Bent Si Crystals Research Articles

Spectral monitoring at SwissFEL using a high-resolution on-line hard X-ray single-shot spectrometer.

The performance and parameters of the online photon single-shot spectrometer (PSSS) at the Aramis beamline of the SwissFEL free-electron laser are presented. The device operates between the photon energies 4 and 13 keV and uses diamond transmission gratings and bent Si crystals for spectral measurements on the first diffraction order of the beam. The device has an energy window of 0.7% of the median photon energy of the free-electron laser pulses and a spectral resolution (full width at half-maximum) ΔE/E on the order of 10-5. The device was characterized by comparing its performance with reference data from synchrotron sources, and a parametric study investigated other effects that could affect the reliability of the spectral information.

X-ray characterization of self-standing bent Si crystal plates for Large Hadron Collider beam extraction

Bent crystals can be used to deflect high-energy charged particles for beam extraction and/or beam collimation at accelerator facilities, thanks to the channelling phenomenon. In the present paper, two perfect silicon mono-crystals were bent using two different methods: sandblasting and the application of a carbon fibre composite. In particular, these samples were obtained for the realization of bent crystal prototypes to be used to steer the 7 TeV proton beam of the Large Hadron Collider in the context of the CRYSBEAM project. The two bending methods were selected since they allow a very homogeneous curvature of the crystals to be obtained, which is essential for high channelling efficiency. Moreover, the deformation obtained is self-standing, i.e. there is no need for any external device to keep the samples bent. Self-standing curvature can be useful because the presence of an external bender could be a severe limitation in the collider beam-pipe. The curvature of the samples was measured through high-energy X-ray diffraction at the ID11 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France. Since the diffraction efficiencies obtained were in good agreement with theoretical expectations, it follows that the manufacturing techniques did not damage the samples, i.e. the crystallographic quality was preserved. Finally, the crystal quality of the sandblasted sample was investigated in detail at the synchrotron source at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology by X-ray white-beam topography. The measurements showed no diffusion of defects from the machined surfaces to the crystal bulk.

Multiple Bragg reflections of neutrons accompanying an allowed reflection

In this paper the results of particular studies of multiple Bragg reflection (MBR) effects accompanying a strong Si(111) reflection in the cylindrically bent perfect crystal at the neutron wavelength of 0.162 nm are presented. Contrary to a common view that MBR effects could be considered negligible or represent maximally a few percent of an effect related to a single allowed reflection, it is shown that in the case of a homogeneously deformed perfect single crystal (in this case cylindrically bent Si crystal) and particular diffraction geometry they can be even several times higher.

Bent crystal channeling of 255 MeV electrons

Charged particles channeled in a bent crystal plane are known to be deflected along the bent plane. Such studies have mainly been performed for high-energy positively-charged particles such as protons, and recently for electrons with energies from 855 MeV to 20.35 GeV. In this work, we present experimental results on the bent crystal channeling of electrons for a lower energy region (255 MeV), where the multiple scattering effect in a crystal is expected to be more dominant. Angular distributions of electrons transmitted through a bent Si crystal have been measured, which are in good agreement with the simulation results.

Electron and positron propagation in straight and periodically bent axial and planar silicon channels

In this paper the results of simulations of axial and planar channeling of electrons and positrons in straight and periodically bent Si crystals are presented. Simulations with direct calculation of trajectories of projectiles accounting for all-atom interactions were carried out using the MBN Explorer software package. The full atomistic approach for particle trajectories simulation allows to quantitatively compare axial and planar channeling processes. The results of the simulations show significantly lower dechanneling length and number of channeling projectiles in the axial channeling case. For this case the dependence of characteristics of the channeling process on the choice of an axis direction and on a direction of the crystal bending has been investigated.

Investigation of the Electromagnetic Radiation Emitted by Sub-GeV Electrons in a Bent Crystal.

The radiation emitted by 855MeV electrons via planar channeling and volume reflection in a 30.5-μm-thick bent Si crystal has been investigated at the MAMI (Mainzer Mikrotron) accelerator. The spectral intensity was much more intense than for an equivalent amorphous material, and peaked in the MeV range in the case of channeling radiation. Differently from a straight crystal, also for an incidence angle larger than the Lindhard angle, the spectral intensity remains nearly as high as for channeling. This is due to volume reflection, for which the intensity remains high at a large incidence angle over the whole angular acceptance, which is equal to the bending angle of the crystal. MonteCarlo simulations demonstrated that incoherent scattering significantly influences both the radiation spectrum and intensity, either for channeling or volume reflection. In the latter case, it has been shown that incoherent scattering increases the radiation intensity due to the contribution of volume-captured particles. As a consequence, the experimental spectrum becomes a mixture of channeling and pure volume reflection radiations. These results allow a better understanding of the radiation emitted by electrons subjected to coherent interactions in bent crystals within a still-unexplored energy range, which is relevant for possible applications for innovative and compact x-ray or γ-ray sources.

Surface-treated self-standing curved crystals as high-efficiency elements for X- and γ-ray optics: theory and experiment.

The efficiency of a Laue lens for X- and γ-ray focusing in the energy range 60-600 keV is closely linked to the diffraction efficiency of the single crystals composing the lens. A powerful focusing system is crucial for applications like medical imaging and X-ray astronomy where wide beams must be focused. Mosaic crystals with a high density, such as Cu or Au, and bent crystals with curved diffracting planes (CDPs) are considered for the realization of a focusing system for γ-rays, owing to their high diffraction efficiency in a predetermined angular range. In this work, a comparison of the efficiency of CDP crystals and Cu and Au mosaic crystals was performed on the basis of the theory of X-ray diffraction. Si, GaAs and Ge CDP crystals with optimized thicknesses and moderate radii of curvature of several tens of metres demonstrate comparable or superior performance with respect to the higher atomic number mosaic crystals generally used. In order to increase the efficiency of the lens further, a stack of several CDP crystals is proposed as an optical element. CDP crystals were obtained by a surface-damage method, and a stack of two surface-damaged bent Si crystals was prepared and tested. Rocking curves of the stack were performed with synchrotron radiation at 19 keV to check the lattice alignment: they exhibited only one diffraction peak.

Radiation from multi-GeV electrons and positrons in periodically bent silicon crystal

A periodically bent Si crystal is shown to efficiently serve for producing highly monochromatic radiation in a gamma-ray energy spectral range. A short-period small-amplitude bending yields narrow undulator-type spectral peaks in radiation from multi-GeV electrons and positrons channeling through the crystal. Benchmark theoretical results on the undulator are obtained by simulations of the channeling with a full atomistic approach to the projectile-crystal interactions over the macroscopic propagation distances. The simulations are facilitated by employing the MBN Explorer package for molecular dynamics calculations on the meso-, bio- and nano-scales. The radiation from the ultra-relativistic channeling projectiles is computed within the quasi-classical formalism. The effects due to the quantum recoil are shown to be significantly prominent in the gamma-ray undulator radiation.

Coherent Effects of High-Energy Particles in a GradedSi1−xGexCrystal

A graded Si(1-x)Ge(x) crystal has been manufactured for operation with high-energy protons to excite coherent interactions of the particles with the crystal such as channeling and volume reflection. The crystal had the shape of a parallelepiped though its (111) atomic planes were curved at a radius of 25.6 m because of the graded Ge content. The crystal was exposed to a 400 GeV/c proton beam at the external lines of CERN Super Proton Synchrotron to probe its capability to steer high-energy particles. Measured deflection efficiency was 62.0% under planar channeling and 96.0% under volume reflection. Such values are critically compared to their counterparts for a standard bent Si crystal under peer conditions. A Monte Carlo simulation of the dynamics of channeled and volume reflected particles in a graded crystal including the effect of Ge impurities and of lattice dislocations has been carried out. We found that the effect of crystal imperfections spoiled the efficiency of channeling while it negligibly affected the performance of volume reflection. We finally propose the usage of the graded crystal as a primary scatterer to aid halo collimation for the new generation of hadronic machines. As a unique feature, a properly cut graded crystal circumvents the problem of the miscut angle, which is currently a severe limitation for implementation of crystal-assisted collimation.

Study of anticlastic deformation in a silicon crystal for channeling experiments

Anticlastic deformation (AD) is an established mechanical property of isotropic solid bodies, which has been recently used to steer particle beams through channeling in Si crystals. An analysis of AD in an anisotropic material, such as Si, has been worked out with particular emphasis to the cases used in channeling experiments. Both a theoretical model and finite element simulations were developed and compared to experimental data achieved by optical profilometry on bent Si crystals. A quantifier of the extent of AD, namely the ratio between primary and secondary curvature radii, has been found to be orientation dependent and determined analytically. The realistic case of crystal bending by a mechanical holder has been studied for applications. We addressed the case of the holder with a crystal at the energy currently under operation in the CERN super proton synchrotron and its possible extension to higher energy cases such as for the large hadron collider. Anisotropy-driven torsion of the crystal was investigated, determining a limitation to the portion of the crystal suitable for channeling. The geometry of the jaws clamping the crystal was considered too.

High diffraction efficiency, broadband, diffraction crystals for use in crystal diffraction lenses

A major goal of the MAX program is to detect and measure gamma rays produced following the nuclear reactions that take place in a supernova explosion. To detect a reasonable number of supernovae, sensitivities of the order of a few times 10-7 γ cm-2sec-1 are needed — much better than possible with current instruments. The approach in the MAX program is to use a crystal diffraction lens to collect photons over a large area and concentrate them on a small well-shielded detector, greatly improving the signal to noise ratio. The crystals need to have both high diffraction efficiency and a relatively broad energy bandwidth. With mosaic crystals there is a trade-off between bandwidth and diffraction efficiency — one can have either high efficiency or large bandwidth, but not both without losing too much intensity through atomic absorption. A recent breakthrough in our understanding of crystal diffraction for high-energy gamma rays has made it possible to develop crystals that have both high diffraction efficiency and a relatively broad energy bandwidth. These crystals have near perfect crystal structure, but the crystalline planes are slightly curved. Such curved planes can be obtained in 3 different ways, by using mixed crystals with a composition gradient, by applying a thermal gradient, and by mechanically bending a near perfect crystal. A series of experiments have been performed on all three types of crystals using high-energy x-ray beams from the Advanced Photon Source at the Argonne National Laboratory. Experiments performed at 3 energies, 93 keV, 123 keV and 153 keV, with both the thermal gradient Si crystals and with the mechanically bent Si crystals, demonstrated that one can achieve diffraction efficiencies approaching 100% with moderate energy bandwidths (ΔE/E=1.4%) and low atomic absorption (transmission = 0.65), in excellent agreement with theory. The use of this type of diffraction crystal is expected to increase the sensitivity of gamma ray telescopes by a factor of 5 over that possible with normal mosaic crystals.

Low-energy-channeling surface analysis on silicon crystals designed for high-energy-channeling in accelerators

Channeling of relativistic particles in bent Si crystals is a powerful technique for use with accelerators. Its efficiency can be found to be highly dependent on the state of the surface of the crystal steering the particles. We investigated the morphology and structure of the surface of the samples that have been used with high efficiency for channeling in accelerators. Low-energy channeling of 2MeVα particles or protons was used as a probe. We found that mechanical treatment of the samples leads to a superficial damaged layer, which is correlated to efficiency limitations of the crystal in accelerators. In contrast, chemical etching, which was used to treat the surface of the most efficient crystals, leaves a surface with superior perfection.

Strong suppression of nuclear-charge changing interactions for 18 TeV/c In ions channeled through a bent Si crystal

We present experimental results giving evidence for the strong reduction—a factor of more than 20—of nuclear-charge changing interactions for 18 TeV In49+ ions channeled through a silicon crystal bent to 7.5, 11.9 and 19.8 mrad. A very small fraction of the deflected ions suffer electromagnetic or nuclear interactions leading to proton loss while traversing the 60 mm long crystal, even though its thickness corresponds to about 0.13 nuclear interaction lengths for an amorphous material. By considering the deflected ions only, we show experimentally that the nuclear-charge pickup reaction believed to be induced by virtual photons is a short-range phenomenon.

Direct comparison of plastically deformed Ge mosaic crystal and bent perfect Si crystal for neutron monochromatization

The results of direct comparison of some monochromator properties of plastically deformed (mosaic) Ge single crystal with cylindrically bent perfect crystal (BPC) of Si are presented. Using a double-crystal diffractometer and α o=20′ collimation of the incident polychromatic beam we compared monochromatic beam current at the sample position for the take off angles of 40°, 50° and 60°. The comparison was carried out on the diffraction planes (3 1 1) M when the monochromators operated at nearly the same asymmetric diffraction geometry. For the sake of comparison of their resolution properties, Fe(1 1 0) and Fe(2 1 1) diffraction profiles of the beam scattered by a solid and well annealed α-Fe polycrystalline sample are also presented. It has been found that under these specific experimental conditions often used for residual strain scanning, the focusing bent Si crystal is a good cheap alternative to the flat mosaic Ge monochromator.

Hard x-ray imaging using free-standing spherically bent crystals

We report the attempt to prepare free-standing spherically bent Si crystals with radii of curvature as small as 30 cm and large uniform working areas up to several cm2. We also report on the use of these crystals in the Laue geometry to record two-dimensional high spatial resolution x-ray images in the hard x-ray region (λ∼0.5 Å). We discuss how these bent crystals were made, and show how these spherically bent crystals were used in the Laue geometry to obtain hard x-ray images of test objects at the silver K-alpha wavelength at two different magnifications. The mean spatial resolution of this x-ray imaging scheme, determined from the recorded image traces, was found to be better than 10 μm over a field of view of 1.5×1.5 mm. Contributions of possible focusing mechanisms (dynamical and polychromatic) are discussed. Additional theoretical understanding of how such a scheme is working is needed.

Crystal-assisted extraction of Au ions from RHIC and application of the Au beam for the search of anomalous Cherenkov radiation

It is proposed to perform an extraction of the gold ion beam from Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at BNL (USA) with the highest energy of 100 A GeV. The beam extraction is to be done by a bent Si crystal. The following scientific program could be performed on the extracted gold ion beam: a search for superluminal particles – tachyons; a study of the Cherenkov double photon radiation; a measurement of the absolute intensity of heavy ion Cherenkov radiation; a study of the ionization loss of the heavy ions; a study of the Cherenkov radiation in anisotropy media.

On the reduced interaction probability for fully stripped 33 TeV/c Pb ions channeled in a bent Si crystal

We compare experimental results and computer simulations on the reduction of inelastic interactions for 33 TeV Pb 82+ ions channeled in a bent silicon crystal. The comparison shows that a very small fraction of the initially channeled ions suffer nuclear interactions while traversing the 60 mm long crystal under perfect alignment, even though its thickness would correspond to about 1.2 nuclear interaction lengths for an amorphous material. This result indicates that a bent crystal approach to extraction of high energy, fully stripped ions from e.g. RHIC or LHC might be feasible.

Deflection of 32.8 TeV/c fully stripped Pb ions by means of a bent Si crystal

New results on the deflection of fully stripped 32.8 TeV/c Pb ions in a bent Si crystal at the CERN-SPS are reported. Deflection efficiencies above 10% have been measured for deflection angles in the range 4–9 mrad. The effect of particle losses due to interaction in the crystal and other systematic errors have been carefully investigated. The experimental results are in agreement with theoretical calculations.

Crystal-aided non-resonant extraction of 70 GeV protons from the IHEP accelerator

A bent Si crystal placed in front of the first septum-magnet of the existing slow extraction system of the IHEP accelerator has allowed additionally up to 3 × 10 8 protons to be extracted for physics experiments. These protons were otherwise lost on the septum in non-resonant slow extraction mode. They represent about 10–30% of the beam intensity extracted towards channel No. 22 without a bent crystal. The effect is due to volume channeling. The use of an unbent crystal as an amorphous target results in a decrease of the extracted beam intensity.

Experiment to observe the spin precession of channeled relativistic Σ+ hyperons

Spin precession of channeled particles in bent crystals has been observed for the first time. Polarized Σ + were channeled using bent Si crystals. These crystals provided an effective magnetic field of 45 T which resulted in measured spin precession of 60° ± 17°. This agrees with the prediction of 62° ± 2° using the world average of Σ + magnetic moment measurements. This new technique gives a Σ + magnetic moment of (2.40 ± 0.46 ± 0.40) μn where the quoted uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. We see no evidence of depolarization in the channeling process.