•Determination of the quantified SiC crystal damage depth profile.•A successful demonstration of usage of EBS/C method for crystal damage characterization.•Micro-Raman spectroscopy and SEM analysis ...shows very good consistency with EBS/C obtained damage depth profiles.
The hexagonal silicon carbide (6H-SiC) is one of materials used in nuclear applications, and as such is exposed to crystal damage inducing by variety of energetic particles like neutrons. In this article the 6H-SiC crystal lattice damage was introduced by the 4 MeV C3+ and 4 MeV Si3+ channelling ion implantation at the room temperature. The implantation of C and Si ions (so called self-ions) to the set of different fluences, achieves a 6H-SiC crystal lattice damage more similar to what the exposure to neutrons would produce. The 6H-SiC crystal damage has been investigated by the Elastic Backscattering spectra taken in the channeling orientation (EBS/C). EBS/C spectra of the implanted 6H-SiC samples were taken with 1.725 MeV and 1.860 MeV protons. By fitting the EBS/C spectra, the quantitative 6H-SiC crystal damage depth profiles were obtained. Further, the cross section of crystal's implanted region has been scanned with the micro-Raman (μR) technique for a comparison. In this way, the qualitative analysis of a non-crystalline phase as a function of the crystal depth was independently determined. Additionally, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image was taken of the implanted crystal cross sections. The comparison of the crystal damage profiles obtained by fitting EBS/C spectra with the corresponding ones obtained with the μR and SEM techniques shows very good consistency between them.
Neutron induced reaction cross-section measurements display special interest both for fundamental research in the Nuclear Physics field and many practical applications. The Institute of Nuclear and ...Particle Physics (INP) of the National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos (N.C.S.R. “D”) hosts the 5.5 MV T11/25 Van de Graaff accelerator, which is the only accelerator used in Greece for research purposes. This accelerator recently underwent a major upgrade, including the installation of a new pelletron charging system, two new ion sources, a new gas stripper and beam optics. This neutron facility can produce quasi-monoenrgetic neutron beams in the energy range ∼16-19 MeV via the 3 H(d,n) 4 He (D-T) reaction, employing a tritiated Titanium target (TiT). The neutron induced cross sections of a total of nine reaction channels have been experimentally measured in the present work, via the activation technique, using enriched Ge targets. These targets produce more accurate cross-section results, in comparison with the - most commonly used in bibliography - nat Ge samples, since they do not suffer from contaminating reactions that produce the same residual nucleus. Monte Carlo simulations were also performed via the combined use of MCNP5 and NeuSDesc codes for the simulation of the neutron beam.
Several cross-section measurements of neutron-induced reactions on Ge found in literature, are performed utilizing natGe targets. The production of the same residual nucleus as the measured one might ...occur as a result of the unavoidable presence of neighboring isotopes in the same target, acting as a contamination. Corrections must be made based on theoretical calculations and models in order to resolve this problem. The accuracy and limits of a methodology for these "theoretical corrections" are investigated in this work using isotopically enriched targets, which can produce very accurate results without the need for such corrections. Experimental cross-section measurements have been made for the 76Ge(n,2n)75Ge, 72Ge(n,α)69mZn and 72Ge(n,p)72Ga reactions, via the activation technique, with the 27Al(n,α)24Na reaction used as reference, employing both a natGe and isotopically enriched Ge targets. The 3H(d,n)4He (D-T) reaction was used for producing the quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam in the 5.5 MV Tandem Accelerator Laboratory of the National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" in Athens, Greece, at an incident deuteron beam energy of 2.9 MeV. Using HPGe detectors, γ-ray spectroscopy was applied to determine the induced γ-ray activity of the residual nuclei.
Nine neutron induced reactions on Ge isotopes (
70
Ge(n,2n)
69
Ge,
76
Ge(n,2n)
75
Ge,
73
Ge(n,p)
73
Ga,
72
Ge(n,p)
72
Ga,
73
Ge(n,d/np)
72
Ga,
74
Ge(n,d/np)
73
Ga,
74
Ge(n,α)
71m
Zn,
72
Ge(n,α)
69m
...Zn,
73
Ge(n,nα)
69m
Zn) have been measured in this work at energies 16.4-18.9 MeV. For these reactions, most of the experimental datasets in literature were obtained with a
nat
Ge target. However, the residual nucleus produced by some reaction channels can also be produced from neighboring isotopes, acting as a contamination for the measured reactions. This contribution must be subtracted, based on theoretical calculations, bearing their own uncertainties. The use of enriched targets however, does not suffer from such contaminations, leading to accurate experimental results. In this scope, five highly isotopically enriched Ge samples have been used in this work. The quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced via the
3
H(d,n)
4
He reaction at the 5.5 MV Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator of N.C.S.R. ‘Demokritos’. The cross section of these nine reactions were measured using the activation method, with respect to the
27
Al(n,α)
24
Na reference reaction.
Experimental cross section measurements for the 176Hf(n,2n)175Hf and 174Hf(n,2n)173Hf reactions were carried out, using the activation technique. The neutron beam energy in the range of 15.3-20.3 MeV ...was produced via the 3H(d,n)4He reaction at the 5.5 MeV Tandem Van de Graaf accelerator laboratory of NCSR “Demokritos”. A thin metallic foil of natural Hf was used, while for the determination of the neutron flux at the target position, reference foils of Al were placed at the front and back of the Hf target. The irradiations were continuous for ~24-48 hours, leading to a total neutron fluence of 1010-1011 n/cm2 and a BF3 detector was used for monitoring the neutron flux during the irradiations. After the end of each irradiation, the activity of the Hf target and the Al reference foils were measured off-line by two HPGe detectors. The 176Hf(n,2n)175Hf reaction has been corrected for the contribution of the 177Hf(n,3n)175Hf and 174Hf(n,γ)175Hf reactions. Statistical model calculations based on the Hauser-Feshbach theory have also been performed using the EMPIRE 3.2.3 code. The predictions have been compared with the data of the present work as well as with data from literature.
The fission cross section of
232
Th has been measured at fast neutron energies, using a setup based on Micromegas detectors. The experiment was performed at the 5.5 MV Van de Graaff Tandem ...accelerator in the neutron beam facility of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”. The quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced via the
3
H(p,n),
2
H(d,n) and
3
H(d,n) reactions, while the
238
U(n,f) and
235
U(n,f) reactions were used as references, in order to acquire cross-section data points in the energy range 2–18 MeV. The characterization of the actinide samples was performed via
α
-spectroscopy with a Silicon Surface Barrier (SSB) detector, while Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code were used to achieve the deconvolution of the
232
Th
α
peak from the
α
background of its daughter nuclei present in the spectrum. Special attention was given to the study of the parasitic neutrons present in the experimental area, produced via charged particle reactions induced by the particle beam and from neutron scattering. Details on the data analysis and results are presented.
The aim of the present work was to study the cross-section of the (n,2n) reaction on 203Tl, by irradiating a natural TlCl pellet target with monoenergetic neutron beams at 16.4, 18.9 and 19.3 MeV. ...The cross section of the 203Tl(n,2n)202Tl reaction was measured via the activation method, with respect to the 197Au(n,2n)196Au and 27Al(n,α)24Na reference reactions. At the same time, the 203Tl(n,3n)201Tl was also measured at 18.9 and 19.3 MeV. The monoenergetic neutron beams were generated at the 5.5 MV Tandem accelerator of NCSR “Demokritos”, using the 3H(d,n)4He reaction. In addition, theoretical calculations with the EMPIRE code have been performed, in order to find a suitable model for the description of the experimental data of the present work along with the data from literature.
Monte Carlo simulations were performed using the GEANT4 code for the investigation of γ-ray absorption in water in different spherical geometries and of the efficiency of a NaI(Tl) detector for ...different radionuclides in the aquatic environment. In order to test the reliability of these simulations, experimental values of the NaI(Tl) detector efficiency were deduced and seem to be in good agreement with the simulated ones. In addition, using the simulated efficiency, an algorithm was developed to determine the minimum detectable activity in becquerels per cubic meter in situ as a function of energy for typical freshwater and seawater spectra.
EBS/C proton spectra from a virgin diamond crystal Erich, M.; Kokkoris, M.; Fazinić, S. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms,
08/2016, Letnik:
381
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In the present work, elastic backscattering channeling spectra, EBS/C, of protons in a 〈100〉 diamond crystal were experimentally and theoretically studied via a new computer simulation code. Proton ...incident energies for EBS/C spectra were in the energy range from 1.0MeV to 1.9MeV. The energy range was chosen in order to explore a distinct strong resonance of the 12C(p,p0)12C elastic scattering at 1737keV. The computer simulation code applied for the fitting of the experimental spectra in the random mode was compared with the corresponding SIMNRA results. In the channeling mode, it assumes a Gompertz type sigmoidal dechanneling function, which has two fitting parameters, xc and k, the dechanneling range and rate, respectively. It also uses α, ratio of the channeling to random energy losses, as a fitting parameter. It was observed that xc increases, k decreases and α stays relatively constant with the proton incident energy. These observations confirm the physical interpretation of the fitting parameters. Also, they constitute the basics for the further development of the code for the quantification of induced amorphization and depth profiling of implanted ions.
The use of experimental cross-section data on fluorine in analytical EBS studies is quite problematic, because they are indeed inadequate and discrepant (up to ∼30%). The evaluated values on the ...other hand, being produced by incorporating the available experimental cross sections within a unified theoretical approach, provide the most reliable data to be used and are therefore very important. The present work contributes in this field by reproducing and attempting to extend the corresponding evaluation for 19F(p,p0), which ranges up to 1730keV, to proton energies up to 2250keV, using the AZURE code. The performed R-matrix calculations involved the simultaneous analysis of several experimental input datasets, as well as spectroscopic information concerning the formed compound nucleus 20Ne, while valuable feedback information was provided by proton benchmarking spectra on ZnF2 taken at Ep=1730 and 2250keV and at several backscattering angles for the fine tuning of the parameters used. The problem of the 19F(p,p′) and 19F(p, αx) contributions in the obtained thick target yield spectra is also discussed.
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