Ion Beam Experiments to Emulate Nuclear Fusion Environment on Structural Materials at CMAM

Fusion power, based on the nuclear fusion of light elements to yield a net gain of energy, has the potential to extend the world's resources in a way which is environmentally attractive. Nevertheless, the easiest route to fusion — the reaction between deuterium and tritium — involves hazards from the use of tritium and the neutron activation of the structural materials. These hazards have been considered on the basis of simple conceptual reactor designs, both in relation to normal operation and decommissioning and to potential accident situations. Results from several studies are reviewed and suggest that fusion reactors appear to have an inherently lower environmental impact than fission reactors. However, the realization of this potential has yet to be demonstrated.

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Studying Radiation Damage in Structural Materials by Using Ion Accelerators

Reviews of Accelerator Science and Technology ◽

10.1142/s1793626811000513 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 04 (01) ◽

pp. 161-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Peter Hosemann

Keyword(s):

Radiation Damage ◽

Large Scale ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Structural Materials ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Particle Accelerators ◽

Beam Irradiation ◽

Ion Beam Irradiation ◽

Short Period ◽

Wide Range

Radiation damage in structural materials is of major concern and a limiting factor for a wide range of engineering and scientific applications, including nuclear power production, medical applications, or components for scientific radiation sources. The usefulness of these applications is largely limited by the damage a material can sustain in the extreme environments of radiation, temperature, stress, and fatigue, over long periods of time. Although a wide range of materials has been extensively studied in nuclear reactors and neutron spallation sources since the beginning of the nuclear age, ion beam irradiations using particle accelerators are a more cost-effective alternative to study radiation damage in materials in a rather short period of time, allowing researchers to gain fundamental insights into the damage processes and to estimate the property changes due to irradiation. However, the comparison of results gained from ion beam irradiation, large-scale neutron irradiation, and a variety of experimental setups is not straightforward, and several effects have to be taken into account. It is the intention of this article to introduce the reader to the basic phenomena taking place and to point out the differences between classic reactor irradiations and ion irradiations. It will also provide an assessment of how accelerator-based ion beam irradiation is used today to gain insight into the damage in structural materials for large-scale engineering applications.

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Direct Observations of the Epitaxial Growth of Sputtered Ag on Si

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100071053 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 122-123

Author(s):

J. S. Maa ◽

Thos. E. Hutchinson

Keyword(s):

Epitaxial Growth ◽

Film Growth ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam Sputtering ◽

Microscopy Technique ◽

Direct Observations ◽

In Situ Electron Microscopy ◽

Beam Sputtering ◽

The Subject

The growth of Ag films deposited on various substrate materials such as MoS2, mica, graphite, and MgO has been investigated extensively using the in situ electron microscopy technique. The three stages of film growth, namely, the nucleation, growth of islands followed by liquid-like coalescence have been observed in both the vacuum vapor deposited and ion beam sputtered thin films. The mechanisms of nucleation and growth of silver films formed by ion beam sputtering on the (111) plane of silicon comprise the subject of this paper. A novel mode of epitaxial growth is observed to that seen previously.The experimental arrangement for the present study is the same as previous experiments, and the preparation procedure for obtaining thin silicon substrate is presented in a separate paper.

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Effects of Ion Beam Milling on Surface Topography

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100070862 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 84-85

Author(s):

P.G. Pawar ◽

P. Duhamel ◽

G.W. Monk

Keyword(s):

Surface Topography ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Solid Material ◽

Beam Current ◽

Atomic Mass ◽

Micro Milling ◽

Ion Milling ◽

Controlled Atmospheres ◽

Milling Operations ◽

Sufficient Energy

A beam of ions of mass greater than a few atomic mass units and with sufficient energy can remove atoms from the surface of a solid material at a useful rate. A system used to achieve this purpose under controlled atmospheres is called an ion miliing machine. An ion milling apparatus presently available as IMMI-III with a IMMIAC was used in this investigation. Unless otherwise stated, all the micro milling operations were done with Ar+ at 6kv using a beam current of 100 μA for each of the two guns, with a specimen tilt of 15° from the horizontal plane.It is fairly well established that ion bombardment of the surface of homogeneous materials can produce surface topography which resembles geological erosional features.

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Nucleation and Early Growth of Sputtered thin Films

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100069570 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 516-517

Author(s):

Dudley M. Sherman ◽

Thos. E. Hutchinson

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Electron Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Ion Source ◽

Water Cooling ◽

Stages Of Growth ◽

Lens Assembly ◽

Microscope Technique ◽

Ion Beam Sputter Deposition

The in situ electron microscope technique has been shown to be a powerful method for investigating the nucleation and growth of thin films formed by vacuum vapor deposition. The nucleation and early stages of growth of metal deposits formed by ion beam sputter-deposition are now being studied by the in situ technique.A duoplasmatron ion source and lens assembly has been attached to one side of the universal chamber of an RCA EMU-4 microscope and a sputtering target inserted into the chamber from the opposite side. The material to be deposited, in disc form, is bonded to the end of an electrically isolated copper rod that has provisions for target water cooling. The ion beam is normal to the microscope electron beam and the target is placed adjacent to the electron beam above the specimen hot stage, as shown in Figure 1.

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SEM analysis of DC magnetron sputtered beryllium films

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100106867 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 960-961

Author(s):

E. F. Lindsey ◽

C. W. Price ◽

E. L. Pierce ◽

E. J. Hsieh

Keyword(s):

Fine Structure ◽

Electron Emission ◽

Secondary Electron ◽

Low Voltage ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Secondary Electron Emission ◽

Sem Analysis ◽

Fused Silica ◽

Grain Structure ◽

Silica Substrate

Columnar structures produced by DC magnetron sputtering can be altered by using RF biased sputtering or by exposing the film to nitrogen pulses during sputtering, and these techniques are being evaluated to refine the grain structure in sputtered beryllium films deposited on fused silica substrates. Beryllium is brittle, and fractures in sputtered beryllium films tend to be intergranular; therefore, a convenient technique to analyze grain structure in these films is to fracture the coated specimens and examine them in an SEM. However, fine structure in sputtered deposits is difficult to image in an SEM, and both the low density and the low secondary electron emission coefficient of beryllium seriously compound this problem. Secondary electron emission can be improved by coating beryllium with Au or Au-Pd, and coating also was required to overcome severe charging of the fused silica substrate even at low voltage. The coating structure can obliterate much of the fine structure in beryllium films, but reasonable results were obtained by using the high-resolution capability of an Hitachi S-800 SEM and either ion-beam coating with Au-Pd or carbon coating by thermal evaporation.

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Ion Beam Induced Interfacial Reactions in Molybdenum Thin Films on Silicon

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100097466 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 162-163

Author(s):

L. J. Chen ◽

L. S. Hung ◽

J. W. Mayer

Keyword(s):

Ion Beam ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Interfacial Reactions ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Microelectronic Devices ◽

Recent Emergence ◽

Chemical Vapor Deposited ◽

Atomic Mixing ◽

Silicon Interface ◽

Kinetics Of

When an energetic ion penetrates through an interface between a thin film (of species A) and a substrate (of species B), ion induced atomic mixing may result in an intermixed region (which contains A and B) near the interface. Most ion beam mixing experiments have been directed toward metal-silicon systems, silicide phases are generally obtained, and they are the same as those formed by thermal treatment.Recent emergence of silicide compound as contact material in silicon microelectronic devices is mainly due to the superiority of the silicide-silicon interface in terms of uniformity and thermal stability. It is of great interest to understand the kinetics of the interfacial reactions to provide insights into the nature of ion beam-solid interactions as well as to explore its practical applications in device technology.About 500 Å thick molybdenum was chemical vapor deposited in hydrogen ambient on (001) n-type silicon wafer with substrate temperature maintained at 650-700°C. Samples were supplied by D. M. Brown of General Electric Research & Development Laboratory, Schenectady, NY.

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The Microstructure of Nickel Oxide Scales

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100097144 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 86-87

Author(s):

M. T. Tinker ◽

L. W. Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Nickel Oxide ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Oxide Scales ◽

Nickel Substrate ◽

Outward Diffusion ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Nickel Substrates ◽

Nickel Base ◽

Technological Interest

There is considerable technological interest in oxidation of nickel because of the importance of nickel-base superalloys in high-temperature oxidizing environments. NiO scales on nickel grow classically, by outward diffusion of nickel through the scale, and are among the most studied of oxidation systems. We report here the first extensive characterization by transmission electron microscopy of nickel oxide scales formed on bulk nickel substrates and sectioned both parallel and transversely to the Ni/NiO interface.Electrochemically-polished nickel sheet of 99.995% purity was oxidized at 1273 K in 0.1 MPa oxygen partial pressure for times between 5 s and 25 h. Parallel sections were produced using a combination of electropolishing of the nickel substrate and ion-beam thinning of the scale to any desired depth in the scale. Transverse sections were prepared by encasing stacked strips of oxidized nickel sheet in epoxy resin, sectioning transversely and ion-beam thinning until thin area spanning one or more interfaces was obtained.

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