9 research outputs found
Neutron Position Sensitive Detectors for the ESS
The European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden will become the world's
leading neutron source for the study of materials. The instruments are being
selected from conceptual proposals submitted by groups from around Europe.
These instruments present numerous challenges for detector technology in the
absence of the availability of Helium-3, which is the default choice for
detectors for instruments built until today and due to the extreme rates
expected across the ESS instrument suite. Additionally a new generation of
source requires a new generation of detector technologies to fully exploit the
opportunities that this source provides. The detectors will be sourced from
partners across Europe through numerous in-kind arrangements; a process that is
somewhat novel for the neutron scattering community. This contribution presents
briefly the current status of detectors for the ESS, and outlines the timeline
to completion. For a conjectured instrument suite based upon instruments
recommended for construction, a recently updated snapshot of the current
expected detector requirements is presented. A strategy outline as to how these
requirements might be tackled by novel detector developments is shown. In terms
of future developments for the neutron community, synergies should be sought
with other disciples, as recognized by various recent initiatives in Europe, in
the context of the fundamentally multi-disciplinary nature of detectors. This
strategy has at its basis the in-kind and collaborative partnerships necessary
to be able to produce optimally performant detectors that allow the ESS
instruments to be world-leading. This foresees and encourages a high level of
collaboration and interdependence at its core, and rather than each group being
all-rounders in every technology, the further development of centres of
excellence across Europe for particular technologies and niches.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. Proceedings from the 23rd International Workshop
on Vertex Detectors, 15-19 September 2014, Macha Lake, The Czech Republic.
PoS(Vertex2014)02
CVD Chemistry of Organoborons for Boron-Carbon Thin Film Depositions
Boron-carbon thin films enriched with 10B are potential neutron converting layers for 10B-based solid state neutron detectors given the good neutron absorption cross section of 10B atoms in thin films. The common neutron-transparent base material, Al (melting point 660 °C), limits the deposition temperature and the use of chlorinated precursors forming corrosive by-products such as HCl. Therefore, the organoborons triethylboron B(C2H5)3 (TEB) and trimethylboron B(CH3)3 (TMB) are evaluated as precursors for CVD of BxC films. In order to get a complete understanding of the CVD behaviour of these precursors for deposition of boron containing films, both thermal CVD and plasma CVD of BxC films have been demonstrated. A gas phase chemical mechanism at the corresponding thermal CVD conditions was proposed by quantum chemical calculations while chemical mechanism in the plasma was suggested based on plasma composition obtained from Optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The behaviours of TEB and TMB in thermal CVD are investigated by depositing BxC films in both H2 and Ar atmospheres, respectively. Films deposited using TEB within a temperature window of 600 – 1000 °C are X-ray amorphous with 2.5 ≤ x ≤ 4.5. The impurity level of H is less than 1 at. % above 600 °C. Calculations predict that the gas phase reactions are dominated by β-hydride eliminations of C2H4 to yield BH3. In addition, a complementary bimolecular reaction path based on H2 assisted C2H6 elimination to BH3 is also present at lower temperatures in the presence of hydrogen molecules. As for films deposited with TMB, dense, amorphous, boron rich (B/C = 1.5-3) films are obtained at 1000 °C in both H2 and Ar atmosphere. The quantum chemical calculations suggest that the TMB molecule is mainly decomposed by unimolecular α- elimination of CH4 complemented by H2 assisted elimination of CH4. Plasma CVD of BxC thin films has been studied using both TMB and TEB as single-source precursors in an Ar plasma at temperatures lower than that allowed by thermal CVD. The effect of plasma power, TMB/TEB and Ar gas flow on film composition and morphology are investigated. The highest B/C ratio of 1.9 is found for films deposited at highest plasma power (2400 W) and high TMB flow (7 sccm). The H content in the films stays almost constant at 15±5 at. %. The B-C bonding is dominant in the films while small amounts of C-C and B-O exist, likely due to formation of amorphous carbon and surface oxidation. Film density is determined as 2.16±0.01 g/cm3 and the internal compressive stresses are measured to be less than 400 MPa. OES shows that TMB is decomposed to mainly atomic H, C2, BH, and CH. A plasma chemical model for decomposition of the TMB is constructed using a combination of film and plasma composition. It is suggested that the decomposition of TMB starts with dehydrogenation of the methyl groups followed by breakage of the B-C bonds to form the CH radicals. This bond breaking is at least partly assisted by hydrogen in forming the BH radicals. When films are deposited using TEB flow of 5 and 7 sccm, the B/C ratio is found to be plasma power dependent while the carbon content is almost not affected. The highest B/C ratio of 1.7 is obtained at the highest power applied (2400 W) and attributed to better dissociation of TEB at higher plasma power. The H content in the films is within 14-20 at. %. The density of films is increased to 2.20 g/cm3 with increasing plasma power and attributed to a higher energetic surface bombardment during deposition. The oxygen content in the film is reduced to less than 1 at. % with increasing plasma power due to the densification of the films preventing surface oxidation upon air exposure. Plasma composition from OES shows that the TEB molecules are also dissociated mainly to BH, CH, C2 and H. A plasma chemical model where the first ethyl group is split off by β-hydrogen elimination to form C2H4, which is further dehydrogenated to C2H2 and forms C2 and CH is suggested. The BH species is assumed to be formed by the dehydrogenation of remaining ethyl groups and breakage of the remaining B-C bonds to form BH
Chemical vapour deposition of boron-carbon thin films from organoboron precursors
Boron-carbon (BxC) thin films enriched in 10B are potential neutron converting layers for 10Bbased solid-state neutron detectors given the good neutron absorption cross-section of 10B atoms in the thin film. Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) of such films faces the challenge that the maximum temperature tolerated by the aluminium substrate is 660 °C and low temperature CVD routes for BxC films are thus needed. This thesis presents the use of two different organoboron precursors, triethylboron –B(C2H5)3 (TEB) and trimethylboron – B(CH3)3 (TMB) as single-source precursors for CVD of BxC thin films. The CVD behaviour of TEB in thermal CVD has been studied by both BxC thin film deposition and quantum chemical calculations of the gas phase chemistry at the corresponding CVD conditions. The calculations predict that the gas phase reactions are dominated by β-hydride eliminations of C2H4 to yield BH3. In addition, a complementary bimolecular reaction path based on H2-assisted C2H6 elimination to BH3 is also present at lower temperatures in the presence of hydrogen molecules. A temperature window of 600 – 1000 °C for deposition of X-ray amorphous BxC films with 2.5 ≤ x ≤ 4.5 is identified showing good film density (2.40 – 2.65 g/cm3) which is close to the bulk density of crystalline B4C, 2.52 g/cm3 and high hardness (29 – 39 GPa). The impurity level of H is lowered to < 1 at. % within the temperature window. Plasma chemical vapour deposition has been studied using TMB as single-source precursor in Ar plasma for investigating BxC thin film deposition at lower temperature than allowed by thermal CVD and further understanding of thin film deposition process. The effect of plasma power, total pressure, TMB and Ar gas flow on film composition and morphology are investigated. The highest B/C ratio of 1.9 is obtained at highest plasma power of 2400 W and TMB flow of 7 sccm. The H content in the films seems constant at 15±5 at. %. The B-C bond is dominant in the films with small amount of C-C and B-O bonds, which are likely due to the formation of amorphous carbon and surface oxidation, respectively. The film density is determined as 2.16±0.01 g/cm3 and the internal compressive stresses are measured to be <400 MPa
Plasma CVD of hydrogenated boron-carbon thin films from triethylboron
Low-temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of B - C thin films is of importance for neutron voltaics and semiconductor technology. The highly reactive trialkylboranes, with alkyl groups of 1-4 carbon atoms, are a class of precursors that have been less explored for low-temperature CVD of B - C films. Herein, we demonstrate plasma CVD of B - C thin films using triethylboron (TEB) as a single source precursor in an Ar plasma. We show that the film density and B/C ratio increases with increasing plasma power, reaching a density of 2.20 g/cm3 and B/C = 1.7. This is attributed to a more intense energetic bombardment during deposition and more complete dissociation of the TEB molecule in the plasma at higher plasma power. The hydrogen content in the films ranges between 14 and 20 at. %. Optical emission spectroscopy of the plasma shows that BH, CH, C2, and H are the optically active plasma species from TEB. We suggest a plasma chemical model based on β-hydrogen elimination of C2H4 to form BH3, in which BH3 and C2H4 are then dehydrogenated to form BH and C2H2. Furthermore, C2H2 decomposes in the plasma to produce C2 and CH, which together with BH and possibly BH3-x(C2H5)x are the film forming species.
Detectors for the European Spallation Source
The European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden will become the world's leading neutron source for the study of materials by 2025. First neutrons will be produced in 2019. It will be a long pulse source, with an average beam power of 5 MW delivered to the target station. The pulse length will be 2.86 ms and the repetition rate 14 Hz. The ESS is presently in a design update phase, which ends in February 2013 with a Technical Design Report (TDR). Construction will subsequently start with the goal of bringing the first seven instruments into operation in 2019 at the same time as the source. The full baseline suite of 22 instruments will be brought online by 2025. These instruments present numerous challenges for detector technology in the absence of the availability of Helium-3, which is the default choice for detectors for instruments built until today. Additionally a new generation of source requires a new generation of detector technologies to fully exploit the opportunities that this source provides. This contribution presents briefly the current status of the ESS, and outlines the timeline to completion. The number of instruments and the framework for the decisions on which instruments should be built are shown. For a conjectured full instrument suite, which has been chosen for demonstration purposes for the TDR, a snapshot of the current expected detector requirements is presented. An outline as to how some of these requirements might be tackled is shown. Given that the delivery of the ESS TDR is only a few months away, this contribution reflects strongly the content of the TDR
Gas phase chemical vapor deposition chemistry of triethylboron probed by boron-carbon thin film deposition and quantum chemical calculations
We present triethylboron (TEB) as a single-source precursor for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of BxC thin films and study its gas phase chemistry under CVD conditions by quantum chemical calculations. A comprehensive thermochemical catalogue for the species of the gas phase chemistry of TEB is examined and found to be dominated by beta-hydride eliminations of C2H4 to yield BH3. A complementary bimolecular reaction path based on H-2 assisted C2H6 elimination to BH3 is also significant at lower temperatures in the presence of hydrogen. Furthermore, we find a temperature window of 600-1000 degrees C for the deposition of X-ray amorphous BxC films with 2.5 less than= x less than= 4.5 from TEB. Films grown at temperatures below 600 degrees C contain high amounts of H, while temperatures above 1000 degrees C result in C-rich films. The film density and hardness are determined to be in the range of 2.40-2.65 g cm(-3) and 29-39 GPa, respectively, within the determined temperature window.Funding Agencies|European Spallation Source ESS AB; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; German Science Foundation (Research Training Group 1782); Beilstein Foundation (Frankfurt/Germany)</p
Gas phase chemical vapor deposition chemistry of triethylboron probed by boron-carbon thin film deposition and quantum chemical calculations
We present triethylboron (TEB) as a single-source precursor for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of BxC thin films and study its gas phase chemistry under CVD conditions by quantum chemical calculations. A comprehensive thermochemical catalogue for the species of the gas phase chemistry of TEB is examined and found to be dominated by beta-hydride eliminations of C2H4 to yield BH3. A complementary bimolecular reaction path based on H-2 assisted C2H6 elimination to BH3 is also significant at lower temperatures in the presence of hydrogen. Furthermore, we find a temperature window of 600-1000 degrees C for the deposition of X-ray amorphous BxC films with 2.5 less than= x less than= 4.5 from TEB. Films grown at temperatures below 600 degrees C contain high amounts of H, while temperatures above 1000 degrees C result in C-rich films. The film density and hardness are determined to be in the range of 2.40-2.65 g cm(-3) and 29-39 GPa, respectively, within the determined temperature window.Funding Agencies|European Spallation Source ESS AB; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; German Science Foundation (Research Training Group 1782); Beilstein Foundation (Frankfurt/Germany)</p
Trimethylboron as Single-Source Precursor for Boron–Carbon Thin Film Synthesis by Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition
Gas Phase Chemistry of Trimethylboron in Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition
Alkylboranes, such as trimethylboron (TMB) and triethylboron (TEB), are promising alternative precursors in low temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of boron-containing thin films. In this study, CVD growth of B-C films using TMB and quantum-chemical calculations to elucidate a gas phase chemical mechanism were undertaken. Dense, amorphous, boron-rich (B/C 1.5-3) films were deposited at 1000 degrees C in both dihydrogen and argon ambients, while films with crystalline B4C and B25C inclusions were deposited at 1100 degrees C in dihydrogen. A script-based automatization scheme was implemented for the quantum-chemical computations to enable time efficient screening of thousands of possible gas phase CVD reactions. The quantum-chemical calculations suggest TMB is mainly decomposed by an unimolecular alpha-H elimination of methane, which is complemented by dihydrogen-assisted elimination of methane in dihydrogen