Effect Of Alpha-particle Irradiation Research Articles

The effect of alpha particle irradiation on electrical properties and defects of ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel spin coating

ZnO thin films were prepared using the sol-gel spin coating technique. The structure was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD spectra exhibited typical randomly orientated structure with a slight preference for growth along the (002) plane and a crystallite size of ∼ 48 nm. The Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on the synthesized ZnO thin films. The electrical properties before and after irradiating the devices with alpha particle irradiation were characterized using current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V), deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and Laplace-transform deep-level transient spectroscopy (L-DLTS) techniques. Pd/ZnO/n-Si/AuSb Schottky diodes exhibited good rectifying properties. Before irradiation, the DLTS spectra revealed one defect E4 with activation enthalpy 0.41 eV. After irradiation, there is a new defect Eα with the activation enthalpy 0.35 eV. Laplace-transform deep-level transient spectroscopy (L-DLTS) revealed the fine structure of the Eα to be made up of 0.53 eV and 0.36 eV defects.

The effect of helium irradiation on the thermal evolution of the microstructure of nc‐ZrN

AbstractZrN is a candidate material for use as inert matrix fuel host for the burn‐up of plutonium and other minor actinides, waste products commonly present in spent nuclear fuel. These materials will operate within the nuclear reactor core and will therefore be subject to various types of radiation, high temperatures and a corrosive environment. Ceramics employed in the nuclear reactor environment will accumulate helium via (n, α) reactions. Nanocrystalline ZrN irradiated with 30 keV He to fluences between 1016 and 5×1016 cm–2to simulate the effects of alpha particle irradiation. The He irradiated sam‐ ples were annealed at temperatures between 600 and 1000 °C and were analysed using TEM and selected area diffraction. The results indicated that post irradiation heat treatment induces exfoliation at a depth that corresponds to the end‐of‐range of 30 keV He ions. TEM analysis of He suggests that nanocrystalline ZrN is prone to the formation of He blisters which may ultimately lead material failure. The results also suggest that the doping of nc‐ZrN with He aids the transformation from a nanocrystalline to microcrystalline state during heat treatment. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Effect of alpha-particle irradiation on the electrical properties of n-type Ge

Deep-level transient spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of alpha particle irradiation on the electrical properties of n-type Ge. The samples were irradiated with alpha particles at room temperature using an americium-241 (Am-241) radionuclide source. The main defects introduced were found to be electron traps with energy levels at EC 0.38, EC 0.21, EC 0.20, EC 0.15, and EC 0.10 eV, respectively. The main defects in alpha particle irradiation are similar to those introduced by MeV electron irradiation, where the main defect is the E-center. A quadratic increase in concentration as a function of dose is observed. & 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Study of DNA integrity in alpha-particle radiobiological experiments using thin CR-39 detectors

Thin CR-39 detectors (with thickness of ∼ 20 μ m ) were prepared from commercially available CR-39 SSNTDs through chemical etching in 1 N NaOH/ethanol at 40 ∘ C . Custom-made petri dishes, with a hole drilled at the bottom and covered with a piece of thin CR-39 detector, were used for culturing HeLa cells. Alpha particles (from an 241Am source) were irradiated from the bottom of the CR-39 detector. The hit frequency of cell nuclei by alpha particles was obtained from the positions of the etched alpha-particle tracks. The effect of alpha-particle irradiation was quantified using the results of terminal dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, which characterizes strand breaks in DNA.

Quantum dot solar cell tolerance to alpha-particle irradiation

The effects of alpha-particle irradiation on an InAs quantum dot (QD) array and GaAs-based InAs QD solar cells were investigated. Using photoluminescence (PL) mapping, the PL intensity at 872 and 1120nm, corresponding to bulk GaAs and InAs QD emissions, respectively, were measured for a five-layer InAs QD array which had a spatially varying total alpha-particle dose. The spectral response and normalized current-voltage parameters of the solar cells, measured as a function of alpha-particle fluence, were used to investigate the change in device performance between GaAs solar cells with and without InAs QDs.

Deep levels associated with alpha irradiation of n-type MOCVD InP

Deep level transient spectroscopy has been used to observe the effect of alpha particle irradiation on n-type InP grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Eight majority carrier emitting levels Eα1, Eα2, …, Eα8 are found to be produced as a result of this irradiation. At least two of the observed levels (Eα2 and Eα4) are found to show interesting metastable behaviour. One important result of this work is complete absence of the well-known metastable M-level (observed in electron irradiated LEC InP) in our alpha-irradiated MOCVD material.

193. Effect of alpha particle irradiation on coal polished sections

193. Effect of alpha particle irradiation on coal polished sections