Evolution of native point defects in ZnO bulk probed by positron annihilation spectroscopy

This paper studies the evolution of native point defects with temperature in ZnO single crystals by positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening （CDB） spectroscopy, combined with the calculated results of positron lifetime and electron momentum distribution. The calculated and experimental results of the positron lifetime in ZnO bulk ensure the presence of zinc monovacancy, and zinc monovacancy concentration begins to decrease above 600 ℃ annealing treatment. CDB is an effective method to distinguish the elemental species, here we combine this technique with calculated electron momentum distribution to determine the oxygen vacancies, which do not trap positrons due to their positive charge. The CDB spectra show that oxygen vacancies do not appear until 600℃ annealing treatment, and increase with the increase of annealing temperature. This study supports the idea that green luminescence has a close relation with oxygen vacancies.

Defect Properties of GaAs by Positron Annihilation

Positron lifetime and Doppler Broadening spectra have been measured for three types of GaAs semiconductors. Direct evidence of native vacancy-type defects is found in the semi--insulating (SI-type) and n-type sample as its average lifetime Tin and S-parameter are larger than the bulk value. No positron trapping occurred in p-type GaAs. The lifetime spectrum of n-GaAs has also been measured as a function of temperature. The increase in average lifetime τm from 226 ps to 234 ps at the temperature range 95-330 K was observed and was explained by the ionization of the vacancy. The slight increase in bulk lifetime τb with the temperature was caused by the latticeexpansion and expansion coefficient α=14×10-6-1 was evaluated.

Effect of Defects on Magnetic Properties of O^(+) -implanted AlN Films by Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Room-temperature ferromagnetism is observed in the O^(+)-implanted AIN films with O+doses of 5×10^(16) cm^(-2)(AIN:Osxion)and 2×10^(17) cm^(-2)(AIN:O_(2x1on)).The observed magnetic anisotropy indicates that the ferromagnetism is attributed to the intrinsic properties of O^(+) -implanted AIN films.The out-of-plane saturation magnetization(Ms)of the AIN:O5×10^(16) is about 0.68 emu/g,much higher than that of AIN:O_(2x1017),0.09 emu/g,which is due to the excessively high O^(+)dose made more O+ions occupy adjacent A1^(3+)positions in forms of antiferromagnetic coupling.Doppler broadening of positron annihilation radiation measurements demonstrate the existence of Al vacancies in the O^(+)-implanted AIN films.The first-principles calculations suggest that the ferromagnetism originates mainly from the Al vacancies.Meanwhile,the formation of divacancies or vacancy clusters by high concentrations of Al vacancies will lead to the transformation of VA-VAi coupling from ferromagnetim to antiferromagnetism,ultimately weakening the ferromagnetism of the sample.

Positron annihilation study of defects in GaAs irradiated by fission neutron

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Evidence of Positron Trapping into Defects in Zn-Doped GaAs

The defect properties in as-grown and deformed p-type GaAs with different concentration of dopants and different growth method have investigated by positron lifetime measurement. The result indicates that no positron trapping was observed in LEC-grown Zn-doped p-type GaAs. However, in HB- and FZ-grown Zn-doped GaAs, positron trapping into vacancy type defects was observed. In deformed samples, clusters were formed during deformation. Positron detected shallow positron traps and the dominant shallow positron traps were attributed to Zn acceptors in Zn-doped GaAs.

Positron Annihilation Study on TiC Powders

By means of the positron annihilation technique (PAT), superfine TiC powders obtained by ball-milling process were characterized. The results showed that there was a clear correlation between the change in TiC powders and that in the PAT parameters. In the high energy ball-milling process, TiC powders were severely deformed, which caused large increase in the amount of defects and severe distortion of lattice. On the other hand, the extreme refinement of grain size of powders resulted in the increase of grain boundary area and enhancement of system free energy. The spacing between deformed domains in 96 h milled samples is somewhat smaller than those in 48 h milled samples, indicating the size of Type II defects in 96 h milled samples is somewhat smaller than that in 48 h milled samples.

INVESTIGATION OF BEHAVIOUR OF B IN Ni_3Al ALLOYS BY POSITRON ANNIHILATION TECHNIQUE

The behuviour of B atoms added to mono-and poly-crystalline Ni_3AI alloys has been investi- gated hy positron annihilation technique(PA T).If the additive of B was less than 1.37 at-%, some of B atoms solid-solutioned interstitially into matrix and distorted the lattice,thus the lifetime (τ) of positron (e^+) Or matrix dilated:the others of them segregated on vacancy-like defects and formed "filling effect",thus the mean lifetime (τ)and S parameters decreased.If B added was increased up to 2.22 at-%,more defects having larger free volume were induced by horide eutectic occurred along grain boundaries and grain interior,thus the τ in vacancy-like defects.τ and S parameters increased remarkably.

Defect Characterization of 6H-SiC Studied by Slow Positron Beam

The defect formation and annealing behavior in as-grown and electron-irradiated 6H-SiC wafers were investigated by variable-energy slow positron beam. For the n-type as-grown samples, it was found that annealing decreased the defect concentration due to recombination with interstitial, and when it was annealed at 1400 ℃ for 30 rain in vacuum, a 20 nm thick Si layer was found on the top of SiC substrate, which is a direct proof of the Si atom diffusing to the surface when annealed at the high temperature stages. During the high temperature annealing stage, we found an obvious surface effect occurred that induced the higher S parameter close to the surface. This may be caused by the diffusion of the Si atoms to the surface during annealing. After 10 MeV electron irradiation of the n-type 6H-SiC, the positron effective diffusion length decreased from 86.2 nm to 39.1 nm. This shows that there are some defects created in n-type 6H-SiC. But in the p-type 6H-SiC irradiated by 10 MeV electrons, the change is very small. This may be because of the opposite charge of the vacancy defects. The same annealing behavior as that of as-grown 6H-SiC samples was also observed for the 1.8 MeV electron-irradiated 6H-SiC samples except that after being annealed at 300 ℃, its defect concentration increased. This may be explained as the generation of carbon vacancies, due to either the recombination between divacancies and silicon interstitial, or the charge of the charge states.

Metal-Semiconductor Interfaces Investigated by Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Variable-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy has been applied to study interfaces in Al/Si, Au/Si and Au/GaAs structures. Computational fittings of ROYPROF program were used to analyze Doppler broadening results in order to determine kinds of regions that positrons were likely to sample. The interfaces were found acting as a capturing thin layer with negligible positrons stopped in them and their characteristics came only from positrons diffusing to these interfaces, the positron work function of these materials were taken into consideration. In all fittings, the interfaces are found to have 1 nm thickness and act as an absorbing sink for all thermal positrons diffusing towards them, and this indicates either the existence of open volume defects or a weakness of known theoretical models for positron affinities. The result is supported by measurements obtained by applying external electric fields on Al/Si sample. Theoretical fittings have clearly demonstrated the sensitivity of interfaces in these attempts and their importance in data analyzing and in developing of fitting cods.

Solid-State Reaction and Vacancy-Type Defects in Bilayer Fe/Hf Studied by the Slow Positron Beam

The positron annihilation lifetimes and the Doppler broadening by slow positron beam are measured in thin Fe films with thickness 500 nm, a thin Hf film with thickness 100 nm, and the bilayer Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) on quartz glass substrate. We have analyzed the behavior in vacancy-type defects in each layer through some deposition temperatures and annealing. It is observed that the thin Fe film, the thin Hf film, and the bilayer Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) already contain many vacancy-type defects. We have investigated the change of densities of the vacancy-carbon complex and the small vacancy-cluster with carbons, through solid-state amorphization of Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) bilayer.

The behavior of 3d electrons and defects in TiAl-based alloys containing V and Cu studied by positron annihilation

Information of defects and 3d electrons in transition metals (Ti,V,Cu) and TiAl-based alloys (Ti50Al50,Ti50Al48V2,Ti50Al48Cu2) can be extracted from the positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening spectra. The results show that the 3d electron signals for the transition metals Ti,V and Cu increase with the number of 3d electrons. The 3d electron signal and the electron density for binary TiAl alloy are relatively low due to the (Ti)3d-(Al)3p interactions. The addition of V and Cu atoms to TiAl alloy leads to the increase in the electron densities in bulk and the defects on grain boundaries simultaneously,as well as the enhancement of the 3d electron signal. The 3d electron signal in the spectrum of Ti50Al48Cu2 alloy is higher than that of Ti50Al48V2 alloy.

Study on Defects in Fe-Doped SrTiO3 by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

SrTi1-xFexO3-δ ceramics were prepared using a traditional solid-state reaction method. From X-ray diffraction(XRD) result, we found that the doped Fe^3+ dissolved in the lattice, and no secondary phase was observed. Cation vacancies in perovskite oxides were identified via positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy(PALS) measurements. Undoped and Fe-doped SrTiO3 ceramics and single-crystal SrTiO3 were measured by PALS at room temperature. The results show that the main defects in undoped SrTiO3 ceramics are Ti-related defects, and the isolated Ti vacancy lifetime is about 183.4 ps. With the increase of Fe^3+, the concentration of the Ti vacancies decreases accompanied by the appearance of the V^nSr-nV^**O(defect association of Sr vacancies and multiple O vacancies) vacancy defect complexes.

Positron annihilation study of effect of aluminum on iron-based amorphous alloys

Seven Fe-based amorphous alloys have been studied by Doppler broadening and lifetime techniques of the positron annihilation. It is shown that the parameters of positron annihilation in the Fe-based amorphous alloys containing more aluminum are larger than those in the alloys with less aluminum, which means that the existence of element Al in Fe-based amorphous alloys results in more vacancy-like defects.

Dielectric Properties and Defect Structure of Bi-doped SrTiO_3 Ceramics

The dielectric properties of ceramics with composition of (Sr 1-x Bi x )TiO 3+x/2 (where x =0.05～0.70 ) were measured at frequency of 1 MHz. The experimental results indicate that the dielectric properties of (Sr 1-x Bi x )TiO 3+x/2 system are greatly varied with an increase of the stoichiometric amounts of Bi 2O 3. The relative permittivity of the solid solutions is high, and the dissipation factor is low. The positron annihilation technique(PAT) was adopted to study the defect structure. An explanation of the dielectric properties of Bi-doped SrTiO 3 ceramics has been suggested in terms of electron-compensation and vacancy or defect-compensation mechanisms and space-charge polarization mechanism.

A Grain Boundary Defect Model for ZnO Ceramic Varistors by Deep Heat Treatment

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RESEARCH FOR SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL TRANSITION IN Sr_xLa_(1-x)CuO_3 SYSTEM BY POSITRON ANNIHILATION TECHNIQUE

In high temperature oxide superconductors, such as Sr-La-Cu-O,Ba-Y-Cu-O, there is a phase transition from semiconductor to metal as the composition changes under the same condition of heat treatment. Recently the theoretical explanations are proposed, hut the research is still at an initial stage. Thus study in different ways on the cause of the phase transition and its relationship with high temperature superconductivity is one of the important current subjects.

Effect of Cu on the boron segregation at grain boundaries and vacancy-type defects in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels

By thermal neutron irradiation particle tracking autoradiography(PTA)technique,the development of boron segregation at grain boundaries in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels was investigated during cooling from 1150°C to 850°C,and the effect of Cu on boron segregation at grain boundaries was discussed.By positron annihilation lifetime(PAL)technique,the changes of vacancy-type defects with temperatures and the effect of Cu on vacancy-type defects in the cooling process were discussed.Results show that,the concentration of boron at grain boundaries increases rapidly at the beginning of the cooling;after that,it begins to decrease;and then,it increases gradually again.The addition of Cu not only increases the concentration of boron at grain boundaries but also speeds up the development process of boron segregation at grain boundaries.During the continuous cooling process,the addition of Cu significantly affects the change of vacancy-type defects with temperatures in ultra-low carbon micro-alloy steels.

脉冲电流作用下纯铁及RPV钢缺陷修复的正电子湮没研究

为探究电脉冲处理(Electropulsing Treatment,EPT)对金属材料缺陷的修复作用,设计了一套电脉冲处理设备和与其配套的处理方法,并对电子辐照样品与拉伸样品等含有缺陷的金属材料样品进行电脉冲处理。利用正电子谱学对原子尺度缺陷的十分灵敏的特点,对电脉冲处理后样品进行正电子寿命谱学等研究,获得纯铁及反应堆压力容器(Reactor Pressure Vessel,RPV)钢辐照或形变产生的缺陷及通过电脉冲处理后的部分“修复”情况。结果表明:缺陷“修复”的效果既与样品初始状态有关,又与电脉冲处理参数有关,电脉冲处理样品的正电子平均寿命和维氏硬度变化趋势一致。正电子湮没作为新的无损检测方法有望给出脉冲电流作用下材料损伤或缺陷“修复”的判据,可方便、快速及高灵敏探测实际工况部件的缺陷状态。

锑化铟晶体空位缺陷的正电子湮灭研究

锑化铟晶体材料的电学性能是影响最终制备的红外探测器件性能的关键因素。材料内部的杂质以及点缺陷特别是空位缺陷会极大的影响材料的电学性能,有时甚至会导致材料反型。本文利用正电子湮灭谱对锑化铟晶体材料的空位缺陷类型进行了研究,同时还对不同晶体生长拉速、导电类型晶体材料的正电子湮灭寿命进行分析。结果表明其内部主要为V In型空位缺陷,且在一定拉速范围内,正电子湮灭寿命基本无变化,此外空位缺陷也不是导致N型锑化铟晶体材料导电类型反型的主要原因。

Surface and Subsurface Defects Studies of Dental Alloys Exposed to Sandblasting

The defects created in commercial dental alloys during blasting with alumina particles propelled in compressed air under pressure 0.1 and 0.4 MPa have been studied using positron annihilation spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was observed that higher pressure causes the increase in roughness and damaged zone range. The type of defects was determined as vacancies on dislocations. The defect concentration decreases with the depth and depends on alloys' type and applied pressure. The Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and variable energy positron beam studies indicate shallow alumina deposition in material and show that small pressure of 0.1 MPa is not enough to remove metal surface oxides completely in 60 s in all studied dental alloys.