High-energy Electron Research Articles

Sulphuric precipitates in novel titanium-based, sulphur-bearing bulk metallic glass – a BMG composite?

ABSTRACT New titanium-based metallic glasses containing sulphur as a key element have recently been developed and are the subject of ongoing research related to the effects of sulphur introduction into glass-forming alloy systems. Here we report on the formation of sulphuric precipitates during solidification of a Ti40Zr35Cu17S8 alloy and on the occurrence of secondary intermetallic compound crystallization starting in sulphur-depleted zones around the precipitates. The alloy is a promising metallic glass for use as a structural and biomedical material as it shows a high yield strength and good corrosion resistance paired with a low density. The role of sulphur for the glass formation in the Ti-Zr-Cu-S system is discussed and specimens quenched into different structural states are investigated by means of high-energy synchrotron diffraction and electron microscopy. The electron microscopic findings reveal that sulphuric precipitates precede the crystallization of an intermetallic (Ti, Zr)2Cu phase, which is the primary phase when sulphur is not present in the system and thus lead to a higher glass-forming ability. The sulphuric precipitates are found in specimens of various casting thickness and differ in their volume percentages depending on the size of the cast sample, while the secondary phase (Ti, Zr)2Cu crystallizes heterogeneously in the interfaces between the sulphuric precipitates and the local matrix.

Indoor air disinfection by non thermal atmospheric pressure plasma: a comparative study of performance in low and high humidity environments

Abstract Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) has intrigued the interest of researchers for various applications such as disinfection, air purification, etc. In this context, a deeper understanding of the correlation between APP’s characteristics like discharge parameters, active species composition, and eradication of airborne microorganisms with varying relative humidity (RH) has been examined using a dielectric barrier discharge based atmospheric pressure plasma (DBD-APP) source. One of the electrodes of the developed DBD-APP source has been coated with TiO2 nanoparticles to enhance the generation of reactive species during the discharge process. The results show that, even with the same peak-to-peak applied voltage, the peak-to-peak current and discharge power decrease with increasing RH. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is used to determine the relative emission intensity of the reactive species, whereas spectrophotometry is used to quantify the reactive species produced by the plasma at various parameters. Instead of UV radiation, the plasma-produced highly energetic electrons activates the TiO2 nanoparticles for electron-hole pair generation. The geometry of the discharge has played an important role in generating high energy electrons. From the developed DBD-APP source, the airborne microorganism’s disinfection efficiency of ~ 95.8% and ~ 98.7% has been achieved in the total bacterial counts (TBCs) and total fungal counts (TFCs) at an RH range of 70% – 90%, in just 20 minutes of continuous operation. However, in the RH range of 20% – 40%, the inactivation efficiency dropped to ~ 78.8% and ~ 87.5% for the TBCs and TFCs, respectively. The outcome indicates that higher humidity levels are better for indoor air purification using DBD-APP sources and that plasma with a circulation system can effectively disinfect indoor environments.

Recording and Revealing 2.5D Nanopatterned Hidden Information on Silk Protein Bioresists.

Nanopatterning on biomaterials has attracted significant attention as it can lead to the development of biomedical devices capable of performing diagnostic and therapeutic functions while being biocompatible. Among various nanopatterning techniques, electron-beam lithography (EBL) enables precise and versatile nanopatterning in desired shapes. Various biomaterials are successfully nanopatterned as bioresists by using EBL. However, the use of high-energy electron beams (e-beams) for high-resolutive patterning has incorporated functional materials and has caused adverse effects on biomaterials. Moreover, the scattering of electrons not absorbed by the bioresist leads to proximity effects, thus deteriorating pattern quality. Herein, EBL-based nanopatterning is reported by inducing molecular degradation of amorphous silk fibroin, followed by selectively inducing secondary structures. High-resolution EBL nanopatterning is achievable, even at low-energy e-beam (5keV) and low doses, as it minimizes the proximity effect and enables precise 2.5D nanopatterning via grayscale lithography. Additionally, integrating nanophotonic structures into fluorescent material-containing silk allows for fluorescence amplification. Furthermore, this post-exposure cross-linking way indicates that the silk bioresist can maintain nanopatterned information stored in silk molecules in the amorphous state, utilizing for the secure storage of nanopatterned information as a security patch. Based on the fabrication technique, versatile biomaterial-based nanodevices for biomedical applications can be envisioned.

Recording and Revealing 2.5D Nanopatterned Hidden Information on Silk Protein Bioresists.

Nanopatterning on biomaterials has attracted significant attention as it can lead to the development of biomedical devices capable of performing diagnostic and therapeutic functions while being biocompatible. Among various nanopatterning techniques, electron-beam lithography (EBL) enables precise and versatile nanopatterning in desired shapes. Various biomaterials are successfully nanopatterned as bioresists by using EBL. However, the use of high-energy electron beams (e-beams) for high-resolutive patterning has incorporated functional materials and has caused adverse effects on biomaterials. Moreover, the scattering of electrons not absorbed by the bioresist leads to proximity effects, thus deteriorating pattern quality. Herein, EBL-based nanopatterning is reported by inducing molecular degradation of amorphous silk fibroin, followed by selectively inducing secondary structures. High-resolution EBL nanopatterning is achievable, even at low-energy e-beam (5keV) and low doses, as it minimizes the proximity effect and enables precise 2.5D nanopatterning via grayscale lithography. Additionally, integrating nanophotonic structures into fluorescent material-containing silk allows for fluorescence amplification. Furthermore, this post-exposure cross-linking way indicates that the silk bioresist can maintain nanopatterned information stored in silk molecules in the amorphous state, utilizing for the secure storage of nanopatterned information as a security patch. Based on the fabrication technique, versatile biomaterial-based nanodevices for biomedical applications can be envisioned.

Hysteresis in radio frequency capacitively coupled CF4 plasmas

Abstract Based on experiments and simulations, various plasma parameters are found to undergo a hysteresis as a function of the driving voltage amplitude in capacitively coupled CF4 discharges. Phase Resolved Optical Emission Spectroscopy reveals that the discharge operates in a hybrid combination of the drift-ambipolar and α-mode at low voltage. In this mode, the electric field and mean electron energy are high in the electronegative plasma bulk region. As the cross section for electron attachment is appreciable only at high electron energies, this mode results in strong negative ion production and keeps the electron density low as well as the mode of plasma operation stable, when the voltage is increased moderately. Increasing the driving voltage amplitude further ultimately induces a mode transition into a pure α-mode, once the electron density increases strongly. Decreasing the voltage again results in a reverse mode transition at a lower voltage compared to the previous mode transition, because the electron density is now initially high in the bulk and, thus, the bulk electric field and mean electron energy are low resulting in inefficient generation of negative ions via electron attachment. This keeps the electron density high even at lower driving voltages. This effect leads to the emergence of two steady states of plasma operation within a certain voltage range. The different electron energy distribution functions in these two states result in markedly different generation and density profiles of F atoms, with higher values occurring in the increasing voltage branch of the hysteresis. The ion flux and mean energy at the electrodes also differ. The voltage range, where the hysteresis occurs, is affected by the ion induced secondary electron coefficient (γ). A larger value of γ results in a shift of the hysteresis voltage range towards lower values.

Numerical investigation of discharge evolution and breakdown characteristics of ArF excimer lasers

Abstract The corona bar induced pre-ionization is a crucial preliminary process in the operation of ArF excimer lasers, directly impacting the uniformity and stability of output laser. However, the ultraviolet corona pre-ionization, as the mainstream method, is tightly coupled with the main discharge process, which complicates analysis. Here, we establish a numerical model of a single pulse discharge incorporating an external circuit to analyze the pre-ionization process and its influence on the breakdown characteristics. (1) By adopting detailed input parameters of photoionization model, we observe uniform and dispersed plasma propagation from the corona bar to the main gap. (2) An artificial boundary condition is proposed to investigate the phenomenological effect of high-energy electrons emission, emphasizing the influence of surface discharge along the cathode. (3) The differences between the two pre-ionization setup methods, photoionization and background electron density, are compared numerically. This study enhances the understanding of the pre-ionization process in ArF excimer lasers and provides theoretical insights for their optimization and design.

Impact of high-energy electron beam irradiation on piezoelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate

Abstract We measured the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) elements at various temperatures and investigated the change in the electromechanical coupling coefficient to clarify the temperature dependence of the elements. Based on these results, we performed a 20 MeV electron beam irradiation experiment on the PZT elements. We found that the electromechanical coupling coefficient decreased as the cumulative energy absorption due to beam irradiation increased, even when the effect of the temperature rise due to beam irradiation was negligible.

Generation of gamma photons and pairs with transverse orbital angular momentum via spatiotemporal optical vortex pulse

We present the generation of well-collimated gamma photons and pairs with extrinsic transverse orbital angular momentum (TOAM) through the head-on collision of an intense spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) pulse carrying intrinsic TOAM and a high-energy electron beam. It is found that the TOAM of STOV pulse remains almost unchanged, and the TOAM is conserved in the center-of-mass frame. Moreover, there exhibits a duality for particles TOAM in the CMF and laboratory frame when the initial location of high-energy electron beam is different. Furthermore, the TOAM of gamma photons in the CMF increases while that of positrons decreases as the topological charge of STOV pulse increases, whereas in the LF, the TOAM of both gamma photons and positrons decreases. The result under the same pulse intensity is better than that under the same pulse energy. The increase in the initial energy of high-energy electrons leads to an enhancement of the TOAM of both gamma photons and positrons in both frames. Gamma photons and electrons/positrons with TOAM as a new degree of freedom may have extensive applications in optical communication, astrophysics, nanomaterials, and other fields.

Time-dependent Stellar Flare Models of Deep Atmospheric Heating

Optical flares have been observed from magnetically active stars for many decades; unsurprisingly, the spectra and temporal evolution are complicated. For example, the shortcomings of optically thin, static slab models have long been recognized when confronted with the observations. A less incorrect—but equally simple—phenomenological T ≈ 9000 K blackbody model has instead been widely adopted in the absence of realistic (i.e., observationally tested) time-dependent, atmospheric models that are readily available. We use the RADYN code to calculate a grid of 1D radiative-hydrodynamic stellar flare models that are driven by short pulses of electron-beam heating. The flare heating rates in the low atmosphere vary over many orders of magnitude in the grid, and we show that the models with high-energy electron beams compare well to the global trends in flux ratios from impulsive-phase stellar flare, optical spectra. The models also match detailed spectral line-shape properties. We find that the pressure broadening and optical depths account for the broad components of the hydrogen Balmer γ lines in a powerful flare with echelle spectra. The self-consistent formation of the wings and nearby continuum level provides insight into how high-energy electron-beam heating evolves from the impulsive to the gradual decay phase in white-light stellar flares. The grid is publicly available, and we discuss possible applications.

Evolution of High-energy Electron Distribution in Pulsar Wind Nebulae

In this paper, we analyze the spectral energy distributions of 17 powerful (with a spin-down luminosity greater than 1035 erg s−1) young (with an age less than 15,000 yr) pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) using a simple time-independent one-zone emission model. Our aim is to investigate correlations between model parameters and the ages of the corresponding PWNe, thereby revealing the evolution of high-energy electron distributions within PWNe. Our findings are as follows: (1) The electron distributions in PWNe can be characterized by a double power-law with a super-exponential cutoff. (2) As PWNe evolve, the high-energy end of the electron distribution spectrum becomes harder with the index decreasing from approximately 3.5 to 2.5, while the low-energy end spectrum index remains constant near 1.5. (3) There is no apparent correlation between the break energy or cutoff energy and the age of PWNe. (4) The average magnetic field within PWNe decreases with age, leading to a positive correlation between the energy loss timescale of electrons at the break energy or the high-energy cutoff, and the age of the PWN. (5) The total electron energy within PWNe remains constant near 2 × 1048 erg, while the total magnetic energy decreases with age.

Time-dependent Stellar Flare Models of Deep Atmospheric Heating

Optical flares have been observed from magnetically active stars for many decades; unsurprisingly, the spectra and temporal evolution are complicated. For example, the shortcomings of optically thin, static slab models have long been recognized when confronted with the observations. A less incorrect—but equally simple—phenomenological T ≈ 9000 K blackbody model has instead been widely adopted in the absence of realistic (i.e., observationally tested) time-dependent, atmospheric models that are readily available. We use the RADYN code to calculate a grid of 1D radiative-hydrodynamic stellar flare models that are driven by short pulses of electron-beam heating. The flare heating rates in the low atmosphere vary over many orders of magnitude in the grid, and we show that the models with high-energy electron beams compare well to the global trends in flux ratios from impulsive-phase stellar flare, optical spectra. The models also match detailed spectral line-shape properties. We find that the pressure broadening and optical depths account for the broad components of the hydrogen Balmer γ lines in a powerful flare with echelle spectra. The self-consistent formation of the wings and nearby continuum level provides insight into how high-energy electron-beam heating evolves from the impulsive to the gradual decay phase in white-light stellar flares. The grid is publicly available, and we discuss possible applications.

Effects of high-energy electron rays on groundnut cake: Kinetics of aflatoxins degradation and changes in physicochemical quality

As a non-thermal technology, high-energy electron rays can effectively reduce pathogenic bacteria and mycotoxins in food. This study investigated the degradation effect of high-energy electron rays on four aflatoxins in artificially contaminated cold-pressed and hot-pressed groundnut cake. We also evaluated the irradiated groundnut cake's quality (including crude protein, amino acid, etc.). The results showed that the irradiation dose, and moisture content positively affected the degradation of aflatoxins, while the initial content of aflatoxins was detrimental to the degradation. The degradation process of aflatoxins could be better characterized by the second-order kinetics (R2 ranges 0.7162–0.9918) than first-order kinetics. The changes in the crude protein of groundnut cake by high-energy electron rays were small (all less than 3%). Still, there were some changes in the amino acid content of groundnut cake (less than 5% change in total amino acids in cold-pressed groundnut cake and no more than 8% change in total amino acids in hot-pressed groundnut cake). It was suggested that at the moisture content of about 11% and aflatoxins of about 160 μg/kg, 10–20 kGy could be used to ensure product quality and effective decontamination. In practice, the irradiation dose can be appropriately reduced when the moisture is high and increased when the initial contamination content is high. In conclusion, the high-energy electron rays are a practical option for industry to effectively degrade aflatoxins in defatted groundnut cake due to their cost-effectiveness, having little impact on product's nutritional value, and quick and easy to use without new environmental pollution.

Solar Flare Ribbon Fronts. II. Evolution of Heating Rates in Individual Flare Footpoints

Solar flare ribbon fronts appear ahead of the bright structures that normally characterize solar flares, and can persist for an extended period of time in spatially localized patches before transitioning to “regular” bright ribbons. They likely represent the initial onset of flare energy deposition into the chromosphere. Chromospheric spectra (e.g., He i 10830 Å and the Mg ii near-UV lines) from ribbon fronts exhibit properties rather different to typical flare behavior. In prior numerical modeling efforts we were unable to reproduce the long lifetime of ribbon fronts. Here we present a series of numerical experiments that are rather simple but which have important implications. We inject a very low flux of nonthermal electrons (F = 5 × 108 erg s−1 cm−2) into the chromosphere for 100 s before ramping up to standard flare energy fluxes (F = 1010−11 erg s−1 cm−2). Synthetic spectra not only sustained their ribbon-front-like properties for significantly longer: in the case of harder nonthermal electron spectra, the ribbon front behavior persisted for the entirety of this weak-heating phase. Lengthening or shortening the duration of the weak-heating phase commensurately lengthened or shortened the ribbon front lifetimes. Ribbon fronts transitioned to regular bright ribbons when the upper chromosphere became sufficiently hot and dense, which happened faster for softer nonthermal electron spectra. Thus, the lifetime of flare ribbon fronts are a direct measure of the duration over which a relatively low flux of high-energy electrons precipitates to the chromosphere prior to the bombardment of a much larger energy flux.

Reconstruction of Fermi and eROSITA Bubbles from Magnetized Jet Eruption with Simulations

The Fermi bubbles and the eROSITA bubbles around the Milky Way Galaxy are speculated to be the aftermaths of past jet eruptions from a supermassive black hole in the galactic center. In this work, a 2.5D axisymmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) model is applied to simulate a jet eruption from our galactic center and to reconstruct the observed Fermi bubbles and eROSITA bubbles. High-energy non-thermal electrons are excited around forward shock and discontinuity transition regions in the simulated plasma distributions. The γ-ray and X-ray emissions from these electrons manifest patterns on the skymap that match the observed Fermi bubbles and eROSITA bubbles, respectively, in shape, size and radiation intensity. The influence of the background magnetic field, initial mass distribution in the Galaxy, and the jet parameters on the plasma distributions and hence these bubbles is analyzed. Subtle effects on the evolution of plasma distributions attributed to the adoption of a galactic disk model versus a spiral-arm model are also studied.

High Energy Electron Beam as an Effective Method for Molecular Modification and Thermoelectric Enhancement of PEDOT:PSS

High Energy Electron Beam as an Effective Method for Molecular Modification and Thermoelectric Enhancement of PEDOT:PSS

Irradiation Effect in Thermoelectric Polymer Polyaniline Induced by High-Energy Electron Beam

A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the relationships between molecular structure, morphology and thermoelectric properties of HCl-doped polyaniline (PANi) nanorods subjected to 10[Formula: see text]MeV electron beam irradiation. Morphological and structural characterization revealed that the crystallinity of irradiated PANi nanorods remained almost unchanged, and minimal oxygen content was detected. This resulted in minimal alterations to the thermo-stability. In addition, the thermoelectric properties of PANi were enhanced. A maximum conductivity of 22.85[Formula: see text]S/cm was obtained at 50[Formula: see text]kGy, which was 1.46 times that of pristine PANi. Interestingly, the Seebeck coefficient reached a maximum of −3.56[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]V/K at 100[Formula: see text]kGy, indicating [Formula: see text]-type organic semiconductor properties. However, a peak power factor of 0.024[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]W[Formula: see text]m[Formula: see text] K[Formula: see text] was achieved with 60[Formula: see text]kGy irradiation, which was slightly enhanced compared to 0.018[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]W[Formula: see text]m[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K[Formula: see text] for pristine PANi. These results demonstrate that PANi exhibits good irradiation resistance after irradiated with a dose of 100[Formula: see text]kGy. Thus, PANi could be used in high-[Formula: see text] ray (electron) environments, such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).

Effects of High Al Content on the Phase Constituents and Thermal Properties in NiCoCrAlY Alloys.

MCrAlY (M = Ni and/or Co) metallic coatings are essential for the protection of hot-end components against thermal and corrosion damage. Increasing the Al content is considered a feasible solution to improve the high-temperature performance of MCrAlY coatings. In this paper, the effects of high Al contents (12-20 wt.%) on the phase constituents and cast microstructures in MCrAlY alloys were studied by high-energy X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques combined with phase equilibria calculations. High Al content improved the stability of β, σ, and α phases. Meanwhile, an evolution of the cast microstructure morphology from a dendrite structure to an equiaxed grain structure was observed. The thermal properties were analyzed, which were closely related to the phase constituents and solid-to-solid phase transitions at evaluated temperatures. This work is instructive for developing high-Al-content MCrAlY coatings for next-generation thermal barrier applications.

Energy Absorption and Beam Damage during Microfocus Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction.

In this study, we combine in situ fast differential scanning calorimetry (FDSC) with synchrotron X-ray measurements to study simultaneously the structure and thermophysical properties of materials. Using the example of the organic compound BCH-52, we show that the X-ray beam can heat the sample and induce a shift of the heat-flow signal. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of radiation on sample behavior. The calorimetric data is used to quantify the absorbed beam energy and, together with the diffraction data, reveal an irreversible damage of the sample. The results are especially important for materials with high absorption coefficients and for high-energy X-ray and electron beams. Our findings illustrate that FDSC combined with X-ray diffraction is a suitable characterization method when beam damage must be minimized.

Machine-learning-empowered identification of initial growth modes for 2D transition metal dichalcogenide thin films

In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is a powerful technique for monitoring surface states and offers invaluable insights into thin film growth. However, extracting hidden features and subtle changes from its vast data remains as a challenge. This work bridges the gap by employing machine learning (ML)-empowered RHEED analysis to elucidate the growth dynamics of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) thin films grown under two distinct growth modes. Principal component analysis (PCA) and its modified processes were used to separate contributions of the graphene substrate and the MoSe2 film in the RHEED video. The ML-empowered RHEED analysis allowed us to effectively filter out the strong substrate signal and reconstructing RHEED videos solely for the MoSe2 films. This approach enabled detailed monitoring of film growth with unique features, and clearly distinguishing between the layer-by-layer growth mode and the island one. This work demonstrates the potentials of ML-empowered RHEED analysis for revealing complex growth dynamics of 2D TMDC materials, paving the way for advanced thin film monitoring and autonomous control in wider scope of thin film technologies.

Study on irradiation effect and damage mechanism in cascode GaN HEMT irradiated by 10 MeV electron

This study investigated the irradiation effect of cascode-structure GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) devices, employing high-energy electrons with an energy of 10 MeV and irradiation doses ranging from 5 to 80 Mrad(Si). The variation of electrical properties of the device under annealing condition was analyzed. Geant4 and TCAD simulations were used to analyze the irradiation effect and damage mechanisms. The results show that the threshold voltage has obvious negative drift and the drain current increases after irradiation. The threshold voltage deviation amplitude of the device increases with the increase of irradiation dose, and the maximum deviation is 1.41V. Annealing at high temperatures (80 °C, 120 °C and 145 °C) partially restores the electrical properties, with a 0.49 V restoration in threshold voltage at 145 °C. Geant4 simulations reveal that enhanced Si MOSFET is more susceptible to total dose effects. TCAD simulations of enhanced Si MOSFET devices demonstrate an increase in electric field intensity, trapped electron concentration, and hole concentration in Si and SiO2 layers with the increase of irradiation dose. These findings can provide support for the space application and irradiation hardening of cascode GaN HEMT devices.