we observe the same trend in the change in partial molar entropy with defect content as observed in experiment: the peak amplitudes become increasing suppressed as the defect fraction is increased. We also examine changes in the configurational entropy itself, rather than the entropy change, as a function of the defect fraction and analyse these results with respect to the ones expected for an ideal solid solution. We discuss the implications of the quantitative differences between some of the results obtained from the model and the experimentally observed ones.

Study of plasma charging-induced white pixel defect increase in CMOS active pixel sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokashiki, Ken; Bai, KeunHee; Baek, KyeHyun; Kim, Yongjin; Min, Gyungjin; Kang, Changjin; Cho, Hanku; Moon, Jootae

2007-01-01

Plasma process-induced 'white pixel defect' (WPD) of CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) is studied for Si3N4 spacer etch back process by using a magnetically enhanced reactive ion etching (MERIE) system. WPD preferably takes place at the wafer edge region when the magnetized plasma is applied to Si3N4 etch. Plasma charging analysis reveals that the plasma charge-up characteristic is well matching the edge-intensive WPD generation, rather than the UV radiation. Plasma charging on APS transfer gate might lead to a gate leakage, which could play a role in generation of signal noise or WPD. In this article the WPD generation mechanism will be discussed from plasma charging point of view

Enhanced defects recombination in ion irradiated SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izzo, G.; Litrico, G.; Grassia, F.; Calcagno, L.; Foti, G.

2010-01-01

Point defects induced in SiC by ion irradiation show a recombination at temperatures as low as 320 K and this process is enhanced after running current density ranging from 80 to 120 A/cm 2 . Ion irradiation induces in SiC the formation of different defect levels and low-temperature annealing changes their concentration. Some levels (S 0 , S x and S 2 ) show a recombination and simultaneously a new level (S 1 ) is formed. An enhanced recombination of defects is besides observed after running current in the diode at room temperature. The carriers introduction reduces the S 2 trap concentration, while the remaining levels are not modified. The recombination is negligible up to a current density of 50 A/cm 2 and increases at higher current density. The enhanced recombination of the S 2 trap occurs at 300 K, which otherwise requires a 400 K annealing temperature. The process can be related to the electron-hole recombination at the associated defect.

Radiation defects in lithium fluoride induced by heavy ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trautmann, C.; Schwartz, K.; Steckenreiter, T. [Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung mbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Costantini, J.M. [CEA Centre d`Etudes de Bruyeres-le-Chatel, 91 (France). DPTA/SPMC; Toulemonde, M. [Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches avec les Ions Lourds (CIRIL), 14 - Caen (France)

1998-07-01

Single crystals of lithium fluoride were irradiated with various species of heavy ions in the energy regime between 1 and 30 MeV/u. The induced radiation damage was studied with techniques such as optical absorption spectroscopy, small-angle x-ray scattering, chemical etching and profilometry, complemented by annealing experiments. Clear evidence is given for a complex track structure and defect morphology. Single defects such as F-centers are produced in a large halo of several tens of nanometers around the ion trajectory. The defect creation in this zone is similar to that under conventional radiation. For heavy ions above a critical energy loss of 10 keV/nm, new effects occur within a very small core region of 2-4 nm in diameter. The damage in this zone is responsible for chemical etching and for a characteristic anisotropic x-ray scattering. It is assumed that in this core, complex defect aggregates (e.g., cluster of color centers, molecular anions and vacancies) are created. Their formation is only slightly influenced by the irradiation temperature and takes place even at 15 K where diffusion processes of primary defects are frozen. Furthermore, irradiation with heavy ions leads to pronounced swelling effects which can be related to an intermediate zone of around 10 nm around the ion path. (orig.) 40 refs.

Point defects in the 1 T' and 2 H phases of single-layer MoS2: A comparative first-principles study

Science.gov (United States)

Pizzochero, Michele; Yazyev, Oleg V.

2017-12-01

The metastable 1 T' phase of layered transition metal dichalcogenides has recently attracted considerable interest due to electronic properties, possible topological phases, and catalytic activity. We report a comprehensive theoretical investigation of intrinsic point defects in the 1 T' crystalline phase of single-layer molybdenum disulfide (1 T'-MoS2 ) and provide comparison to the well-studied semiconducting 2 H phase. Based on density functional theory calculations, we explore a large number of configurations of vacancy, adatom, and antisite defects and analyze their atomic structure, thermodynamic stability, and electronic and magnetic properties. The emerging picture suggests that, under thermodynamic equilibrium, 1 T'-MoS2 is more prone to hosting lattice imperfections than the 2 H phase. More specifically, our findings reveal that the S atoms that are closer to the Mo atomic plane are the most reactive sites. Similarly to the 2 H phase, S vacancies and adatoms in 1 T'-MoS2 are very likely to occur while Mo adatoms and antisites induce local magnetic moments. Contrary to the 2 H phase, Mo vacancies in 1 T'-MoS2 are expected to be an abundant defect due to the structural relaxation that plays a major role in lowering the defect formation energy. Overall, our study predicts that the realization of high-quality flakes of 1 T'-MoS2 should be carried out under very careful laboratory conditions but at the same time the facile defects introduction can be exploited to tailor physical and chemical properties of this polymorph.

Effect of radiation-induced substrate defects on microstrip gas chamber gain behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pallares, A.; Brom, J.M.; Bergdolt, A.M.; Coffin, J.; Eberle, H.; Sigward, M.H.; Fontaine, J.C.; Barthe, S.; Schunck, J.P.

1998-01-01

The aim of this work was to quantify the influence of radiation-induced substrate defects on microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) gain behaviour. The first part of this paper focuses on radiation effects on a typical MSGC substrate: Desag D263 glass. Defect generation was studied for Desag D263 with pure silica (Suprasil 1) as a reference. We studied the evolution of defect concentration with respect to accumulated doses up to 480 kGy. Annealing studies of defects in Desag D263 were also performed. In the second part, the radiation sensitivity of Desag D263 glass has been linked to the behaviour of the detector under irradiation. Comparative gain measurements were taken before and after substrate irradiation at 10 and 80 kGy the minimal dose received during LHC operation and the dose for which defect density is maximum (respectively). (orig.)

New fundamental defects in a-SiO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karna, S.P.; Kurtz, H.A.; Shedd, W.M.; Pugh, R.D.; Singaraju, B.K.

1999-01-01

Throughout the three decades of research into radiation-induced degradation of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices, investigators understood that point defects in the Si-SiO 2 structure (localized deviations from stoichiometrically pure Si and SiO 2 ) are responsible for many observed anomalies. Basic research in this area has progressed along two tracks: (i) differentiating the anomalies based upon subtle differences in their characteristic behavior, and (ii) precise description of the defects responsible for the anomalous behavior. These two research tracks are complementary since often a discovery in one area provides insight and ultimately leads to discoveries in the other. Here, the atomic structure and spin properties of two previously undescribed amorphous silicon dioxide fundamental point defects have been characterized for the first time by ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. Both defects are electrically neutral trivalent silicon centers in the oxide. One of the defects, the X-center, is determined to have an O 2 Sitriple b ondSi ↑ atomic structure. The other defect, called the Y-center, is found to have an OSi 2 triple b ondSi ↑ structure. Calculated electronic and electrical properties of the new defect centers are consistent with the published characteristics of the oxide switching trap or border trap precursors

Ab initio study of point defects in PbSe and PbTe: Bulk and nanowire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wrasse, E. O. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, 38408-100, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil and Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Venezuela, P. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 24210-346, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil); Baierle, R. J., E-mail: rbaierle@smail.ufsm.br [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil)

2014-11-14

First principles investigations, within the spin-polarized density functional theory, are performed to study energetic stability and electronic properties of point defects (vacancies and antisites) in PbSe and PbTe: bulk and nanowire (NW). Our results show that the energetic stability of these defects is ruled by relaxation process. These defects have lower formation energies in the nanowire structures as compared to the bulk, being more stable in the surface of the NWs. We also show that in the bulk system only one charge state is stable, otherwise, due to the larger band gaps, more than one charge state may be stable in the NWs. In addition, we have investigated how the presence of intrinsic defects affects the electronic properties of bulk and NW systems. Vacancies give rise to new electronic states near to the edges of the valence and conduction bands while the energetic position of the electronic states from antisites depends on the charge state, being localized inside the band gap or near the edges of the valence or conduction bands. We discuss how these changes in the electronic properties due to intrinsic defects may affect the thermoelectric properties of PbSe and PbTe NWs.

Gravitational Zero Point Energy induces Physical Observables

OpenAIRE

Garattini, Remo

2010-01-01

We consider the contribution of Zero Point Energy on the induced Cosmological Constant and on the induced Electric/Magnetic charge in absence of matter fields. The method is applicable to every spherically symmetric background. Extensions to a generic $f(R) $ theory are also allowed. Only the graviton appears to be fundamental to the determination of Zero Point Energy.

Investigation of defect structures in solids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dienel, G; Hubrig, W H; Schenk, M; Syhre, H [Zentralinstitut fuer Kernforschung, Rossendorf bei Dresden (German Democratic Republic)

1976-01-01

Some central points of interest of research in the field of defect structures in solids dealt with at the Central Institute of Nuclear Research at Rossendorf in the last years are presented. Studies on f.c.c. and b.c.c. metals, radiation-induced phase transitions in perovskites and ion-implanted silicon are described in some detail.

Formation and properties of radiation-induced defects and radiolysis products in lithium orthosilicate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiliks, J.E.; Kizane, G.K.; Supe, A.A.; Abramenkovs, A.A.; Tiliks, J.J. (Latvian Univ., Riga (Latvia)); Vasiljev, V.G. (Acad. A.A. Bochvar Inst. of Inorganic Materials, Moscow (USSR))

1991-12-01

Formation and properties of radiation-induced defects and radiolysis products in polycrystalline powders and ceramic pellets of Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4} were studied under the effect of various types of ionizing irradiation ({gamma} quants, accelerated electrons, reactor irradiation), humidity, temperature, impurities in the samples, etc. The content of radiation defects and radiolysis products poorly depends on irradiation type, dose rate, admixture elements. The concentration of defects highly depends on the temperature of irradiation, humidity, granural size. Empirical dependence of radiolysis degree {alpha} on the dose was found: {alpha}=5x10{sup -2}xD{sup 0.5} for {gamma} and electron irradiation (T{sub rad}=300-350 K) and {alpha}=5x10{sup -3}xD{sup 0.5} for reactor radiation (T{sub rad}=700-800 K); {alpha} - matrix dissociation degree (in %); D - dose (in MGy). Colloidal lithium and silicon, lithium and silicon oxides, and O{sub 2} are the final products of radiolysis. Radiation-induced defects change tritium thermo-extraction parameters, deteriorate mechanical, thermo-physical and electric properties of ceramics. (orig.).

Use of Isobestic and Isoemission Points in Absorption and Luminescence Spectra for Study of the Transformation of Radiation Defects in Lithium Fluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Voitovich, A. P.; Kalinov, V. S.; Stupak, A. P.; Runets, L. P.

2015-03-01

Isobestic and isoemission points are recorded in the combined absorption and luminescence spectra of two types of radiation defects involved in complex processes consisting of several simultaneous parallel and sequential reactions. These points are observed if a constant sum of two terms, each formed by the product of the concentration of the corresponding defect and a characteristic integral coefficient associated with it, is conserved. The complicated processes involved in the transformation of radiation defects in lithium fluoride are studied using these points. It is found that the ratio of the changes in the concentrations of one of the components and the reaction product remains constant in the course of several simultaneous reactions.

Transformation between divacancy defects induced by an energy pulse in graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Jun; Liu, XiaoYi; Zhou, Wei; Wang, FengChao; Wu, HengAn

2016-07-08

The mutual transformations among the four typical divacancy defects induced by a high-energy pulse were studied via molecular dynamics simulation. Our study revealed all six possible mutual transformations and found that defects transformed by absorbing energy to overcome the energy barrier with bonding, debonding, and bond rotations. The reversibility of defect transformations was also investigated by potential energy analysis. The energy difference was found to greatly influence the transformation reversibility. The direct transformation path was irreversible if the energy difference was too large. We also studied the correlation between the transformation probability and the input energy. It was found that the transformation probability had a local maxima at an optimal input energy. The introduction of defects and their structural evolutions are important for tailoring the exceptional properties and thereby performances of graphene-based devices, such as nanoporous membranes for the filtration and desalination of water.

Destruction-polymerization transformations as a source of radiation-induced extended defects in chalcogenide glassy semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, Oleh; Filipecki, Jacek; Shpotyuk, Mykhaylo

2013-01-01

Long-wave shift of the optical transmission spectrum in the region of fundamental optical absorption edge is registered for As 2 S 3 chalcogenide glassy semiconductors after γ-irradiation. This effect is explained in the frameworks of the destruction-polymerization transformations concept by accepting the switching of the heteropolar As-S covalent bonds into homopolar As-As ones. It is assumed that (As 4 + ; S 1 - ) defect pairs are created under such switching. Formula to calculate content of the induced defects in chalcogenide glassy semiconductors is proposed. It is assumed that defects concentration depends on energy of broken covalent bond, bond-switching energy balance, correlation energy, optical band-gap and energy of excitation light. It is shown that theoretically calculated maximally possible content of radiation-induced defects in As 2 S 3 is about 1.6% while concentration of native defects is negligible. (copyright 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Effect of radiation-induced substrate defects on microstrip gas chamber gain behaviour

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pallares, A.; Brom, J.M.; Bergdolt, A.M.; Coffin, J.; Eberle, H.; Sigward, M.H. [Institute de Recherches Subatomiques, 67 - Strasbourg (France); Fontaine, J.C. [Universite de Haute Alsace, GRPHE, 61 rue Albert Camus, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex (France); Barthe, S.; Schunck, J.P. [Laboratoire PHASE (UPR 292 du CNRS), 23 rue du Loess, BP 28, 67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France)

1998-08-01

The aim of this work was to quantify the influence of radiation-induced substrate defects on microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) gain behaviour. The first part of this paper focuses on radiation effects on a typical MSGC substrate: Desag D263 glass. Defect generation was studied for Desag D263 with pure silica (Suprasil 1) as a reference. We studied the evolution of defect concentration with respect to accumulated doses up to 480 kGy. Annealing studies of defects in Desag D263 were also performed. In the second part, the radiation sensitivity of Desag D263 glass has been linked to the behaviour of the detector under irradiation. Comparative gain measurements were taken before and after substrate irradiation at 10 and 80 kGy the minimal dose received during LHC operation and the dose for which defect density is maximum (respectively). (orig.) 26 refs.

Scanning tip measurement for identification of point defects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raineri Vito

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Self-assembled iron-silicide nanostructures were prepared by reactive deposition epitaxy of Fe onto silicon. Capacitance-voltage, current-voltage, and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS were used to measure the electrical properties of Au/silicon Schottky junctions. Spreading resistance and scanning probe capacitance microscopy (SCM were applied to measure local electrical properties. Using a preamplifier the sensitivity of DLTS was increased satisfactorily to measure transients of the scanning tip semiconductor junction. In the Fe-deposited area, Fe-related defects dominate the surface layer in about 0.5 μm depth. These defects deteriorated the Schottky junction characteristic. Outside the Fe-deposited area, Fe-related defect concentration was identified in a thin layer near the surface. The defect transients in this area were measured both in macroscopic Schottky junctions and by scanning tip DLTS and were detected by bias modulation frequency dependence in SCM.

First-principles investigation of neutron-irradiation-induced point defects in B4C, a neutron absorber for sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactors

Science.gov (United States)

You, Yan; Yoshida, Katsumi; Yano, Toyohiko

2018-05-01

Boron carbide (B4C) is a leading candidate neutron absorber material for sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactors owing to its excellent neutron-capture capability. The formation and migration energies of the neutron-irradiation-induced defects, including vacancies, neutron-capture reaction products, and knocked-out atoms were studied by density functional theory calculations. The vacancy-type defects tend to migrate to the C–B–C chains of B4C, which indicates that the icosahedral cage structures of B4C have strong resistance to neutron irradiation. We found that lithium and helium atoms had significantly lower migration barriers along the rhombohedral (111) plane of B4C than perpendicular to this plane. This implies that the helium and lithium interstitials tended to follow a two-dimensional diffusion regime in B4C at low temperatures which explains the formation of flat disk like helium bubbles experimentally observed in B4C pellets after neutron irradiation. The knocked-out atoms are considered to be annihilated by the recombination of the close pairs of self-interstitials and vacancies.

A review on the effects of TiO2 surface point defects on CO2 photoreduction with H2O

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huilei Zhao

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with water by photocatalysts such as TiO2 to produce solar fuels is an attractive approach to alleviate the environmental influences of greenhouse gases and in the meantime produce valuable carbon-neutral fuels. Among the materials properties that affect catalytic activity of CO2 photoreduction, the point defect on TiO2 is one of the most important but not frequently addressed and well understood in the literature. In this review, we have examined the major influences of TiO2 point defects on CO2 photoreduction with H2O, by changing the catalysts' gas adsorption capabilities, optical properties, and electronic structures. In addition, the performances of various defective TiO2 toward CO2 photoreduction are summarized and compared in terms of productivity, selectivity, and stability. We hope this review can contribute to understanding the mechanism of CO2 photoreduction on defective TiO2 and provide insights to the design of highly efficient defect-rich TiO2 to boost the CO2 utilization.

A polarity-induced defect mechanism for conductivity and magnetism at polar-nonpolar oxide interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Liping; Zunger, Alex

2014-10-13

The discovery of conductivity and magnetism at the polar-nonpolar interfaces of insulating nonmagnetic oxides such as LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 has raised prospects for attaining interfacial functionalities absent in the component materials. Yet, the microscopic origin of such emergent phenomena remains unclear, posing obstacles to design of improved functionalities. Here we present first principles calculations of electronic and defect properties of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces and reveal a unifying mechanism for the origins of both conductivity and magnetism. We demonstrate that the polar discontinuity across the interface triggers thermodynamically the spontaneous formation of certain defects that in turn cancel the polar field induced by the polar discontinuity. The ionization of the spontaneously formed surface oxygen vacancy defects leads to interface conductivity, whereas the unionized Ti-on-Al antisite defects lead to interface magnetism. The proposed mechanism suggests practical design principles for inducing and controlling both conductivity and magnetism at general polar-nonpolar interfaces.

Simulation of the Nonlinear Dose Dependence of Stabilized Point Defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, R; Pagonis, V; Lawless, J L

2010-01-01

The dose dependence of the concentration of point defects in alkali-halides as well as other crystals, as exhibited by the dependence of the thermoluminescence (TL), optical absorption and ESR on the dose of non-ionizing UV excitation is studied using numerical simulation. The relevant set of coupled rate equations are first written and plausible sets of trapping parameters are chosen. Instead of using simplifying assumptions previously used for reaching conclusions concerning this dose behavior, exact numerical solutions have now been reached. Depending on the parameters chosen, different dose dependencies are seen. In some cases, linear dose dependence is reached in a broad range. Sublinear dose dependence, close to a D 1/2 dependence when D is the dose of excitation can be reached when retrapping is stronger than trapping in other traps stabilizing the defects. When strong competition between stabilizing traps takes place, an initial linear range is observed followed by strong superlinearity and an approach to saturation. All these behaviors have been observed experimentally in TL measurements as well as ESR and optical absorption in different materials. Similarities and dissimilarities to linear and non-linear dose dependencies obtained experimentally and by simulations when ionizing irradiation is used for excitation are discussed.

Structural and defects induced phenomena in γ-rays irradiated 6H-SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sibuyi, P.; Ngom, B.D.; Kotsedi, L.

2016-01-01

Damages and/or defects induced by γ-rays irradiation on 6H-SiC single crystals in channeled configuration towards 〈006〉/〈0012〉 crystallographic directions are reported in the range of 0–1200 kGy. Atomic force microscopy, X-rays diffraction, Raman and photoluminescence investigations were used to obtain a comprehensive set of informations on the nature and population distribution of the induced defects. Primarily, there was no carbon clusterization upon γ-rays irradiation and hence no formation of others SiC polytypes. In contrast, the γ-rays irradiation has induced an increase of the surface roughness at higher doses, which indicates a structural degradation. Larger doses induced an emergence of deeper shallow traps at energies greater than 350 meV below the bandgap. - Highlights: • No formation of others SiC polytypes. • The gamma rays irradiation has induced a slight surface amorphization. • A re-crystallization at lower and higher doses is noticed. • Larger doses induced a substantial internal stress.

Research Update: Point defects in CdTexSe1−x crystals grown from a Te-rich solution for applications in detecting radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gul, R.; Roy, U. N.; Bolotnikov, A. E.; Camarda, G. S.; Cui, Y.; Hossain, A.; Yang, G.; James, R. B.; Lee, W.; Cui, Y.; Burger, A.

2015-01-01

We investigated cadmium telluride selenide (CdTeSe) crystals, newly grown by the Traveling Heater Method (THM), for the presence and abundance of point defects. Current Deep Level Transient spectroscopy (I-DLTS) was used to determine the energies of the traps, their capture cross sections, and densities. The bias across the detectors was varied from 1 to 30 V. Four types of point defects were identified, ranging from 10 meV to 0.35 eV. Two dominant traps at energies of 0.18 eV and 0.14 eV were studied in depth. Cd vacancies are found at lower concentrations than other point defects present in the material

Barrier controlled carrier trapping of extended defects in CdZnTe detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Rongrong; Jie, Wanqi; Xu, Yadong; Yu, Hui; Zha, Gangqiang; Wang, Tao; Ren, Jie

2015-01-01

Transient current techniques using alpha particle source were utilized to study the influence of extended defects on the electron drift time and the detector performance of CdZnTe crystals. Different from the case of trapping through isolated point defect, a barrier controlled trapping model was used to explain the mechanism of carrier trapping at the extended defects. The effect of extended defects on the photoconductance was studied by laser beam induced transient current (LBIC) measurement. The results demonstrate that the Schottky-type depletion space charge region is induced at the vicinity of the extended defects, which further distorts the internal electric field distribution and affects the carrier trajectory in CdZnTe crystals. The relationship between the electron drift time and detector performance has been established. - Highlights: • The barrier controlled trapping model was developed around extended defects. • Electron mobility and E-field distribution were distorted by space charge depletion region. • Extended defects act as a recombination-activated region. • The relationships between extended defects and detector performance were established

Prediction of point-defect migration energy barriers in alloys using artificial intelligence for atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castin, N. [Structural Materials Group, Nuclear Materials Science Institute, Studiecentrum voor Kerneenergie Centre d' etude de l' energie nucleaire (SCK CEN), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium); Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Physique des Solides Irradies et Nanostructures (PSIN), CP234 Boulevard du triomphe, Brussels (Belgium); Malerba, L. [Structural Materials Group, Nuclear Materials Science Institute, Studiecentrum voor Kerneenergie Centre d' etude de l' energie nucleaire (SCK CEN), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium)], E-mail: lmalerba@sckcen.be

2009-09-15

We significantly improved a previously proposed method to take into account chemical and also relaxation effects on point-defect migration energy barriers, as predicted by an interatomic potential, in a rigid lattice atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. Examples of energy barriers are rigorously calculated, including chemical and relaxation effects, as functions of the local atomic configuration, using a nudged elastic bands technique. These examples are then used to train an artificial neural network that provides the barriers on-demand during the simulation for each configuration encountered by the migrating defect. Thanks to a newly developed training method, the configuration can include a large number of neighbour shells, thereby properly including also strain effects. Satisfactory results have been obtained when the configuration includes different chemical species only. The problems encountered in the extension of the method to configurations including any number of point-defects are stated and solutions to tackle them are sketched.

100 MeV silver ions induced defects and modifications in silica glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jadhav, Vijay S.; Deore, Avinash V.; Dahiwale, S.S. [Department of Physics, University of Pune, Pune 411007 (India); Kanjilal, D. [Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi 110067 (India); Bhoraskar, V.N. [Department of Physics, University of Pune, Pune 411007 (India); Dhole, S.D., E-mail: sanjay@physics.unipune.ac.in [Department of Physics, University of Pune, Pune 411007 (India)

2014-07-15

Highlights: •Study of silver ion induced defects and modifications in silica glass. •Variation in oxygen deficiency centres (ODA-II) and nonbridging oxygen hole centres (NBOHC). •Study of structural damage in terms of Urbach energy. -- Abstract: A few silica glass samples having 1 cm{sup 2} area and 0.1 cm thickness were irradiated with 100 MeV energy Ag{sup 7+} ions for the fluences ranging from 1 × 10{sup 12} ions/cm{sup 2} to 5 × 10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2}. The optical properties and the corresponding induced defects were characterised by the techniques such as UV–Visible, Photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The UV–Visible absorption spectra show two peaks, one at 5 eV and another weak peak at 5.8 eV. A peak observed at 5.0 eV corresponds to B{sub 2} band (oxygen deficiency in SiO{sub 2} network) and the peak at 5.8 eV is due to the paramagnetic defects like E′ centre. The intensities of these peaks found to be increased with increase in ion fluence. It attributes to the increase in the concentration of E′ centres and B{sub 2} band respectively. In addition, the optical band gap energy, Urbach energy and the defects concentration have been calculated using Urbach plot. The optical band gap found to be decreased from 4.65 eV to 4.39 eV and the Urbach energy found to be increased from 60 meV to 162 meV. The defect concentration of nonbridging oxygen hole centres (NBOHC) and E′ centres are found to be increased to 1.69 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup −3} and 3.134 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup −3} respectively. In PL spectra, the peak appeared at 1.92 eV and 2.7 eV envisage the defects of nonbridging oxygen hole centres and B{sub 2α} oxygen deficient centres respectively. ESR spectra also confirms the existence of E′ and NBOHC centres. FTIR spectra shows scissioning of Si-O-Si bonds and the formation of Si-H and Si-OH bonds, which supports to the co-existence of the defects induced by Ag

The effect of correlated and point defects on the vortex lattice melting transition in single crystal YBa2Cu3O7-δ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, W.K.; Fleshler, S.; Welp, U.; Downey, J.; Crabtree, G.W.; Fendrich, J. Giapintzakis, J.

1993-08-01

The vortex melting transition T m in several untwinned and twinned crystals measured resistively in fields up to 8 Tesla. A Lindemann criterion for vortex lattice melting is obtained in addition to a sharp hysteresis in the magnetoresistance at B m supporting a first order phase transition. The anisotropy of twin boundary pinning and its reduction of the ''kink'' in ρ(T) associated with the first order melting transition is discussed in samples with very dilute twin boundaries. We also report on direct suppression of melting transition by intrinsic pinning for H parallel ab and by electron-irradiation-induced point defects

Identification of equilibrium and irradiation-induced defects in nuclear ceramics: electronic structure calculations of defect properties and positron annihilation characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiktor, Julia

2015-01-01

During in-pile irradiation the fission of actinide nuclei causes the creation of large amounts of defects, which affect the physical and chemical properties of materials inside the reactor, in particular the fuel and structural materials. Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) can be used to characterize irradiation induced defects, empty or containing fission products. This non-destructive experimental technique involves detecting the radiation generated during electron-positron annihilation in a sample and deducing the properties of the material studied. As positrons get trapped in open volume defects in solids, by measuring their lifetime and momentum distributions of the annihilation radiation, one can obtain information on the open and the chemical environments of the defects. In this work electronic structure calculations of positron annihilation characteristics were performed using two-component density functional theory (TCDFT). To calculate the momentum distributions of the annihilation radiation, we implemented the necessary methods in the open-source ABINIT program. The theoretical results have been used to contribute to the identification of the vacancy defects in two nuclear ceramics, silicon carbide (SiC) and uranium dioxide (UO 2 ). (author) [fr

Transmission electron microscope study of neutron irradiation-induced defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oshima, Ryuichiro; Kawano, Tetsuya; Fujimoto, Ryoji

1994-01-01

Commercial Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si) and float-zone silicon (Fz-Si) wafers were irradiated with fission neutrons at various fluences from 10 19 to 10 22 n/cm 2 at temperatures ranging from 473 K to 1043 K. The irradiation induced defect structures were examined by transmission electron microscopy and ultra high voltage electron microscopy, which were compared with Marlowe code computer simulation results. It was concluded that the vacancy-type damage structure formed at 473 K were initiated from collapse of vacancy-rich regions of cascades, while interstitial type defect clusters formed by irradiation above 673 K were associated with interstitial oxygen atoms and free interstitials which diffused out of the cascades. Complex defect structures were identified to consist of {113} and {111} planar faults by the parallel beam illumination diffraction analysis. (author)

A compensating point defect in carbon-doped GaN substrates studied with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Willoughby, W. R.; Zvanut, M. E.; Paudel, Subash; Iwinska, M.; Sochacki, T.; Bockowski, M.

2018-04-01

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to investigate a type of point defect present in 1019 cm-3 carbon-doped GaN substrates grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. A broad, isotropic resonance at g ˜ 1.987 was observed at 3.5 K, and the EPR intensity increased with illumination at energies greater than 2.75 eV and decreased with photon energies greater than 0.95 eV. The latter is consistent with a deep level of 0.95 eV above the valence band maximum and implies that the associated defect likely participates in donor compensation. The ionization energy for this defect is close to the predicted value for the (-/0) transition level of CN and transition levels associated with Ga vacancies such as VGa and VGa-ON-2H.

Impurity-related point defects and gamma-radiation response of massive quartz from the Borborema pegmatite province, in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Milena Ribas de; Gonzaga, Raysa Sthefany Gomes; Guzzo, Pedro Luiz; Barreto, Sandra de Brito; Melgarejo, Joan Carles

2012-01-01

This work has investigated the changes induced by γ-radiation on impurity-related point defects in massive rose quartz from one deposit located at The Borborema Pegmatite Province (Northeast Region, in Brazil). Samples extracted from rose and colorless (milky) quartz blocks were irradiated with doses of 60 Co, from 0.5 to 96 kGy. Point defects related to Al, Ge, Li and OH were measured by optical, infrared, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, prior and after irradiation. The contents of Al, Li, Ge, Fe, Ti and other impurities were measured by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry in quartz fragments exhibiting rose, pale-rose, and milky colorations. It was found that [AlO 4 ] 0 , [AlO 4 /H] 0 and [GeO 4 /Li] 0 were generated by the dissociation of [AlO 4 /Li] 0 and [Li-OH] centers with doses as lower as 0.5 kGy. Above 8 kGy, the electron paramagnetic resonance signal related to [GeO 4 /Li] 0 decreases due to the intense mobility of Li species throughout the quartz lattice, giving rise to E' 1 centers perturbed by Ge. The increase in [AlO 4 ] 0 content with γ doses and the consequent rise in the intensity of smoky color were similar for both rose and colorless quartz. Scanning electron microscopy carried out in insoluble residues obtained after chemical dissolution of each type of quartz revealed the presence of nanometric fibers only in rose specimens. These results suggested that the cause of rose color in massive quartz from Borborema Pegmatite Province is probably related to the presence of dumortierite inclusions. (author)

A study of point defects in quenched stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kheloufi, Khelifa.

1977-07-01

Thin foils of stainless steels (18%Cr, 14%Ni) containing boron (50x10 -6 ) and stabilised with titanium have been quenched at different rates in order to observe secondary defects by transmission electron microscopy. A rapid quenching in gallium has not given any secondary defects either before or after annealing. But samples quenched from temperatures greater than 800 0 C-900 0 C exhibit a dislocation density approximately 10 9 cm/cm 3 . A vacancy concentration less than 10 -6 has been observed by positron annihilation technique. After a moderate quenching, any secondary defects has been observed. It is thus clear that boron does not favour the secondary defects formation as does phosphorus [fr

Contribution of Metal Defects in the Assembly Induced Emission of Cu Nanoclusters

KAUST Repository

Wu, Zhennan

2017-03-20

Aggregation/assembly induced emission (AIE) has been observed for metal nanoclusters (NCs), but the origin of the enhanced emission is not fully understood, yet. In this work, the significant contribution of metal defects on AIE is revealed by engineering the self-assembly process of Cu NCs using ethanol. The presence of ethanol leads to a rapid assembly of NCs into ultrathin nanosheets, promoting the formation of metal defects-rich surface. Detailed studies and computer simulation confirm that the metal defects-rich nanosheets possess increased Cu(I)-to-Cu(0) ratio, which greatly influences ligand-to-metal-metal charge transfer and therewith facilitates the radiative relaxation of excitons. Consequently, the Cu NCs self-assembly nanosheets exhibit obvious emission enhancement.

High Defect Tolerance in Lead Halide Perovskite CsPbBr3.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Jun; Wang, Lin-Wang

2017-01-19

The formation energies and charge-transition levels of intrinsic point defects in lead halide perovskite CsPbBr 3 are studied from first-principles calculations. It is shown that the formation energy of dominant defect under Br-rich growth condition is much lower than that under moderate or Br-poor conditions. Thus avoiding the Br-rich condition can help to reduce the defect concentration. Interestingly, CsPbBr 3 is found to be highly defect-tolerant in terms of its electronic structure. Most of the intrinsic defects induce shallow transition levels. Only a few defects with high formation energies can create deep transition levels. Therefore, CsPbBr 3 can maintain its good electronic quality despite the presence of defects. Such defect tolerance feature can be attributed to the lacking of bonding-antibonding interaction between the conduction bands and valence bands.

Point defects and oxidation mechanism in cubic boron nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorshin, A.P.; Shvajko-Shvajkovskij, V.E.

1994-01-01

A theoretical analysis of the defect formation in boron nitride by the Schottky mechanism within the framework of the quasi-chemical approximation method is carried out. On the base of solution of the disordering equations at different conditions of electroneutrality are obtained the dependences of defect concentrations in β-BN on the partial nitrogen pressure in equilibrium conditions. Experimental checking of the theoretical analysis proposed confirms the hypothesis on the presence of defects of nonstoichiometric origin in the β-BN anion sublattice

Electronic-excitation induced radiation damage in glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vigouroux, J P

1985-01-01

In order to understand the microscopic nature of radiation induced defects in insulators, we have studied localization of negative and positive charges in amorphous and monocrystalline SiO2. The behaviour of these charges is linked to creation of point defects by electronic excitation. The role of intense electric fields under irradiation is pointed out.

Impurity Role In Mechanically Induced Defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howell, R.H.; Asoka-Kumar, P.; Hartley, J.; Sterne, P.

2000-01-01

An improved understanding of dislocation dynamics and interactions is an outstanding problem in the multi scale modeling of materials properties, and is the current focus of major theoretical efforts world wide. We have developed experimental and theoretical tools that will enable us to measure and calculate quantities defined by the defect structure. Unique to the measurements is a new spectroscopy that determines the detailed elemental composition at the defect site. The measurements are based on positron annihilation spectroscopy performed with a 3 MeV positron beam [1]. Positron annihilation spectroscopy is highly sensitive to dislocations and associated defects and can provide unique elements of the defect size and structure. Performing this spectroscopy with a highly penetrating positron beam enables flexibility in sample handling. Experiments on fatigued and stressed samples have been done and in situ measurement capabilities have been developed. We have recently performed significant upgrades to the accelerator operation and novel new experiments have been performed [2-4] To relate the spectrographic results and the detailed structure of a defect requires detailed calculations. Measurements are coupled with calculated results based on a description of positions of atoms at the defect. This gives an atomistic view of dislocations and associated defects including impurity interactions. Our ability to probe impurity interactions is a unique contribution to defect understanding not easily addressed by other atomistic spectroscopies

What can we learn from Raman Spectroscopy on irradiation-induced defects in UO2?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desgranges, L.; Martin, Ph.; Simon, P.; Guimbretiere, G.; Baldinozzi, G.

2014-01-01

Recent results on irradiated UO 2 by Raman spectroscopy evidenced Raman lines that are characteristic of irradiation-induced defects. Three main mechanisms are identified to explain their origin: resonant Raman, formation of new molecular entities, or breakdown in symmetry. Arguments are given to consider breakdown in symmetry as the predominant mechanism. A tentative description of the defects at the origin of this symmetry breakdown is proposed in terms of coordination polyhedrons of uranium. This discussion led us to consider that the Raman defect modes could be related to area with different stoichiometry. (authors)

Optical manipulation of photonic defect-modes in cholesteric liquid crystals induced by direct laser-lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Lee, Chee Heng; Miura, Yusuke; Fujii, Akihiko; Ozaki, Masanori

2008-01-01

Manipulation of photonic defect-modes in cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs), which are one-dimensional pseudo photonic band-gap materials have been demonstrated by an external optical field. A structural defect in which the pitch length of the ChLC in the bulk and the defect are different was introduced by inducing local polymerization in a photo-polymerizable ChLC material by a direct laser-lithography process, and infiltrating a different ChLC material as the defect medium. When an azobenzene dye-doped ChLC was infiltrated in the defect, the trans-cis isomerization of the dye upon ultraviolet (UV) exposure caused the pitch to shorten, changing the contrast in the pitch lengths at the bulk and the defect, leading to a consequent shifting of the defect-mode. The all-optical manipulation was reversible and had high reproducibility

High resolution deep level transient spectroscopy and process-induced defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans-Freeman, J.H.; Emiroglu, D.; Vernon-Parry, K.D.

2004-01-01

High resolution, or Laplace, deep level transient spectroscopy (LDLTS) enables the identification of very closely spaced energetic levels in a semiconductor bandgap. DLTS may resolve peaks with a separation of tens of electron volts, but LDLTS can resolve defect energy separations as low as a few MeV. In this paper, we present results from LDLTS applied to ion implantation-induced defects in silicon, with particular emphasis on characterisation of end-of-range interstitial type defects. Silicon was implanted with a variety of ions from mass 28 to 166. A combination of LDLTS and direct capture cross-section measurements was employed to show that electrically active small extended defects were present in the as-implanted samples. Larger dislocations were then generated in Si by oxygenation to act as a control sample. These stacking faults had typical lengths of microns, and their electrical activity was subsequently characterised by LDLTS. This was to establish the sensitivity of LDLTS to defects whose carrier capture is characterised by a non-exponential filling process and an evolving band structure as carrier capture proceeds. The LDLTS spectra show several components in capacitance transients originating from both the end-of-range defects, and the stacking faults, and also clearly show that the carrier emission rates reduce as these extended defects fill with carriers. The end-of-range defects and the stacking faults are shown to have the same electrical behaviour

Point defects and diffusion in alloys: correlation effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbe, Vincent

2006-01-01

Kinetic models in alloys aim at predicting the transport properties of a system starting from the microscopic jump frequencies of defects. Such properties are of prior importance in systems which stay out of equilibrium for a long time, as for example irradiated alloys in nuclear reactors. We hereby propose several developments of the recent self-consistent mean field (SCMF) kinetic theory, which deals particularly with the correlation effects due to the coupling of atomic and defect fluxes. They are taken into account through a non-equilibrium distribution function of the system, which is derived from the time evolution of small clusters (of two or more atoms or defects). We therefore introduce a set of 'dynamic' interactions called effective Hamiltonian. The SCMF theory is extended to treat high jump frequency ratios for the vacancy mechanism, as well as the transport through interstitial defects. We use in both cases an atomic model which accounts for the thermodynamic properties of the alloy, as e.g. the short-range order. Those models are eventually applied to predict the diffusion properties in two model alloys of nuclear interest: the concentrated Fe-Ni-Cr solid solution and the dilute Fe(P) alloy. We present adapted atomic models and compare our predictions to experimental data. (author)

Study of the point defect creation and of the excitonic luminescence in alkali halides irradiated by swift heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Protin, L.

1994-01-01

The aim of this experimental thesis is to study the excitonic mechanisms and of the defect creation, in NaCl and KBr, under dense electronic excitations induced by swift heavy ion irradiations. In the first part, we present the main features of the interaction of swift heavy ions with solid targets, and after we review the well known radiolytic processes of the defect creation during X-ray irradiation. In the second chapter, we describe our experimental set-up. In the chapter III, we present our results of the in-situ optical absorption measurements. This results show that defect creation is less sensitive to the temperature than during a classical irradiation. Besides, we observe new mechanisms concerning the defect aggregation. In the chapter IV, we present the results of excitonic luminescence induced by swift by swift heavy ions. We observe that the luminescence yields only change with the highest electronic stopping power. In the chapter V, we perform thermal spike and luminescence yields calculations and we compare the numerical results to the experiments presented in the chapter IV. (author). 121 refs., 65 figs., 30 tabs

The effect of correlated and point defects on the vortex lattice melting transition in single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7-δ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, W.K.; Fendrich, J.; Fleshler, S.; Welp, U.; Downey, J.; Crabtree, G.W.; Giapintzakis, J.

1994-01-01

The vortex melting transition T m in several untwinned and twinned crystals is measured resistively in fields up to 8T. A Lindemann criterion for vortex lattice melting is obtained in addition to a sharp hysteresis in the magnetoresistance at B m supporting a first-order phase transition. The anisotropy of twin boundary pinning and its reduction of the 'kink' in ρ(T) associated with the first-order melting transition is discussed in samples with very dilute twin boundaries. We also report on the direct suppression of the the melting transition by intrinsic pinning for H parallel ab and by electron-irradiation-induced point defects. (orig.)

Simulation of the accumulation kinetics for radiation point defects in a metals with impurity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iskakov, B.M.; Nurova, A.B.

2001-01-01

In the work a kinetics of vacancies (V) and interstitial atoms (IA) accumulation for cases when the V and IA are recombining with each other, absorbing by drain and capturing by impurity atoms has been simulated. The differential equations system numerical solution was carried out by the Runge-Kutta method. The dynamical equilibrium time achievement for the point radiation defects accumulation process in the metal with impurity is considered

Taurine protects methamphetamine-induced developmental angiogenesis defect through antioxidant mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, Xue; Hu, Zhengtao; Hu, Chunyan; Bu, Qian; Yan, Guangyan; Deng, Pengchi; Lv, Lei; Wu, Dan; Deng, Yi; Zhao, Jinxuan; Zhu, Ruiming; Li, Yan; Li, Hongyu; Xu, Youzhi; Yang, Hanshuo; Zhao, Yinglan; Cen, Xiaobo

2012-01-01

Investigations have characterized addictive drug-induced developmental cardiovascular malformation in human, non-human primate and rodent. However, the underlying mechanism of malformation caused by drugs during pregnancy is still largely unknown, and preventive and therapeutic measures have been lacking. Using 1 H NMR spectroscopy, we profiled the metabolites from human embryo endothelial cells exposed to methamphetamine (METH) and quantified a total of 226 peaks. We identified 11 metabolites modified robustly and found that taurine markedly increased. We then validated the hypothesis that this dramatic increase in taurine could attribute to its effect in inhibiting METH-induced developmental angiogenesis defect. Taurine supplement showed a more significant potential than other metabolites in protecting against METH-induced injury in endothelial cells. Taurine strongly attenuated METH-induced inhibition of proliferation and migration in endothelial cells. Furthermore, death rate and vessel abnormality of zebrafish embryos treated with METH were greatly reversed by taurine. In addition, taurine supplement caused a rapid decrease in reactive oxygen species generation and strongly attenuated the excitable arise of antioxidase activities in the beginning of METH exposure prophase. Dysregulations of NF-κB, p-ERK as well as Bax, which reflect apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and oxidative stress in vascular endothelium, were blocked by taurine. Our results provide the first evidence that taurine prevents METH-caused developmental angiogenesis defect through antioxidant mechanism. Taurine could serve as a potential therapeutic or preventive intervention of developmental vascular malformation for the pregnant women with drug use. Highlights: ► Metabonomics findings. ► Abnormal development. ► Dysregulations of key proteins.

Taurine protects methamphetamine-induced developmental angiogenesis defect through antioxidant mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Xue; Hu, Zhengtao; Hu, Chunyan; Bu, Qian; Yan, Guangyan [National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Deng, Pengchi [Analytical and Testing Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Lv, Lei [National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Wu, Dan [College of Basic and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Deng, Yi; Zhao, Jinxuan; Zhu, Ruiming; Li, Yan; Li, Hongyu; Xu, Youzhi; Yang, Hanshuo; Zhao, Yinglan [National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Cen, Xiaobo, E-mail: xbcenalan@vip.sina.com [National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China)

2012-05-01

Investigations have characterized addictive drug-induced developmental cardiovascular malformation in human, non-human primate and rodent. However, the underlying mechanism of malformation caused by drugs during pregnancy is still largely unknown, and preventive and therapeutic measures have been lacking. Using {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy, we profiled the metabolites from human embryo endothelial cells exposed to methamphetamine (METH) and quantified a total of 226 peaks. We identified 11 metabolites modified robustly and found that taurine markedly increased. We then validated the hypothesis that this dramatic increase in taurine could attribute to its effect in inhibiting METH-induced developmental angiogenesis defect. Taurine supplement showed a more significant potential than other metabolites in protecting against METH-induced injury in endothelial cells. Taurine strongly attenuated METH-induced inhibition of proliferation and migration in endothelial cells. Furthermore, death rate and vessel abnormality of zebrafish embryos treated with METH were greatly reversed by taurine. In addition, taurine supplement caused a rapid decrease in reactive oxygen species generation and strongly attenuated the excitable arise of antioxidase activities in the beginning of METH exposure prophase. Dysregulations of NF-κB, p-ERK as well as Bax, which reflect apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and oxidative stress in vascular endothelium, were blocked by taurine. Our results provide the first evidence that taurine prevents METH-caused developmental angiogenesis defect through antioxidant mechanism. Taurine could serve as a potential therapeutic or preventive intervention of developmental vascular malformation for the pregnant women with drug use. Highlights: ► Metabonomics findings. ► Abnormal development. ► Dysregulations of key proteins.

Electrically active point defects in Mg implanted n-type GaN grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Alfieri, G.; Sundaramoorthy, V. K.; Micheletto, R.

2018-05-01

Magnesium (Mg) is the p-type doping of choice for GaN, and selective area doping by ion implantation is a routine technique employed during device processing. While electrically active defects have been thoroughly studied in as-grown GaN, not much is known about defects generated by ion implantation. This is especially true for the case of Mg. In this study, we carried out an electrical characterization investigation of point defects generated by Mg implantation in GaN. We have found at least nine electrically active levels in the 0.2-1.2 eV energy range, below the conduction band. The isochronal annealing behavior of these levels showed that most of them are thermally stable up to 1000 °C. The nature of the detected defects is then discussed in the light of the results found in the literature.

Influence of the formation- and passivation rate of boron-oxygen defects for mitigating carrier-induced degradation in silicon within a hydrogen-based model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallam, Brett; Abbott, Malcolm; Nampalli, Nitin; Hamer, Phill; Wenham, Stuart

2016-01-01

A three-state model is used to explore the influence of defect formation- and passivation rates of carrier-induced degradation related to boron-oxygen complexes in boron-doped p-type silicon solar cells within a hydrogen-based model. The model highlights that the inability to effectively mitigate carrier-induced degradation at elevated temperatures in previous studies is due to the limited availability of defects for hydrogen passivation, rather than being limited by the defect passivation rate. An acceleration of the defect formation rate is also observed to increase both the effectiveness and speed of carrier-induced degradation mitigation, whereas increases in the passivation rate do not lead to a substantial acceleration of the hydrogen passivation process. For high-throughput mitigation of such carrier-induced degradation on finished solar cell devices, two key factors were found to be required, high-injection conditions (such as by using high intensity illumination) to enable an acceleration of defect formation whilst simultaneously enabling a rapid passivation of the formed defects, and a high temperature to accelerate both defect formation and defect passivation whilst still ensuring an effective mitigation of carrier-induced degradation

Universal Effectiveness of Inducing Magnetic Moments in Graphene by Amino-Type sp3-Defects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Tang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Inducing magnetic moments in graphene is very important for its potential application in spintronics. Introducing sp3-defects on the graphene basal plane is deemed as the most promising approach to produce magnetic graphene. However, its universal validity has not been very well verified experimentally. By functionalization of approximately pure amino groups on graphene basal plane, a spin-generalization efficiency of ~1 μB/100 NH2 was obtained for the first time, thus providing substantial evidence for the validity of inducing magnetic moments by sp3-defects. As well, amino groups provide another potential sp3-type candidate to prepare magnetic graphene.

First-principles study of point defects in solar cell semiconductor CuI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Hui; Wang, Chong-Yu; Wang, Jian-Tao; Wu, Ying; Zhou, Shao-Xiong

2013-01-01

Hybrid density functional theory is used to study the formation energies and transition levels of point defects V Cu , V I , I Cu , Cu I , and O I in CuI. It is shown that the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof (HSE06) method can accurately describe the band gap of bulk CuI. As a solar cell material, we find that p-type semiconductor CuI can be obtained under the iodine-rich and copper-poor conditions. Our results are in good agreement with experiment and provide an excellent account for tuning the structural and electronic properties of CuI

First-principles study on oxidation effects in uranium oxides and high-pressure high-temperature behavior of point defects in uranium dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, Hua Y.; Song, Hong X.; Jin, K.; Xiang, S. K.; Wu, Q.

2011-11-01

Formation Gibbs free energy of point defects and oxygen clusters in uranium dioxide at high-pressure high-temperature conditions are calculated from first principles, using the LSDA+U approach for the electronic structure and the Debye model for the lattice vibrations. The phonon contribution on Frenkel pairs is found to be notable, whereas it is negligible for the Schottky defect. Hydrostatic compression changes the formation energies drastically, making defect concentrations depend more sensitively on pressure. Calculations show that, if no oxygen clusters are considered, uranium vacancy becomes predominant in overstoichiometric UO2 with the aid of the contribution from lattice vibrations, while compression favors oxygen defects and suppresses uranium vacancy greatly. At ambient pressure, however, the experimental observation of predominant oxygen defects in this regime can be reproduced only in a form of cuboctahedral clusters, underlining the importance of defect clustering in UO2+x. Making use of the point defect model, an equation of state for nonstoichiometric oxides is established, which is then applied to describe the shock Hugoniot of UO2+x. Furthermore, the oxidization and compression behavior of uranium monoxide, triuranium octoxide, uranium trioxide, and a series of defective UO2 at 0 K are investigated. The evolution of mechanical properties and electronic structures with an increase of the oxidation degree are analyzed, revealing the transition of the ground state of uranium oxides from metallic to Mott insulator and then to charge-transfer insulator due to the interplay of strongly correlated effects of 5f orbitals and the shift of electrons from uranium to oxygen atoms.

Origin of the defects-induced ferromagnetism in un-doped ZnO single crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Peng; Xie, Zheng; Li, Zhengcao; Wang, Weipeng; Zhang, Zhengjun; Li, Zhuoxin; Cheng, Guodong; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Baoyi; Cao, Xingzhong

2013-02-01

We clarified, in this Letter, that in un-doped ZnO single crystals after thermal annealing in flowing argon, the defects-induced room-temperature ferromagnetism was originated from the surface defects and specifically, from singly occupied oxygen vacancies denoted as F+, by the optical and electrical properties measurements as well as positron annihilation analysis. In addition, a positive linear relationship was observed between the ferromagnetism and the F+ concentration, which is in support with the above clarification.

[Effect of simvastatin on inducing endothelial progenitor cells homing and promoting bone defect repair].

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Quansheng; Wang, Lingying; Zhu, Jinglin; Han, Xiaoguang; Li, Xu; Yang, Yanlin; Sun, Yan; Song, Chunli

2010-09-01

To investigate the effect of simvastatin on inducing endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) homing and promoting bone defect repair, and to explore the mechanism of local implanting simvastatin in promoting bone formation. Simvastatin (50 mg) compounded with polylactic acid (PLA, 200 mg) or only PLA (200 mg) was dissolved in acetone (1 mL) to prepare implanted materials (Simvastatin-PLA material, PLA material). EPCs were harvested from bone marrow of 2 male rabbits and cultured with M199; after identified by immunohistochemistry, the cell suspension of EPCs at the 3rd generation (2 x 10(6) cells/mL) was prepared and transplanted into 12 female rabbits through auricular veins (2 mL). After 3 days, the models of cranial defect with 15 cm diameter were made in the 12 female rabbits. And the defects were repaired with Simvastatin-PLA materials (experimental group, n=6) and PLA materials (control group, n=6), respectively. The bone repair was observed after 8 weeks of operation by gross appearance, X-ray film, and histology; gelatin-ink perfusion and HE staining were used to show the new vessels formation in the defect. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to show the EPCs homing at the defect site. All experimental animals of 2 groups survived to the end of the experiment. After 8 weeks in experimental group, new bone formation was observed in the bone defect by gross and histology, and an irregular, hyperdense shadow by X-ray film; no similar changes were observed in control group. FISH showed that the male EPC containing Y chromosome was found in the wall of new vessels in the defect of experimental group, while no male EPC containing Y chromosome was found in control group. The percentage of new bone formation in defect area was 91.63% +/- 4.07% in experimental group and 59.45% +/- 5.43% in control group, showing significant difference (P < 0.05). Simvastatin can promote bone defect repair, and its mechanism is probably associated with inducing EPCs

Point defects in lithium fluoride films for micro-radiography, X-ray microscopy and photonic applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonfigli, F.; Flora, F.; Marolo, T.; Montereali, R.M.; Baldacchini, G. [ENEA, UTS Tecnologie Fisiche Avanzate, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi, 45, 00044 Frascati (Rome) (Italy); Faenov, A.Ya.; Pikuz, T.A. [MISDC of VNIIFTRI Mendeleevo, Moscow region, 141570 (Russian Federation); Nichelatti, E. [ENEA, UTS Tecnologie Fisiche Avanzate, C.R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301, 00060 Santa Maria di Galeria (Rome) (Italy); Reale, L. [Universita dell' Aquila e INFN, Dip. di Fisica, Coppito, L' Aquila (Italy)

2005-01-01

Point defects in lithium fluoride (LiF) have recently attracted renewed attention due the exciting results obtained in the realisation of miniaturised optical devices. Among light-emitting materials, LiF is of particular interest because it is almost not hygroscopic and can host, even at room temperature, stable color centers (CCs) that emit light in the visible and in the near infrared spectral range under optical excitation. The increasing demand for low-dimensionality photonic devices imposes the use of advanced irradiation methods for producing luminescent structures with high spatial resolution. An innovative irradiation technique to produce luminescent CCs in LiF crystals and films by using an extreme ultra-violet and soft X-ray laser-plasma source will be presented. This technique is capable to induce colored patterns with submicrometric spatial resolution on large areas in a short exposure time as compared with other irradiation methods. Luminescent regular arrays produced by this irradiation technique will be shown. Recently, the idea of using a LiF film as image detector for X-ray microscopy and micro-radiography based on optically-stimulated luminescence from CCs has been developed. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Diffusion of antimony in silicon in the presence of point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Xiangkun; Ma, K.B.; Chen, Q.Y.; Wang Xuemei; Liu Jiarui; Chu, W.-K.; Shao Lin; Thompson, Phillip E.

2007-01-01

We have investigated the diffusion of Sb in Si in the presence of defects injected by high-energy implantation of Si ions at room temperature. MeV ion implantation increases the concentrations of vacancies, which induce transient-enhanced diffusion of Sb deposited in Si. We observed a significant enhancement of Sb diffusion. Secondary ions mass spectroscopy has been performed on the implanted samples before and after annealing. Rutherford-backscattering spectrometry has been used to characterize the high-energy implantation damage. By fitting diffusion profiles to a linear diffusive model, information about atomic scale diffusion of Sb, i.e. the generation rate of mobile state Sb and its mean migration length were extracted

Characterisation of irradiation-induced defects in ZnO single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prochazka, I; Cizek, J; Lukac, F; Melikhova, O; Valenta, J; Havranek, V; Anwand, W; Skuratov, V A; Strukova, T S

2016-01-01

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) combined with optical methods was employed for characterisation of defects in the hydrothermally grown ZnO single crystals irradiated by 167 MeV Xe 26+ ions to fluences ranged from 3×10 12 to 1×10 14 cm -2 . The positron lifetime (LT), Doppler broadening as well as slow-positron implantation spectroscopy (SPIS) techniques were involved. The ab-initio theoretical calculations were utilised for interpretation of LT results. The optical transmission and photoluminescence measurements were conducted, too. The virgin ZnO crystal exhibited a single component LT spectrum with a lifetime of 182 ps which is attributed to saturated positron trapping in Zn vacancies associated with hydrogen atoms unintentionally introduced into the crystal during the crystal growth. The Xe ion irradiated ZnO crystals have shown an additional component with a longer lifetime of ≈ 360 ps which comes from irradiation-induced larger defects equivalent in size to clusters of ≈10 to 12 vacancies. The concentrations of these clusters were estimated on the basis of combined LT and SPIS data. The PAS data were correlated with irradiation induced changes seen in the optical spectroscopy experiments. (paper)

Characterisation of irradiation-induced defects in ZnO single crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Prochazka, I.; Cizek, J.; Lukac, F.; Melikhova, O.; Valenta, J.; Havranek, V.; Anwand, W.; Skuratov, V. A.; Strukova, T. S.

2016-01-01

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) combined with optical methods was employed for characterisation of defects in the hydrothermally grown ZnO single crystals irradiated by 167 MeV Xe26+ ions to fluences ranged from 3×1012 to 1×1014 cm-2. The positron lifetime (LT), Doppler broadening as well as slow-positron implantation spectroscopy (SPIS) techniques were involved. The ab-initio theoretical calculations were utilised for interpretation of LT results. The optical transmission and photoluminescence measurements were conducted, too. The virgin ZnO crystal exhibited a single component LT spectrum with a lifetime of 182 ps which is attributed to saturated positron trapping in Zn vacancies associated with hydrogen atoms unintentionally introduced into the crystal during the crystal growth. The Xe ion irradiated ZnO crystals have shown an additional component with a longer lifetime of ≈ 360 ps which comes from irradiation-induced larger defects equivalent in size to clusters of ≈10 to 12 vacancies. The concentrations of these clusters were estimated on the basis of combined LT and SPIS data. The PAS data were correlated with irradiation induced changes seen in the optical spectroscopy experiments.

Modulation of mitochondrial morphology by bioenergetics defects in primary human fibroblasts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guillery, O.; Malka, F.; Frachon, P.

2008-01-01

induced partial but significant mitochondrial fragmentation, whereas dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (D Psi m) provoked complete fragmentation, and glycolysis inhibition had no effect. Oxidative phosphorylation defective fibroblasts had essentially normal filamentous mitochondria under...... basal conditions, although when challenged some of them presented with mild alteration of fission or fusion efficacy. Severely defective cells disclosed complete mitochondrial fragmentation under glycolysis inhibition. In conclusion, mitochondrial morphology is modulated by D Psi m but loosely linked...... to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Its alteration by glycolysis, inhibition points to a severe oxidative phosphorylation defect. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved Udgivelsesdato: 2008/4...

Annealing of hydrogen-induced defects in RF-plasma-treated Si wafers: ex situ and in situ transmission electron microscopy studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghica, C; Nistor, L C; Vizireanu, S; Dinescu, G

2011-01-01

The smart-cut(TM) process is based on inducing and processing structural defects below the free surface of semiconductor wafers. The necessary defects are currently induced by implantation of light elements such as hydrogen or helium. An alternative softer way to induce shallow subsurface defects is by RF-plasma hydrogenation. To facilitate the smart-cut process, the wafers containing the induced defects need to be subjected to an appropriate thermal treatment. In our experiments, (0 0 1) Si wafers are submitted to 200 and 50 W hydrogen RF-plasma and are subsequently annealed. The samples are studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), before and after annealing. The plasma-introduced defects are {1 1 1} and {1 0 0} planar-like defects and nanocavities, all of them involving hydrogen. Many nanocavities are aligned into strings almost parallel to the wafer surface. The annealing is performed either by furnace thermal treatment at 550 deg. C, or by in situ heating in the electron microscope at 450, 650 and 800 deg. C during the TEM observations. The TEM microstructural studies indicate a partial healing of the planar defects and a size increase of the nanometric cavities by a coalescence process of the small neighbouring nanocavities. By annealing, the lined up nanometric voids forming chains in the as-hydrogenated sample coalesced into well-defined cracks, mostly parallel to the wafer surface.

A study of the electrical properties of defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blood, A.M.

1998-01-01

This work contains the most comprehensive qualitative and quantitative electron beam induced current (EBIC) study of recombination at contaminated defects in silicon. It is also a rigorous quantitative investigation of the effect of hydrogen on individual transition metal contaminated defects. In addition, the recombination behaviour exhibited by point and extended defects has been investigated using EBIC and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). As a result of these measurements, techniques for the preparation of transition metal contaminated specimens have been refined. Successful hydrogen passivation of copper, nickel and iron contaminated silicon specimens containing oxidation-induced stacking faults has been achieved in two experimental systems. It is found that hydrogen passivates those states that are deepest in the semiconductor band gap in preference to those that are shallow. Furthermore, it has been concluded that during hydrogen passivation treatment, even at low temperatures, unwanted metallic impurities can be introduced. Three types of recombination behaviour have been identified from the defects-studied in this work and they are discussed with relevance to present recombination models. An investigation of the recombination behaviour of defects that lie in the depletion region and in the specimen bulk has concluded that the recombination type observed is independent of the depth of the defect. Evidence for the presence of compound defects showing mixed recombination behaviour type is presented. In conclusion, it is postulated that the transition metal impurities introduce a 'band of states' with a range of energies rather than a single energy state. This proposal is provided as an explanation for the recombination types found in this work and the effect of the hydrogen passivation. This work is placed in context of previous investigations into the behaviour of dislocations in silicon in the presence of transition metals, and the ability of

Defects induced ferromagnetism in Mn doped ZnO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chattopadhyay, S.; Neogi, S.K. [Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92A P C Road, Kolkata 700009 (India); Sarkar, A. [Department of Physics, Bangabasi Morning College, Kolkata 700009 (India); Mukadam, M.D.; Yusuf, S.M. [Solid State Physics Division, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Banerjee, A. [Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92A P C Road, Kolkata 700009 (India); Bandyopadhyay, S., E-mail: sbaphy@caluniv.ac.i [Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92A P C Road, Kolkata 700009 (India)

2011-02-15

Single phase Mn doped (2 at%) ZnO samples have been synthesized by the solid-state reaction technique. Before the final sintering at 500 {sup o}C, the mixed powders have been milled for different milling periods (6, 24, 48 and 96 h). The grain sizes of the samples are very close to each other ({approx}32{+-}4 nm). However, the defective state of the samples is different from each other as manifested from the variation of magnetic properties and electrical resistivity with milling time. All the samples have been found to be ferromagnetic with clear hysteresis loops at room temperature. The maximum value for saturation magnetization (0.11 {mu}{sub B}/Mn atom) was achieved for 96 h milled sample. Electrical resistivity has been found to increase with increase in milling time. The most resistive sample bears the largest saturation magnetization. Variation of average positron lifetime with milling time bears a close similarity with that of the saturation magnetization. This indicates the key role played by open volume vacancy defects, presumably zinc vacancies near grain surfaces, in inducing ferromagnetic order in Mn doped ZnO. To attain optimum defect configuration favorable for ferromagnetism in this kind of samples proper choice of milling period and annealing conditions is required. - Research highlights: 2 at% Mn doped ZnO samples are single phase. All the samples exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature. Correlation between saturation magnetization and positron annihilation lifetime established.

Defects induced ferromagnetism in Mn doped ZnO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chattopadhyay, S.; Neogi, S.K.; Sarkar, A.; Mukadam, M.D.; Yusuf, S.M.; Banerjee, A.; Bandyopadhyay, S.

2011-01-01

Single phase Mn doped (2 at%) ZnO samples have been synthesized by the solid-state reaction technique. Before the final sintering at 500 o C, the mixed powders have been milled for different milling periods (6, 24, 48 and 96 h). The grain sizes of the samples are very close to each other (∼32±4 nm). However, the defective state of the samples is different from each other as manifested from the variation of magnetic properties and electrical resistivity with milling time. All the samples have been found to be ferromagnetic with clear hysteresis loops at room temperature. The maximum value for saturation magnetization (0.11 μ B /Mn atom) was achieved for 96 h milled sample. Electrical resistivity has been found to increase with increase in milling time. The most resistive sample bears the largest saturation magnetization. Variation of average positron lifetime with milling time bears a close similarity with that of the saturation magnetization. This indicates the key role played by open volume vacancy defects, presumably zinc vacancies near grain surfaces, in inducing ferromagnetic order in Mn doped ZnO. To attain optimum defect configuration favorable for ferromagnetism in this kind of samples proper choice of milling period and annealing conditions is required. - Research highlights: → 2 at% Mn doped ZnO samples are single phase. → All the samples exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature. → Correlation between saturation magnetization and positron annihilation lifetime established.

First principles calculation of point defects and mobility degradation in bulk AlSb for radiation detection application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lordi, V; Aberg, D; Erhart, P; Wu, K J

2007-01-01

The development of high resolution, room temperature semiconductor radiation detectors requires the introduction of materials with increased carrier mobility-lifetime (μτ) product, while having a band gap in the 1.4-2.2 eV range. AlSb is a promising material for this application. However, systematic improvements in the material quality are necessary to achieve an adequate μτ product. We are using a combination of simulation and experiment to develop a fundamental understanding of the factors which affect detector material quality. First principles calculations are used to study the microscopic mechanisms of mobility degradation from point defects and to calculate the intrinsic limit of mobility from phonon scattering. We use density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the formation energies of native and impurity point defects, to determine their equilibrium concentrations as a function of temperature and charge state. Perturbation theory via the Born approximation is coupled with Boltzmann transport theory to calculate the contribution toward mobility degradation of each type of point defect, using DFT-computed carrier scattering rates. A comparison is made to measured carrier concentrations and mobilities from AlSb crystals grown in our lab. We find our predictions in good quantitative agreement with experiment, allowing optimized annealing conditions to be deduced. A major result is the determination of oxygen impurity as a severe mobility killer, despite the ability of oxygen to compensation dope AlSb and reduce the net carrier concentration. In this case, increased resistivity is not a good indicator of improved material performance, due to the concomitant sharp reduction in μτ

Circular patterns of calcium oxalate monohydrate induced by defective Langmuir-Blodgett film on quartz substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He Jieyu [Institute of Biomineralization and Lithiasis Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Institute of Biomineralization and Lithiasis Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Ouyang Jianming [Institute of Biomineralization and Lithiasis Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Institute of Biomineralization and Lithiasis Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China)], E-mail: toyjm@jnu.edu.cn

2009-01-01

The defective Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) on quartz injured by potassium oxalate (K{sub 2}C{sub 2}O{sub 4}) was used as a model system to induce growth of calcium oxalate crystals. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated that circular defective domains with a diameter of 1-200 {mu}m existed in the LB film. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed circular patterns of aggregated calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystallites were induced by these defective domains. It was ascribed to that the interaction between the negatively-charged oxalate ions and the phosphatidyl groups in DPPC headgroups makes the phospholipid molecules rearranged and exist in an out-of-order state in the LB film, especially at the boundaries of liquid-condensed (LC)/liquid-expanded (LE) phases, which provide much more nucleating sites for COM crystals.

Edge dislocations as sinks for sub-nanometric radiation induced defects in α-iron

Science.gov (United States)

Anento, N.; Malerba, L.; Serra, A.

2018-01-01

The role of edge dislocations as sinks for small radiation induced defects in bcc-Fe is investigated by means of atomistic computer simulation. In this work we investigate by Molecular Statics (T = 0K) the interaction between an immobile dislocation line and defect clusters of small sizes invisible experimentally. The study highlights in particular the anisotropy of the interaction and distinguishes between absorbed and trapped defects. When the considered defect intersects the dislocation glide plane and the distance from the dislocation line to the defect is on the range between 2 nm and 4 nm, either total or partial absorption of the cluster takes place leading to the formation of jogs. Residual defects produced during partial absorption pin the dislocation. By the calculation of stress-strain curves we have assessed the strength of those residues as obstacles for the motion of the dislocation, which is reflected on the unpinning stresses and the binding energies obtained. When the defect is outside this range, but on planes close to the dislocation glide plane, instead of absorption we have observed a capture process. Finally, with a view to introducing explicitly in kinetic Monte Carlo models a sink with the shape of a dislocation line, we have summarized our findings on a table presenting the most relevant parameters, which define the interaction of the dislocation with the defects considered.

In vitro chondrogenesis and in vivo repair of osteochondral defect with human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Ji-Yun; Kim, Kyung-Il; Park, Siyeon; Im, Gun-Il

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the chondrogenic features of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and examine the differences in the chondrogenesis between hiPSCs and human bone marrow-derived MSCs (hBMMSCs). Embryoid bodies (EBs) were formed from undifferentiated hiPSCs. After EBs were dissociated into single cells, chondrogenic culture was performed in pellets and alginate hydrogel. Chondro-induced hiPSCs were implanted in osteochondral defects created on the patellar groove of immunosuppressed rats and evaluated after 12 weeks. The ESC markers NANOG, SSEA4 and OCT3/4 disappeared while the mesodermal marker BMP-4 appeared in chondro-induced hiPSCs. After 21 days of culture, greater glycosaminoglycan contents and better chondrocytic features including lacuna and abundant matrix formation were observed from chondro-induced hiPSCs compared to chondro-induced hBMMSCs. The expression of chondrogenic markers including SOX-9, type II collagen, and aggrecan in chondro-induced hiPSCs was comparable to or greater than chondro-induced hBMMSCs. A remarkably low level of hypertrophic and osteogenic markers including type X collagen, type I collagen and Runx-2 was noted in chondro-induced hiPSCs compared to chondro-induced hBMMSCs. hiPSCs had significantly greater methylation of several CpG sites in COL10A1 promoter than hBMMSCs in either undifferentiated or chondro-induced state, suggesting an epigenetic cause of the difference in hypertrophy. The defects implanted with chondro-induced hiPSCs showed a significantly better quality of cartilage repair than the control defects, and the majority of cells in the regenerated cartilage consisted of implanted hiPSCs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polymers under ionizing radiation: the study of energy transfers to radiation induced defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ventura, A.

2013-01-01

Radiation-induced defects created in polymers submitted to ionizing radiations, under inert atmosphere, present the same trend as a function of the dose. When the absorbed dose increases, their concentrations increase then level off. This behavior can be assigned to energy transfers from the polymer to the previously created macromolecular defects; the latter acting as energy sinks. During this thesis, we aimed to specify the influence of a given defect, namely the trans-vinylene, in the behavior of polyethylene under ionizing radiations. For this purpose, we proposed a new methodology based on the specific insertion, at various concentrations, of trans-vinylene groups in the polyethylene backbone through chemical synthesis. This enables to get rid of the variety of created defects on one hand and on the simultaneity of their creation on the other hand. Modified polyethylenes, containing solely trans-vinylene as odd groups, were irradiated under inert atmosphere, using either low LET beams (gamma, beta) or high LET beams (swift heavy ions). During irradiations, both macromolecular defects and H 2 emission were quantified. According to experimental results, among all defects, the influence of the trans-vinylene on the behavior of polyethylene is predominant. (author) [fr

Implantation processing of Si: A unified approach to understanding ion-induced defects and their impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, O.W.; Roth, E.G.

1997-05-01

A model is presented to account for the effects of ion-induced defects during implantation processing of Si. It will be shown that processing is quite generally affected by the presence of defect excesses rather than the total number of defects. a defect is considered excess if it represents a surplus locally of one defect type over its compliment. Processing spanning a wide range of implantation conditions will be presented to demonstrate that the majority of the total defects played little or no role in the process. This is a direct result of the ease with which the spatially correlated Frenkel pairs recombine either dynamically or during a post-implantation annealing. Based upon this model, a method will be demonstrated for manipulating or engineering the excess defects to modify their effects. In particular high-energy, self-ions are shown to inject vacancies into a boron implanted region resulting in suppression of transient enhanced diffusion of the dopant

Formation of topological defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vachaspati, T.

1991-01-01

We consider the formation of point and line topological defects (monopoles and strings) from a general point of view by allowing the probability of formation of a defect to vary. To investigate the statistical properties of the defects at formation we give qualitative arguments that are independent of any particular model in which such defects occur. These arguments are substantiated by numerical results in the case of strings and for monopoles in two dimensions. We find that the network of strings at formation undergoes a transition at a certain critical density below which there are no infinite strings and the closed-string (loop) distribution is exponentially suppressed at large lengths. The results are contrasted with the results of statistical arguments applied to a box of strings in dynamical equilibrium. We argue that if point defects were to form with smaller probability, the distance between monopoles and antimonopoles would decrease while the monopole-to-monopole distance would increase. We find that monopoles are always paired with antimonopoles but the pairing becomes clean only when the number density of defects is small. A similar reasoning would also apply to other defects

Correlation of point defects in CdZnTe with charge transport:application to room-temperature x-ray and gamma-ray. Final Technical Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giles, Nancy C.

2003-01-01

The primary goal of this project has been to characterize and identify point defects in CdZnTe. There are two experimental focus areas: (1) photoluminescence and EPR. Results are compared with radiation detector performance. Applications requiring room-temperature x-ray and gamma-ray detectors are rapidly increasing and now include nuclear medicine, space sciences, national security, environmental remediation, nonproliferation inspections, etc. To meet these needs, a new generation of detectors based on single crystals of cadmium zinc telluride (Cd 1-x Zn x Te) is being developed. This semiconductor material possesses many desirable detector properties, such as constituent atoms with high atomic number (Z), a sufficiently large band gap to minimize leakage currents at room temperature, and high intrinsic mobility-lifetime (p) products for electrons and holes. However, despite the tremendous promise of this material, problems clearly exist. CdZnTe crystals are difficult to grow in large sizes and with ultra-high purity. There is a need to further lower the leakage currents in detector-grade material and also to increase the efficiency of charge collection. In general, all aspects of carrier trapping in this material must be understood and minimized. Point defects are a primary reason CdZnTe crystals have not yet reached their expected levels of performance. Thus, a better understanding of the role of point defects and the larger microstructure defects on the transport of electrons and holes will lead to improved detector-grade CdZnTe. The primary goal of this project has been to characterize and identify point defects (e.g., impurities, vacancies, vacancy-impurity complexes, etc.) in CdZnTe and determine the mechanisms by which these defects influence the carrier μτ products. Special attention is given to the role of shallow donors, shallow acceptors, and deeper acceptors. There are two experimental focus areas in the project: (1) liquid-helium photoluminescence

Point defects and irradiation in oxides: simulations at the atomic scale; Defauts ponctuels et irradiation dans les oxydes: simulation a l'echelle atomique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crocombette, J.P

2005-12-15

The studies done by Jean-Paul Crocombette between 1996 and 2005 in the Service de Recherches de Metallurgie Physique of the Direction de l'Energie Nucleaire in Saclay are presented in this Habilitation thesis. These works were part of the material science researches on the ageing, especially under irradiation, of oxides of interest for the nuclear industry. In this context simulation studies at the atomic scale were performed on two elementary components of ageing under irradiation : point defects and displacement cascades ; using two complementary simulation techniques : ab initio electronic structure calculations and empirical potential molecular dynamics. The first part deals with point defects : self defects (vacancies or interstitials) or hetero-atomic dopants. One first recalls the energetics of such defects in oxides, the specific features of defects calculations and the expected accuracy of these calculations. Then one presents the results obtained on uranium dioxide, oxygen in silver and amorphous silica. The second part tackles the modelling of disintegration recoil nuclei in various?displacement cascades created by crystalline matrices for actinide waste disposal. Cascade calculations give access to the amorphization mechanisms under irradiation of these materials. One thus predicts that the amorphization in zircon takes place directly in the tracks whereas in lanthanum zirconate, the amorphization proceeds through the accumulation of point defects. Finally the prospects of these studies are discussed. (author)

Investigation of defect-induced abnormal body current in fin field-effect-transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Kuan-Ju; Tsai, Jyun-Yu; Lu, Ying-Hsin; Liu, Xi-Wen; Chang, Ting-Chang; Chen, Ching-En; Yang, Ren-Ya; Cheng, Osbert; Huang, Cheng-Tung

2015-01-01

This letter investigates the mechanism of abnormal body current at the linear region in n-channel high-k/metal gate stack fin field effect transistors. Unlike body current, which is generated by impact ionization at high drain voltages, abnormal body current was found to increase with decreasing drain voltages. Notably, the unusual body leakage only occurs in three-dimensional structure devices. Based on measurements under different operation conditions, the abnormal body current can be attributed to fin surface defect-induced leakage current, and the mechanism is electron tunneling to the fin via the defects, resulting in holes left at the body terminal

Radiation-induced segregation: A microchemical gauge to quantify fundamental defect parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonen, E.P.; Bruemmer, S.M.

1994-12-01

Defect Kinetic are evaluated for austenitic stainless alloys by comparing model predictions to measured responses for radiation-induced grain boundary segregation. Heavy-ions, neutrons and proton irradiations having substantial statistical bases are examined. The combined modeling and measurement approach is shown to be useful for quantifying fundamental defect parameters. The mechanism evaluation indicates vacancy, migration energies of 1.15 eV or less and a vacancy formation energy at grain boundaries of 1.5 eV. Damage efficiencies of about 0.03 were established for heavy-ions and for light-water reactor neutrons. Inferred proton damage efficiencies were about 0.15. Segregation measured in an advanced gas-cooled reactor component was much greater than expected using the above parameters

Radionuclide release from PWR spent fuel specimens with induced cladding defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, C.N.; Oversby, V.M.

1984-03-01

Radionuclide releases from pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel rod specimens containing various artificially induced cladding defects were compared by leach testing. The study was conducted in support of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Waste Package Task to evaluate the effectiveness of failed cladding as a barrier to radionuclide release. Test description and results are presented

Shock-induced spall in copper: the effects of anisotropy, temperature, loading pulse and defect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Shengnian [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Germann, Timothy C [Los Alamos National Laboratory; An, Qi [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Han, Li - Bo [USTC

2009-07-28

Shock-induced spall in Cu is investigated with molecular dynamics simulations. We examine spallation in initially perfect crystals and defective solids with grain boundaries (columnar bicrystals), stacking faults or vacancies, as well as the effect of temperature and loading pulses. Spall in single crystal Cu is anisotropic, and defects and high temperature may reduce the spall strength. Taylor-wave (triangular shock-release wave) loading is explored in comparison with square wave shock loading.

Additive manufacturing for in situ repair of osteochondral defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, Daniel L; Lipton, Jeffrey I; Bonassar, Lawrence J; Lipson, Hod

2010-01-01

Tissue engineering holds great promise for injury repair and replacement of defective body parts. While a number of techniques exist for creating living biological constructs in vitro, none have been demonstrated for in situ repair. Using novel geometric feedback-based approaches and through development of appropriate printing-material combinations, we demonstrate the in situ repair of both chondral and osteochondral defects that mimic naturally occurring pathologies. A calf femur was mounted in a custom jig and held within a robocasting-based additive manufacturing (AM) system. Two defects were induced: one a cartilage-only representation of a grade IV chondral lesion and the other a two-material bone and cartilage fracture of the femoral condyle. Alginate hydrogel was used for the repair of cartilage; a novel formulation of demineralized bone matrix was used for bone repair. Repair prints for both defects had mean surface errors less than 0.1 mm. For the chondral defect, 42.8 ± 2.6% of the surface points had errors that were within a clinically acceptable error range; however, with 1 mm path planning shift, an estimated ∼75% of surface points could likely fall within the benchmark envelope. For the osteochondral defect, 83.6 ± 2.7% of surface points had errors that were within clinically acceptable limits. In addition to implications for minimally invasive AM-based clinical treatments, these proof-of-concept prints are some of the only in situ demonstrations to-date, wherein the substrate geometry was unknown a priori. The work presented herein demonstrates in situ AM, suggests potential biomedical applications and also explores in situ-specific issues, including geometric feedback, material selection and novel path planning techniques.

Radiation-induced defect-formation in lithium hydride and deuteride monocrystals. [Electron and X-ray irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pustovarov, V.A.; Betenekova, T.A.; Zav' yalov, N.A.; Cholakh, S.O. (Ural' skij Politekhnicheskij Inst., Sverdlovsk (USSR))

1983-08-01

Methods of stationary and pulse absorption spectroscopy were used to investigate into processes of formation and decay of radiation defects in cubic LiH and LiD crystals. F- and V-centers form at low temperatures during crystal irradiation by photons, creating excitons selectively, accelerator electrons, X-ray radiation. Analysis of possible mechanisms of defect formation shows that radiation defect formation in LiH is based on radiationless exciton decay. It is shown that efficiency of F- and V-centers generation in pure and impure crystals in 80-298 K range is the same. Exciton decay with formation of Frenkel radiation defects in pure LiH and LiD crystals takes place, probably, in regular crystal lattice points. Process of radiation defect formation as a result of near activator exciton decay takes place in impure LiH-Na, LiD-Na crystals.

Atomistic simulation of the point defects in B2-type MoTa alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jianmin; Wang Fang; Xu Kewei; Ji, Vincent

2009-01-01

The formation and migration mechanisms of three different point defects (mono-vacancy, anti-site defect and interstitial atom) in B 2 -type MoTa alloy have been investigated by combining molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with modified analytic embedded-atom method (MAEAM). From minimization of the formation energy, we find that the anti-site defects Mo Ta and Ta Mo are easier to form than Mo and Ta mono-vacancies, while Mo and Ta interstitial atoms are difficult to form in the alloy. In six migration mechanisms of Mo and Ta mono-vacancies, one nearest-neighbor jump (1NNJ) is the most favorable due to its lowest activation and migration energies, but it will cause a disorder in the alloy. One next-nearest-neighbor jump (1NNNJ) and one third-nearest-neighbor jump (1TNNJ) can maintain the ordered property of the alloy but require higher activation and migration energies, so the 1NNNJ and 1TNNJ should be replaced by straight [1 0 0] six nearest-neighbor cyclic jumps (S[1 0 0]6NNCJ) or bent [1 0 0] six nearest-neighbor cyclic jumps (B[1 0 0]6NNCJ) and [1 1 0] six nearest-neighbor cyclic jumps ([1 1 0]6NNCJ), respectively. Although the migrations of Mo and Ta interstitial atoms need much lower energy than Mo and Ta mono-vacancies, they are not main migration mechanisms due to difficult to form in the alloy.

Effects of extrinsic point defects in phosphorene: B, C, N, O and F Adatoms

OpenAIRE

Wang, Gaoxue; Pandey, Ravindra; Karna, Shashi P.

2015-01-01

Phosphorene is emerging as a promising 2D semiconducting material with a direct band gap and high carrier mobility. In this paper, we examine the role of the extrinsic point defects including surface adatoms in modifying the electronic properties of phosphorene using density functional theory. The surface adatoms considered are B, C, N, O and F with a [He] core electronic configuration. Our calculations show that B and C, with electronegativity close to P, prefer to break the sp3 bonds of pho...

Stereomicroscopic evaluation of dentinal defects induced by new rotary system: "ProTaper NEXT".

Science.gov (United States)

Shori, Deepa Deepak; Shenoi, Pratima Ramakrishna; Baig, Arshia R; Kubde, Rajesh; Makade, Chetana; Pandey, Swapnil

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate dentinal defects formed by new rotary system - Protaper next™ (PTN). Sixty single-rooted premolars were selected. All specimens were decoronated and divided into four groups, each group having 15 specimens. Group I specimens were prepared by Hand K-files (Mani), Group II with ProTaper Universal (PT; Dentsply Maillefer), Group III with Hero Shaper (HS; Micro-Mega, Besancon, France), and Group IV with PTN (Dentsply Maillefer). Roots of each specimen were sectioned at 3, 6, and 9mm from the apex and were then viewed under a stereomicroscope to evaluate presence or absence of dentinal defects. In roots prepared with hand files (HFs) showed lowest percentage of dentinal defects (6.7%); whereas in roots prepared with PT, HS, and PTN it was 40, 66.7, and 26.7%, respectively. There was significant difference between the HS group and the PTN group (P hand instruments induced minimal defects.

Contribution to the study of point defects in uranium α

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jousset, J.

1968-01-01

Uranium quenched from temperatures as low as 100 K shows an important increase in resistivity which disappears after annealing between 4.2 K and 41 K. This phenomenon is explained by a cold-work of the metal due to the rapid traversing of the temperature region where the lattice parameters exhibit an important and anisotropic increase. The annealing occurs in two stages (4.2 K - 26 K - 41 K). Purity of samples has an influence on the phenomenon. Model proposed is confirmed by the comparison with some experiments of annealing of defects created by irradiation of uranium at very low temperatures. Vacancies have been quenched in the metal from temperatures around 650 C (limit of the α phase). The formation energy so found is E F = 0. 5 ± 0.15 eV. The annealing out of the induced resistivity happens in two stages (300-390; 420-560 C). (authors) [fr

Electronic structures of β-SiC containing point defects studied by DX-Xα method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawabe, Takashi; Yano, Toyohiko

2008-01-01

The DV-Xα method was used to calculate the bond order between atoms in cubic silicon carbide (β-SiC) with a point defect. Three types of β-SiC cluster models were used: pure cluster, vacancy cluster and interstitial cluster. The bond order was influenced by the kind to defects. The bonds between C interstitial and neighboring C atoms were composed of anti-bonding type interactions, while the bonds between Si interstitial and neighboring C and Si atoms were composed of bonding type interactions. The overlap population of each molecular orbital was examined to obtain detailed information of the chemical bonding. It appeared more difficult to recombine interstitial atoms in a cluster with a C atom vacancy than in a cluster with a Si atom vacancy, due to the stronger Si-Si bonds surrounding the C atom vacancy. The C interstitial atom had C2s and C2p anti-bonding interactions with high energy levels. The Si interstitial had minimal anti-bonding interactions. (author)

Defects induced by swift heavy ions in the 18R martensite of Cu-Zn-Al alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelaya, Eugenia; Tolley, Alfredo; Condo, Adriana; Lovey, Francisco; Schumacher, G

2003-01-01

The swift heavy ion incidence over the surface of a given material produces a strong energy deposition in a nanometric scale.Swift heavy ions, of the order of one thousand of MeV, deposit their energy as electronic excitations.This highly localized deposition can induce metastable transformations within the material. For example, in martensitic NiTi alloys irradiated with swift heavy ions, it has been observed changes on the martensitic transformation temperature and amorphous areas induced by the irradiation.In this work, the effects produced by swift heavy ions on the martensitic 18R structure of Cu-Zn-Al alloy (Cu - 12.17 Zn - 17.92 Al, in %at) were analyzed.Crystalline samples were irradiated in a direction close to the [2 1 0] of 18R with Xe + 230 MeV, Au + of 350 MeV and Kr + of 200 MeV ion beams.Defects of the order of nanometers induced by the irradiation were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM).It was also observed, that the average size of the irradiation defects induced by Au + ion is larger than those induced by Xe + and Kr + ions.In this case, no relationship between the observed defects and the energy deposition was found in the 23 keV/nn to 48 keV/nn range

Transforming graphene nanoribbons into nanotubes by use of point defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Sgouros, A; Sigalas, M M; Papagelis, K; Kalosakas, G

2014-03-26

Using molecular dynamics simulations with semi-empirical potentials, we demonstrate a method to fabricate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), by periodically inserting appropriate structural defects into the GNR crystal structure. We have found that various defect types initiate the bending of GNRs and eventually lead to the formation of CNTs. All kinds of carbon nanotubes (armchair, zigzag, chiral) can be produced with this method. The structural characteristics of the resulting CNTs, and the dependence on the different type and distribution of the defects, were examined. The smallest (largest) CNT obtained had a diameter of ∼ 5 Å (∼ 39 Å). Proper manipulation of ribbon edges controls the chirality of the CNTs formed. Finally, the effect of randomly distributed defects on the ability of GNRs to transform into CNTs is considered.

Trapping of point defects and segregation at the free surfaces of a metal sheet under irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarce, Alicia

2003-01-01

The migration of irradiation produced vacancies and interstitials to the free surfaces of a sheet of thickness d (pure metal and binary alloys AB of hcp structure) is calculated. For alloys, the irradiation temperature when no segregation exists (critical temperature) is obtained. The anisotropy of the diffusion of point defects in the hcp lattice is explicitly included in the calculations. (author)

Radionuclide release from PWR spent fuel specimens with induced cladding defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, C.N.; Oversby, V.M.

1984-03-01

Radionuclide releases from pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel rod specimens containing various artificially induced cladding defects were compared by leach testing. The study was conducted in support of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Waste Package Task to evaluate the effectiveness of failed cladding as a barrier to radionuclide release. Test description and results are presented. 6 references, 4 figures

Transformation of point defects under annealing of neutron-irradiated Si and Si:Ge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pomozov, Yu.V.; Khirunenko, L.I.; Shakhovtsev, V.I.; Yashnik, V.I.

1990-01-01

Transformation of point radiation defects under isochronous annealing of neurton-irradaited Si and Si:Ge is studied. It is determined, that occurence of several new centers which produce A-centre range absorption bands is observed at annealing within 423-493 K temperature range. It is shown that vacancy and oxygen are included in the centers composition. It is found that VO centre transformation into VO 2 at annealing occurs via intermediate stage in contrast to that occuring in electron-irradiated crystals via VO direct diffusion to interstitial oxygen. Transformation of centers under Si ansd Si:Ge annealing occurs similarly

Combining the 3D model generated from point clouds and thermography to identify the defects presented on the facades of a building

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yishuo; Chiang, Chih-Hung; Hsu, Keng-Tsang

2018-03-01

Defects presented on the facades of a building do have profound impacts on extending the life cycle of the building. How to identify the defects is a crucial issue; destructive and non-destructive methods are usually employed to identify the defects presented on a building. Destructive methods always cause the permanent damages for the examined objects; on the other hand, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been widely applied to detect those defects presented on exterior layers of a building. However, NDT methods cannot provide efficient and reliable information for identifying the defects because of the huge examination areas. Infrared thermography is often applied to quantitative energy performance measurements for building envelopes. Defects on the exterior layer of buildings may be caused by several factors: ventilation losses, conduction losses, thermal bridging, defective services, moisture condensation, moisture ingress, and structure defects. Analyzing the collected thermal images can be quite difficult when the spatial variations of surface temperature are small. In this paper the authors employ image segmentation to cluster those pixels with similar surface temperatures such that the processed thermal images can be composed of limited groups. The surface temperature distribution in each segmented group is homogenous. In doing so, the regional boundaries of the segmented regions can be identified and extracted. A terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) is widely used to collect the point clouds of a building, and those point clouds are applied to reconstruct the 3D model of the building. A mapping model is constructed such that the segmented thermal images can be projected onto the 2D image of the specified 3D building. In this paper, the administrative building in Chaoyang University campus is used as an example. The experimental results not only provide the defect information but also offer their corresponding spatial locations in the 3D model.

Defects induced magnetic transition in Co doped ZnS thin films: Effects of swift heavy ion irradiations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, Shiv P., E-mail: shivpoojanbhola@gmail.com [Physics Department, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India); Pivin, J.C. [CSNSM, IN2P3-CNRS, Batiment 108, F-91405 Orsay Campus (France); Patel, M.K; Won, Jonghan [Materials Science and Technology Division, MST-8, P.O.Box 1663, Mail Stop G755, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Chandra, Ramesh [Nanoscience Laboratory, IIC, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667 (India); Kanjilal, D. [Inter University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067 (India); Kumar, Lokendra [Physics Department, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India)

2012-07-15

The effect of swift heavy ions (SHI) on magnetic ordering in ZnS thin films with Co ions substituted on Zn sites is investigated. The materials have been synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on substrates held at 600 Degree-Sign C for obtaining films with wurtzite crystal structure and it showed ferromagnetic ordering up to room temperature with a paramagnetic component. 120 MeV Ag ions have been used at different fluences of 1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} ions/cm{sup 2} and 1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} ions/cm{sup 2} for SHI induced modifications. The long range correlation between paramagnetic spins on Co ions was destroyed by irradiation and the material became purely paramagnetic. The effect is ascribed to the formation of cylindrical ion tracks due to the thermal spikes resulting from electron-phonon coupling. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Effect of swift heavy ions on magnetic ordering in Co doped ZnS thin films are presented. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetization in the pristine films is composed of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic components. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The films become purely paramagnetic after swift heavy ions irradiation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The magnetic transition is ascribed to the formation of ion track (or cylindrical defects) due to the thermal spikes.

Influence of phosphorus on point defects in an austenitic alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulanger, L.

1988-06-01

The influence of phosphorus on points defects clusters has been studied in an austenitic alloy (Fe/19% at. Cr/13% at. Ni). Clusters are observed by transmission electron microscopy. After quenching and annealing, five types of clusters produced by vacancies or phosphorus-vacancies complexes are observed whose presence depends on cooling-speed. Vacancy concentration (with 3.6 10 -3 at. P) in clusters is about 10 -5 and apparent vacancy migration is 2 ± 0.1 eV. These observations suggest the formation of metastable small clusters during cooling which dissociate during annealing and migrate to create the observed clusters. With phosphorus, the unfrequent formation of vacancy loops has been observed during electron irradiation. Ions irradiations show that phosphorus does not favour nucleation of interstitial loops but slowers their growth. It reduces swelling by decreasing voids diameter. Phosphorus forms vacancy complexes whose role is to increase the recombination rate and to slow vacancy migration [fr

Defect-impurity interactions in ion-implanted metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turos, A.

1986-01-01

An overview of defect-impurity interactions in metals is presented. When point defects become mobile they migrate towards the sinks and on the way can be captured by impurity atoms forming stable associations so-called complexes. In some metallic systems complexes can also be formed athermally during ion implantation by trapping point defects already in the collision cascade. An association of a point defect with an impurity atom leads to its displacement from the lattice site. The structure and stability of complexes are strongly temperature dependent. With increasing temperature they dissociate or grow by multiple defect trapping. The appearance of freely migrating point defects at elevated temperatures, due to ion bombardment or thermal annealing, causes via coupling with defect fluxes, important impurity redistribution. Because of the sensitivity of many metal-in-metal implanted systems to radiation damage the understanding of this processes is essential for a proper interpretation of the lattice occupancy measurements and the optimization of implantation conditions. (author)

Defect-induced Au precipitation in Fe–Au and Fe–Au–B–N alloys studied by in situ small-angle neutron scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, S.; Kohlbrecher, J.; Tichelaar, F.D.; Langelaan, G.; Brück, E.; Zwaag, S. van der; Dijk, N.H. van

2013-01-01

Nanoscale Au precipitation in high-purity Fe–Au and Fe–Au–B–N alloys has been studied by in situ small-angle neutron scattering during isothermal aging at 550 °C and complementary ex situ transmission electron microscopy. The high temperature precipitation behavior in samples having received different degrees of cold deformation has been studied to explore the potential self-healing of deformation-induced defects by Au precipitation. It is found that dislocations induced by prior plastic deformation strongly facilitate the formation of Au precipitates, as no significant precipitation is observed for undeformed samples. Defect-induced Au precipitates are formed both at dislocations and along grain boundaries where the defect density is high. The fact that the Au atoms only precipitate on deformation-induced defects demonstrates that solute gold atoms act as efficient self-healing agents in the ferrous matrix. The addition of B and N is found to retard the Au precipitation

Characterization of point defects in CdTe by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elsharkawy, M. R. M. [Carnegie Laboratory of Physics, SUPA, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (United Kingdom); Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, P.O. Box 61519, Minia (Egypt); Kanda, G. S.; Keeble, D. J., E-mail: d.j.keeble@dundee.ac.uk [Carnegie Laboratory of Physics, SUPA, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (United Kingdom); Abdel-Hady, E. E. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, P.O. Box 61519, Minia (Egypt)

2016-06-13

Positron lifetime measurements on CdTe 0.15% Zn-doped by weight are presented, trapping to monovacancy defects is observed. At low temperatures, localization at shallow binding energy positron traps dominates. To aid defect identification density functional theory, calculated positron lifetimes and momentum distributions are obtained using relaxed geometry configurations of the monovacancy defects and the Te antisite. These calculations provide evidence that combined positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler spectroscopy measurements have the capability to identify neutral or negative charge states of the monovacancies, the Te antisite, A-centers, and divacancy defects in CdTe.

Recombination of charge carriers on radiation-induced defects in silicon doped by transition metals impurities

CERN Document Server

Kazakevich, L A

2003-01-01

It has been studied the peculiarities of recombination of nonequilibrium charge carriers on radiation-induced defects in received according to Czochralski method p-silicon (p approx 3 - 20 Ohm centre dot cm), doped by one of the impurities of transition metals of the IV-th group of periodic table (titanium, zirconium, hafnium). Experimental results are obtained out of the analysis of temperature and injection dependence of the life time of charge carriers. The results are explained taking into consideration the influences of elastic stress fields created by the aggregates of transition metals atoms on space distribution over the crystal of oxygen and carbon background impurities as well as on the migration of movable radiation-induced defects during irradiation. (authors).

Growth of defect-free GaAsSbN axial nanowires via self-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Manish; Deshmukh, Prithviraj; Kasanaboina, Pavan; Reynolds, C. Lewis, Jr.; Liu, Yang; Iyer, Shanthi

2017-12-01

Bandgap reduction of 10% by incorporation of a dilute amount of N is reported for the first time, in axial GaAsSb nanowires (NWs) grown on Si (111) via Ga-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Impact of N incorporation on the surface morphology, NW growth kinetics, and their structural and optical properties were examined. Dilute nitride NWs with Sb composition of 7 at% did not exhibit any noticeable planar defects, as revealed by the absence of satellite twin peaks in the selected-area diffraction pattern and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging. Point defects were also minimal in as-grown dilute nitride NWs, as ascertained from the comparison of low-temperature photoluminescence spectra as well as the shape and shift of Raman modes, with in situ annealed NWs in different ambients. Evidence of enhanced incorporation of N was found in the NWs in situ annealed in N ambient, but with deteriorated optical quality due to simultaneous creation of N-induced defects. The lack of any noticeable defects in the as-grown GaAsSbN NWs demonstrates the advantage of the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism responsible for growth of axial configuration over the vapor-solid growth mechanism for core-shell NWs as well as their thin film counterpart, which commonly exhibit N-induced point defects.

Effects of plasma-induced defects on electrical characteristics of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure before and after low-temperature annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takimoto, Takuma; Takeshita, Koji; Nakamura, Seiji; Okumura, Tsugunori

2014-01-01

We investigated the electrical characteristics of an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure exposed to Ar plasma. In the near-surface region of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, we found that plasma-induced defects reduced the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density and mobility at the AlGaN/GaN interface with increasing exposure time. The decrease in 2DEG density suggests that plasma-induced disordering partly extinguishes the piezo-polarization of the AlGaN layer, that the effective Schottky barrier height is increased by the introduction of negatively changed defects, or that the negatively charged defects induced during plasma exposure deactivate or compensate Si donors. In addition, we investigated the postannealing behavior of plasma-induced defects in the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure as well as in the n-GaN layer under an applied bias voltage. - Highlights: • We have investigated the electrical characteristics of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. • Electrons under the AlGaN/GaN interface are decreased by plasma exposure. • Post-annealing treatment with gate bias recovers the degradation caused by defects

Defect-induced mix experiment for NIF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schmitt M.J.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The Defect Induced Mix Experiment (DIME-II will measure the implosion and mix characteristics of CH capsules filled with 5 atmospheres of DT by incorporating mid-Z dopant layers of Ge and Ga. This polar direct drive (PDD experiment also will demonstrate the filling of a CH capsule at target chamber center using a fill tube. Diagnostics for these experiments include areal x-ray backlighting to obtain early time images of the implosion trajectory and a multiple-monochromatic imager (MMI to collect spectrally-resolved images of the capsule dopant line emission near bangtime. The inclusion of two (or more thin dopant layers at separate depths within the capsule shell facilitates spatial correlation of mix between the layers and the hot gas core on a single shot. The dopant layers are typically 2 μm thick and contain dopant concentrations of 1.5%. Three dimensional Hydra simulations have been performed to assess the effects of PDD asymmetry on capsule performance.

Correlation of point defects in CdZnTe with charge transport:application to room-temperature X-ray and gamma-ray detectors. Final Technical Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giles, Nancy C.

2003-01-01

The primary goal of this project has been to characterize and identify point defects (e.g., impurities, vacancies, vacancy-impurity complexes, etc.) in CdZnTe and determine the mechanisms by which these defects influence the carrier μτproducts. Special attention is given to the role of shallow donors, shallow acceptors, and deeper acceptors. There are two experimental focus areas in the project: (1) liquid-helium photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectroscopy are used to identify and characterize donors and acceptors and to determine zinc molar fraction; and (2) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and photoinduced EPR experiments are performed at liquid-helium temperature to identify paramagnetic point defects and to determine the concentration of these defects. Results from the two experimental focus areas are correlated with detector performance parameters (e.g., electron and hole μτ products), crystal growth conditions, and microstructure analyses

Dynamic Characteristics of Steam Generator Tubes with Defect due to Wear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sangjin; Rhee, Huinam [Sunchon National Univ., Sunchon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Doo Byung [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

These defects may affect the dynamic characteristics of tubes, and therefore, the vibrational behavior of the tube due to flow-induced loads can be varied. Change in the vibrational response of a tube may result in different wear characteristics from the design condition, which must be checked for both safety and economic point of view. This paper deals with the study on the effect of wears or cracks on the dynamic characteristics of steam generator tubes using finite element analysis. In this paper the effect of defects on the surface due to wear on the variation of dynamic characteristics of steam generator tubes was studied using the finite element analysis. The changes of natural frequencies and mode shapes can directly affect the flow-induced vibration response characteristics, therefore, they must be evaluated appropriately. The results in this study can be a good basis to estimate the FIV characteristics of the steam generator tubes having defects such as wear or crack.

Formation of radiation-induced defects and their influence on tritium extraction from lithium silicates in out-of-pile experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abramenkovs, A.A.; Tiliks, J.E.

1991-01-01

Formation and properties of radiation-induced defects and radiolysis products in lithium silicates irradiated in nuclear reactor till absorbed doses 1000 MGy were studied. Radiation-induced defects (RD) and radiolysis products (RP) were qualitatively and quantitatively determinated by methods of chemical scavengers (MHS), electron-spin resonance (ESR) and optical spectroscopy. Colloidal silicon and lithium, lithium and silicon oxides, oxygen, silicon and lithium peroxides are the final products of the lithium silicates radiolysis at absorbed energy doses D abs = 1000 MGy. The concentration of radiation defects and products of radiolysis strongly depend on the temperature of irradiation, humidity, granural size. The thermostimulated extraction of tritiated water (95-98% of the released tritium is in chemical form of water) from lithium silicates ceramics proceeds according to two independent mechanisms: a) chemidesorption of surface localized tritiated water (the first order chemical reaction); b) formation of the tritium water molecules limited by triton diffusion to the near-surface layer of grains. It has been found that the concentration of radiation-induced defects considerably affects the tritium localization and releasing processes from lithium silicates. (orig.)

Positron and positronium studies of irradiation-induced defects and microvoids in vitreous metamict silica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, M.; Saneyasu, M.; Tabata, M.; Tang, Z.; Nagai, Y.; Chiba, T.; Ito, Y.

2000-01-01

To study irradiation-induced defects and structural microvoids in vitreous silica (v-SiO 2 ), positron lifetime, angular correlation of positron annihilation radiation (ACAR), and electron spin resonance (ESR) were measured on v-SiO 2 and quartz (c-SiO 2 ) samples irradiated with fast neutrons up to a dose of 4.1x10 20 n/cm 2 . Two kinds of positron-trapping defects have been found to form in v-SiO 2 by fast neutron irradiation: type-I and type-II defects. Similar defects also appear in the irradiated c-SiO 2 , indicating that both the defects are common in v-SiO 2 and c-SiO 2 . The detailed annealing and photo-illumination studies of positron annihilation and ESR for these two defects suggest that the type-I defects are non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHC), while the type-II defects are oxygen molecules which cannot be detected by ESR. Higher dose irradiation than 1.0x10 20 n/cm 2 causes c-SiO 2 to change to metamict (amorphous) phase (m-SiO 2 ). Positronium (Ps) atoms are found to form in microvoids with an average radius of about 0.3 nm in the v-SiO 2 and m-SiO 2 . This suggests that microvoids proved by Ps are structurally intrinsic open spaces and reflect the topologically disordered structure of these phases in the subnanometer scale

Effect of Fe Doping by Thermal in-Diffusion on the Defect Structure of Lithium Niobate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mignoni, S; Zaltron, A; Ciampolillo, M V; Bazzan, M; Argiolas, N; Sada, C; Fontana, M D, E-mail: zaltronam@padova.infm.it

2010-11-15

In this work we investigate the iron incorporation in thermally diffused Fe doped LN, by combining two experimental techniques, i.e. micro-Raman spectroscopy and proton induced X rays emission. Our results point out that in substituting for Li, Fe ions induces a decrease of Nb{sub Li} antisite defects and rearrangement of the Nb sublattice.

Stereomicroscopic evaluation of dentinal defects induced by new rotary system: “ProTaper NEXT”

Science.gov (United States)

Shori, Deepa Deepak; Shenoi, Pratima Ramakrishna; Baig, Arshia R; Kubde, Rajesh; Makade, Chetana; Pandey, Swapnil

2015-01-01

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate dentinal defects formed by new rotary system — Protaper next™ (PTN). Materials and Methods: Sixty single-rooted premolars were selected. All specimens were decoronated and divided into four groups, each group having 15 specimens. Group I specimens were prepared by Hand K-files (Mani), Group II with ProTaper Universal (PT; Dentsply Maillefer), Group III with Hero Shaper (HS; Micro-Mega, Besancon, France), and Group IV with PTN (Dentsply Maillefer). Roots of each specimen were sectioned at 3, 6, and 9mm from the apex and were then viewed under a stereomicroscope to evaluate presence or absence of dentinal defects. Results: In roots prepared with hand files (HFs) showed lowest percentage of dentinal defects (6.7%); whereas in roots prepared with PT, HS, and PTN it was 40, 66.7, and 26.7%, respectively. There was significant difference between the HS group and the PTN group (P hand instruments induced minimal defects. PMID:26069406

Annealing of radiation-induced defects in vanadium and vanadium-titanium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leguey, T.

1996-01-01

The annealing of defects induced by electron irradiation up to a dose of 6.10 21 m -2 at T<293 K has been investigated in single-crystals of pure vanadium and in vanadium-titanium alloys with compositions 0.3, 1 and 5 at.% Ti using positron annihilation spectroscopy. The recovery of the positron annihilation parameters in V single-crystals indicates that the defect annealing takes place in the temperature range 410-470 K without formation of microvoids for the present irradiation conditions. For the alloys the recovery onset is shifted to 460 K, the width of the annealing stage is gradually broadened with increasing Ti content, and microvoids are formed for annealing temperatures at the end of the recovery stage. The results show that the vacancy release from vacancy-interstitial impurity pairs and subsequent recombination with interstitial loops is the mechanism of the recovery in pure V. For V-Ti alloys, vacancy-Ti-interstitial impurity complexes and vacancy-Ti pairs appear to be the defects responsible for the positron trapping. The broadening of the recovery stage with increasing Ti content indicates that solute Ti is a very effective trap for vacancies in V. (orig.)

Annealing study on radiation-induced defects in 6H-SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinheiro, M.V.B.; Lingner, T.; Caudepon, F.; Greulich-Weber, S.; Spaeth, J.M.

2004-01-01

We present the results of a systematic isochronal annealing investigation of vacancy-related defects in electron-irradiated n-type 6H-SiC:N. A series of 10 samples cut from a commercial wafer and annealed up to 1200 C after electron-irradiation (1.5 x 10 18 cm -3 ) was characterized with photoluminescence (PL), Magnetic circular dichroism of the absorption (MCDA) and conventional electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Apart from less stable triplet-related defects which vanished between 150 C and 300 C, the thermal behavior of three radiation-induced defects was studied: the silicon vacancy (V Si ), the carbon-antisite-carbon-vacancy pair (C Si -V C ) and the D1 center. Their annealing behavior showed that the destruction of the isolated V Si between 750 C and 900 C is followed by the formation of thermally more stable C Si -V C pairs, a result that has been theoretically predicted recently. By further heating the samples the C Si -V C pairs are annealed out between 900 C and 1050 C and were followed by an increase in the D1 center concentration. (orig.)

Influence of ion irradiation induced defects on mechanical properties of copper nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Weina; Sun, Lixin; Xue, Jianming; Wang, Jianxiang; Duan, Huiling

2013-01-01

The mechanical properties of copper nanowires irradiated with energetic ions have been investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The Cu ions with energies ranging from 0.2 to 8.0 keV are used in our simulation, and both the elastic properties and yields under tension and compression are analyzed. The results show that two kinds of defects, namely point defects and stacking faults, appear in the irradiated nanowires depending on the incident ion energy. The Young modulus is significantly reduced by the ion irradiation, and the reduction magnitude depends on the vacancy number, which is determined by the ion energy. Moreover, the irradiated nanowires yield at a smaller strain, compared with the unirradiated nanowire. The mechanism for these changes are also discussed

Defects in semiconductors

CERN Document Server

Romano, Lucia; Jagadish, Chennupati

2015-01-01

This volume, number 91 in the Semiconductor and Semimetals series, focuses on defects in semiconductors. Defects in semiconductors help to explain several phenomena, from diffusion to getter, and to draw theories on materials' behavior in response to electrical or mechanical fields. The volume includes chapters focusing specifically on electron and proton irradiation of silicon, point defects in zinc oxide and gallium nitride, ion implantation defects and shallow junctions in silicon and germanium, and much more. It will help support students and scientists in their experimental and theoret

Intrinsic point defects in zinc oxide. Modeling of structural, electronic, thermodynamic and kinetic properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erhart, P.

2006-07-01

The present dissertation deals with the modeling of zinc oxide on the atomic scale employing both quantum mechanical as well as atomistic methods. The first part describes quantum mechanical calculations based on density functional theory of intrinsic point defects in ZnO. To begin with, the geometric and electronic structure of vacancies and oxygen interstitials is explored. In equilibrium oxygen interstitials are found to adopt dumbbell and split interstitial configurations in positive and negative charge states, respectively. Semi-empirical self-interaction corrections allow to improve the agreement between the experimental and the calculated band structure significantly; errors due to the limited size of the supercells can be corrected by employing finite-size scaling. The effect of both band structure corrections and finite-size scaling on defect formation enthalpies and transition levels is explored. Finally, transition paths and barriers for the migration of zinc as well as oxygen vacancies and interstitials are determined. The results allow to interpret diffusion experiments and provide a consistent basis for developing models for device simulation. In the second part an interatomic potential for zinc oxide is derived. To this end, the Pontifix computer code is developed which allows to fit analytic bond-order potentials. The code is subsequently employed to obtain interatomic potentials for Zn-O, Zn-Zn, and O-O interactions. To demonstrate the applicability of the potentials, simulations on defect production by ion irradiation are carried out. (orig.)

Point defect stability in a semicoherent metallic interface

Science.gov (United States)

González, C.; Iglesias, R.; Demkowicz, M. J.

2015-02-01

We present a comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) -based study of different aspects of one vacancy and He impurity atom behavior at semicoherent interfaces between the low-solubility transition metals Cu and Nb. Such interfaces have not been previously modeled using DFT. A thorough analysis of the stability and mobility of the two types of defects at the interfaces and neighboring internal layers has been performed and the results have been compared to the equivalent cases in the pure metallic matrices. The different behavior of fcc and bcc metals on both sides of the interface has been specifically assessed. The modeling effort undertaken is the first attempt to study the stability and defect energetics of noncoherent Cu/Nb interfaces from first principles, in order to assess their potential use in radiation-resistant materials.

Evaluation of induced color changes in chicken breast meat during simulation of pink color defect.

Science.gov (United States)

Holownia, K; Chinnan, M S; Reynolds, A E; Koehler, P E

2003-06-01

The objective of the study was to establish a pink threshold and simulate the pink defect in cooked chicken breast meat with treatment combinations that would induce significant changes in the color of raw and cooked meat. The subjective pink threshold used in judging pink discoloration was established at a* = 3.8. Samples of three color groups (normal, lighter than normal, and darker than normal) of boneless, skinless chicken breast muscles were selected based on instrumental color values. The in situ changes were induced using sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite at two levels: present and not present. Fillets in all treatments were subjected to individual injections, followed by tumbling, cooking, and chilling. Samples were analyzed for color [lightness (L*), red/green axis (a*), yellow/blue axis (b*)] and reflectance spectra. Simulation of the pink defect was achieved in eight of the 16 treatment combinations when sodium nitrite was present and in an additional two treatment combinations when it was absent. Pinking in cooked samples was affected (P meat color. Results confirmed that it was possible to simulate the undesired pinking in cooked chicken white meat when in situ conditions were induced by sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, and sodium nitrite. The continuation of the simulation study can aid in developing alternative processing methods to eliminate potential pink defects.

Properties of point defects either native or induced by irradiation in the 3C and 6H polytypes of silicon carbide determined by positron annihilation and EPR; Proprietes des defauts ponctuels natifs et induits par irradiation dans les polytypes 3C et 6H du carbure de silicium determinees par annihilation de positons et RPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kerbiriou, X

2006-02-15

Potential applications of silicon carbide (SiC) in micro-electronics have justified many studies on point defects, which play an important role in the electrical compensation. Moreover, this material has many assets to take part in the fissile materials confining in the gas cooled reactors of the future (4. generation). In this thesis, we have used Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance and Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy to study the properties of point defects (nature, size, charge state, migration and agglomeration during annealing), either native or induced by irradiation with various particles (H{sup +}, e{sup -}, carbon ions), in the 3C and 6H polytypes of SiC. The positron annihilation study of native defects in 6H-SiC has shown the presence of a strong concentration of non-vacancy traps of acceptor type, which are not present in the 3C-SiC crystals. The nature of the defects detected after irradiation with low energy electrons (190 keV) depends on the polytype. Indeed, while silicon Frenkel pairs and carbon mono-vacancies are detected in the 6H crystals, only carbon mono-vacancies are detected in the 3C crystals. We propose that these differences concerning the populations of detected point defects result from different values of the silicon displacement threshold energy for the two polytypes (approximately 20 eV for 6H and 25 V for 3C). In addition, the irradiations with 12 MeV protons and 132 MeV carbon ions have created silicon mono-vacancies as well as VSi-VC di-vacancies. Neither the particle (protons or ions carbon), nor the polytype (3C or 6H) influence the nature of the generated defects. Finally the study of the annealing of 6H-SiC monocrystals irradiated with 12 MeV protons have revealed several successive processes. The most original result is the agglomeration of the silicon mono-vacancies with the VSi-VC di-vacancies which leads to the formation of VSi-VC-VSi tri-vacancies. (author)

Coordination defects in vitreous As2S3 induced by γ-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, O.; Balitska, V.

1997-01-01

Destruction-polymerization transformations in vitreous As 2 S 3 , associated with coordination defects formation process induced by γ-irradiation, were studied by the IR Fourier Spectroscopy method in the region of 400-100 cm -1 . All topological variants of these processes, statistically possible in the investigated samples, were taken into account for physical consideration of the real structural changes. (author)

Investigation of Near-Surface Defects Induced by Spike Rapid Thermal Annealing in c-SILICON Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Guodong; Ren, Pan; Zhang, Dayong; Wang, Weiping; Li, Jianfeng

2016-01-01

The defects induced by a spike rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells were investigated by the photoluminescence (PL) technique and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Dislocation defects were found to form in the near-surface junction region of the monocrystalline Si solar cell after a spike RTA process was performed at 1100∘C. Photo J-V characteristics were measured on the Si solar cell before and after the spike RTA treatments to reveal the effects of defects on the Si cell performances. In addition, the Silvaco device simulation program was used to study the effects of defects density on the cell performances by fitting the experimental data of RTA-treated cells. The results demonstrate that there was an obvious degradation in the Si solar cell performances when the defect density after the spike RTA treatment was above 1×1013cm-3.

Acousto-defect interaction in irradiated and non-irradiated silicon n+-p structures

Science.gov (United States)

Olikh, O. Ya.; Gorb, A. M.; Chupryna, R. G.; Pristay-Fenenkov, O. V.

2018-04-01

The influence of ultrasound on current-voltage characteristics of non-irradiated silicon n+-p structures as well as silicon structures exposed to reactor neutrons or 60Co gamma radiation has been investigated experimentally. It has been found that the ultrasound loading of the n+-p structure leads to the reversible change of shunt resistance, carrier lifetime, and ideality factor. Specifically, considerable acoustically induced alteration of the ideality factor and the space charge region lifetime was observed in the irradiated samples. The experimental results were described by using the models of coupled defect level recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and dislocation-induced impedance. The experimentally observed phenomena are associated with the increase in the distance between coupled defects as well as the extension of the carrier capture coefficient of complex point defects and dislocations. It has been shown that divacancies and vacancy-interstitial oxygen pairs are effectively modified by ultrasound in contrast to interstitial carbon-interstitial oxygen complexes.

Induced membrane technique combined with two-stage internal fixation for the treatment of tibial osteomyelitis defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Fei; Wang, Xiaohua; Wang, Shulin; Fu, Jingshu; Xie, Zhao

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of induced membrane technique combined with two-stage internal fixation in the treatment of tibial osteomyelitis defects. A retrospective analyses for 67 cases of tibialosteomyelitis defects were admitted to our department between September 2012 to February 2015, which were treated with induced membrane technique. At the first stage, implanted with a PMMA cement spacer in the defects after radical debridement and fixed with reconstructive locked plate. Bone grafting and exchanged the plate with intramedullary nail at the second stage. In current study, all patients were followed up for 18-35 months. Sixty-six patients achieved bone union with the average radiographic and clinical healing times of 5.55±2.19 and 7.45±1.69months, respectively. Seven patients required a second debridement before grafting, while four patients experienced a recurrence of infection or a relapse following second stage treatment. Twelve patients experienced either knee or ankle dysfunctions and 2 patients faced delayed wound healing. Donor site complications includes pain and infection were found in 7 and 3 patients, respectively with delayed stress fracture in 1 patient only. Induced membrane technique for the treatment of tibial osteomyelitis defects, seems a reliable method. The use of reconstructive locked plate as a temporary internal fixation at the first stage and exchanged with intramedullary nail at the second stage, potentially achieves good clinical efficacy. Care should be taken to restore the joint function especially in distal tibia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First-Principles Investigations of Defects in Minerals

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Ashok K.

2011-07-01

The ideal crystal has an infinite 3-dimensional repetition of identical units which may be atoms or molecules. But real crystals are limited in size and they have disorder in stacking which as called defects. Basically three types of defects exist in solids: 1) point defects, 2) line defects, and 3) surface defects. Common point defects are vacant lattice sites, interstitial atoms and impurities and these are known to influence strongly many solid-state transport properties such as diffusion, electrical conduction, creep, etc. In thermal equilibrium point defects concentrations are determined by their formation enthalpies and their movement by their migration barriers. Line and surface defects are though absent from the ideal crystal in thermal equilibrium due to higher energy costs but they are invariably present in all real crystals. Line defects include edge-, screw- and mixed-dislocations and their presence is essential in explaining the mechanical strength and deformation of real crystals. Surface defects may arise at the boundary between two grains, or small crystals, within a larger crystal. A wide variety of grain boundaries can form in a polycrystal depending on factors such growth conditions and thermal treatment. In this talk we will present our first-principles density functional theory based defect studies of SiO2 polymorphs (stishovite, CaCl2-, α-PbO2-, and pyrite-type), Mg2SiO4 polymorphs (forsterite, wadsleyite and ringwoodite) and MgO [1-3]. Briefly, several native point defects including vacancies, interstitials, and their complexes were studied in silica polymorphs upto 200 GPa. Their values increase by a factor of 2 over the entire pressure range studied with large differences in some cases between different phases. The Schottky defects are energetically most favorable at zero pressure whereas O-Frenkel pairs become systematically more favorable at pressures higher than 20 GPa. The geometric and electronic structures of defects and migrating

Characterization of Transformation-Induced Defects in Nickel Titanium Shape Memory Alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Bowers, Matthew L.

Shape memory alloys have remarkable strain recovery properties that make them ideal candidates for many applications that include devices in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and MEMS industries. Although these materials are widely used today, their performance is hindered by poor dimensional stability resulting from cyclic degradation of the martensitic transformation behavior. This functional fatigue results in decreased work output and cyclic accumulation of permanent strain. To date, few studies have taken a fundamental approach to investigating the interaction between plasticity and martensite growth and propagation, which is vitally important to mitigating functional fatigue in future alloy development. The current work focuses on understanding the interplay of these deformation mechanisms in NiTi-based shape memory alloys under a variety of different thermomechanical test conditions. Micron-scale compression testing of NiTi shape memory alloy single crystals is undertaken in an effort to probe the mechanism of austenite dislocation generation. Mechanical testing is paired with post mortem defect analysis via diffraction contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Accompanied by micromechanics-based modeling of local stresses surrounding a martensite plate, these results demonstrate that the previously existing martensite and resulting austenite dislocation substructure are intimately related. A mechanism of transformation-induced dislocation generation is described in detail. A study of pure and load-biased thermal cycling of bulk polycrystalline NiTi is done for comparison of the transformation behavior and resultant defects to the stress-induced case. Post mortem and in situ STEM characterization demonstrate unique defect configurations in this test mode and STEM-based orientation mapping reveals local crystal rotation with increasing thermal cycles. Changes in both martensite and austenite microstructures are explored. The results for

Bidirectional Regulation of Amyloid Precursor Protein-Induced Memory Defects by Nebula/DSCR1: A Protein Upregulated in Alzheimer's Disease and Down Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Jillian L; Zhang, Shixing; Chang, Karen T

2015-08-12

Aging individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impaired memory. Memory problems in both DS and AD individuals usually develop slowly and progressively get worse with age, but the cause of this age-dependent memory impairment is not well understood. This study examines the functional interactions between Down syndrome critical region 1 (DSCR1) and amyloid-precursor protein (APP), proteins upregulated in both DS and AD, in regulating memory. Using Drosophila as a model, we find that overexpression of nebula (fly homolog of DSCR1) initially protects against APP-induced memory defects by correcting calcineurin and cAMP signaling pathways but accelerates the rate of memory loss and exacerbates mitochondrial dysfunction in older animals. We report that transient upregulation of Nebula/DSCR1 or acute pharmacological inhibition of calcineurin in aged flies protected against APP-induced memory loss. Our data suggest that calcineurin dyshomeostasis underlies age-dependent memory impairments and further imply that chronic Nebula/DSCR1 upregulation may contribute to age-dependent memory impairments in AD in DS. Most Down syndrome (DS) individuals eventually develop Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like dementia, but mechanisms underlying this age-dependent memory impairment remain poorly understood. This study examines Nebula/Down syndrome critical region 1 (DSCR1) and amyloid-precursor protein (APP), proteins upregulated in both DS and AD, in regulating memory. We uncover a previously unidentified role for Nebula/DSCR1 in modulating APP-induced memory defects during aging. We show that upregulation of Nebula/DSCR1, an inhibitor of calcineurin, rescues APP-induced memory defects in young flies but enhances memory loss of older flies. Excitingly, transient Nebula/DSCR1 overexpression or calcineurin inhibition in aged flies ameliorates APP-mediated memory problems. These results

Congenital Heart Defects and CCHD

Science.gov (United States)

... and more. Stony Point, NY 10980 Close X Home > Complications & Loss > Birth defects & other health conditions > Congenital heart defects and ... in congenital heart defects. You have a family history of congenital heart ... syndrome or VCF. After birth Your baby may be tested for CCHD as ...

Point defect characterization in HAADF-STEM images using multivariate statistical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarahan, Michael C.; Chi, Miaofang; Masiel, Daniel J.; Browning, Nigel D.

2011-01-01

Quantitative analysis of point defects is demonstrated through the use of multivariate statistical analysis. This analysis consists of principal component analysis for dimensional estimation and reduction, followed by independent component analysis to obtain physically meaningful, statistically independent factor images. Results from these analyses are presented in the form of factor images and scores. Factor images show characteristic intensity variations corresponding to physical structure changes, while scores relate how much those variations are present in the original data. The application of this technique is demonstrated on a set of experimental images of dislocation cores along a low-angle tilt grain boundary in strontium titanate. A relationship between chemical composition and lattice strain is highlighted in the analysis results, with picometer-scale shifts in several columns measurable from compositional changes in a separate column. -- Research Highlights: → Multivariate analysis of HAADF-STEM images. → Distinct structural variations among SrTiO 3 dislocation cores. → Picometer atomic column shifts correlated with atomic column population changes.

Partitioning of water between point defects, dislocations, and grain boundaries in olivine

Science.gov (United States)

Tielke, J. A.; Mecklenburgh, J.; Mariani, E.; Wheeler, J.

2017-12-01

Estimates of the storage capacity of water in the interior of the Earth and other terrestrial planets vary significantly. One interpretation is that water in planetary interiors exists primarily as hydrogen ions, dissociated from liquid water, that are associated with point defects in the crystal structure of nominally anhydrous minerals. However, dislocations and grain boundaries may contribute significantly to the storage capacity of water in planetary interiors, but hydrogen concentrations in dislocations and grain boundaries are difficult to quantify. To measure the water storage capacity of dislocations and grain boundaries, we are analyzing results from high-temperature and high-pressure experiments where deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen, was incorporated into olivine, the dominate phase in the upper mantle. Compared to hydrogen, deuterium concentrations can be determined at much higher spatial resolution using secondary-ion mass spectroscopy. The concentration of deuterium in the samples will also be quantified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for comparison to results for hydrogen-bearing olivine. The spatial distribution of regions with different densities of geometrically-necessary dislocations and the locations of grain boundaries will be determined using electron-backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses. Correlation of the concentration of deuterium with dislocation densities and grain boundaries will be used to examine the partitioning of water-derived species between the different types of defects. Ultimately, these data will be used to place more realistic bounds on the storage capacity of water in the interior of Earth and of other terrestrial planets.

Radiation induced deep level defects in bipolar junction transistors under various bias conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Chaoming; Yang, Jianqun; Li, Xingji; Ma, Guoliang; Xiao, Liyi; Bollmann, Joachim

2015-01-01

Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is sensitive to ionization and displacement radiation effects in space. In this paper, 35 MeV Si ions were used as irradiation source to research the radiation damage on NPN and PNP bipolar transistors. The changing of electrical parameters of transistors was in situ measured with increasing irradiation fluence of 35 MeV Si ions. Using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), defects in the bipolar junction transistors under various bias conditions are measured after irradiation. Based on the in situ electrical measurement and DLTS spectra, it is clearly that the bias conditions can affect the concentration of deep level defects, and the radiation damage induced by heavy ions.

Exercise-induced thallium-201 myocardial perfusion defects in angina pectoris without significant coronary artery stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakazato, Masayasu; Maruoka, Yuji; Sunagawa, Osahiko; Kinjo, Kunihiko; Tomori, Masayuki; Fukiyama, Koshiro

1990-01-01

We performed exercise thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy in 32 patients with angina pectoris to study the incidence of perfusion defects, who had no significant organic stenosis on coronary angiography. None of them had myocardial infarction or cardiomyopathy. Thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy and 12-lead ECG recording were performed during supine bicycle ergometer exercise. Perfusion defects in thallium-201 scintigrams in SPECT images were assessed during visual analysis by two observers. In the coronary angiograms obtained during intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin, the luminal diameter of 75% stenosis or less in the AHA classification was regarded as an insignificant organic stenosis. Myocardial perfusion defects in the thallium-201 scintigrams were detected in eight (25%) of the 32 patients. Six of these eight patients had variant angina documented during spontaneous attacks with ST elevations in standard 12-lead ECGs. Perfusion defects were demonstrated at the inferior or infero-posterior regions in six patients, one of whom had concomitant anteroseptal defect. The defects were not always accompanied by chest pain. All but one patient demonstrating inferior or inferoposterior defects showed ST depression in leads II, III and aV F on their ECGs, corresponding to inferior wall ischemia. The exception was a case with right bundle branch block. Thus, 25% of the patients with angina pectoris, who had no evidence of significant organic stenosis on their coronary angiograms, exhibited exercise-induced perfusion defects in their thallium-201 scintigrams. Coronary spasms might have caused myocardial ischemia in these patients. (author)

First-principles study of structural, electronic, and optical properties of surface defects in GaAs(001) - β2(2x4)

Science.gov (United States)

Bacuyag, Dhonny; Escaño, Mary Clare Sison; David, Melanie; Tani, Masahiko

2018-06-01

We performed first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the role of point defects in the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the GaAs(001)- β2(2x4). In terms of structural properties, AsGa is the most stable defect structure, consistent with experiments. With respect to the electronic structure, band structures revealed the existence of sub-band and midgap states for all defects. The induced sub-bands and midgap states originated from the redistributions of charges towards these defects and neighboring atoms. The presence of these point defects introduced deep energy levels characteristic of EB3 (0.97 eV), EL4 (0.52 eV), and EL2 (0.82 eV) for AsGa, GaAs, GaV, respectively. The optical properties are found to be strongly related to these induced gap states. The calculated onset values in the absorption spectra, corresponding to the energy gaps, confirmed the absorption below the known bulk band gap of 1.43 eV. These support the possible two-step photoabsorption mediated by midgap states as observed in experiments.

Low-dose ionizing radiation alleviates Aβ42-induced defective phenotypes in Drosophila Alzheimer's disease models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, SooJin; Jeong, Hae Min; Nam, Seon Young

2017-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by amyloid plaques, progressive neuronal loss, and gradual deterioration of memory. Amyloid imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers have been developed and approved for clinical use in the evaluation of suspected neurodegenerative disease, including AD. Particularly, previous studies involving low-dose ionizing radiation on Aβ 42-treated mouse hippocampal neurons have suggested a potential role for low-dose ionizing radiation in the treatment of AD. However, associated in vivo studies involving the therapy effects of low-dose ionizing radiation on AD are still insufficient. As a powerful cell biological system, Drosophila AD models have been generated and established a useful model organism for study on the etiology of human AD. In this study, we investigated the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation on Drosophila AD models. Our results suggest that low-dose ionizing radiation have the beneficial effects on not only the Aβ42-induced developmental defective phenotypes but also motor defects in Drosophila AD models. These results might be due to a regulation of apoptosis, and provide insight into the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation. Our results suggest that low-dose ionizing radiation have the beneficial effects on not only the Aβ42-induced developmental defective phenotypes but also motor defects in Drosophila AD models. These results might be due to a regulation of apoptosis, and provide insight into the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation.

Dependence of hydrogen-induced lattice defects and hydrogen embrittlement of cold-drawn pearlitic steels on hydrogen trap state, temperature, strain rate and hydrogen content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doshida, Tomoki; Takai, Kenichi

2014-01-01

The effects of the hydrogen state, temperature, strain rate and hydrogen content on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility and hydrogen-induced lattice defects were evaluated for cold-drawn pearlitic steel that absorbed hydrogen in two trapping states. Firstly, tensile tests were carried out under various conditions to evaluate hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. The results showed that peak 2 hydrogen, desorbed at temperatures above 200 °C as determined by thermal desorption analysis (TDA), had no significant effect on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. In contrast, hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility increased in the presence of peak 1 hydrogen, desorbed from room temperature to 200 °C as determined by TDA, at temperatures higher than −30 °C, at lower strain rates and with higher hydrogen content. Next, the same effects on hydrogen-induced lattice defects were also evaluated by TDA using hydrogen as a probe. Peak 2 hydrogen showed no significant effect on either hydrogen-induced lattice defects or hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. It was found that hydrogen-induced lattice defects formed under the conditions where hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility increased. This relationship indicates that hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility was higher under the conditions where the formation of hydrogen-induced lattice defects tended to be enhanced. Since hydrogen-induced lattice defects formed by the interaction between hydrogen and strain were annihilated by annealing at a temperature of 200 °C, they were presumably vacancies or vacancy clusters. One of the common atomic-level changes that occur in cold-drawn pearlitic steel showing higher hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility is the formation of vacancies and vacancy clusters

Radiation-induced defects in chalcogenide glasses characterized by combined optical spectroscopy, XPS and PALS methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, O.; Kovalskiy, A.; Jain, H.; Golovchak, R.; Zurawska, A.

2007-01-01

Temperature-dependent optical absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and positron annihilation lifetimes spectroscopy are utilized to understand radiation-induced changes in Ge-Sb-S chalcogenide glasses. Theoretically predicted topological scheme of γ-induced coordination defect formation in stoichiometric Ge 23.5 Sb 11.8 S 64.7 glass composition is supported by these measurements. (copyright 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Type 2 diabetes mellitus induces congenital heart defects in murine embryos by increasing oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yanqing; Reece, E Albert; Zhong, Jianxiang; Dong, Daoyin; Shen, Wei-Bin; Harman, Christopher R; Yang, Peixin

2016-09-01

Maternal type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus are strongly associated with high rates of severe structural birth defects, including congenital heart defects. Studies in type 1 diabetic embryopathy animal models have demonstrated that cellular stress-induced apoptosis mediates the teratogenicity of maternal diabetes leading to congenital heart defect formation. However, the mechanisms underlying maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus-induced congenital heart defects remain largely unknown. We aim to determine whether oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and excessive apoptosis are the intracellular molecular mechanisms underlying maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus-induced congenital heart defects. A mouse model of maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus was established by feeding female mice a high-fat diet (60% fat). After 15 weeks on the high-fat diet, the mice showed characteristics of maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus. Control dams were either fed a normal diet (10% fat) or the high-fat diet during pregnancy only. Female mice from the high-fat diet group and the 2 control groups were mated with male mice that were fed a normal diet. At E12.5, embryonic hearts were harvested to determine the levels of lipid peroxides and superoxide, endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, cleaved caspase 3 and 8, and apoptosis. E17.5 embryonic hearts were harvested for the detection of congenital heart defect formation using India ink vessel patterning and histological examination. Maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus significantly induced ventricular septal defects and persistent truncus arteriosus in the developing heart, along with increasing oxidative stress markers, including superoxide and lipid peroxidation; endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, including protein levels of phosphorylated-protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase, phosphorylated-IRE1α, phosphorylated-eIF2α, C/EBP homologous protein, and binding immunoglobulin protein; endoplasmic reticulum chaperone gene

MeV ion induced damage production and accumulation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Motoyuki; Okazaki, Makoto; Shin, Kazuo; Takagi, Ikuji; Yoshida, Koji

1993-01-01

Measurement and analysis were made for radiation damages in silicon induced by MeV ions. A single crystal silicon was bombarded by 800 keV O + and 700 keV Si + with the dose from 2x10 15 up to 8x10 15 cm -2 . And defects induced by the ion bombardments were observed by the channeling method. Some new modifications were made to the analysis of the channeling RBS spectrum so that the accuracy of the unfolded defect distribution may be improved. A new model of point-defect clustering and amorphous formation was proposed, which well reproduced the observed defect distribution in silicon. (author)

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

Temporal patterning of the potential induced by localized corrosion of iron passivity in acid media. Growth and breakdown of the oxide film described in terms of a point defect model.

Science.gov (United States)

Sazou, Dimitra; Pavlidou, Maria; Pagitsas, Michael

2009-10-21

This work analyses the nature of temporal patterning of the anodic potential induced by chlorides during polarization of iron under current-controlled conditions in acid solutions. It is shown that potential oscillations emerged as a result of the local chloride attack of a thin oxide layer, which covers the iron surface in its passive state. The mechanism by which both the local oxide breakdown and the subsequent localized active dissolution (pitting) occur is explained by considering a point defect model (PDM) developed to describe the oxide growth and breakdown. According to the PDM, chlorides occupy oxygen vacancies resulting in the inhibition of oxide growth and autocatalytic generation of cation vacancies that destabilize the oxide layer. Simultaneous transformation of the outer surface of the inner oxide layer to non-adherent ferrous chloride or oxo-chloride species leads to a further thinning of the oxide layer and its lifting-on from the iron surface. The process repeats again yielding sustained oscillations of the anodic potential. Analysis of the oscillatory response obtained under current-controlled conditions as a function of either the current or the time allows the suggestion of a set of alternate diagnostic criteria, which might be used to characterize localized corrosion of iron in acid solutions.

Point-defect interactions in electron-irradiated titanomagnetites—as analysed by magnetic after-effect spectroscopy on annealing within 80 K

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Walz, F.; Brabers, V.A.M.; Kronmüller, H.

2010-01-01

During high-temperature growing of titanomagnetite single crystals (Fe2.8-¿Ti0.2O4, ¿ <0.005) in oxygen enriched atmospheres, specific Ti4+- and vacancy-based defect configurations are induced, giving rise to magnetic after-effect (MAE) spectra with peaks near 450, 200 and 65 K. The atomistic

Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells cultured on biomatrix support induces repairing of digestive tract defects, in animal model.

Science.gov (United States)

Sîrbu-Boeţi, Mirela-Patricia; Chivu, Mihaela; Pâslaru, Liliana Livia; Efrimescu, C; Herlea, V; Pecheanu, C; Moldovan, Lucia; Dragomir, Laura; Bleotu, Coralia; Ciucur, Elena; Vidulescu, Cristina; Vasilescu, Mihaela; Boicea, Anişoara; Mănoiu, S; Ionescu, M I; Popescu, I

2009-01-01

Transplanted mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) appear to play a significant role in adult tissue repair. The aim of this research was to obtain MSCs enriched, three dimensional (3D) patches for transplant, and to test their ability to induce repair of iatrogenic digestive tract defects in rats. MSCs were obtained from human and rat bone marrow, cultured in vitro, and seeded in a collagen-agarose scaffold, where they showed enhanced viability and proliferation. The phenotype of the cultured cells was representative for MSCs (CD105+, CD90+, and CD34-, CD45-, CD3-, CD14-). The 3D patch was obtained by laying the MSCs enriched collagen-agarose scaffold on a human or swine aortic fragment. After excision of small portions of the rat digestive tract, the 3D patches were sutured at the edge of the defect using micro-surgical techniques. The rats were sacrificed at time-points and the regeneration of the digestive wall was investigated by immunofluorescence, light and electron microscopy. The MSCs enriched 3D patches were biocompatible, biodegradable, and prompted the regeneration of the four layers of the stomach and intestine wall in rats. Human cells were identified in the rat regenerated digestive wall as a hallmark of the transplanted MSCs. For the first time we constructed 3D patches made of cultured bone marrow MSCs, embedded into a collagen-rich biomatrix, on vascular bio-material support, and transplanted them in order to repair iatrogenic digestive tract defects. The result was a complete repair with preservation of the four layered structure of the digestive wall.

Comparison of naturally occurring and ligature-induced peri-implantitis bone defects in humans and dogs.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schwarz, F.; Herten, M. van; Sager, M.; Bieling, K.; Sculean, A.; Becker, J.

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare naturally occuring and ligature-induced peri-implantitis bone defects in humans and dogs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-four partially and fully edentulous patients undergoing peri-implant bone augmentation procedures due to

Channeling study of laser-induced defect generation in InP and InAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burdel', K.K.; Kashkarov, P.K.; Timoshenko, V.Yu.; Chechenin, N.G.

1992-01-01

Damage production in InP and InAs single crystals induced by a ruby-laser pulse irradiation with τ p =20 ms in the energy density region W=0.05-1.0 J/cm 2 is studied by the channeling and Rutherford backscattering techniques. The defect generation threshold was determined to be equal to 0.2 J/cm 2 and 0.55 J/cm 2 for InP and InAs crystals, respectively. Stoichiometric defects in InP crystals were observed at W>=0.5 J/cm 2 . The temperature fields in InP and InAs under laser irradiation were calculated. The experimental observations are considered as a result of a selective evaporation of the components from the melt

Irradiation induced precipitation: a thermodynamical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bocquet, J.-L.; Martin, Georges.

1979-02-01

A binary alloy (A, B) under steady state irradiation is considered as a ternary alloy (A, B, defects) in constrained equilibrium (the constraint represented by the irradiation consists in maintaining a given supersaturation of point defects). All possible two-body interactions (attractive, repulsive) have been checked between the solvent A, the solute B, and the defects C. The conditions of an irradiation corresponds to a low point-defect concentration; the only cases of interest are those where such a low concentration makes new phases precipitate, which are richer in solute than the initial solid-solution. Radiation induced precipitation is expected to occur under the following necessary conditions: - when the binary alloy (A, B) shows ordering or is ideal, a necessary condition is that the binary solute-defects must show ordering. - when the binary alloy (A, B) shows clustering, a necessary condition is that the temperature must be close to the critical mixing temperature Tsub(AB)sup(D). The physical significance of these conditions is discussed [fr

Radiation-induced defects in chalcogenide glasses characterized by combined optical spectroscopy, XPS and PALS methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shpotyuk, O. [Institute of Physics of Jan Dlugosz University, 13/15 al. Armii Krajowej, Czestochowa 42201 (Poland); Lehigh University, 5 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3195 (United States); Lviv Institute of Materials of SRC ' ' Carat' ' , 202, Stryjska str., 79031 Lviv (Ukraine); Kovalskiy, A.; Jain, H. [Lehigh University, 5 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3195 (United States); Golovchak, R. [Lehigh University, 5 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3195 (United States); Lviv Institute of Materials of SRC ' ' Carat' ' , 202, Stryjska str., 79031 Lviv (Ukraine); Zurawska, A. [Opole University of Technology, 75, Ozimska str., Opole 45370 (Poland)

2007-03-15

Temperature-dependent optical absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and positron annihilation lifetimes spectroscopy are utilized to understand radiation-induced changes in Ge-Sb-S chalcogenide glasses. Theoretically predicted topological scheme of {gamma}-induced coordination defect formation in stoichiometric Ge{sub 23.5}Sb{sub 11.8}S{sub 64.7} glass composition is supported by these measurements. (copyright 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Compact Models for Defect Diffusivity in Semiconductor Alloys.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wright, Alan F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nanostructure Physics Department; Modine, Normand A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nanostructure Physics Department; Lee, Stephen R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Advanced Materials Sciences Department; Foiles, Stephen M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Computational Materials and Data Science Department

2017-09-01

Predicting transient effects caused by short - pulse neutron irradiation of electronic devices is an important part of Sandia's mission. For example , predicting the diffusion of radiation - induced point defects is needed with in Sandia's Qualification Alternative to the Sandia Pulsed Reactor (QASPR) pro gram since defect diffusion mediates transient gain recovery in QASPR electronic devices. Recently, the semiconductors used to fabricate radiation - hard electronic devices have begun to shift from silicon to III - V compounds such as GaAs, InAs , GaP and InP . An advantage of this shift is that it allows engineers to optimize the radiation hardness of electronic devices by using alloy s such as InGaAs and InGaP . However, the computer codes currently being used to simulate transient radiation effects in QASP R devices will need to be modified since they presume that defect properties (charge states, energy levels, and diffusivities) in these alloys do not change with time. This is not realistic since the energy and properties of a defect depend on the types of atoms near it and , therefore, on its location in the alloy. In particular, radiation - induced defects are created at nearly random locations in an alloy and the distribution of their local environments - and thus their energies and properties - evolves with time as the defects diffuse through the alloy . To incorporate these consequential effects into computer codes used to simulate transient radiation effects, we have developed procedures to accurately compute the time dependence of defect energies and properties and then formulate them within compact models that can be employed in these computer codes. In this document, we demonstrate these procedures for the case of the highly mobile P interstitial (I P ) in an InGaP alloy. Further dissemination only as authorized to U.S. Government agencies and their contractors; other requests shall be approved by the originating facility or higher DOE

Influence of point defects on the near edge structure of hexagonal boron nitride

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Nicholas L.; Partridge, Jim G.; Nicholls, Rebecca J.; Russo, Salvy P.; McCulloch, Dougal G.

2017-10-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide-band-gap semiconductor with applications including gate insulation layers in graphene transistors, far-ultraviolet light emitting devices and as hydrogen storage media. Due to its complex microstructure, defects in hBN are challenging to identify. Here, we combine x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy with ab initio theoretical modeling to identify energetically favorable defects. Following annealing of hBN samples in vacuum and oxygen, the B and N K edges exhibited angular-dependent peak modifications consistent with in-plane defects. Theoretical calculations showed that the energetically favorable defects all produce signature features in XANES. Comparing these calculations with experiments, the principle defects were attributed to substitutional oxygen at the nitrogen site, substitutional carbon at the boron site, and hydrogen passivated boron vacancies. Hydrogen passivation of defects was found to significantly affect the formation energies, electronic states, and XANES. In the B K edge, multiple peaks above the major 1 s to π* peak occur as a result of these defects and the hydrogen passivated boron vacancy produces the frequently observed doublet in the 1 s to σ* transition. While the N K edge is less sensitive to defects, features attributable to substitutional C at the B site were observed. This defect was also calculated to have mid-gap states in its band structure that may be responsible for the 4.1-eV ultraviolet emission frequently observed from this material.

Mechanical analysis of a heat-shock induced developmental defect

Science.gov (United States)

Crews, Sarah M.; McCleery, W. Tyler; Hutson, M. Shane

2014-03-01

Embryonic development in Drosophila is a complex process involving coordinated movements of mechanically interacting tissues. Perturbing this system with a transient heat shock can result in a number of developmental defects. In particular, a heat shock applied during the earliest morphogenetic movements of gastrulation can lead to apparent recovery, but then subsequent morphogenetic failure 5-6 hours later during germ band retraction. The process of germ band retraction requires an intact amnioserosa - a single layered extra-embryonic epithelial tissue - and heat shock at gastrulation can induce the later opening of holes in the amnioserosa. These holes are highly correlated with failures of germ band retraction. These holes could be caused by a combination of mechanical weakness in the amnioserosa or local increases in mechanical stress. Here, we assess the role of mechanical stress using confocal imaging to compare cell and tissue morphology in the amnioserosa of normal and heat-shocked embryos and laser hole drilling to map the stress field around the times and locations at which heat-shock induced holes open.

On the application of the weak-beam technique to the determination of the sizes of small point-defect clusters in ion-irradiated copper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, M. L.

1998-01-01

We have made an analysis of the conditions necessary for the successful use of the weak-beam technique for identifying and characterizing small point-defect clusters in ion-irradiated copper. The visibility of small defects was found to depend only weakly on the magnitude of the beam-convergence. In general, the image sizes of small clusters were found to be most sensitive to the magnitude of Sa with the image sizes of some individual defects changing by large amounts with changes as small as 0.025 nm -1 . The most reliable information on the true defect size is likely to be obtained by taking a series of 5-9 micrographs with a systematic variation of deviation parameter from 0.2-0.3 nm -1 . This procedure allows size information to be obtained down to a resolution limit of about 0.5 nm for defects situated throughout a foil thickness of 60 nm. The technique has been applied to the determination of changes in the sizes of small defects produced by a low-temperature in-situ irradiation and annealing experiment

Study of the point defects formed in cobalt by electron bombardment; Etude des defauts ponctuels crees par bombardement electronique dans le cobalt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sulpice, G [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, 38 - Grenoble (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1968-12-01

A study of the point defects formed in cobalt by electron bombardment is presented. The results are compared with those previously obtained for two other ferromagnetic metals of different structure, iron and nickel. In the first part we give a review of the literature concerning the creation of point defects, their contribution to resistivity and their annihilation mode in the three structure types. We then describe the experimental techniques adapted, in particular the study of the resistivity increase during a linear temperature rise. Our investigations concern the following, essential points : the observation of the successive annihilation stages of the point defects formed in pure cobalt, a study of the variations with respect to the doses and energy of the incident particles, and the determination of the annealing kinetics and the corresponding activation energies. The results are finally compared with the various models of point defect annihilation proposed for other metals: none of these interpretations is in perfect agreement with our results. In the case of cobalt we are thus led to modify the model proposed by our laboratory for iron an nickel. The difference between these three metals is explained by the anisotropic character of the cobalt matrix. (author) [French] Nous presentons une etude des defauts ponctuels crees par bombardement electronique dans le cobalt et comparons nos resultats a ceux obtenus precedemment dans deux autres metaux ferromagnetiques de structure differente, le fer et le nickel. Dans une premiere partie nous faisons une mise au point bibliographique comparee sur la creation des defauts, leur contribution a la resistivite et leur mode d'annihilation dans les trois types de structure. Nous decrivons ensuite les techniques experimentales mises au point, en particulier l'etude du revenu de la resistivite au cours d'une montee lineaire de temperature. Au cours de ce travail, nous avons mis en evidence les stades successifs d

Laser-induced multi-point ignition for enabling high-performance engines

KAUST Repository

Chung, Suk-Ho

2015-01-01

Various multi-point laser-induced ignition techniques were reviewed, which adopted conical cavity and prechamber configurations. Up to five-point ignitions have been achieved with significant reduction in combustion duration, demonstrating potential increase in combustion system efficiency.

Defect production in ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zinkle, S.J. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Kinoshita, C. [Kyushu Univ. (Japan)

1997-08-01

A review is given of several important defect production and accumulation parameters for irradiated ceramics. Materials covered in this review include alumina, magnesia, spinel silicon carbide, silicon nitride, aluminum nitride and diamond. Whereas threshold displacement energies for many ceramics are known within a reasonable level of uncertainty (with notable exceptions being AIN and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}), relatively little information exists on the equally important parameters of surviving defect fraction (defect production efficiency) and point defect migration energies for most ceramics. Very little fundamental displacement damage information is available for nitride ceramics. The role of subthreshold irradiation on defect migration and microstructural evolution is also briefly discussed.

A phase field model for segregation and precipitation induced by irradiation in alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Badillo, A.; Bellon, P.; Averback, R. S.

2015-04-01

A phase field model is introduced to model the evolution of multicomponent alloys under irradiation, including radiation-induced segregation and precipitation. The thermodynamic and kinetic components of this model are derived using a mean-field model. The mobility coefficient and the contribution of chemical heterogeneity to free energy are rescaled by the cell size used in the phase field model, yielding microstructural evolutions that are independent of the cell size. A new treatment is proposed for point defect clusters, using a mixed discrete-continuous approach to capture the stochastic character of defect cluster production in displacement cascades, while retaining the efficient modeling of the fate of these clusters using diffusion equations. The model is tested on unary and binary alloy systems using two-dimensional simulations. In a unary system, the evolution of point defects under irradiation is studied in the presence of defect clusters, either pre-existing ones or those created by irradiation, and compared with rate theory calculations. Binary alloys with zero and positive heats of mixing are then studied to investigate the effect of point defect clustering on radiation-induced segregation and precipitation in undersaturated solid solutions. Lastly, irradiation conditions and alloy parameters leading to irradiation-induced homogeneous precipitation are investigated. The results are discussed in the context of experimental results reported for Ni-Si and Al-Zn undersaturated solid solutions subjected to irradiation.

A phase field model for segregation and precipitation induced by irradiation in alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badillo, A; Bellon, P; Averback, R S

2015-01-01

A phase field model is introduced to model the evolution of multicomponent alloys under irradiation, including radiation-induced segregation and precipitation. The thermodynamic and kinetic components of this model are derived using a mean-field model. The mobility coefficient and the contribution of chemical heterogeneity to free energy are rescaled by the cell size used in the phase field model, yielding microstructural evolutions that are independent of the cell size. A new treatment is proposed for point defect clusters, using a mixed discrete-continuous approach to capture the stochastic character of defect cluster production in displacement cascades, while retaining the efficient modeling of the fate of these clusters using diffusion equations. The model is tested on unary and binary alloy systems using two-dimensional simulations. In a unary system, the evolution of point defects under irradiation is studied in the presence of defect clusters, either pre-existing ones or those created by irradiation, and compared with rate theory calculations. Binary alloys with zero and positive heats of mixing are then studied to investigate the effect of point defect clustering on radiation-induced segregation and precipitation in undersaturated solid solutions. Lastly, irradiation conditions and alloy parameters leading to irradiation-induced homogeneous precipitation are investigated. The results are discussed in the context of experimental results reported for Ni–Si and Al–Zn undersaturated solid solutions subjected to irradiation. (paper)

Study on radiation-induced defects in germanium monocrystals by the X-ray diffusive scattering method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malinenko, I.A.; Perelygina, E.A.; Chudinova, S.A.; Shivrin, O.N.

1979-01-01

The method of X-ray diffusion scattering was used to study the defective structure of germanium monocrystals exposed to 750 keV proton irradiation with 3.8x10 16 -4.6x10 17 cm -2 doses and subjected to the subsequent annealing at temperatures up to 450 deg C. Detected in the crystals were the complex radiation induced structure characterized with oriented vacancy complexes and results from the both effects: irradiation and annealing. Radiation defect sizes in the section (hhO) have been determined. With increasing the annealing temperature the structure reconstruction resulting in the complex dissociation is observed

TEM study of radiation induced defects in baffle-former-barrel assembly from decommissioned NPP Greifswald

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srba, O.; Michalicka, J.; Keilova, E.; Kocik, K.

2013-06-01

A complex transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of reactor vessel internal (RVI) materials from the baffle-former-barrel assembly from NPP Greifswald (VVER 440), Unit 1 decommissioned after 15 service cycles has been undertaken. All parts of the baffle-former-barrel assembly are made from Ti-stabilized austenitic stainless steel 08Ch18N10T. The materials were exposed to different dose of neutron radiation (2.4 - 11.4 dpa) at temperatures 267 - 398 deg. C depending on position in the core. Three types of radiation induced defects were identified and quantified, namely: dislocations, cavities (voids) and fine-scaled precipitated particles of Ni-Si rich phases. Black-dot type defects were observed too. Operation conditions are around ≅ 300 deg. C that is why we have observed defect typical for both low and high regions of irradiation temperatures. (authors)

Response of induced bone defects in horses to collagen matrix containing the human parathyroid hormone gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Backstrom, Kristin C; Bertone, Alicia L; Wisner, Erik R; Weisbrode, Stephen E

2004-09-01

To determine whether human parathyroid hormone (hPTH) gene in collagen matrix could safely promote bone formation in diaphyseal or subchondral bones of horses. 8 clinically normal adult horses. Amount, rate, and quality of bone healing for 13 weeks were determined by use of radiography, quantitative computed tomography, and histomorphometric analysis. Diaphyseal cortex and subchondral bone defects of metacarpi were filled with hPTH(1-34) gene-activated matrix (GAM) or remained untreated. Joints were assessed on the basis of circumference, synovial fluid analysis, pain on flexion, lameness, and gross and histologic examination. Bone volume index was greater for cortical defects treated with hPTH(1-34) GAM, compared with untreated defects. Bone production in cortical defects treated with hPTH(1-34) GAM positively correlated with native bone formation in untreated defects. In contrast, less bone was detected in hPTH(1-34) GAM-treated subchondral bone defects, compared with untreated defects, and histology confirmed poorer healing and residual collagen sponge. Use of hPTH(1-34) GAM induced greater total bone, specifically periosteal bone, after 13 weeks of healing in cortical defects of horses. The hPTH(1-34) GAM impeded healing of subchondral bone but was biocompatible with joint tissues. Promotion of periosteal bone formation may be beneficial for healing of cortical fractures in horses, but the delay in onset of bone formation may negate benefits. The hPTH(1-34) GAM used in this study should not be placed in articular subchondral bone defects, but contact with articular surfaces is unlikely to cause short-term adverse effects.

IR thermography methods for evaluation of internal defects in light composite armours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swiderski, W.; Szabra, D.; Szudrowicz, M.

2009-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. Light composite armour is a preferred solution against military and paramilitary sources of present threats as the reducing mass of battle vehicles provides a possibility of their quick air-transport. The light armours of these vehicles should be resistant against: common and rifle bullets, grenades, anti-personal mines, IED - improvised explosive devices. The range of military applications anticipated for composite armours covers a broad spectrum of materials and designs. Materials of composite armours include graphite epoxy, glass epoxy and aramid fiber composites. The composites that have been examined can include a variety of defects, such as ballistic impacts, embedded defects, manufacturing defects, thermal damage, moisture ingress and other induced defects. Methods for testing ballistic protection of light armours are known and used. First of all they consist of checking armours resistance against the bullets where the bullet velocity is known. Moreover the V50 velocity is defined during the test. In this method the V 50 velocity of a round or standard fragment is defined (according to STANAG 2920) as the velocity at which armour is penetrated at the probability 50%. The distribution of points hit by bullets or fragments on the surface of an armour is also important. In fact, only correct distribution of these points provides a guaranty for an impartial assessment of tested designs. After hitting by a bullet, shape and size of an area of damage in composite armours depends on the type and design of armour, and type of reinforcing material is particularly important. Knowledge of damage characteristics allows to arrange hitting points to avoid overlapping of damaged areas. Nondestructive testing by using IR thermography methods is very useful in evaluation of internal defects. In the paper we present the dependence between the energy of fragments/or bullets and the dimension of internal defects. (author)

Elastic and failure response of imperfect three-dimensional metallic lattices: the role of geometric defects induced by Selective Laser Melting

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lu; Kamm, Paul; García-Moreno, Francisco; Banhart, John; Pasini, Damiano

2017-10-01

This paper examines three-dimensional metallic lattices with regular octet and rhombicuboctahedron units fabricated with geometric imperfections via Selective Laser Sintering. We use X-ray computed tomography to capture morphology, location, and distribution of process-induced defects with the aim of studying their role in the elastic response, damage initiation, and failure evolution under quasi-static compression. Testing results from in-situ compression tomography show that each lattice exhibits a distinct failure mechanism that is governed not only by cell topology but also by geometric defects induced by additive manufacturing. Extracted from X-ray tomography images, the statistical distributions of three sets of defects, namely strut waviness, strut thickness variation, and strut oversizing, are used to develop numerical models of statistically representative lattices with imperfect geometry. Elastic and failure responses are predicted within 10% agreement from the experimental data. In addition, a computational study is presented to shed light into the relationship between the amplitude of selected defects and the reduction of elastic properties compared to their nominal values. The evolution of failure mechanisms is also explained with respect to strut oversizing, a parameter that can critically cause failure mode transitions that are not visible in defect-free lattices.

A study on induced current focusing potential drop (ICFPD) technique. Examination of the sizing accuracy of defects and its frequency dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hoon; Shoji, Tetsuo

1994-01-01

Aiming at nondestructive detection and size prediction of defects with high accuracy and resolution, an Induced Current Focusing Potential Drop (ICFPD) technique has been developed. This technique can be applied for determining the location and size of defects in components with not only simple shape such as plain surface but also more complex shape and geometry such as curved surface and dissimilar joint. This paper describes the basic principle of ICFPD and its probe development. In this ICFPD, current was induced in a conductive material by a straight induction wire, which is electrically isolated, placed on it. The benefits of this new technique compared with the conventional ACPD are: (1) Current is induced and focused only at an explorating region. (2) Applicable to defect detection by scanning the sensor probe in an explorating region. (3) Applicable to defect detection in a weld joint of austenitic stainless steel. As the results of the innovation in instrumentation and the improvement in evaluation procedure by use of suitable parameters, the existence of defects is clearly observed as the variation of potential drops, and the nondimensional parameter (V c,max. /V avg. ) has a direct correlation with crack depth. Especially, for the depth less than 5 mm, the ICFPD shows higher sensitivity than the conventional ACPD at the frequencies of 3, 10 and 30 kHz. (author)

Flux pinning by heavy-ion-irradiation induced linear defects in YBa2Cu3O7 epitaxial films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budhani, R.C.; Zhu, Y.; Suenaga, M.

1992-01-01

We report some transport measurements carried out to study flux pinning by heavy-ion-irradiation induced linear defects in Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 films. Our results show that in these in situ deposited films containing a large concentration of defects frozen-in at the time of film growth, a marginal enhancement in critical current density occurs when the density of linear defects 10 /cm 2 , and their diameter of the order of coherence length. This criterion is satisfied by Ag +21 ions. The damage due to Au +24 ions is much too severe to improve the J c

Can fisheries-induced evolution shift reference points for fisheries management?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heino, Mikko; Baulier, Loїc; Boukal, David S.

2013-01-01

Biological reference points are important tools for fisheries management. Reference points are not static, but may change when a population's environment or the population itself changes. Fisheries-induced evolution is one mechanism that can alter population characteristics, leading to “shifting...

Peculiarities of the point radiation defects accumulation in the fine- and ultra-disperse metallic media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aliev, B.A.; Zajkin, Yu.A.; Potapov, A.S.

2004-01-01

Fine-dispersive powders are a samples of solid systems. In which under irradiation the particle surface layers defect structure changes and has mostly an effect on structural transformations. Theoretical calculations and experimental data show, that the increased interstitials atoms concentration near particles surface during irradiation by either electrons or gamma quanta with energy about 1 MeV give rise to intensive pores healing. At the same time as the dense surface layer formation the pores healing leads to the brachiate borders system formation. The borders serve as pathways for accelerated diffusion. Sintering process and a metal recrystallization are stimulating as well. Both processes lead to the ordered super-structure formation which contributes the additional contribution in an improvement of the mechanical properties of a metal. A liner sizes of the ordered net depend on both the powder sizes and the irradiation conditions. The especial interest present a conditions for such superstructure formation (when the particle sizes are becoming so small (∼1 μm), that effect has being resulted on a defect-formation in the whole volume of a powder particle). In the considered case the point radiation defects accumulation kinetics in the metallic particle is analyzed on the ground of the equation system for atomic concentrations both interstitial atoms and vacancies. The numerical solution of this equation system shows, that particles sizes decline leads to considerable micro-pores healing increase and improvement of conditions for net strengthening. In dependence on irradiation conditions (temperature, dose and dose rate) the forming super-structure could have micro- and nano-sizes

Secondary defects in non-metallic solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashbee, K.H.G.; Hobbs, L.W.

1977-01-01

This paper points out features of secondary defect formation which are peculiar to non-metallic solids (excluding elemental semiconductors). Most of the materials of interest are compounds of two or more (usually more or less ionic) atomic species, and immediate consequence of which is a need to maintain both stoichiometry (or accommodate non-stoichiometry) and order. Primary defects in these solids, whether produced thermally, chemically or by irradiation, seldom are present or aggregate in exactly stoichiometric proportions, and the resulting extending defect structures can be quite distinct from those found in metallic solids. Where stoichiometry is maintained, it is often convenient to describe extended defects in terms of alterations in the arrangement of 'molecular' units. The adoption of this procedure enables several novel features of extended defect structures in non-metals to be explained. There are several ways in which a range of non-stoichiometry can be accommodated, which include structural elimination of point defects, nucleation of new coherent phases of altered stoichiometry, and decomposition. (author)

Modeling of Semiconductors and Correlated Oxides with Point Defects by First Principles Methods

KAUST Repository

Wang, Hao

2014-01-01

Point defects in silicon, vanadium dioxide, and doped ceria are investigated by density functional theory. Defects involving vacancies and interstitial oxygen and carbon in silicon are after formed in outer space and significantly affect device performances. The screened hybrid functional by Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof is used to calculate formation energies, binding energies, and electronic structures of the defective systems because standard density functional theory underestimates the bang gap of silicon. The results indicate for the A-center a −2 charge state. Tin is proposed to be an effective dopant to suppress the formation of A-centers. For the total energy difference between the A- and B-type carbon related G-centers we find close agreement with the experiment. The results indicate that the C-type G-center is more stable than both the A- and B-types. The electronic structures of the monoclinic and rutile phases of vanadium dioxide are also studied using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof functional. The ground states of the pure phases obtained by calculations including spin polarization disagree with the experimental observations that the monoclinic phase should not be magnetic, the rutile phase should be metallic, and the monoclinic phase should have a lower total energy than the rutile phase. By tuning the Hartree-Fock fraction α to 10% the agreement with experiments is improved in terms of band gaps and relative energies of the phases. A calculation scheme is proposed to simulate the relationship between the transition temperature of the metal-insulator transition and the dopant concentration in tungsten doped vanadium dioxide. We achieve good agreement with the experimental situation. 18.75% and 25% yttrium, lanthanum, praseodymium, samarium, and gadolinium doped ceria supercells generated by the special quasirandom structure approach are employed to investigate the impact of doping on the O diffusion. The experimental behavior of the conductivity for the

Modeling of Semiconductors and Correlated Oxides with Point Defects by First Principles Methods

KAUST Repository

Wang, Hao

2014-06-15

Point defects in silicon, vanadium dioxide, and doped ceria are investigated by density functional theory. Defects involving vacancies and interstitial oxygen and carbon in silicon are after formed in outer space and significantly affect device performances. The screened hybrid functional by Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof is used to calculate formation energies, binding energies, and electronic structures of the defective systems because standard density functional theory underestimates the bang gap of silicon. The results indicate for the A-center a −2 charge state. Tin is proposed to be an effective dopant to suppress the formation of A-centers. For the total energy difference between the A- and B-type carbon related G-centers we find close agreement with the experiment. The results indicate that the C-type G-center is more stable than both the A- and B-types. The electronic structures of the monoclinic and rutile phases of vanadium dioxide are also studied using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof functional. The ground states of the pure phases obtained by calculations including spin polarization disagree with the experimental observations that the monoclinic phase should not be magnetic, the rutile phase should be metallic, and the monoclinic phase should have a lower total energy than the rutile phase. By tuning the Hartree-Fock fraction α to 10% the agreement with experiments is improved in terms of band gaps and relative energies of the phases. A calculation scheme is proposed to simulate the relationship between the transition temperature of the metal-insulator transition and the dopant concentration in tungsten doped vanadium dioxide. We achieve good agreement with the experimental situation. 18.75% and 25% yttrium, lanthanum, praseodymium, samarium, and gadolinium doped ceria supercells generated by the special quasirandom structure approach are employed to investigate the impact of doping on the O diffusion. The experimental behavior of the conductivity for the

The establishment of atrial septal defect model with interventional management canine: its applied anatomy and technical points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Yufeng; Huang Xinmiao; Bei Yuan; Wang Wei; Hu Jianqiang; Qin Yongwen

2010-01-01

Objective: To provide the relevant applied anatomic information for the preparation of atrial septal defect (ASD) model with transcatheter management in canine,and to discuss the technical points in making ASD model under DSA guidance. Methods: Anatomical measurements of the heart specimens,which were obtained from 15 healthy adult hybrid dogs (9 males and 6 females), were performed, from which the relevant anatomic parameters of the atrial septum were calculated. Cardiac 3D reconstruction with 64-sliced spiral CT scan was carried out in 5 dogs and the results were analyzed. According to the trans-illuminated position and angle obtained from 3D reconstruction images both the puncturing of the atrial septum with Brokenbrough needle and the balloon dilatation under fluoroscopic guidance were conducted in 20 dogs (body weight 17 -22 kg) to prepare ASD model. Results: The length and the width of the interauricular septum were (17.8 ± 4.3) mm and (14.5 ± 3.8) mm, respectively. The oval fossa was (11.2 ± 2.7) mm long and (8.7±1.9) mm wide. The distance from the central point of oval fossa to the central point of the orifice of coronary sinus was (7.2 ± 1.3) mm, which was (9.9 ± 1.5) mm to the center of the membranous atrial septum, (13.6 ± 3.1) mm to the middle point of septal tricuspid valve, (12.1 ± 2.3) mm to the central point of the bottom of aortic eminence and (11.3 ± 1.9) mm to the middle point of anterior bicuspid valve. The angle between atrial septal plane and sagittal plane was 15 degree ± 5 degree, and the angle between atrial septal plane and coronal plane was 75 degree ± 5 degree. Thus, the puncture of the interauricular septum was carried out with the dog in right anterior oblique position at 75 degree ± 5 degree. Of the total 20 dogs, ASD model was successfully established in 18, failure of the puncturing occurred in the remaining two, of which one died of cardiac tamponade after the procedure and the other one died of mistakenly puncturing

[Progress of Masquelet technique to repair bone defect].

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Qudong; Sun, Zhenzhong; Gu, Sanjun

2013-10-01

To summarize the progress of Masquelet technique to repair bone defect. The recent literature concerning the application of Masquelet technique to repair bone defect was extensively reviewed and summarized. Masquelet technique involves a two-step procedure. First, bone cement is used to fill the bone defect after a thorough debridement, and an induced membrane structure surrounding the spacer formed; then the bone cement is removed after 6-8 weeks, and rich cancellous bone is implanted into the induced membrane. Massive cortical bone defect is repaired by new bone forming and consolidation. Experiments show that the induced membrane has vascular system and is also rich in vascular endothelial growth factor, transforming growth factor beta1, bone morphogenetic protein 2, and bone progenitor cells, so it has osteoinductive property; satisfactory results have been achieved in clinical application of almost all parts of defects, various types of bone defect and massive defect up to 25 cm long. Compared with other repair methods, Masquelet technique has the advantages of reliable effect, easy to operate, few complications, low requirements for recipient site, and wide application. Masquelet technique is an effective method to repair bone defect and is suitable for various types of bone defect, especially for bone defects caused by infection and tumor resection.

The effects of photobiomodulation on healing of bone defects in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez Costa Lino, Maíra D.; Bastos de Carvalho, Fabíola; Ferreira Moraes, Michel; Augusto Cardoso, José; Pinheiro, Antônio L. B.; Maria Pedreira Ramalho, Luciana

2011-03-01

Previous studies have shown positive effects of Low level laser therapy (LLLT) on the repair of bone defects, but there are only a few that associates bone healing in the presence of a metabolic disorder as Diabetes Melitus and LLLT. The aim of this study was to assess histologically the effect of LLLT (AsGaAl), 780nm, 70mW, CW, Ø~0.4mm, 16J/cm2 per session) on the repair of surgical defects created in the femur of diabetic and non-diabetic Wistar Albinus rats. Surgical bone defects were created in 60 animals divided into four groups of 15 animals each: Group C (non-diabetic - control); Group CL (non-diabetic + LLLT); Group CD (diabetic); Group CDL (diabetic + LLLT). The animals on the irradiated group received 16 J/cm2 per session divided into four points around the defect, being the first irradiation immediately after surgery and repeated every 48h for 14 days. The animals were killed 15, 21 and 30 days after surgery. The results of the present investigation showed histological evidence of improved amount of collagen fibers at early stages of the bone healing (15 days) and increased amount of well organized bone trabeculae at the end of the experimental period (30 days) on irradiated animals, (diabetic and non-diabetic) compared to non irradiated ones. It is concluded that LLLT has a positive biomodulative effect on the healing process of bone defects, even when diabetes mellitus was present.

Characterization of deep level defects in Tl6I4S single crystals by photo-induced current transient spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peters, J A; Liu, Z; Sebastian, M; Wessels, B W; Im, J; Freeman, A J; Nguyen, S; Kanatzidis, M G

2015-01-01

Defect levels in semi-insulating Tl 6 I 4 S single crystals grown by the horizontal Bridgman technique have been characterized using photo-induced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS). These measurements revealed six electron traps located at (0.059  ±  0.007), (0.13  ±  0.012), (0.31  ±  0.074), (0.39  ±  0.019), (0.62  ±  0.110), and (0.597  ±  0.105). These defect levels are attributed to vacancies (V I , V S ) and antisite defects (I S , Tl S , Tl I ) upon comparison to calculations of native defect energy levels using density functional theory and defects recently reported from photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements. (paper)

First-principles study of point-defect production in Si and SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Windl, W.; Lenosky, T.J.; Kress, J.D.; Voter, A.F.

1998-03-01

The authors have calculated the displacement-threshold energy E(d) for point-defect production in Si and SiC using empirical potentials, tight-binding, and first-principles methods. They show that -- depending on the knock-on direction -- 64-atom simulation cells can be sufficient to allow a nearly finite-size-effect-free calculation, thus making the use of first-principles methods possible. They use molecular dynamics (MD) techniques and propose the use of a sudden approximation which agrees reasonably well with the MD results for selected directions and which allows estimates of Ed without employing an MD simulation and the use of computationally demanding first-principles methods. Comparing the results with experiment, the authors find the full self-consistent first-principles method in conjunction with the sudden approximation to be a reliable and easy method to predict E d . Furthermore, they have examined the temperature dependence of E d for C in SiC and found it to be negligible

Electron paramagnetic resonance study on the ionizing radiation induced defects of the tooth enamel hydroxyapatite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Liana Macedo de

1995-01-01

Hydroxyapatite is the main constituent of calcified tissues. Defects induced by ionizing radiations in this biomineral can present high stability and then, these are used as biological markers in radiological accidents, irradiated food identifying and geological and archaeological dating. In this work, paramagnetic centers induced on the enamel of the teeth by environmental ionizing radiation, are investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Decay thermal kinetic presents high complexity and shows the formation of different electron ligation energy centers and structures

Summary Report of the Technical Meeting on Primary Radiation Damage: From Nuclear Reaction to Point Defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoller, R. E.; Nordlund, K.; Simakov, S.P.

2012-11-01

The Meeting was convened to bring together the experts from both the nuclear data and materials research communities because of their common objective of accurately characterizing irradiation environments and resulting material damage. The meeting demonstrated that significant uncertainties remain regarding both the status of nuclear data and the use of these data by the materials modeling community to determine the primary damage state obtained in irradiated materials. At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants agreed that there is clear motivation to initiate a CRP that engages participants from the nuclear data and materials research communities. The overall objective of this CRP would be to determine the best possible parameter (or a few parameters) for correlating damage from irradiation facilities with very different particle types and energy spectra, including fission and fusion reactors, charged particle accelerators, and spallation irradiation facilities. Regarding progress achieved during the last decade in the atomistic simulation of primary defects in crystalline materials, one of the essential and quantitative outcomes from the CRP is expected to be cross sections for point defects left after recoil cascade quenching. (author)

Numerical simulation of a metal corrosion for a point defect for a organic protection layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vautrin-Ul, Ch.; Chausse, A.; Stafiej, J.; Badiali, J.P.

2005-01-01

The safety of radioactive wastes disposal requires a big knowledge on their aging facing a corrosive environment. The corrosion is a complex phenomenon which implies many processes bound to the physic and the chemistry of the system. This approach proposes, from a little number of simple processes, numerical simulation which will define theses complex phenomenon. The presented model is a 2 dimension model at a mesoscopic scale and based on cellular automates. It allows the simulation of a metal evolution, protected by a polymer layer and in contact at one point with a corrosive media at a defect of the layer. (A.L.B.)

Ribosomal and hematopoietic defects in induced pluripotent stem cells derived from Diamond Blackfan anemia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Garçon, Loïc; Ge, Jingping; Manjunath, Shwetha H; Mills, Jason A; Apicella, Marisa; Parikh, Shefali; Sullivan, Lisa M; Podsakoff, Gregory M; Gadue, Paul; French, Deborah L; Mason, Philip J; Bessler, Monica; Weiss, Mitchell J

2013-08-08

Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a congenital disorder with erythroid (Ery) hypoplasia and tissue morphogenic abnormalities. Most DBA cases are caused by heterozygous null mutations in genes encoding ribosomal proteins. Understanding how haploinsufficiency of these ubiquitous proteins causes DBA is hampered by limited availability of tissues from affected patients. We generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from fibroblasts of DBA patients carrying mutations in RPS19 and RPL5. Compared with controls, DBA fibroblasts formed iPSCs inefficiently, although we obtained 1 stable clone from each fibroblast line. RPS19-mutated iPSCs exhibited defects in 40S (small) ribosomal subunit assembly and production of 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Upon induced differentiation, the mutant clone exhibited globally impaired hematopoiesis, with the Ery lineage affected most profoundly. RPL5-mutated iPSCs exhibited defective 60S (large) ribosomal subunit assembly, accumulation of 12S pre-rRNA, and impaired erythropoiesis. In both mutant iPSC lines, genetic correction of ribosomal protein deficiency via complementary DNA transfer into the "safe harbor" AAVS1 locus alleviated abnormalities in ribosome biogenesis and hematopoiesis. Our studies show that pathological features of DBA are recapitulated by iPSCs, provide a renewable source of cells to model various tissue defects, and demonstrate proof of principle for genetic correction strategies in patient stem cells.

Preferential repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage in the transcribed strand of an active human gene is defective in Cockayne syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leadon, S.A.; Copper, P.K.

1993-01-01

Cells from patients with Cockayne syndrome (CS), which are sensitive to killing by UV although overall damage removal appears normal, are specifically defective in repair of UV damage in actively transcribe genes. Because several CS strains display cross-sensitivity to killing by ionizing radiation, the authors examined whether ionizing radiation-induced damage in active genes is preferentially repaired by normal cells and whether the radiosensitivity of CS cells can be explained by a defect in this process. They found that ionizing radiation-induced damage was repaired more rapidly in the transcriptionally active metallothionein IIA (MTIIA) gene than in the inactive MTIIB gene or in the genome overall in normal cells as a result of faster repair on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Cells of the radiosensitive CS strain CS1AN are completely defective in this strand-selective repair of ionizing radiation-induced damage, although their overall repair rate appears normal. CS3BE cells, which are intermediate in radiosensitivity, do exhibit more rapid repair of the transcribed strand but at a reduced rate compared to normal cells. Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A cells, which are hypersensitive to UV light because of a defect in the nucleotide excision repair pathway but do not show increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation, preferentially repair ionizing radiation-induced damage on the transcribed strand of MTIIA. Thus, the ability to rapidly repair ionizing radiation-induced damage in actively transcribing genes correlates with cell survival. The results extend the generality of preferential repair in active genes to include damage other than bulky lesions

Annealing of the Sb-vacancy and a closely related radiation induced defect in n-type germanium

Science.gov (United States)

Barnard, Abraham W.; Auret, F. D.; Meyer, W. E.

2018-04-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy was used to study the defects induced by alpha-particle irradiation from an Am241 source in antimony doped n-type germanium. Previous investigations of the well know Sb-vacancy defect have led to the discovery of a second defect with very similar emission properties, referred to as the E‧. Although both defects have similar emission rates, they have very different annealing properties. In this study we further investigated these properties of the E‧ in Sb doped samples irradiated at 270 K with alpha particles from an Am241 source. Laplace deep level transient spectroscopy was used to determine the concentration of each defect. An isothermal annealing study of the E‧ was carried out in the temperature range 300 K to 325 K in 5 K increments, while the Sb-vacancy was annealed out completely at 410 K onwards, long after the E‧ was completely annealed out. The annealing activation energy was determined through isothermal annealing profiles for both the Sb-Vacancy and the E‧ as 1.05 eV and 0.73 eV respectively with a prefactor of 2.05 × 109 s-1 and 2.7 × 108 s-1.

Study on the intrinsic defects in tin oxide with first-principles method

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yu; Liu, Tingyu; Chang, Qiuxiang; Ma, Changmin

2018-04-01

First-principles and thermodynamic methods are used to study the contribution of vibrational entropy to defect formation energy and the stability of the intrinsic point defects in SnO2 crystal. According to thermodynamic calculation results, the contribution of vibrational entropy to defect formation energy is significant and should not be neglected, especially at high temperatures. The calculated results indicate that the oxygen vacancy is the major point defect in undoped SnO2 crystal, which has a higher concentration than that of the other point defect. The property of negative-U is put forward in SnO2 crystal. In order to determine the most stable defects much clearer under different conditions, the most stable intrinsic defect as a function of Fermi level, oxygen partial pressure and temperature are described in the three-dimensional defect formation enthalpy diagrams. The diagram visually provides the most stable point defects under different conditions.

A study on density functional theory of the effect of pressure on the formation and migration enthalpies of intrinsic point defects in growing single crystal Si

Science.gov (United States)

Sueoka, Koji; Kamiyama, Eiji; Kariyazaki, Hiroaki

2012-05-01

In 1982, Voronkov presented a model describing point defect behavior during the growth of single crystal Si from a melt and derived an expression to predict if the crystal was vacancy- or self-interstitial-rich. Recently, Vanhellemont claimed that one should take into account the impact of compressive stress introduced by the thermal gradient at the melt/solid interface by considering the hydrostatic pressure dependence of the formation enthalpy of the intrinsic point defects. To evaluate the impact of thermal stress more correctly, the pressure dependence of both the formation enthalpy (Hf) and the migration enthalpy (Hm) of the intrinsic point defects should be taken into account. Furthermore, growing single crystal Si is not under hydrostatic pressure but almost free of external pressure (generally in Ar gas under reduced pressure). In the present paper, the dependence of Hf and Hm on the pressure P, or in other words, the pressure dependence of the formation energy (Ef) and the relaxation volume (vf), is quantified by density functional theory calculations. Although a large number of ab initio calculations of the properties of intrinsic point defects have been published during the last years, calculations for Si crystals under pressure are rather scarce. For vacancies V, the reported pressure dependences of HfV are inconsistent. In the present study, by using 216-atom supercells with a sufficient cut-off energy and mesh of k-points, the neutral I and V are found to have nearly constant formation energies EfI and EfV for pressures up to 1 GPa. For the relaxation volume, vfI is almost constant while vfV decreases linearly with increasing pressure P. In case of the hydrostatic pressure Ph, the calculated formation enthalpy HfI and migration enthalpy HmI at the [110] dumbbell site are given by HfI = 3.425 - 0.057 × Ph (eV) and HmI = 0.981 - 0.039 × Ph (eV), respectively, with Ph given in GPa. The calculated HfV and HmV dependencies on Ph given by HfV = 3.543 - 0

NDT detection and quantification of induced defects on composite helicopter rotor blade and UAV wing sections

Science.gov (United States)

Findeis, Dirk; Gryzagoridis, Jasson; Musonda, Vincent

2008-09-01

Digital Shearography and Infrared Thermography (IRT) techniques were employed to test non-destructively samples from aircraft structures of composite material nature. Background information on the techniques is presented and it is noted that much of the inspection work reviewed in the literature has focused on qualitative evaluation of the defects rather than quantitative. There is however, need to quantify the defects if the threshold rejection criterion of whether the component inspected is fit for service has to be established. In this paper an attempt to quantify induced defects on a helicopter main rotor blade and Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle (UAV) composite material is presented. The fringe patterns exhibited by Digital Shearography were used to quantify the defects by relating the number of fringes created to the depth of the defect or flaw. Qualitative evaluation of defects with IRT was achieved through a hot spot temperature indication above the flaw on the surface of the material. The results of the work indicate that the Shearographic technique proved to be more sensitive than the IRT technique. It should be mentioned that there is "no set standard procedure" tailored for testing of composites. Each composite material tested is more likely to respond differently to defect detection and this depends generally on the component geometry and a suitable selection of the loading system to suit a particular test. The experimental procedure that is reported in this paper can be used as a basis for designing a testing or calibration procedure for defects detection on any particular composite material component or structure.

Analysis of Manufacturing-Induced Defects and Structural Deformations in Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Computed Tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Wu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Premature battery drain, swelling and fires/explosions in lithium-ion batteries have caused wide-scale customer concerns, product recalls, and huge financial losses in a wide range of products including smartphones, laptops, e-cigarettes, hoverboards, cars, and commercial aircraft. Most of these problems are caused by defects which are difficult to detect using conventional nondestructive electrical methods and disassembly-based destructive analysis. This paper develops an effective computed tomography (CT-based nondestructive approach to assess battery quality and identify manufacturing-induced defects and structural deformations in batteries. Several unique case studies from commercial e-cigarette and smartphone applications are presented to show where CT analysis methods work.

Determination and microscopic study of incipient defects in irradiated power reactor fuel rods. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasupathi, V.; Perrin, J.S.; Roberts, E.

1978-05-01

This report presents the results of nondestructive and destructive examinations carried out on the Point Beach-1 (PWR) and Dresden-3 (BWR) candidate fuel rods selected for the study of pellet-clad interaction (PCI) induced incipient defects. In addition, the report includes results of examination of sections from Oskarshamn-1 (BWR) fuel rods. Eddy current examination of Point Beach-1 rods showed indications of possible incipient defects in the fuel rods. The profilometry and the gamma scan data also indicated that the source of the eddy current indications may be incipient defects. No failed rods or rods with incipient failure were found in the sample from Point Beach-1. Despite the lack of success in finding incipient defects and filed rods, the mechanism for fuel rod failures in Point Beach-1 is postulated to be PCI-related, with high startup rates and fuel handling being the key elements. Nine out of the 10 candidate fuel rods from Dresden-3 (BWR) were failed, and all the failed rods had leaked water so that the initial mechanism was observed. Examination of clad inner surfaces of the specimens from failed and unfailed rods showed fuel deposits of widely varying appearance. The deposits were found to contain uranium, cesium, and tellurium. Transmission electron microscopy of clad specimens showed evidence of microscopic strain. Metallographic examination of fuel pellets from the peak transient power location showed extensive grain boundary separation and axial movement of the fuel indicative of rapid release of fission products. Examination of Oskarshamn clad specimens did not show any stress corrosion crack (SCC) type defects. The defects found in the examinations appear to be related to secondary hydriding. The clad inner surface of the Oskarshamn specimens also showed uranium-rich deposits of varying features

A study of point defects created by electron irradiation of dilute iron-carbon alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leveque, J.L.

1969-10-01

Resistivity and magnetic after effect (m.a.e.) measurements are used to study the influence of carbon atoms on the annealing process of point defects created by electron irradiation (3 MeV) at low temperature (20 deg. K). The presence of the carbon atoms has a strong influence on the recovery sub-stage I E and stage III. For the former, the carbon impurity traps the freely migrating iron interstitial. For the latter the effect is interpreted as being due to formation during annealing, of a carbon vacancy pair. A pronounced m.a.e. band is attributed to the reorientation of this carbon vacancy complex. All these results are coherent with the interpretation of a low temperature migrating free interstitial. (author) [fr

Metastable and bistable defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukashev, Bulat N; Abdullin, Kh A; Gorelkinskii, Yurii V

2000-01-01

Existing data on the properties and structure of metastable and bistable defects in silicon are analyzed. Primary radiation-induced defects (vacancies, self-interstitial atoms, and Frenkel pairs), complexes of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and other impurity atoms and defects with negative correlation energy are considered. (reviews of topical problems)

Nanoscale interfacial defect shedding in a growing nematic droplet.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurevich, Sebastian; Provatas, Nikolas; Rey, Alejandro

2017-08-01

Interfacial defect shedding is the most recent known mechanism for defect formation in a thermally driven isotropic-to-nematic phase transition. It manifests in nematic-isotropic interfaces going through an anchoring switch. Numerical computations in planar geometry established that a growing nematic droplet can undergo interfacial defect shedding, nucleating interfacial defect structures that shed into the bulk as +1/2 point defects. By extending the study of interfacial defect shedding in a growing nematic droplet to larger length and time scales, and to three dimensions, we unveil an oscillatory growth mode involving shape and anchoring transitions that results in a controllable regular distributions of point defects in planar geometry, and complex structures of disclination lines in three dimensions.

Turmeric Extract Rescues Ethanol-Induced Developmental Defect in the Zebrafish Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Science.gov (United States)

Muralidharan, Pooja; Connors, Craig T; Mohammed, Arooj S; Sarmah, Swapnalee; Marrs, Kathleen; Marrs, James A; Chism, Grady W

2017-09-01

Prenatal ethanol exposure causes the most frequent preventable birth disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The effect of turmeric extracts in rescuing an ethanol-induced developmental defect using zebrafish as a model was determined. Ethanol-induced oxidative stress is one of the major mechanisms underlying FASD. We hypothesize that antioxidant inducing properties of turmeric may alleviate ethanol-induced defects. Curcuminoid content of the turmeric powder extract (5 mg/mL turmeric in ethanol) was determined by UPLC and found to contain Curcumin (124.1 ± 0.2 μg/mL), Desmethoxycurcumin (43.4 ± 0.1 μg/mL), and Bisdemethoxycurcumin (36.6 ± 0.1 μg/mL). Zebrafish embryos were treated with 100 mM (0.6% v/v) ethanol during gastrulation through organogenesis (2 to 48 h postfertilization (hpf)) and supplemented with turmeric extract to obtain total curcuminoid concentrations of 0, 1.16, 1.72, or 2.32 μM. Turmeric supplementation showed significant rescue of the body length at 72 hpf compared to ethanol-treated embryos. The mechanism underlying the rescue remains to be determined. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Probing wavenumbers of current-induced excitations in point-contact experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z Wei

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Z Wei, M TsoiDepartment of Physics, Center for Nano and Molecular Science and Technology, and Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USAAbstract: We demonstrate how a mechanical point-contact technique can provide information on the wavenumber of spin waves excited by high-density electrical current in magnetic multilayers. By varying the size of point-contacts, we have been able to control the size of the excitation volume and therefore the wavelength of current-induced spin waves. This leads to a technique with in situ sensitivity to wavenumbers of current-induced excitations. Our detailed size-dependent measurements support the prediction that the excited wavelength is determined by the contact size.Keywords: spin transfer torque, giant magnetoresistance, spin waves, point contact

Defect properties of ZnO nanopowders and their modifications induced by remote plasma treatments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paramo, J A; Peters, R M; Quarles, C A; Strzhemechny, Y M [Physics Department, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129 (United States); Vallejo, H [North Side High School, Fort Worth, TX 79129 (United States)

2009-11-15

Photoluminescence (PL) and positron lifetime (LT) measurements were used on several commercial ZnO nanopowders. We observed that sample-to-sample differences in the quality of the powders overshadow any observation of probable size effects. However, the average LT for all nanocrystals is longer than in a bulk sample, consistent with the hypothesis of crystals with surface and subsurface layers rich in defects. Temperature-dependent PL spectra from the ZnO nanopowders were analyzed in detail for the bound-exciton (BEx) range and the numerical fits of the peak positions yielded activation energies that suggested different channels of recombination for the BEx. Also, fits for the full width at half maximum (FWHM) show nonlinear behavior, indicating contribution from surface phonons. We, also, used remote nitrogen and hydrogen plasma treatment on the ZnO nanosystems to manipulate their surface and subsurface defect states. We demonstrated that those plasma species induce a variety of changes in the deep defect visible emission as well as in the BEx luminescence, most likely associated with the surface/subsurface states.

Defect properties of ZnO nanopowders and their modifications induced by remote plasma treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paramo, J A; Peters, R M; Quarles, C A; Strzhemechny, Y M; Vallejo, H

2009-01-01

Photoluminescence (PL) and positron lifetime (LT) measurements were used on several commercial ZnO nanopowders. We observed that sample-to-sample differences in the quality of the powders overshadow any observation of probable size effects. However, the average LT for all nanocrystals is longer than in a bulk sample, consistent with the hypothesis of crystals with surface and subsurface layers rich in defects. Temperature-dependent PL spectra from the ZnO nanopowders were analyzed in detail for the bound-exciton (BEx) range and the numerical fits of the peak positions yielded activation energies that suggested different channels of recombination for the BEx. Also, fits for the full width at half maximum (FWHM) show nonlinear behavior, indicating contribution from surface phonons. We, also, used remote nitrogen and hydrogen plasma treatment on the ZnO nanosystems to manipulate their surface and subsurface defect states. We demonstrated that those plasma species induce a variety of changes in the deep defect visible emission as well as in the BEx luminescence, most likely associated with the surface/subsurface states.

Optical properties of a defective one-dimensional photonic crystal containing graphene nanaolayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entezar, S. Roshan; Saleki, Z.; Madani, A.

2015-01-01

The transmission properties of a defective one-dimensional photonic crystal containing graphene nanolayers have been investigated using the transfer matrix method. It is shown that two kinds of the defect modes can be found in the band gaps of the structure. One kind is the traditional defect mode which is created in the Bragg gaps of the structure and is due to the breaking of the periodicity of the dielectric lattice. The other one is created in the graphene induced band gap. Such a defect mode which we call it the graphene induced defect mode is due to the breaking of the periodicity of the graphene lattice. However, our investigations reveal that only in the case of wide defect layers one can obtain the graphene induced defect modes. The effects of many parameters such as the incident angle, the state of polarization and the chemical potential of the graphene nanolayers on the properties of the graphene induced defect modes are discussed. Moreover, the possibility of external control of the graphene induced defect modes using a gate voltage is shown.

Irradiation induced defects containing oxygen atoms in germanium crystal as studied by deep level transient spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuoka, Noboru; Kambe, Yoshiyuki; Saito, Haruo; Matsuda, Koji.

1984-05-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy was applied to the electron trapping levels which are associated with the irradiation induced lattice defects in germanium crystals. The germanium crystals used in the study were doped with oxygen, antimony or arsenic and the defects were formed by electron irradiation of 1.5MeV or 10MeV. The nature of so called ''thermal defect'' formed by heat treatment at about 670K was also studied. The trapping levels at Esub(c)-0.13eV, Esub(c)-0.25eV and Esub(c)-0.29eV were found to be associated with defects containing oxygen atoms. From the experimental results the Esub(c)-0.25eV level was attributed to the germanium A-center (interstitial oxygen atom-vacancy pair). Another defect associated with the 715cm -1 infrared absorption band was found to have a trapping level at the same position at Esub(c)-0.25eV. The Esub(c)-0.23eV and Esub(c)-0.1eV levels were revealed to be associated with thermal donors formed by heat treatment at about 670K. Additional two peaks (levels) were observed in the DLTS spectrum. The annealing behavior of the levels suggests that the thermal donors originate from not a single type but several types of defects. (author)

Arsenate-induced maternal glucose intolerance and neural tube defects in a mouse model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, Denise S.; Wlodarczyk, Bogdan J.; Mitchell, Laura E.; Finnell, Richard H.

2009-01-01

Background: Epidemiological studies have linked environmental arsenic (As) exposure to increased type 2 diabetes risk. Periconceptional hyperglycemia is a significant risk factor for neural tube defects (NTDs), the second most common structural birth defect. A suspected teratogen, arsenic (As) induces NTDs in laboratory animals. Objectives: We investigated whether maternal glucose homeostasis disruption was responsible for arsenate-induced NTDs in a well-established dosing regimen used in studies of arsenic's teratogenicity in early neurodevelopment. Methods: We evaluated maternal intraperitoneal (IP) exposure to As 9.6 mg/kg (as sodium arsenate) in LM/Bc/Fnn mice for teratogenicity and disruption of maternal plasma glucose and insulin levels. Selected compounds (insulin pellet, sodium selenate (SS), N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), L-methionine (L-Met), N-tert-Butyl-α-phenylnitrone (PBN)) were investigated for their potential to mitigate arsenate's effects. Results: Arsenate caused significant glucose elevation during an IP glucose tolerance test (IPGTT). Insulin levels were not different between arsenate and control dams before (arsenate, 0.55 ng/dl; control, 0.48 ng/dl) or after glucose challenge (arsenate, 1.09 ng/dl; control, 0.81 ng/dl). HOMA-IR index was higher for arsenate (3.9) vs control (2.5) dams (p = 0.0260). Arsenate caused NTDs (100%, p < 0.0001). Insulin pellet and NAC were the most successful rescue agents, reducing NTD rates to 45% and 35%. Conclusions: IPGTT, insulin assay, and HOMA-IR results suggest a modest failure of glucose stimulated insulin secretion and insulin resistance characteristic of glucose intolerance. Insulin's success in preventing arsenate-induced NTDs provides evidence that these arsenate-induced NTDs are secondary to elevated maternal glucose. The NAC rescue, which did not restore maternal glucose or insulin levels, suggests oxidative disruption plays a role.

Simulation of ion-beam induced defects in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dineva, M.; Marksteiner, M.; Lang, W.

2005-01-01

Full text: Heavy-ion irradiation of cuprate superconductors is well known to produce columnar defect tracks along which magnetic vortices can be pinned. Hence, this effect has a large potential for practical applications and can enhance the critical current of the high-temperature superconducting materials. On the other hand, little work has been devoted to light-ion irradiation of the new superconductors. Our previous experimental results have indicated a systematic change of electric transport properties when irradiating YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (YBCO) with 75 KEXV He + ions. The purpose of the present study is the investigation of the ion-target interactions with computer simulation programs based on the binary collision approximation. The program package SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) is widely used to simulate the impact of energetic ions (10 eV to 2 GeV) on a solid target using a quantum mechanical treatment of ion-atom collisions under the assumption of an unstructured target material. A similar program, MARLOWE, includes the exact crystalline structure of the target and, thus, is able to calculate ion channeling effects and angle dependences. Detailed results of the penetration range of ions into YBCO, scattering cascades, creation of vacancies and interstitials, are reported for various kinds of ions. One of the central results is that light ions with energy of about 80 KEXV can penetrate through thin films of the cuprate superconductors and create point defects, mainly by oxygen displacement. (author)

Various categories of defects after surface alloying induced by high current pulsed electron beam irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Dian [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Tang, Guangze, E-mail: oaktang@hit.edu.cn [School of Material Science & Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Ma, Xinxin [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Gu, Le [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Sun, Mingren [School of Material Science & Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Liqin [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2015-10-01

Highlights: • Four kinds of defects are found during surface alloying by high current electron beam. • Exploring the mechanism how these defects appear after irradiation. • Increasing pulsing cycles will help to get good surface quality. • Choosing proper energy density will increase surface quality. - Abstract: High current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) is an attractive advanced materials processing method which could highly increase the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, how to eliminate different kinds of defects during irradiation by HCPEB especially in condition of adding new elements is a challenging task. In the present research, the titanium and TaNb-TiW composite films was deposited on the carburizing steel (SAE9310 steel) by DC magnetron sputtering before irradiation. The process of surface alloying was induced by HCPEB with pulse duration of 2.5 μs and energy density ranging from 3 to 9 J/cm{sup 2}. Investigation of the microstructure indicated that there were several forms of defects after irradiation, such as surface unwetting, surface eruption, micro-cracks and layering. How the defects formed was explained by the results of electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results also revealed that proper energy density (∼6 J/cm{sup 2}) and multi-number of irradiation (≥50 times) contributed to high quality of alloyed layers after irradiation.

Core-level photoabsorption study of defects and metastable bonding configurations in boron nitride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jimenez, I.; Jankowski, A.F.; Terminello, L.J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

1997-04-01

Boron nitride is an interesting material for technological applications and for fundamental solid state physics investigations. It is a compound isoelectronic with carbon and, like carbon can possess sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} bonded phases resembling graphite and diamond. BN crystallizes in the sp{sup 2}-bonded hexagonal (h-BN), rhombohedral (r-BN) and turbostratic phases, and in the sp{sup 3}-bonded cubic (c-BN) and wurtzite (w-BN) phases. A new family of materials is obtained when replacing C-C pairs in graphite with isoelectronic B-N pairs, resulting in C{sub 2}BN compounds. Regarding other boron compounds, BN is exceptional in the sense that it has standard two-center bonds with conventional coordination numbers, while other boron compounds (e.g. B{sub 4}C) are based on the boron icosahedron unit with three-center bonds and high coordination numbers. The existence of several allotropic forms and fullerene-like structures for BN suggests a rich variety of local bonding and poses the questions of how this affects the local electronic structure and how the material accommodates the stress induced in the transition regions between different phases. One would expect point defects to play a crucial role in stress accommodation, but these must also have a strong influence in the electronic structure, since the B-N bond is polar and a point defect will thus be a charged structure. The study of point defects in relationship to the electronic structure is of fundamental interest in these materials. Recently, the authors have shown that Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) is sensitive to point defects in h-BN, and to the formation of metastable phases even in amorphous materials. This is significant since other phase identification techniques like vibrational spectroscopies or x-ray diffraction yield ambiguous results for nanocrystalline and amorphous samples. Serendipitously, NEXAFS also combines chemical selectivity with point defect sensitivity.

Characterization of radiation-induced defects in ZnO probed by positron annihilation spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, S.; Puff, W.; Balogh, A.G.; Mascher, P.

2001-01-01

In this study we discuss the microstructural changes after electron and proton irradiation and the thermal evolution of the radiation induced defects during isochronal annealing of single crystals irradiated either with 3 MeV protons or with 1 or 2 MeV electrons, respectively. The investigations were performed with positron lifetime and Doppler-broadening measurements. The differently grown ZnO single crystals show positron bulk lifetimes in the range of 159-173 ps. (orig.)

Characterization of radiation-induced defects in ZnO probed by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunner, S.; Puff, W. [Technische Univ. Graz (Austria). Inst. fuer Technische Physik; Balogh, A.G. [Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (Germany). FB Materialwissenschaft; Mascher, P. [McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada). Dept. of Engineering Physics

2001-07-01

In this study we discuss the microstructural changes after electron and proton irradiation and the thermal evolution of the radiation induced defects during isochronal annealing of single crystals irradiated either with 3 MeV protons or with 1 or 2 MeV electrons, respectively. The investigations were performed with positron lifetime and Doppler-broadening measurements. The differently grown ZnO single crystals show positron bulk lifetimes in the range of 159-173 ps. (orig.)

Atomic-scale investigation of point defects and hydrogen-solute atmospheres on the edge dislocation mobility in alpha iron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhatia, M. A.; Solanki, K. N., E-mail: kiran.solanki@asu.edu [School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States); Groh, S. [Institute of Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg 09556 (Germany)

2014-08-14

In this study, we present atomistic mechanisms of 1/2 [111](11{sup ¯}0) edge dislocation interactions with point defects (hydrogen and vacancies) and hydrogen solute atmospheres in body centered cubic (bcc) iron. In metals such as iron, increases in hydrogen concentration can increase dislocation mobility and/or cleavage-type decohesion. Here, we first investigate the dislocation mobility in the presence of various point defects, i.e., change in the frictional stress as the edge dislocation interacts with (a) vacancy, (b) substitutional hydrogen, (c) one substitutional and one interstitial hydrogen, (d) interstitial hydrogen, (e) vacancy and interstitial hydrogen, and (f) two interstitial hydrogen. Second, we examine the role of a hydrogen-solute atmosphere on the rate of local dislocation velocity. The edge dislocation simulation with a vacancy in the compression side of the dislocation and an interstitial hydrogen atom at the tension side exhibit the strongest mechanical response, suggesting a higher potential barrier and hence, the higher frictional stress (i.e., ∼83% higher than the pure iron Peierls stress). In the case of a dislocation interacting with a vacancy on the compressive side, the vacancy binds with the edge dislocation, resulting in an increase in the friction stress of about 28% when compared with the Peierls stress of an edge dislocation in pure iron. Furthermore, as the applied strain increases, the vacancy migrates through a dislocation transportation mechanism by attaining a velocity of the same order as the dislocation velocity. For the case of the edge dislocation interacting with interstitial hydrogen on the tension side, the hydrogen atom jumps through one layer perpendicular to the glide plane during the pinning-unpinning process. Finally, our simulation of dislocation interactions with hydrogen show first an increase in the local dislocation velocity followed by a pinning of the dislocation core in the atmosphere, resulting in

Ion beam induced stress formation and relaxation in germanium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinbach, T., E-mail: Tobias.Steinbach@uni-jena.de [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, D-07743 Jena (Germany); Reupert, A.; Schmidt, E.; Wesch, W. [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, D-07743 Jena (Germany)

2013-07-15

Ion irradiation of crystalline solids leads not only to defect formation and amorphization but also to mechanical stress. In the past, many investigations in various materials were performed focusing on the ion beam induced damage formation but only several experiments were done to investigate the ion beam induced stress evolution. Especially in microelectronic devices, mechanical stress leads to several unwanted effects like cracking and peeling of surface layers as well as changing physical properties and anomalous diffusion of dopants. To study the stress formation and relaxation process in semiconductors, crystalline and amorphous germanium samples were irradiated with 3 MeV iodine ions at different ion fluence rates. The irradiation induced stress evolution was measured in situ with a laser reflection technique as a function of ion fluence, whereas the damage formation was investigated by means of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The investigations show that mechanical stress builds up at low ion fluences as a direct consequence of ion beam induced point defect formation. However, further ion irradiation causes a stress relaxation which is attributed to the accumulation of point defects and therefore the creation of amorphous regions. A constant stress state is reached at high ion fluences if a homogeneous amorphous surface layer was formed and no further ion beam induced phase transition took place. Based on the results, we can conclude that the ion beam induced stress evolution seems to be mainly dominated by the creation and accumulation of irradiation induced structural modification.

Evaluation of defects induced by neutron radiation in reactor pressure vessels steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Jimenez, J.

1978-01-01

We have developed a method for calculating the production of neutron induced defects (depleted zone and crowdions) in ferritic pressure vessel steels for different neutron spectra. They have been analysed both the recoil primary atoms produced by elastic and inelastic collisions with fast neutrons and the ones produced by gamma-ray emission by thermal neutron absorption. Theoretical modelling of increasing in the ductile-brittle transition temperature of ferritic steels has been correlated with experimental data at irradiation temperature up to 400 degree centigree (Author) 15 refs

Defect-induced conductance oscillations in short atomic chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wawrzyniak-Adamczewska, M; Kostyrko, T

2012-01-01

Electronic transport through a junction made of two gold electrodes connected with a gold chain containing a silver impurity is analyzed with a tight binding model and the density-functional theory. It is shown that the conductance depends in a simple way on the position of the impurity in the chain and the parity of the total number of atoms of the chain. For an odd chain the conductance takes on a higher value when the Ag impurity substitutes an even Au atom in the chain, and a lower one for an odd position of the Ag atom. In the case of an even chain the conductance hardly depends on the position of the Ag atom. This new kind of a defect-induced parity oscillation of the conductance is significantly more prominent than the well-known even-odd effect related to the dependence of the conductance on the parity of number of atoms in perfect chains. (paper)

Dual approaches for defects condensation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rougemont, Romulo; Grigorio, Leonardo de Souza; Wotzasek, Clovis [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil); Guimaraes, Marcelo Santos [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil)

2009-07-01

Full text. Due to the fact that the QCD running coupling constant becomes larger as we go into the low energy (or large distance) limit of the theory, a perturbative treatment of its infrared (IR) region is impossible. In particular, a formal mathematical demonstration of color confinement and a complete physical understanding of the exact mechanism that confines quarks and gluons are two missing points in our current knowledge of the IR-QCD. It was known that due to the Meissner effect of expulsion of magnetic fields in a electric condensate that usual superconductors should confine magnetic monopoles. That point led to the conjecture that the QCD vacuum could be a condensate of chromomagnetic monopoles, a dual superconductor (DSC). Such a chromomagnetic condensate should be responsible for the dual Meissner effect which is expected to lead to the confinement of color charges immersed in this medium. In dual superconductor models of color confinement, magnetic monopoles appear as topological defects in points of the space where the abelian projection becomes singular. Also, condensation of other kinds of defects such as vortices in superfluids and line-like defects in solids are responsible for a great variety of phase transitions, which once more proves the relevance of the subject. In the present work we review two methods that allow us to approach the condensation of defects: the Kleinert Mechanism (KM) and the Julia-Toulouse Mechanism (JTM). We show that in the limit where the vortex gauge field goes to zero, which we identify as the signature of the condensation of defects in the dual picture, these are two equivalent dual prescriptions for obtaining an effective theory for a phase where defects are condensed, starting from the fundamental theory defined in the normal phase where defects are diluted. (author)

Nonstoichiometry, point defects and magnetic properties in Sr2FeMoO6−δ double perovskites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kircheisen, R.; Töpfer, J.

2012-01-01

The phase stability, nonstoichiometry and point defect chemistry of polycrystalline Sr 2 FeMoO 6−δ (SFMO) was studied by thermogravimety at 1000, 1100, and 1200 °C. Single-phase SFMO exists between −10.2≤log pO 2 ≤−13.7 at 1200 °C. At lower oxygen partial pressure a mass loss signals reductive decomposition. At higher pO 2 a mass gain indicates oxidative decomposition into SrMoO 4 and SrFeO 3−x . The nonstoichiometry δ at 1000, 1100, and 1200 °C was determined as function of pO 2 . SFMO is almost stoichiometric at the upper phase boundary (e.g. δ=0.006 at 1200 °C and log pO 2 =−10.2) and becomes more defective with decreasing oxygen partial pressure (e.g. δ=0.085 at 1200 °C and log pO 2 =−13.5). Oxygen vacancies are shown to represent majority defects. From the temperature dependence of the oxygen vacancy concentration the defect formation enthalpy was estimated (ΔH OV =253±8 kJ/mol). Samples of different nonstoichiometry δ were prepared by quenching from 1200 °C at various pO 2 . An increase of the unit cell volume with increasing defect concentration δ was found. The saturation magnetization is reduced with increasing nonstoichiometry δ. This demonstrates that in addition to Fe/Mo site disorder, oxygen nonstoichiometry is another source of reduced magnetization values. - Graphical abstract: Nonstoichiometry δ of Sr 2 FeMoO 6−δ as function of oxygen partial pressure at 1000, 1100, and 1200 °C. Highlights: ► Sr 2 FeMoO 6−δ is stable at T=1200 °C at low pO 2 only. ► Nonstoichiometry δ measured at 1200, 1100, and 1000 °C. ► Increase of oxygen vacancy concentration with lower pO 2 . ► Reduction of magnetization with increasing nonstoichiometry δ.

Electronic excitation induced defect dynamics in HfO2 based MOS devices investigated by in-situ electrical measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Manikanthababu, N.; Vajandar, S.; Arun, N.; Pathak, A. P.; Asokan, K.; Osipowicz, T.; Basu, T.; Nageswara Rao, S. V. S.

2018-03-01

In-situ I-V and C-V characterization studies were carried out to determine the device quality of atomic layer deposited HfO2 (2.7 nm)/SiO2 (0.6 nm)/Si-based metal oxide semiconductor devices during 120 MeV Ag ion irradiation. The influence of various tunneling mechanisms has been investigated by analyzing the I-V characteristics as a function of ion fluence. The nature of the defects created is tentatively identified by the determination of the significant tunneling processes. While the ion induced annealing of defects is observed at lower fluences, ion induced intermixing and radiation damage is found to be significant at higher fluences. The C-V characteristics also reveal significant changes at the interface and oxide trap densities: an increase in the oxide layer thickness occurs through the formation of an HfSiO interlayer. The interlayer is due to the swift heavy ion induced intermixing, which has been confirmed by X-TEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.

Low-dose ionizing radiation alleviates Aβ42-induced defective phenotypes in Drosophila Alzheimer's disease models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, SooJin; Jeong, Hae Min; Nam, Seon Young [Low-dose Radiation Research Team, Radiation Health Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by amyloid plaques, progressive neuronal loss, and gradual deterioration of memory. Amyloid imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers have been developed and approved for clinical use in the evaluation of suspected neurodegenerative disease, including AD. Particularly, previous studies involving low-dose ionizing radiation on Aβ 42-treated mouse hippocampal neurons have suggested a potential role for low-dose ionizing radiation in the treatment of AD. However, associated in vivo studies involving the therapy effects of low-dose ionizing radiation on AD are still insufficient. As a powerful cell biological system, Drosophila AD models have been generated and established a useful model organism for study on the etiology of human AD. In this study, we investigated the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation on Drosophila AD models. Our results suggest that low-dose ionizing radiation have the beneficial effects on not only the Aβ42-induced developmental defective phenotypes but also motor defects in Drosophila AD models. These results might be due to a regulation of apoptosis, and provide insight into the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation. Our results suggest that low-dose ionizing radiation have the beneficial effects on not only the Aβ42-induced developmental defective phenotypes but also motor defects in Drosophila AD models. These results might be due to a regulation of apoptosis, and provide insight into the hormesis effects of low-dose ionizing radiation.

Radiation-induced creep and swelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heald, P.T.

1977-01-01

The physical basis for radiation induced creep and swelling is reviewed. The interactions between the point defects and dislocations are recalled since these interactions are ultimately responsible for the observable deformation phenomena. Both the size misfit interaction and the induced inhomogeneity interaction are considered since the former gives rise to irradiation swelling while the latter, which depends on both internal and external stresses, results in irradiation creep. The defect kinetics leading to the deformation processes are discussed in terms of chemical rate theory. The rate equations for the spatially averaged interstitial and vacancy concentrations are expressed in terms of the microstructural sink strengths and the solution of these equations leads to general expressions for the deformation rates