Fast positronium formation and dissociation at surfaces

The origin of short‐lived components in the annihilation lifetime spectrum of positronium (Ps) is shown to be due to fast Ps that is collisionally dissociating at the surfaces of the surrounding confinement cavity. The results are consistent with a model of fast (10–100 eV) Ps production by backscattered positrons from the incident beam. It is found that the typical lifetime of dissociating Ps scales with the mean free path of the cavity, and the relative formation intensity depends inversely on the incident positron beam energy. This ubiquitous effect will be present in any Ps formation experiment involving a free surface and can only be eliminated at beam energies less than 10 eV. More practical methods of minimizing the undesirable systematic effects of fast Ps quenching in depth‐profiled positron lifetime spectroscopy and in precision Ps decay rate measurements will be discussed. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70565/2/JAPIAU-78-3-1406-1.pd

Re‐emitted positron spectroscopy of cobalt and nickel silicide films

The techniques of re‐emitted positron spectroscopy (RPS) have been employed in the first systematic investigation of the positronic properties of the various stoichiometric phases (M2Si, MSi, and MSi2) of Co and Ni silicide films grown in situ on Si substrates. The positron work function is found to be negative for all of the different phases; thus implanted positrons may be re‐emitted. The energy of the re‐emitted positrons is found to have a surprisingly large variation for the different phases. This feature should provide the image contrast necessary to observe each phase on a microscopic scale using the positron re‐emission microscope (PRM). The positron deformation potential, E+d≡V(∂Σ/∂V), was determined for CoSi2 films; it can be used to estimate the size of the positron diffusion constant, which is found to be comparable to that of other metals. Thus the short positron diffusion length (of order 150 Å) determined from depth‐profiling measurements of CoSi2 films must be a result of positron trapping in either the film or at the interface with the Si substrate. RPS results considered as a function of film thickness support the conclusion that defects in the film (misfit dislocations and/or vacancies) represent the major source of positron trapping.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87603/2/264_1.pd

The decay rate of orthopositronium

We review recent measurements of the orthopositronium decay rate, λT, and present results of a new 230‐ppm measurement using the vacuum technique. It corroborates, at the 6.2 sigma level, the discrepancy between theory and a recent 200‐ppm measurement of λT in gases.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87568/2/481_1.pd

Measurement of the vacuum decay rate of orthopositronium formed in an MgO-lined cavity

Orthopositronium decay rates are measured in MgO-lined cavities with various volumes and entrance apertures. Systematic effects of the entrance aperture, cavity geometry, and collisional pick-off are measured. The vacuum decay rate is determined to be 7.050 +/- 0.013 [mu]s-1.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22484/1/0000025.pd

Depth-profiling plasma-induced densification of porous low-k thin films using positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

Positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) has been used to depth profile the densification induced in a porous low-dielectric constant (k) thin film by typical device integration processing, including exposure to plasmas and oxygen ashing. Such “integration damage” has previously been observed as an undesirable increase in k accompanied by shrinkage in the porous film thickness. PALS confirms that the structural damage is confined to a surface layer of collapsed pores with the underlying pores being undamaged. The dense layer thickness determined by PALS increases with plasma exposure time. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70582/2/APPLAB-81-8-1447-1.pd

A viable superluminal hypothesis: Tachyon emission from orthopositronium

Tachyons are hypothetical particles that travel faster than the vacuum speed of light. Previous experiments have searched for, but have not found evidence of tachyons. Long-standing, anomalous measurements of the orthopositronium (o-Ps) decay rate are interpreted as evidence for two tachyons being occasionally emitted when o-Ps decays. Restricting the coupling of tachyon pairs to a single photon (no tachyon coupling to matter) yields a new theory where tachyons are only observed in o-Ps decay and not in the previous tachyon experiments. Combining the single photon coupling theory with all previous experiments predicts that these tachyons must deposit energy while traversing scintillator detectors. A new tachyon search experiment will use this energy loss prediction to attempt to find tachyons passing through the apparatus or set limits disproving the original o-Ps to tachyon hypothesis. Viewing an intense o-Ps source, a time-of-flight spectrometer uses the superluminal property of tachyons for identification. Several months of continuous data acquisition will be necessary to completely eliminate the o-Ps to tachyon hypothesis. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87640/2/1119_1.pd

Fatigue craze initiation in polycarbonate: study by transmission electron microscopy

Fatigue craze initiation in bulk, amorphous polycarbonate (PC) is investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. The results agree very well with small angle X-ray scattering measurements of the same set of samples, and confirm that void generation is the main characteristic of the initiation process. The evolution of the initial void-like structures or `protocrazes' with dimensions of ~50 nm into crazes with dimensions of several micrometres is presented in considerable detail. It is found that some similarities exist between crazes induced by cyclic fatigue at room temperature and crazes produced in monotonic loading at temperatures close to the glass transition. The similarities suggest that disentanglement of polymer chains plays an important role in the fatigue craze initiation process in bulk, amorphous PC near room temperature.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31430/1/0000348.pd

Probing Cu Diffusion Barrier Layers on Porous Low-Dielectric-Constant Films by Posireonium Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Two kinds of Cu diffusion barrier layers, sealed films and capped films, on nanoporous low-dielectric-constant films are investigated by positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). We have found that the minimum thickness of Ta to form an effective diffusion barrier is affected by the pore size. The films with large pores require thick barrier layers to form effective diffusion barriers. In addition, a possible ultra-thin diffusion barrier, i.e. a plasma-induced densification layer, has also been investigated. The PALS data confirm that a porous low-dielectric-constant thin film can be shrunk by exposure to plasma. This shrinkage is confined to a surface layer of collapsed pores and forms a dense layer. The dense layer tends to behave as Ps (positronium) diffusion barriers. Indeed, the controlled thin ``skin'' layer could prevent Cu diffusion into the underlying dielectrics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49235/2/w51150.pd

Positron tunneling microscopy

A new technique for analyzing thin film growth processes, called positron tunneling microscopy (PTM), is proposed as an extension of the recently developed positron reemission microscope. The unique feature of a PTM is that image contrast is provided by the exponential reemission probability for positrons tunneling through thin-film overlayers that present an energy barrier to reemission. Results of positron tunneling experiments show that PTM should have monolayer thickness resolution to processes that locally affect either the tunneling barrier's width, such as islanding and subsurface roughness, or the barrier's energy, such as lattice strain in pseudomorphic growth and compositional mixing in interdiffusion alloying. In the case of these latter effects where there may be no topological contrasts at all, experimental results are discussed in greater detail. Comparisons of PTM with existing electron microscopies are presented where appropriate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28554/1/0000356.pd

Nanoporous Structure in Low-Dielectric Films with Positronium Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

We investigate nano-porous structures in thin low-dielectric films, i.e. the pore sizes, distributions, and interconnectivity, by using depth profiled positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). It is found that PALS has good sensitivity to probe both interconnected and closed pores in the range from 0.3 nm to 30 nm, even in the film buried beneath a diffusion barrier. A series of low dielectric constant films of organosilicon-silsequioxane with different weight percentages of porogen have been comparatively investigated. The PALS technique can be used to distinguish the open porosity from the closed one, to determine the pore size, and to detect the percolation threshold with the increasing porosity that represents the transition from closed pores to interconnected pores. Furthermore, the pore percolation length can be derived.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49236/2/w50653.pd