Method to determine defect positions below a metal surface by STM

The oscillatory voltage dependence of the conductance of a quantum point contact in the presence of a single point-like defect has been analyzed theoretically. Such signals are detectable and may be exploited to obtain information on defect positions below a metal surface. Both tunnel junctions and ballistic contacts of adiabatic shape have been considered. The effect of quantum interference has been taking into account between the principal wave that is directly transmitted through the contact and the partial wave that is scattered by the contact and the defect. This effect leads to oscillations of the conductance as a function of applied voltage. We obtain the dependence of the period and amplitude of the conductance oscillations on the position of the defect inside the metal.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Structure, tritium depth profile and desorption from 'plasma-facing' beryllium materials of ITER-Like-Wall at JET

Tritium depth profile and its temperature programmed desorption rate were determined for selected samples cut out of beryllium tiles removed from the Joint European Torus vacuum vessel during the 2012 shut down. A beryllium dissolution method under controlled conditions was used to determine the tritium depth profile in the samples, whereas temperature programmed desorption experiments were performed to assess tritium release pattern. Released tritium was measured using a proportional gas flow detector. Prior to desorption and dissolution experiments, the plasma-facing surfaces of the samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Experimental results revealed that > 95% of the tritium was localized in the top 30 –45 μm of the ‘plasma-facing’ surface, however, possible tritium presence up to 100 μm cannot be excluded. During tem- perature programmed desorption at 4.8 K/min in the flow of purge gas He + 0.1% H 2 the tritium release started below 475 K, the most intense release occurred at 725 –915 K and the degree of detritiation of > 91% can be obtained upon reaching 1075 K. The total tritium activity in the samples was in range of 2 –32 kilo Becquerel per square centimetre of the plasma-facing surface area.EURATOM 63305

Theory of oscillations in the STM conductance resulting from subsurface defects (Review Article)

In this review we present recent theoretical results concerning investigations of single subsurface defects by means of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). These investigations are based on the effect of quantum interference between the electron partial waves that are directly transmitted through the contact and the partial waves scattered by the defect. In particular, we have shown the possibility imaging the defect position below a metal surface by means of STM. Different types of subsurface defects have been discussed: point-like magnetic and non-magnetic defects, magnetic clusters in a nonmagnetic host metal, and non-magnetic defects in a s-wave superconductor. The effect of Fermi surface anisotropy has been analyzed. Also, results of investigations of the effect of a strong magnetic field to the STM conductance of a tunnel point contact in the presence of a single defect has been presented.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figuers Submitted to Low. Temp. Phy

Impact of storage conditions on preparation of activated carbon from sheep wool fibres

Received: January 31st, 2023 ; Accepted: June 16th, 2023 ; Published: July 6th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] the European Union, up to 200 thousand tons (Zoccola et al., 2015) of sheep wool fibres, that are not used for textile fabrication, are a secondary by-product with wide field of application possibilities, including preparation of activated carbon. Taking into account, that wool fibres can be stored for long time, under impact of the local climate conditions (including low temperatures) before their application, for example, under variety of temperature, presence of air and light, different moisture conditions, it is necessary to estimate the impact of wool’s storage conditions on the preparation of activated carbon. In the present work, various parameters, such as, temperature, presence of air and daylight as well as humidity, were selected for comparison. After storage of wool fibres under selected various conditions, thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) followed by with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry were used in order to estimate the impact of each parameter on the thermal decomposition processes: release of moisture, sulphur and nitrogen containing compounds and oxidative degradation followed by release of carbon dioxide. It was estimated, that one year of storage under varying conditions does not significantly affect the thermal decomposition properties of the wool fibres. However, minor impact of humidity absorbed from air on wool is observed. Wool samples that were stored at elevated humidity gave higher residual carbon yield (R) in comparison to the fibres stored in dry conditions. The obtained results are used to develop recommendations for preparation of activated carbon from wool fibres and for its application in air filtrating systems

Comparison of the structure of the plasma-facing surface and tritium accumulation in beryllium tiles from JET ILW campaigns 2011-2012 and 2013-2014

In this study, beryllium tiles from Joint European Torus (JET) vacuum vessel wall were analysed and compared regarding their position in the vacuum vessel and differences in the exploitation conditions during two cam paigns of ITER-Like-Wall (LW) in 2011201211 WI) and 20132014 ILW 2) Tritium content in beryllium samples were assessed. Two methods were used to measure tritium content in the samples - dissolution under controlled conditions and tritium thermal desorption. Prior to desorption and dissolution experiments, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to study structure and chemical composition of plasma.facing surface of the beryllium samples. Experimental results revealed that tritium content in the samples is in range of 2101 210 tritium atoms per square centimetre of the surface area with its highest content in the samples from the outer wall of the vacuum vessel (up to 1.910 atoms/cm in II.W1 campaign and 2410" atoms/cm in 11W2). The lowest content of tritium was found in the upper part of the vacuum vessel 2010 atoms/cm² and 2.010 atoms/cm in ILWI and IIW2, respectively). Results obtained from scanning electron microscopy has shown that surface morphology is different within single tile, however if to compare two campaigns main tendencies remains similarEURATOM 63305

Tritium in plasma-facing components of JET with the ITER-Like-Wall

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.The ITER-Like-Wall project has been carried out at the Joint European Torus (JET) to test plasma facing materials relevant to ITER. Materials being tested include both bulk metals (Be andW) and coatings. Tritium accumulation mechanisms and release properties depend both on the wall components, their location in the vacuum vessel, conditions of exposure to plasma and to the material itself. In this study, bulk beryllium limiter tiles, plasma-facing beryllium coated Inconel components from the main chamber, bulk tungsten and tungsten coated carbon fibre composite divertor tiles were analysed. A range of methods have been developed and applied in order to obtain a comprehensive overview on tritium retention and behaviour in different materials of plasma facing components (PFCs). Tritium content and chemical state were studied by the means of chemical or electrochemical dissolution methods and thermal desorption spectroscopy. Tritium distribution in the vacuum vessel and factors affecting its accumulation have been assessed and discussed.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Astrophysical S-factor of 4He12C radiative capture at low energies

The possibility to describe the astrophysical S-factor of the 4He12C radiative capture is considered in the potential cluster model at the energy range 0.1-4.0 MeV. It is shown that the approach used, which takes into account E2 transitions only, gives a good description of the new experimental data for adjusted parameters of potentials and leads to the value S(300) = 16.0$\cdotp$keV b.Comment: 8 Pag

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)

Modelling of the effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W divertor of JET

Effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W target of JET ITER-Like Wall was studied with multi-scale calculations. Plasma input parameters were taken from ELMy H-mode plasma experiment. The energetic intra-ELM fuel particles get implanted and create near-surface defects up to depths of few tens of nm, which act as the main fuel trapping sites during ELMs. Clustering of implantation-induced vacancies were found to take place. The incoming flux of inter-ELM plasma particles increases the different filling levels of trapped fuel in defects. The temperature increase of the W target during the pulse increases the fuel detrapping rate. The inter-ELM fuel particle flux refills the partially emptied trapping sites and fills new sites. This leads to a competing effect on the retention and release rates of the implanted particles. At high temperatures the main retention appeared in larger vacancy clusters due to increased clustering rate

Velocity-space sensitivity of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET

The velocity-space sensitivities of fast-ion diagnostics are often described by so-called weight functions. Recently, we formulated weight functions showing the velocity-space sensitivity of the often dominant beam-target part of neutron energy spectra. These weight functions for neutron emission spectrometry (NES) are independent of the particular NES diagnostic. Here we apply these NES weight functions to the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR at JET. By taking the instrumental response function of TOFOR into account, we calculate time-of-flight NES weight functions that enable us to directly determine the velocity-space sensitivity of a given part of a measured time-of-flight spectrum from TOFOR