Irradiation effects in nanostructured FeCrAl oxide dispersion strengthened steel

Nanostructured ferritic oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy is an ideal candidate for fission/fusion power plant materials, particularly in the use of a first-wall and blanket structure of a next generation reactor. These steels usually contain a high density of Y-Al-O nanoparticles, high dislocation densities and fine grains. The material contains nanoparticles with an average diameter of 21 nm. Irradiation of these alloys was performed with a dual beam irradiation of 2.5 MeV Fe+/31 dpa and 350 keV He+/18 appm/dpa. Irradiation causes atomic displacements resulting in vacancy and self-interstitial lattice defects and dislocation loops. Additionally to structural changes, the effect of the irradiation generated defects on the mechanical properties of the ODS is investigated by nanoindentation. A clear hardness increase in the irradiated area is observed, which reaches a maximum at a close surface region. This feature is attributed to synergistic effects between the displacement damage and He implantation resulting in He filled vacanciesFerritische Legierungen mit nanodispersen Oxidpartikeln zur Härtesteigerung sind ein geeignetes Material für Behälter und Ummantelungsstrukturen in modernen Fusions- und Kernspaltungsanlagen. Diese Stähle haben eine hohe Dichte von Y-Al-O Nanoteilchen mit einem mittleren Durchmesser von 21 nm, eine hohe Versetzungsdichte und besitzen eine feine Kornstruktur. Bestrahlungsexperimente wurden mit einer Zwei-Strahl-Ionen-Quelle mit Eisen 2.5 MeV Fe+/31 dpa und Helium 350 keV He+/18 appm/dpa durchgeführt. Die Bestrahlung erzeugt atomare Defekte mit Leerstellen und Zwischengitterdefekten sowie Versetzungsschleifen. Zusätzlich zu den mikro-strukturellen Modifikationen wurde die Änderung der mechanischen Eigenschaften mit der Bestrahlung untersucht. Insbesondere im oberflächennahen Bereich führt die Ionenbestrahlung zu einer klaren Härtesteigerung. Dieses Verhalten wird mit einem synergetischen Modell zur Erzeugung atomarer Strahlendefekte und der Bildung von mit Helium gefüllten Leerstellen diskutiert

Ferromagnetismus in mit Fe implantierten GaN und TiO2

In the present study it was tried to create a diluted magnetic semiconductor on the basis of GaN and TiO2 by means of ion beam implantation. In most cases, by characterization of structural and magnetic properties, it was possible to prove that the ferromagnetic state is related to either spinodal decomposition or secondary phase formation. In case of Fe implanted GaN spinodal decomposition, epitaxially oriented alpha-Fe or epsilon-Fe3N nanocrystals were found to be responsible for the ferromagnetic behavior. In addition, the formation of gamma-Fe clusters was observed. Similarly, in TiO2 the ferromagnetism is related to the formation of epitaxially oriented alpha-Fe clusters. Dependent on the process parameters during annealing experiments several various secondary phases were formed. A critical examination of the references in literature points out the significance of usage of sensitive and complementary probe techniques (like CEMS, SQUID, XRD, EXAFS), in order to be able to discuss the origin of ferromagnetism in the field of diluted magnetic semiconductors in a proper way.In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde versucht, mittels Ionenimplantation verdünnte magnetische Halbleiter auf der Basis von GaN und TiO2 herzustellen. In den meisten Fällen konnte anhand von Charakterisierungen der strukturellen und magnetischen Eigenschaf- ten nachgewiesen werden, dass der ferromagnetische Zustand auf das Vorliegen von entweder spinodaler Entmischung oder kristalliner Ausscheidungen zurückgeführt werden kann. Im Fall von Fe-implantiertem GaN konnten spinodale Entmischung, epitaktisch ausgerichtete alpha-Fe- oder epsilon-Fe3N-Nanokristallite für den Ferromagnetismus verantwortlich gemacht werden. Daneben wird die Bildung von gamma-Fe beobachtet. Bei TiO2 ist Ferromagnetismus ebenfalls auf die Ausscheidung von epitaktisch orientierten alpha-Fe-Clustern zurückzuführen. In Abhängigkeit von den Prozessparametern bei Temperungsexperimenten bildete sich eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Sekundärphasen. Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit den Literaturangaben zeigt die Wichtigkeit des Einsatzes sensitiver, sich ergänzender Messmethoden (wie CEMS, SQUID, XRD, EXAFS), um die Ursache des Ferromagnetismus auf dem Gebiet der verdünnten magnetischen Halbleitern zu finden

Origin of magnetic moments in defective TiO2 single crystals

In this paper we show that ferromagnetism can be induced in pure TiO2 single crystals by oxygen ion irradiation. By combining x-ray diffraction, Raman-scattering, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, a defect complex, \emph{i.e.} Ti$^{3+}$ ions on the substitutional sites accompanied by oxygen vacancies, has been identified in irradiated TiO2. This kind of defect complex results in a local (TiO$_{6-x}$) stretching Raman mode. We elucidate that Ti$^{3+}$ ions with one unpaired 3d electron provide the local magnetic moments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published at Phys. Rev.

Spinel ferrite nanocrystals embedded inside ZnO: magnetic, electronic and magneto-transport properties

In this paper we show that spinel ferrite nanocrystals (NiFe2O4, and CoFe2O4) can be texturally embedded inside a ZnO matrix by ion implantation and post-annealing. The two kinds of ferrites show different magnetic properties, e.g. coercivity and magnetization. Anomalous Hall effect and positive magnetoresistance have been observed. Our study suggests a ferrimagnet/semiconductor hybrid system for potential applications in magneto-electronics. This hybrid system can be tuned by selecting different transition metal ions (from Mn to Zn) to obtain various magnetic and electronic properties.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figs. accepted for publication at PR

Fe-implanted ZnO: Magnetic precipitates versus dilution

Nowadays ferromagnetism is often found in potential diluted magnetic semiconductor systems. However, many authors argue that the observed ferromagnetism stems from ferromagnetic precipitates or spinodal decomposition rather than from carrier mediated magnetic impurities, as required for a diluted magnetic semiconductor. In the present paper we answer this question for Fe-implanted ZnO single crystals comprehensively. Different implantation fluences and temperatures and post-implantation annealing temperatures have been chosen in order to evaluate the structural and magnetic properties over a wide range of parameters. Three different regimes with respect to the Fe concentration and the process temperature are found: 1) Disperse Fe$^{2+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$ at low Fe concentrations and low processing temperatures, 2) FeZn$_2$O$_4$ at very high processing temperatures and 3) an intermediate regime with a co-existence of metallic Fe (Fe$^0$) and ionic Fe (Fe$^{2+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$). Ferromagnetism is only observed in the latter two cases, where inverted ZnFe$_2$O$_4$ and $\alpha$-Fe nanocrystals are the origin of the observed ferromagnetic behavior, respectively. The ionic Fe in the last case could contribute to a carrier mediated coupling. However, their separation is too large to couple ferromagnetically due to the lack of p-type carrier. For comparison investigations of Fe-implanted epitaxial ZnO thin films are presented.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figure

Ferromagnetic transition metal implanted ZnO: a diluted magnetic semiconductor?

Recently theoretical works predict that some semiconductors (e.g. ZnO) doped with magnetic ions are diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS). In DMS magnetic ions substitute cation sites of the host semiconductor and are coupled by free carriers resulting in ferromagnetism. One of the main obstacles in creating DMS materials is the formation of secondary phases because of the solid-solubility limit of magnetic ions in semiconductor host. In our study transition metal ions were implanted into ZnO single crystals with the peak concentrations of 0.5-10 at.%. We established a correlation between structural and magnetic properties. By synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (XRD) secondary phases (Fe, Ni, Co and ferrite nanocrystals) were observed and have been identified as the source for ferromagnetism. Due to their different crystallographic orientation with respect to the host crystal these nanocrystals in some cases are very difficult to be detected by a simple Bragg-Brentano scan. This results in the pitfall of using XRD to exclude secondary phase formation in DMS materials. For comparison, the solubility of Co diluted in ZnO films ranges between 10 and 40 at.% using different growth conditions pulsed laser deposition. Such diluted, Co-doped ZnO films show paramagnetic behaviour. However, only the magnetoresistance of Co-doped ZnO films reveals possible s-d exchange interaction as compared to Co-implanted ZnO single crystals.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figure

Crystallographically oriented magnetic ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles synthesized by Fe implantation into ZnO

In this paper, a correlation between structural and magnetic properties of Fe implanted ZnO is presented. High fluence Fe^+ implantation into ZnO leads to the formation of superparamagnetic alpha-Fe nanoparticles. High vacuum annealing at 823 K results in the growth of alpha-Fe particles, but the annealing at 1073 K oxidized the majority of the Fe nanoparticles. After a long term annealing at 1073 K, crystallographically oriented ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were formed inside ZnO with the orientation relationship of ZnFe2O4(111)[110]//ZnO(0001)[1120]. These ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles show a hysteretic behavior upon magnetization reversal at 5 K.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted by J. Phys. D: Appl. Phy

Room temperature ferromagnetism in carbon-implanted ZnO

Unexpected ferromagnetism has been observed in carbon doped ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 127201 (2007)]. In this letter, we introduce carbon into ZnO films by ion implantation. Room temperature ferromagnetism has been observed. Our analysis demonstrates that (1) C-doped ferromagnetic ZnO can be achieved by an alternative method, i.e. ion implantation, and (2) the chemical involvement of carbon in the ferromagnetism is indirectly proven.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figs, accepted for publication at Appl. Phys. Let