National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Radiation-induced defects in silicon diodes were investigated after exposure to high doses of Co-60-gamma irradiation using the thermally stimulated current method. We have found that, for high irradiation doses, a second-order defect can be detected. This defect is largely suppressed in oxygen-enriched material while it is the main cause for the space charge sign inversion effect observed in standard float-zone material. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

We have successfully applied laser annealing to sol-gel deposited SnO2:Sb thin films in order to achieve their crystallization. The as-deposited films are quasi-amorphous and electrically non-conductive. After laser annealing they crystallize and become conductive. This paper presents a comparative study of the laser annealed films and shows the influence of the irradiation parameters on the crystallization process and the electrical behavior of the films. Our results are quite promising in view of applying this kind of treatment to films deposited on thermally sensitive substrates (e.g. polymers). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Thin organic films based on poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) polymer have been obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on silicon substrates. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). We observed that the film composition and structure depend on the laser fluence and on the temperature of the substrate during deposition. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Rich phonon spectra were observed experimentally by Brillouin spectroscopy in liquid, glassy, and crystalline state of colloidal systems of low and high elastic constant contrast. The nature of these phonons was elucidated by theoretical calculations of the single sphere scattering cross section, the energy density distribution, the light scattering intensity, and determination of the band structure by the multiple scattering method. Besides the ordinary acoustic phonon, localized optic-like modes, mixed modes, and Bragg induced modes were identified. Their relation to the physical state of a colloidal suspension sensitively depends on the micromechanical mismatch between particle and surrounding medium and the coherence of the crystalline structure. Polycrystalline colloidal suspensions show distinct acoustic excitations in the high wave vector-low frequency region. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

The charge-density oscillations (plasmons) of a low-density two-dimensional uniform electron gas are studied within the framework of finite temperature and frequency dependent (dynamic) version of Singwi, Tosi, Land, and Sjolander theory and compared with the recent experimental results. The use of the Hartree-Fock approximation for the static structure factor leads to a finite temperature dynamical counterpart of the static Hubbard approximation. We observe important differences between dynamic and static local-field factors as well as between the corresponding plasmon dispersion laws. Our calculated plasmon energies that include dynamic correlations are in very good agreement with the recent experimental results.

Applied field Mossbauer spectrometry is used to investigate the magnetic structure in two amorphous Sm-Fe-B ribbons with measured compositions Sm7.2Fe72.8B20 and Sm12Fe68B20. The applied field dependence of the hyperfine field agrees with the ferromagnetic coupling between the Fe and Sm magnetic moments. For the Sm7.2Fe72.8B20 ribbon, the magnetic moments are aligned in the applied field direction for fields higher than 4 T. For the Sm12Fe68B20 ribbon, the magnetic moments are not completely aligned in the direction of the applied field for fields up to 6 T. This spin canting is attributed to the influence of the samarium anisotropy, which probably dominates in the Sm12Fe68B20 ribbon, as the related composition lies in the concentration range where the local order around iron atoms is strongly influenced by the samarium atoms. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with different surface states are investigated by X-ray Diffraction, Electron Microscopy, Differential Thermal Analysis and magnetic: measurements in low applied field. The influence of the adsorbed species (H2O and sulphate complexes) on the inter-particle magnetic interactions is analysed in relation to both the magnetic states of the surface and the inter-particle distance.

A series of Fe3 - xMxO4 samples with x = 0-0.6. was prepared using the hydrothermal method. The system was characterized using transmission Mossbauer spectroscopy. The dependence of the site hyperfine magnetic. fields and populations on the content x of Mn substitution was derived from the spectra. The results are consistent with Mn2+ ions substituting for Fe2+ ions in the octahedral B sublattice. In particular, the site-specific substitution of Mn ions for the B2 sites was evidenced. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Silicon detectors in particle physics experiments at the new accelerators or in space missions for physics goals will be exposed to extreme radiation conditions. The principal obstacles to long-term operation in these environments are the changes in detector parameters, consequence of the modifications in material properties after irradiation. The phenomenological model developed in the present paper is able to explain quantitatively, without free parameters, the production of primary defects in silicon after particle irradiation and their evolution toward equilibrium, for a large range of generation rates of primary defects. Vacancy-interstitial annihilation, interstitial migration to sinks, divacancy and vacancy-impurity complex (VP, VO, V2O and CiOi, CiCs) formation are taken into account. The effects of different initial impurity concentrations of phosphorus, oxygen and carbon, as well as of irradiation conditions are systematically studied. The correlation between the rate of defect production, the temperature and the time evolution of defect concentrations is also investigated. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.