Structural Study of SiO_x Amorphous Thin Films by the Grazing Incidence X-ray Scattering (GIXS) Method

Atomic structures of SiO_x amorphous thin films of 200 nm thick were analyzed by the grazing incident x-ray scattering (GIXS) method. The radial distribution functions (RDFs) were experimentally determined in two SiO_x amorphous thin films grown in the atmosphere with and without N_2 gas. The SiO_x amorphous film grown with N_2 gas forms the network structure consisting of SiO_4 tetrahedra which are connected each other by oxygen atoms at their vertices. This network structure is similar to the one observed in SiO_2 glass. On the other hand, in the SiO_x amorphous film grown without N_2 gas, the atomic distance of Si-O pairs is a few percent longer and the coordination number of O-O pairs is smaller than the other. This suggests that some of oxygen atoms in a SiO_4 tetrahedron are not connected to a next neighboring tetrahedron. Namely, some part of the network structure is disconnected in the SiO_x amorphous film grown without N_2 gas. Due to this imperfection of the network structure, it is expected that the SiO_x film grown without N_2 gas would be inferior to the other one grown with N_2 gas in some electrical properties as an insulator

Industrial Applications of Laser Neutron Source

The industrial applications of the intense neutron source have been widely explored because of the unique features of the neutron-matter interaction. Usually, intense neutron sources are assembled with fission reactors or high energy ion accelerators. The big size and high cost of these systems are the bottle neck to promote the industrial applications of intense neutrons. In this paper, we propose the compact laser driven neutron source for the industrial application. As the first step of our project for the versatile applications of laser driven neutron source, Li-neutron and/or Li-proton interactions have been investigated for the application to the development of Li battery

Cryogenic deuterium target experiments with the GEKKO XII, green laser system

Copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Physics of Plasmas, 2(6), 2495-2503, 1995 and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.87121

Absolute Local Quantification of Li as Function of State-of-Charge in All-Solid-State Li Batteries via 2D MeV Ion-Beam Analysis

Direct observation of the lithiation and de-lithiation in lithium batteries on the component and microstructural scale is still difficult. This work presents recent advances in MeV ion-beam analysis, enabling quantitative contact-free analysis of the spatially-resolved lithium content and state-of-charge (SoC) in all-solid-state lithium batteries via 3 MeV proton-based characteristic x-ray and gamma-ray emission analysis. The analysis is demonstrated on cross-sections of ceramic and polymer all-solid-state cells with LLZO and MEEP/LIBOB solid electrolytes. Different SoC are measured ex-situ and one polymer-based operando cell is charged at 333 K during analysis. The data unambiguously show the migration of lithium upon charging. Quantitative lithium concentrations are obtained by taking the physical and material aspects of the mixed cathodes into account. This quantitative lithium determination as a function of SoC gives insight into irreversible degradation phenomena of all-solid-state batteries during the first cycles and locations of immobile lithium. The determined SoC matches the electrochemical characterization within uncertainties. The presented analysis method thus opens up a completely new access to the SoC of battery cells not depending on electrochemical measurements. Automated beam scanning and data-analysis algorithms enable a 2D quantitative Li and SoC mapping on the μm-scale, not accessible with other methods

Absolute Local Quantification of Li as Function of State-of-Charge in All-Solid-State Li Batteries via 2D MeV Ion-Beam Analysis

Direct observation of the lithiation and de-lithiation in lithium batteries on the component and microstructural scale is still difficult. This work presents recent advances in MeV ion-beam analysis, enabling quantitative contact-free analysis of the spatially-resolved lithium content and state-of-charge (SoC) in all-solid-state lithium batteries via 3 MeV proton-based characteristic x-ray and gamma-ray emission analysis. The analysis is demonstrated on cross-sections of ceramic and polymer all-solid-state cells with LLZO and MEEP/LIBOB solid electrolytes. Different SoC are measured ex-situ and one polymer-based operando cell is charged at 333 K during analysis. The data unambiguously show the migration of lithium upon charging. Quantitative lithium concentrations are obtained by taking the physical and material aspects of the mixed cathodes into account. This quantitative lithium determination as a function of SoC gives insight into irreversible degradation phenomena of all-solid-state batteries during the first cycles and locations of immobile lithium. The determined SoC matches the electrochemical characterization within uncertainties. The presented analysis method thus opens up a completely new access to the state-of-charge of battery cells not depending on electrochemical measurements. Automated beam scanning and data-analysis algorithms enable a 2D quantitative Li and SoC mapping on the µm-scale, not accessible with other methods