Annealing of defects in Fe after MeV Heavy ion irradiation

We report study of recovery dynamics, followed by in-situ resistivity measurement after 100 MeV oxygen ion irradiation, in cold rolled Fe at 300K. Scaling behavior with microstructural density and temperature of sample have been used to establish stress induced defects formed during irradiation as a new type of sink. The dynamics after irradiation has been shown to be due to migration of defects to two types of sinks i.e. stress induced defect as variable sinks and internal surfaces as fixed sinks. Experimental data obtained under various experimental conditions have been fitted to theoretical curves. Parameters thus obtained from fitting are employed to establish effect of electronic energy loss and temperature on recovery dynamics and stress associated with variable sinks.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Europhysics Letter (in press

Thermal annealing study of swift heavy-ion irradiated zirconia

Sintered samples of monoclinic zirconia (alpha-ZrO2) have been irradiated at room temperature with 6.0-GeV Pb ions in the electronic slowing down regime. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements showed unambiguously that a transition to the 'metastable' tetragonal phase (beta-ZrO2) occurred at a fluence of 6.5x10^12 cm-2 for a large electronic stopping power value (approx 32.5 MeV $\mu$m-1). At a lower fluence of 1.0x10^12 cm-2, no such phase transformation was detected. The back-transformation from beta- to alpha-ZrO2 induced by isothermal or isochronal thermal annealing was followed by XRD analysis. The back-transformation started at an onset temperature around 500 K and was completed by 973 K. Plots of the residual tetragonal phase fraction deduced from XRD measurements versus annealing temperature or time are analyzed with first- or second-order kinetic models. An activation energy close to 1 eV for the back-transformation process is derived either from isothermal annealing curves, using the so-called "cross-cut" method, or from the isochronal annealing curve, using a second-order kinetic law. Correlation with the thermal recovery of ion-induced paramagnetic centers monitored by EPR spectroscopy is discussed. Effects of crystallite size evolution and oxygen migration upon annealing are also addressed

Superconducting and Normal State Properties of Neutron Irradiated MgB2

We have performed a systematic study of the evolution of the superconducting and normal state properties of neutron irradiated MgB$_2$ wire segments as a function of fluence and post exposure annealing temperature and time. All fluences used suppressed the transition temperature, Tc, below 5 K and expanded the unit cell. For each annealing temperature Tc recovers with annealing time and the upper critical field, Hc2(T=0), approximately scales with Tc. By judicious choice of fluence, annealing temperature and time, the Tc of damaged MgB2 can be tuned to virtually any value between 5 and 39 K. For higher annealing temperatures and longer annealing times the recovery of Tc tends to coincide with a decrease in the normal state resistivity and a systematic recovery of the lattice parameters.Comment: Updated version, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Thermal recovery of colour centres induced in cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia by charged particle irradiations

We have used electron paramagnetic resonance to study the thermal annealing of colour centres induced in cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia by swift electron and heavy ion-irradiations. Single crystals were irradiated with 1 or 2-MeV electrons, and 200-MeV 127I, or 200-MeV 197Au ions. Electron and ion beams produce the same colour centres: namely i) an F+-like centre, ii) the so-called T-centre (Zr3+ in a trigonal oxygen local environment), and iii) a hole center. Isochronal annealing was performed up to 973 K. Isothermal annealing was performed at various temperatures on samples irradiated with 2-MeV electrons. The stability of paramagnetic centres increases with fluence and with a TCR treatment at 1373 K under vacuum prior to the irradiations. Two distinct recovery processes are observed depending on fluence and/or thermal treatment. The single-stage type I process occurs for F+-like centres at low fluences in as-received samples, and is probably linked to electron-hole recombination. T-centres are also annealed according to a single-stage process regardless of fluence. The annealing curves allow one to obtain activation energies for recovery. The two-stage type II process is observed only for the F+-like centres in as-received samples, at higher fluences, or in reduced samples. These centres are first annealed in a first stage below 550 K, like in type I, then transform into new paramagnetic centres in a second stage above 550 K. A simple kinetics model is proposed for this process. Complete colour centre bleaching is achieved at about 1000 K

Effects of Neutron Irradiation on Carbon Doped MgB2 Wire Segments

We have studied the evolution of superconducting and normal state properties of neutron irradiated Mg(B$_{.962}$C$_{.038}$)$_2$ wire segments as a function of post exposure annealing time and temperature. The initial fluence fully suppressed superconductivity and resulted in an anisotropic expansion of the unit cell. Superconductivity was restored by post-exposure annealing. The upper critical field, H$_{c2}$(T=0), approximately scales with T$_c$ starting with an undamaged T$_c$ near 37 K and H$_{c2}$(T=0) near 32 T. Up to an annealing temperature of 400 $^ o$C the recovery of T$_c$ tends to coincide with a decrease in the normal state resistivity and a systematic recovery of the lattice parameters. Above 400 $^ o$C a decrease in order along the c- direction coincides with an increase in resistivity, but no apparent change in the evolution of T$_c$ and H$_{c2}$. To first order, it appears that carbon doping and neutron damaging effect the superconducting properties of MgB$_2$ independently

Basic principles of postgrowth annealing of CdTe:Cl ingot to obtain semi-insulating crystals

The process of annealing of a CdTe:Cl ingot during its cooling after growth was studied. The annealing was performed in two stages: a high-temperature stage, with an approximate equality of chlorine and cadmium vacancy concentrations established at the thermodynamic equilibrium between the crystal and vapors of volatile components, and a low-temperature stage, with charged defects interacting to form neutral associations. The chlorine concentrations necessary to obtain semi-insulating crystals were determined for various ingot cooling rates in the high temperature stage. The dependence of the chlorine concentration [Cl+Te] in the ingot on the temperature of annealing in the high-temperature stage was found. The carrier lifetimes and drift mobilities were obtained in relation to the temperature and cadmium vapor pressure in the postgrowth annealing of the ingot.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Melting Point and Lattice Parameter Shifts in Supported Metal Nanoclusters

The dependencies of the melting point and the lattice parameter of supported metal nanoclusters as functions of clusters height are theoretically investigated in the framework of the uniform approach. The vacancy mechanism describing the melting point and the lattice parameter shifts in nanoclusters with decrease of their size is proposed. It is shown that under the high vacuum conditions (p<10^-7 torr) the essential role in clusters melting point and lattice parameter shifts is played by the van der Waals forces of cluster-substrate interation. The proposed model satisfactorily accounts for the experimental data.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Chemical Beam Epitaxy of Compound Semiconductors

Contains reports on three research projects and a list of publications.3M Company Faculty Development GrantAT&T Research Foundation Special Purpose GrantCharles S. Draper Laboratories Contract DL-H-418484Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 216-25013Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 542383Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant ECS 88-46919National Science Foundation Grant ECS 89-05909Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 5300716-07U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-88-K-0564Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 530-0716-07National Science Foundation Subcontract DMR 90-0789

Thermodynamics of impurity-enhanced vacancy formation in metals

Hydrogen induced vacancy formation in metals and metal alloys has been of great interest during the past couple of decades. The main reason for this phenomenon, often referred to as the superabundant vacancy formation, is the lowering of vacancy formation energy due to the trapping of hydrogen. By means of thermodynamics, we study the equilibrium vacancy formation in fcc metals (Pd, Ni, Co, and Fe) in correlation with the H amounts. The results of this study are compared and found to be in good agreement with experiments. For the accurate description of the total energy of the metal-hydrogen system, we take into account the binding energies of each trapped impurity, the vibrational entropy of defects, and the thermodynamics of divacancy formation. We demonstrate the effect of vacancy formation energy, the hydrogen binding, and the divacancy binding energy on the total equilibrium vacancy concentration. We show that the divacancy fraction gives the major contribution to the total vacancy fraction at high H fractions and cannot be neglected when studying superabundant vacancies. Our results lead to a novel conclusion that at high hydrogen fractions, superabundant vacancy formation takes place regardless of the binding energy between vacancies and hydrogen. We also propose the reason of superabundant vacancy formation mainly in the fcc phase. The equations obtained within this work can be used for any metal-impurity system, if the impurity occupies an interstitial site in the lattice. Published by AIP Publishing.Peer reviewe

International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Allergic Rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Critical examination of the quality and validity of available allergic rhinitis (AR) literature is necessary to improve understanding and to appropriately translate this knowledge to clinical care of the AR patient. To evaluate the existing AR literature, international multidisciplinary experts with an interest in AR have produced the International Consensus statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Allergic Rhinitis (ICAR:AR). METHODS: Using previously described methodology, specific topics were developed relating to AR. Each topic was assigned a literature review, evidence-based review (EBR), or evidence-based review with recommendations (EBRR) format as dictated by available evidence and purpose within the ICAR:AR document. Following iterative reviews of each topic, the ICAR:AR document was synthesized and reviewed by all authors for consensus. RESULTS: The ICAR:AR document addresses over 100 individual topics related to AR, including diagnosis, pathophysiology, epidemiology, disease burden, risk factors for the development of AR, allergy testing modalities, treatment, and other conditions/comorbidities associated with AR. CONCLUSION: This critical review of the AR literature has identified several strengths; providers can be confident that treatment decisions are supported by rigorous studies. However, there are also substantial gaps in the AR literature. These knowledge gaps should be viewed as opportunities for improvement, as often the things that we teach and the medicine that we practice are not based on the best quality evidence. This document aims to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the AR literature to identify areas for future AR research and improved understanding