14 research outputs found
Stochastic method for accommodation of equilibrating basins in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations
A computationally simple way to accommodate 'basins' of trapping sites in
standard kinetic Monte Carlo simulations is presented. By assuming the system
is effectively equilibrated in the basin, the residence time (time spent in the
basin before escape) and the probabilities for transition to states outside the
basin may be calculated. This is demonstrated for point defect diffusion over a
periodic grid of sites containing a complex basin.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Phenomenological model for predicting the energy resolution of neutron-damaged coaxial HPGe detectors
The peak energy resolution of germanium detectors deteriorates with
increasing neutron fluence. This is due to hole capture at neutron-created
defects in the crystal which prevents the full energy of the gamma-ray from
being recorded by the detector. A phenomenological model of coaxial HPGe
detectors is developed that relies on a single, dimensionless parameter that is
related to the probability for immediate trapping of a mobile hole in the
damaged crystal. As this trap parameter is independent of detector dimensions
and type, the model is useful for predicting energy resolution as a function of
neutron fluence.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Fast diffusion of a Lennard-Jones cluster on a crystalline surface
We present a Molecular Dynamics study of large Lennard-Jones clusters
evolving on a crystalline surface. The static and the dynamic properties of the
cluster are described. We find that large clusters can diffuse rapidly, as
experimentally observed. The role of the mismatch between the lattice
parameters of the cluster and the substrate is emphasized to explain the
diffusion of the cluster. This diffusion can be described as a Brownian motion
induced by the vibrationnal coupling to the substrate, a mechanism that has not
been previously considered for cluster diffusion.Comment: latex, 5 pages with figure
Growth of nanostructures by cluster deposition : a review
This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of simple models useful to
analyze the growth of nanostructures obtained by cluster deposition. After
detailing the potential interest of nanostructures, I extensively study the
first stages of growth (the submonolayer regime) by kinetic Monte-Carlo
simulations. These simulations are performed in a wide variety of experimental
situations : complete condensation, growth with reevaporation, nucleation on
defects, total or null cluster-cluster coalescence... The main scope of the
paper is to help experimentalists analyzing their data to deduce which of those
processes are important and to quantify them. A software including all these
simulation programs is available at no cost on request to the author. I
carefully discuss experiments of growth from cluster beams and show how the
mobility of the clusters on the surface can be measured : surprisingly high
values are found. An important issue for future technological applications of
cluster deposition is the relation between the size of the incident clusters
and the size of the islands obtained on the substrate. An approximate formula
which gives the ratio of the two sizes as a function of the melting temperature
of the material deposited is given. Finally, I study the atomic mechanisms
which can explain the diffusion of the clusters on a substrate and the result
of their mutual interaction (simple juxtaposition, partial or total
coalescence...)Comment: To be published Rev Mod Phys, Oct 99, RevTeX, 37 figure
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Neutron Damage in Mechanically-Cooled High-Purity Germanium Detectors for Field-Portable Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) Systems
Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation (PGNAA) systems require the use of a gamma-ray spectrometer to record the gamma-ray spectrum of an object under test and allow the determination of the object’s composition. Field-portable systems, such as Idaho National Laboratory’s PINS system, have used standard liquid-nitrogen-cooled high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors to perform this function. These detectors have performed very well in the past, but the requirement of liquid-nitrogen cooling limits their use to areas where liquid nitrogen is readily available or produced on-site. Also, having a relatively large volume of liquid nitrogen close to the detector can impact some assessments, possibly leading to a false detection of explosives or other nitrogen-containing chemical. Use of a mechanically-cooled HPGe detector is therefore very attractive for PGNAA applications where nitrogen detection is critical or where liquid-nitrogen logistics are problematic. Mechanically-cooled HPGe detectors constructed from p-type germanium, such as Ortec’s trans-SPEC, have been commercially available for several years. In order to assess whether these detectors would be suitable for use in a fielded PGNAA system, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been performing a number of tests of the resistance of mechanically-cooled HPGe detectors to neutron damage. These detectors have been standard commercially-available p-type HPGe detectors as well as prototype n-type HPGe detectors. These tests compare the performance of these different detector types as a function of crystal temperature and incident neutron fluence on the crystal