Krypton Ions Research Articles

Toward compact and ultra-intense laser-based soft x-ray lasers

We report here recent work on an optical field ionized (OFI), high-order harmonic-seeded EUV laser. The amplifying medium is a plasma of nickel-like krypton obtained by OFI when focusing a 1 J, 30 fs, circularly-polarized, infrared pulse into a krypton-filled gas cell or krypton gas jet. The lasing transition is the 3d94d (J = 0) → 3d94p (J = 1) transition of Ni-like krypton ions at 32.8 nm and is pumped by collisions with hot electrons. The gain dynamics was probed by seeding the amplifier with a high-order harmonic pulse at different delays. The gain duration monotonically decreased from 7 ps to an unprecedented shortness of 450 fs full width at half-maximum as the amplification peak rose from 150 to 1200 with an increase of the plasma density from 3 × 1018 to 1.2 × 1020 cm−3. The integrated energy of the EUV laser pulse was also measured, and found to be around 2 μJ. It is to be noted that in the ASE mode, longer amplifiers were achieved (up to 2 cm), yielding EUV outputs up to 14 μJ.

The crystal structures and corresponding ion-irradiation response for the Tb(x)Yb(2−x)TiO5 series

The Ln2TiO5 (Ln = lanthanides and yttrium) compounds find use in nuclear, electronic and battery applications but there is a lack of information correlating the synthesis, structure and properties of these materials. We give an in depth review of the current available literature on the Ln2TiO5 compounds. New structural findings of the TbxYb2−xTiO5 (x = 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1, 1.2, 1.6, 2) compounds are detailed and their response to 1MeV krypton ion exposure is discussed. A single phase Tb2TiO5 sample with hexagonal symmetry is the first bulk, single phase, mono-lanthanide with this stoichiometry and symmetry to be reported. Thus this work brings together the current literature and illustrates the synthesis-structure-property relationships that are observed in this family.

In-situ kinetics of modifications induced by swift heavy ions in Al2O3: Colour centre formation, structural modification and amorphization

This paper details in-situ studies of modifications induced by swift heavy ion irradiation in α-Al2O3. This complex behaviour is intermediary between the behaviour of amorphizable and non-amorphizable materials, respectively. A unique combination of irradiation experiments was performed at the IRRSUD beam line of the GANIL facility, with three different characterisation techniques: in-situ UV–Vis absorption, in-situ grazing incidence X-Ray diffraction and ex-situ transmission electron microscopy. This allows a complete study of point defects, and by depth profile of structural and microstructural modifications created on the trajectory of the incident ion. The α-Al2O3 crystals have been irradiated by 92 MeV Xenon and 74 MeV Krypton ions, the irradiation conditions have been chosen rather similar with an energy range where the ratio between electronic and nuclear stopping power changes dramatically as function of depth penetration. The main contribution of electronic excitation, above the threshold for track formation, is present beneath the surface to finally get almost only elastic collisions at the end of the projected range. Amorphization kinetics by the overlapping of multiple ion tracks is observed. In the crystalline matrix, long range strains, unit-cell swelling, local microstrain, domain size decrease, disordering of oxygen sublattice as well as colour centre formation are found. This study highlights the relationship between ion energy losses into a material and its response. While amorphization requires electronic stopping values above a certain threshold, point defects are predominantly induced by elastic collisions, while some structural modifications of the crystalline matrix, such as unit-cell swelling, are due to contribution of both electronic and nuclear processes.

Strong higher-order resonant contribution to Fe Kα x-ray line polarization in hot anisotropic plasmas

SynopsisWe report the first systematic measurement of x-ray angular distribution and polarization following dielectronic, trielectronic and quadroelectronic recombination into He-like through O-like iron and krypton ions. The experimental data revealed that the the degree of polarization of x rays is dominated by relativistic Breit interaction and hitherto neglected higher-order trielectronic and quadroelectronic recombination resonances.

Comparison of Characteristics of Neon, Argon, and Krypton Ion Emissions from Gas Field Ionization Source with Single Atom Tip

Comparison of Characteristics of Neon, Argon, and Krypton Ion Emissions from Gas Field Ionization Source with Single Atom Tip

K-, L- and M-shell X-ray productions induced by krypton ions in the 0.8–1.6 MeV/amu range

The K-, L- and M-shells X-ray production cross sections induced by krypton ions for a range target elements from Ti to Bi were measured. In the experiments the thin films were irradiated by 84Kr particles with projectile energies of 67.2, 84.0, 100.8, 117.6 and 134.4MeV. An approach based on the use of Mo grid with 500nm deposited bismuth layer as a beam monitor was developed to determine the amount of particles delivered on the sample. The efficiency of the X-ray detector was determined using the calibration radioactive sources. The experimental results were compared to the predictions of the ECPSSR and PWBA theories calculated with the ISICS code.

Krypton ion implantation effect on selenium nanowires

Among the rapidly progressing interdisciplinary areas of physics, chemistry, material science etc. ion induced modifications of materials is one such evolving field. It has been realized in recent years that a material, in the form of an accelerated ion beam, embedded into a target specimen offers a most productive tool for transforming its properties in a controlled manner. In semiconductors particularly, where the transport behavior is determined by very small concentrations of certain impurities, implantation of ions may bring considerable changes. The present work is based on the study of the effect of krypton ion implantation on selenium nanowires. Selenium nanowires of diameter 80 nm were synthesized by template assisted electro deposition technique. Implantation of krypton ions was done at Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, India. The effect of implantation on structural, electrical and optical properties of selenium nanowires was investigated. XRD analysis of pristine and implanted nanowires shows no shifting in the peak position but there is a variation in the relative intensity with fluence. UV–Visible spectroscopy shows the decrease in the optical band gap with fluence. PL spectra showed emission peak at higher wavelength. A substantial rise in the current was observed from I–V measurements, after implantation and with the increase in fluence. The increase in current conduction may be due to the increase in the current carriers.

Ion-irradiation-induced microstructural modifications in ferritic/martensitic steel T91

In this paper, in situ transmission electron microscopy investigations were carried out to study the microstructural evolution of ferritic/martensitic steel T91 under 1 MeV Krypton ion irradiation up to 4.2 × 1015 ions/cm2 at 573 K, 673 K, and 773 K. At 573 K, grown-in defects are strongly modified by black-dot loops, and dislocation networks together with black-dot loops were observed after irradiation. At 673 K and 773 K, grown-in defects are only partially modified by dislocation loops; isolated loops and dislocation segments were commonly found after irradiation. Post irradiation examination indicates that at 4.2 × 1015 ions/cm2, about 51% of the loops were a0/2〈111〉 type for the 673 K irradiation, and the dominant loop type was a0〈100〉 for the 773 K irradiation. Finally, a dispersed barrier hardening model was employed to estimate the change in yield strength, and the calculated ion data were found to follow the similar trend as the existing neutron data with an offset of 100–150 MPa.

Characteristics of krypton ion emission from a gas field ionization source with a single atom tip

A scanning ion beam instrument equipped with a gas field ionization source (GFIS) has been commercialized, but only helium and neon are currently available as GFISs. The characteristics of krypton ion emission from a single atom tip (SAT) have not been reported yet. In this study, the characteristics of krypton ion emission were investigated by field ion microscopy. At 65 K, the krypton ion emission current reached approximately 40 pA, which is 1 order of magnitude higher than that at 130 K. As the krypton gas pressure was increased, the krypton ion current increased. At a pressure of 0.3 Pa, the emission current was anticipated to reach 200 pA, which may be high enough for nanofabrication. The variation of the krypton ion current was as low as 5% in one hour. We concluded that a krypton ion beam instrument equipped with a GFIS will be a powerful tool for nanofabrication.

Modification of graphene by ion beam

Ion induced defect generation in graphene was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. A single layer graphene membrane produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper foil and then transferred on glass substrate was subjected to helium, carbon, nitrogen, argon and krypton ions bombardment at energies from the range 25keV to 100keV. A density of ion induced defects and theirs mean size were estimated by using Raman measurements. Increasing number of defects generated by ion with increase of ion mass and decrease of ion energy was observed. Dependence of ion defect efficiency (defects/ion) on ion mass end energy was proportional to nuclear stopping power simulated by SRIM. No correlation between ion defect efficiency and electronic stopping power was observed.

Prediction of irradiation induced microstructures using a multiscale method coupling atomistic and phase field modeling: Application to the AgCu model alloy

Microstructure patterning using the ion beam mixing process results from the competition between thermal diffusion and ballistic disordering induced by impinging ions. Although microstructure patterning under irradiation is now qualitatively understood, so far, no study could quantitatively estimate irradiation conditions leading to patterning. In this work, a new multiscale approach based on phase field was developed to simulate the microstructure evolution, and the occurrence of patterning due to ion irradiation in a silver-copper alloy, from atomic to microstructural scale. For that purpose, an efficient numerical scheme was developed to simulate the microstructure dynamics, within the framework of phase field. Equilibrium parameters of AgCu were computed using a mixed Monte Carlo-molecular dynamics approach. Ballistic effects induced by krypton ion irradiation, and point defect recreation leading to irradiation enhanced diffusion, were estimated using the binary collision approximation framework. As a result, we predicted the range of temperatures and irradiation fluxes leading to the formation of patterned microstructures in the AgCu alloy under krypton ion irradiation. Results were summarized in a pseudo phase diagram in the temperature-flux plane. Our model was in good agreement with a previous diffraction experimental study.

Spectral Analysis of Moderately Charged Rare-Gas Atoms

This article presents a review concerning the spectral analysis of several ions of neon, argon, krypton and xenon, with impact on laser studies and astrophysics that were mainly carried out in our collaborative groups between Argentina and Brazil during many years. The spectra were recorded from the vacuum ultraviolet to infrared regions using pulsed discharges. Semi-empirical approaches with relativistic Hartree–Fock and Dirac-Fock calculations were also included in these investigations. The spectral analysis produced new classified lines and energy levels. Lifetimes and oscillator strengths were also calculated.

Numerical simulations of gas mixing effect in electron cyclotron resonance ion sources

The particle-in-cell MCC code NAM-ECRIS is used to simulate the ECRIS plasma sustained in a mixture of Kr with O2, N2, Ar, Ne and He. The model assumes that ions are electrostatically confined in ECR zone by a dip in the plasma potential. Gain in the extracted krypton ion currents is seen for the highest charge states; the gain is maximized when oxygen is used as the mixing gas. A special feature of oxygen is that most of singly charged oxygen ions are produced after dissociative ionization of oxygen molecules with the large kinetic energy release of around 5 eV per ion. Increased loss rate of energetic lowly charged ions of the mixing element requires building up of the retarding potential barrier close to ECR surface to equilibrate electron and ion losses out of the plasma. In the mixed plasmas, the barrier value is large (~1 V) compared to the pure Kr plasma (~0.01 V), with the longer confinement times of krypton ions and with the much higher ion temperatures.

Simulating the ballistic effects of ion irradiation in the binary collision approximation: A first step toward the ion mixing framework

Understanding ballistic effects induced by ion beam irradiation can be a key point for controlling and predicting the microstructure of irradiated materials. Meanwhile, the ion mixing framework suggests an average description of displacement cascades may be sufficient to estimate the influence of ballistic relocations on the microstructure. In this work, the BCA code MARLOWE was chosen for its ability to account for the crystal structure of irradiated materials. A first set of simulations was performed on pure copper for energies ranging from 0.5 keV to 20 keV. These simulations were validated using molecular dynamics (MD). A second set of simulations on AgCu irradiated by 1 MeV krypton ions was then carried out using MARLOWE only, as such energy is beyond reach for molecular dynamics. MARLOWE simulations are found to be in good agreement with experimental results, which suggests the predictive potential of the method.

Electron energy enhancement by frequency chirp of a radially polarized laser pulse during ionization of low-density gases

A scheme is proposed to enhance the energy of the electrons generated during the ionization of low-density krypton ions and argon ions by a radially polarized laser pulse using a negative frequency chirp. If a suitable frequency chirp is introduced then the energy of the electrons increases significantly and scattering decreases. The optimum value of the frequency chirp decreases with laser intensity and as well as spot size. The laser spot size also has an optimum value. The electron energy shows strong initial phase dependence. The scheme can be used to obtain quasi-monoenergetic collimated electrons using the right choice of parameters. The chirped radially polarized laser pulse is more efficient than a chirped circularly polarized laser pulse to enhance energy and obtain quasi-monoenergetic electron beams.

Charge state distribution studies of pure and oxygen mixed krypton ECR plasma – signature of isotope anomaly and gas mixing effect

We report the charge state distributions of the pure, 25% and 50% oxygen mixed krypton plasma to shed more light on the understanding of the gas mixing and the isotope anomaly [A. G. Drentje, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 63 (1992) 2875 and Y Kawai, D Meyer, A Nadzeyka, U Wolters and K Wiesemann, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 10 (2001) 451] in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasmas. The krypton plasma was produced using a 10 GHz all-permanent-magnet ECR ion source. The intensities of the highly abundant four isotopes, viz. 82 Kr (~11.58%), 83 Kr (~11.49%), 84 Kr (~57%) and 86 Kr (17.3%) up to ~ +14 charge state have been measured by extracting the ions from the plasma and analysing them in the mass and the energy using a large acceptance analyzer-cum-switching dipole magnet. The influence of the oxygen gas mixing on the isotopic krypton ion intensities is clearly evidenced beyond +9 charge state. With and without oxygen mixing, the charge state distribution of the krypton ECR plasma shows the isotope anomaly with unusual trends. The anomaly in the intensities of the isotopes having quite closer natural abundance, viz. 82 Kr, 86 Kr and 83 Kr, 86 Kr is prominent, whereas the intensity ratio of 86 Kr to 84 Kr shows a weak signature of it. The isotope anomaly tends to disappear with increasing oxygen mixing in the plasma. The observed trends in the intensities of the krypton isotopes do not follow the prediction of linear Landau wave damping in the plasma. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quasimonoenergic collimated electrons from the ionization of low density gases by a chirped intense Gaussian laser pulse

The spectrum of energy and angle of emittance of the electrons generated during ionization of neon ions Ne8+, krypton ions Kr32+, and argon ions Ar16+ by a laser pulse have been obtained for different values of laser frequency chirp and normalized laser pulse duration. The energy of the electron beam shifts to higher energy with the introduction of frequency chirp. The energy peak shifts towards lower energy with an increase in frequency chirp, and the electron beam becomes more quasi-monoenergetic. The energy peak shifts to higher energy with decreasing laser pulse duration due to increase in asymmetry of the pulse, however, the quasi-monoenergetic property of the electron beam decreases. We can obtain MeV, MeV/GeV, and GeV electron beams using neon, krypton, and argon gases as target. The scattering of the electrons decreases with decreasing laser pulse duration and increasing laser intensity. The energy peak is sharper and at higher energy for the ions located after laser focus than that for the ions located before laser focus for a tightly focused laser pulse.

Erratum: Polarization measurement of dielectronic recombination transitions in highly charged krypton ions [Phys. Rev. A92, 042702 (2015)

Erratum: Polarization measurement of dielectronic recombination transitions in highly charged krypton ions [Phys. Rev. A<b>92</b>, 042702 (2015)

Structural and electrical properties of tracks of heavy ions in polyethylene terephthalate and mica

An image of the entrance of high-energy ions of krypton, xenon, and bismuth on the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and mica is obtained. It is shown that in both cases the tracks have the appearance of protuberances. The formation of protuberances is associated with the destruction of material in the region of the track, the formation of amorphous structure, and the removal of low-molecular-weight radiolysis products as gaseous substances. Storage of the irradiated PET samples in water and a weak alkaline solution for several hours changes the surface topography due to hydrolysis of the material and the removal of radiolysis products into the solution. The kinetics of etching tracks in a weak alkaline solution and the formation of pores are studied. The stream function, electrical resistance, and permeability of the tracks in KCl, LiCl, MgCl2, and BaCl2 electrolytes are measured. The surface charge of the tracks is calculated from these values.

Strong higher-order resonant contributions to x-ray line polarization in hot plasmas

We studied angular distributions of x rays emitted in resonant recombination of highly charged iron and krypton ions, resolving dielectronic, trielectronic, and quadruelectronic channels. A tunable electron beam drove these processes, inducing x rays registered by two detectors mounted along and perpendicular to the beam axis. The measured emission asymmetries comprehensively benchmarked full-order atomic calculations. We conclude that accurate polarization diagnostics of hot plasmas can only be obtained under the premise of inclusion of higher-order processes that were neglected in earlier work.