Development of external electron-beam enhancement of the Penning ionization gauge ion source

To study the injection of additional electrons from an external electron gun into the plasma of a Penning ionization gauge (PIG) ion source, a test bench for the external electron-beam enhancement of the PIG (E-PIG) ion source was set up. A source magnet assembly was built to satisfy the request for magnetic field configuration of the E-PIG ion source. Numerical calculations have been done to optimize the magnetic field configuration so as to fit the primary electrons to be fed into the PIG discharge chamber along the spreading magnetic field lines. Many possible methods for improving the performance and stability of the PIG ion source have been used in the E-PIG ion source, including the use of multicrystal LaB6 cathode and optimized axial magnetic field. This article presents a detailed design of the E-PIG ion source. Substantial enhancement of ion charge state is expected to be observed which demonstrates that the E-PIG is a viable alternative to other much more costly and difficult to operate devices for the production of intense ion beams of higher charge state.

Effect of entrance-channel asymmetry on the isospin dependence of nucleon emission in heavy ion collisions

Using the isospin- and momentum-dependent hadronic transport model 1BUU04, we have investigated the influence of the entrance-channel isospin asymmetry on the sensitivity of the pre-equilibrium neutron/proton ratio to symmetry energy in central heavy-ion collisions induced by high-energy radioactive beams. Our analysis and discussion are based on the dynamical simulations of the three isotopic reaction Systems Sn-132+Sn-124, Sn-124+Sn-112 and Sn-112+(112)Su which are of the same total proton number but, different isospin asymmetry. We find that, the kinetic-energy distributions of the pre-equilibrium neutron/proton ratio are quite sensitive to the density-dependence of symmetry energy at incident beam energy E/A = 400 MeV, and the sensitivity increases as the isospin asymmetry of the reaction system increases.

Probe beam deflection study of the ion exchange between Prussian blue film or indium hexacyanoferrate film and electrolyte solutions

Probe beam deflection(PBD) technique together with electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry was used to study the ion exchange in prussian blue(PB) film and its analogue indium hexacyanoferrate (InHCF) chemically modified electrodes, The ion exchange mechanism of PB was verified as following: K2Fe2+FeI(CN)(6)(-e--K+)reversible arrow(+e-+K+)KFe(3+)Fe(I)(CN)(6)(-xe--xK+)reversible arrow(+xe-+xK+) [Fe3+FeI(CN)(6)](x)[KFe3+FeI(CN)(6)](1-x) where on reduction in contact with an acidic KCl electrolyte, H+ enter PB film before K+. Both the cations and anions participate concurrently in the redox process of InHCF, meanwhile K+ ion plays a major role in the whole charge transfer process of this film with increasing radii of anions.

A novel in-situ spectroelectrochemical technique with probe beam deflection: For study of the ion exchange between films on electrode surface and solutions

A novel in-situ spectroelectrochemical technique, the combination of probe beam deflection (PBD) with cyclic voltammetry (CV), was used to study the ion exchange process of prussian blue(PB) modified film electrode in contact with various electrolyte solutions. The ion exchange mechanism was verified as following: (K2Fe2+FeII)(CN)(6) -e(-)-k(+)reversible arrow +e(-)+k(+) (KFe3+FeII)(CN)(6) -ke(-)-xk(+)reversible arrow +xe(-)+kk(+) [(Fe3+FeIII)(CN)(6)](x)[(KFe3+FeII)(CN)(6)](1-x) where on reduction PB film in contact with an acidic KCl electrolyte, it was confirmed that protons enter into the PB film before K+ cations.

Anisotropic Deformation Of Polystyrene Particles By Mev Au Ion Irradiation

MeV An irradiation leads to a shape change of polystyrene (PS) and SiO2 particles from spherical to ellipsoidal, with an aspect ratio that can be precisely controlled by the ion fluence. Sub-micrometer PS and SiO2 particles were deposited on copper substrates and irradiated with Au ions at 230 K, using an ion energy and fluence ranging from 2 to 10 MeV and 1 x 10(14) ions/cm(2) to 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). The mechanisms of anisotropic deformation of PS and SiO2 particles are different because of their distinct physical and chemical properties. At the start of irradiation, the volume of PS particles decrease, then the aspect ratio increases with fluence, whereas for SiO2 particles the volume remains constant. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ion cascade acceleration from the interaction of a relativistic femtosecond laser pulse with a narrow thin target

Particle-in-cell simulations are performed to study the acceleration of ions due to the interaction of a relativistic femtosecond laser pulse with a narrow thin target. The numerical results show that ions can be accelerated in a cascade by two electrostatic fields if the width of the target is smaller than the laser beam waist. The first field is formed in front of the target by the central part of the laser beam, which pushes the electron layer inward. The major part of the abaxial laser energy propagates along the edges to the rear side of the target and pulls out some hot electrons from the edges of the target, which form another electrostatic field at the rear side of the target. The ions from the front surface are accelerated stepwise by these two electrostatic fields to high energies at the rear side of the target. The simulations show that the largest ion energy gain for a narrow target is about four times higher than in the case of a wide target. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Generation of periodic ultrashort electron bunches and strongly asymmetric ion Coulomb explosion in nanometer foils interacting with ultra-intense laser pulse

The interaction of a linearly polarized intense laser pulse with an ultrathin nanometer plasma layer is investigated to understand the physics of the ion acceleration. It is shown by the computer simulation that the plasma response to the laser pulse comprises two steps. First, due to the vxB effect, electrons in the plasma layer are extracted and periodic ultrashort relativistic electron bunches are generated every half of a laser period. Second, strongly asymmetric Coulomb explosion of ions in the foil occurs due to the strong electrostatic charge separation, once the foil is burnt through. Followed by the laser accelerated electron bunch, the ion expansion in the forward direction occurs along the laser beam that is much stronger as compared to the backward direction. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Laser-driven inertial ion focusing

A Hohlraum-like configuration is proposed for realizing a simple compact source for neutrons. A laser pulse enters a tiny thin-shelled hollow-sphere target through a small opening and is self-consistently trapped in the cavity. The electrons in the inner shell-wall region are expelled by the light pressure. The resulting space-charge field compresses the local ions into a thin layer that becomes strongly heated. An inward expansion of ions into the shell cavity then occurs, resulting in the formation at the cavity center of a hot spot of ions at high density and temperature, similar to that in inertial electrostatic confinement.

Laser-induced damage threshold of ZrO2 thin films prepared at different oxygen partial pressures by electron-beam evaporation

ZrO2, films were deposited by electron-beam evaporation with the oxygen partial pressure varying from 3 X 10(-3) Pa to I I X 10(-3) Pa. The phase structure of the samples was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal absorption of the films was measured by the surface thermal lensing technique. A spectrophotometer was employed to measure the refractive indices of the samples. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using a 1064, nm Nd: yttritium-aluminium-garnet pulsed laser at pulse width of 12 ns. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the microstructure and LIDT of ZrO2 films was investigated. XRD data revealed that the films changed from polycrystalline to amorphous as the oxygen partial pressure increased. The variation of refractive index at 550 nm wavelength indicated that the packing density of the films decreased gradually with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The absorptance of the samples decreased monotonically from 125.2 to 84.5 ppm with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The damage threshold, values increased from 18.5 to 26.7 J/cm(2) for oxygen partial pressures varying from 3 X 10(-3) Pa to 9 X 10(-3) Pa, but decreased to 17.3 J/cm(2) in the case of I I X 10(-3) Pa. (C) 2005 American Vacuum Society.

Laser-induced damage threshold of ZrO2 thin films prepared at different oxygen partial pressures by electron-beam evaporation

ZrO2, films were deposited by electron-beam evaporation with the oxygen partial pressure varying from 3 X 10(-3) Pa to I I X 10(-3) Pa. The phase structure of the samples was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal absorption of the films was measured by the surface thermal lensing technique. A spectrophotometer was employed to measure the refractive indices of the samples. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using a 1064, nm Nd: yttritium-aluminium-garnet pulsed laser at pulse width of 12 ns. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the microstructure and LIDT of ZrO2 films was investigated. XRD data revealed that the films changed from polycrystalline to amorphous as the oxygen partial pressure increased. The variation of refractive index at 550 nm wavelength indicated that the packing density of the films decreased gradually with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The absorptance of the samples decreased monotonically from 125.2 to 84.5 ppm with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The damage threshold, values increased from 18.5 to 26.7 J/cm(2) for oxygen partial pressures varying from 3 X 10(-3) Pa to 9 X 10(-3) Pa, but decreased to 17.3 J/cm(2) in the case of I I X 10(-3) Pa. (C) 2005 American Vacuum Society.

Influence of negative ion element impurities on laser induced damage threshold of HfO2 thin film

Negative ion element impurities breakdown model in HfO2 thin film was reported in this paper. The content of negative ion elements were detected by glow discharge mass spectrum analysis (GDMS); HfO2 thin films were deposited by the electron-beam evaporation method. The weak absorption and laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of HfO2 thin films were measured to testify the negative ion element impurity breakdown model. It was found that the LIDT would decrease and the absorption would increase with increasing the content of negative ion element. These results indicated that negative ion elements were harmful impurities and would speed up the damage of thin film. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation of high laser induced damage threshold antireflection film using interrupted ion assisted deposition

Single layers and antireflection films were deposited by electron beam evaporation, ion assisted deposition and interrupted ion assisted deposition, respectively. Antireflection film of quite high laser damage threshold (18J/cm(2)) deposited by interrupted ion assisted deposition were got. The electric field distribution, weak absorption, and residual stress of films and their relations to damage threshold were investigated. It was shown that the laser induced damage threshold of film was the result of competition of disadvantages and advantages, and interrupted ion assisted deposition was one of the valuable methods for preparing high laser induced damage threshold films. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America

Optical and electrical properties of TiOx thin films deposited by electron beam evaporation

The TiOx thin films were prepared by electron beam evaporation using TiO as the starting material. The effect of the annealing temperature on the optical and electrical properties was investigated. The spectra of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that Ti in the films mainly exist in the forms of Ti2+ and Ti3+ below 400 degrees C 24h annealing. The charge transfer between different titanium ion contribute greatly to the color, absorption, and electrical resistance of the films. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of ZrO2 in HfO2 on reflectance of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer at 248 nm prepared by electron-beam evaporation

Influence of ZrO2 in HfO2 on the reflectance of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer at 248 nm was investigated. Two kinds of HfO2 with different ZrO2 content were chosen as high refractive index material and the same kind of SiO2 as low refractive index material to prepare the mirrors by electron-beam evaporation. The impurities in two kinds of HfO2 starting coating materials and in their corresponding single layer thin films were determined through glow discharge mass spectrum (GDMS) technology and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) equipment, respectively. It showed that between the two kinds of HfO2, either the bulk materials or their corresponding films, the difference of ZrO2 was much larger than that of the other impurities such as Ti and Fe. It is the Zr element that affects the property of thin films. Both in theoretical and in experimental, the mirror prepared with the HfO2 starting material containing more Zr content has a lower reflectance. Because the extinction coefficient of zirconia is relatively high in UV region, it can be treated as one kind of absorbing defects to influence the optical property of the mirrors. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.