Publications

A comparative theoretical study of the damages produced by protons and pions, in the energy range 50 MeV-50 GeV, in diamond, is presented. The concentration of primary defects (CPD) induced by hadron irradiation is used to describe material degradation. The CPD has very different behaviours for protons and pions: the proton degradation is important at low energies and is higher than the pion one in the whole energy range investigated, with the exception of the Delta(33) resonance region, where a large maximum of the degradation exists for pions. In comparison with silicon, the most investigated and the most utilised semiconductor material for detectors, diamond theoretically proves to be one order of magnitude more resistant both to proton and pion irradiation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A unique resolution function of angular-dispersive synchrotron radiation powder diffractometers, properly parameterized to be valid for any multicrystal variant of this instrument, has been derived paying special attention to the absolute correctness of the formulae by avoiding any unknown proportionality factors. Moreover, the concept of experimental performance criterion has been proposed in an attempt to introduce a kind of 'worth-scale' for the results of measurements performed with a certain instrumental configuration. Both entities were used in computer simulations to determine the most convenient configuration of instrumental parameters that, apart from the fulfilment of the experiment seal, ensure an adequate counting rate. Several case studies using different instrumental layouts, different single-crystal monochromators and samples of different low symmetries and unit-cell volumes were considered. The results offer reliable information that may be useful for designing diffractometers as well as for conducting experiments.

Single-phase icosahedral phases (i-phases) of TiZrNi and AlCuFe alloys were obtained by single roller melt-spinning in protective argon atmosphere. The high-pressure (up to 25 GPa) compression properties of i-TiZrNi and i-AlCuFe were investigated by in situ energy-dispersive synchrotron radiation (SR) diffraction experiments using a gas-membrane diamond-anvil cell. In contrast to i-AlCuFe, reproducible deviations from the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state were noticed in the form of hysterezis loops during the first compression cycles of i-TiZrNi alloys. This response of quasicrystalline matter to hydrostatic pressure conditions is here reported for the first time. Plastic deformation processes and effects related to the small grain size of the rapidly-quenched TiZrNi alloys are tentatively considered as possible explanations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The changes induced by neutron irradiation in n- and p-type silicon samples with starting resistivities from 10 Omega-cm up to 30 K Omega-cm, grown, using different techniques, as Float-Zone (FZ), Czochralski (CZ) and epitaxial, have been analyzed by Van der Pauw and Hall effect measurements. Increasing the fluence, each set of samples evolves toward a quasi-intrinsic p-type material. This behavior has been explained in the frame of a two-level model, that considers the introduction during irradiation of mainly two defects. A deep acceptor and a deep donor,probably related to the divacancy and to the CiOi complex, are placed in the upper and lower half of the forbidden gap, respectively. This simple model explains quantitatively the data on resistivity and Hall coefficient of each set of samples up to the fluence of approximate to 10(14) n/cm(2).

The energy dependence of the concentration of primary displacements induced by protons and pions in diamond has been calculated in the energy range 50 MeV - 50 GeV, in the frame of the Lindhard theory. The concentrations of primary displacements induced by protons and pions have completely different energy dependencies: the proton degradation is very important at low energies, and is higher than the pion one in the whole energy range investigated, with the exception of the Delta(33) resonance region. Diamond has been found, theoretically, to be one order of magnitude more resistant to proton and pion irradiation in respect to silicon.

Chlorinated SrCl2:Fe2+ crystals exhibit, after X-ray irradiation, two trapped-electron Fe+(I) and Fe+(II) centers both with axial [001] symmetry, but different EPR spectrum parameters and production properties. The analysis of the experimental data strongly suggests a substitutional eight-fold coordination of the Fe+ ion in the Fe+(I) center and a strong [001] off-center displacement to a fourfold coordinated site in the Fe+(II) center resulting in S = 3/2 and S = 1/2 ground states, respectively.

A new concept of high-resolution focusing configuration begins to be accepted as an alternative solution to the existing conventional configurations. Among the earliest work performed in this direction is that performed at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Pitesti. These results are presented below. The experimentally determined resolution properties for two focusing configurations obtained at TRIGA reactor Pitesti and at VVRS reactor Bucharest are given in order to be compared with those obtained for the conventional ones. The principles to get focusing in crystal neutron diffractometry are presented. The main characteristics for a focusing instrument are given. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The analysis of the Mossbauer spectra of (Cu0.8Fe0.2)(100-x))B-x the melt spun ribbons taken at several temperatures between 4.2 K and room temperature allowed us to identify the occurring Fe-containing phases: alpha-Fe, gamma-Fe and Fe solid solutions. The presence of B inhibits the phase transformation from fee to bcc Fe. For x = 0 and 1, the amount of Fe in the Fe solid solution is close to 3 at.% solubility limit, while for x=3 besides crystalline Fe3B, a supersaturated phase of 9.7 at.% Fe in the Fe solid solution was found, showing a strong deviation from the binary equilibrium phase diagram. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Microstructural modifications of thick diamond films grown by microwave plasma CVD at different reactant gas now rates have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. A strong degradation of the diamond quality was observed at low hydrogen flow rates, while the layer grown at the highest hydrogen flow rate was almost defect free. The abundance of various defects observed, mostly microtwins, stacking faults, dislocations and even amorphous regions, clearly correlates with the gas flow rate. Illustrations of typical defects are given and, in particular, planar defect intersections are characterized at atomic resolution in specimens where their density was high.

Electrical and optical properties of colloidal PTO sol-gel films on glass substrates have been investigated. The optical gap of 3.14 eV and room temperature conductivity of 4 Ohm(-1) cm(-1) were obtained on ITO layers of about 500 Angstrom thickness. Heterostructures of ITO/n-Si have been obtained by colloidal sol-gel deposition of ITO. In this deposition method, the oxidation of silicon during the heterostructure formation can be avoided. The silicon substrates were cut out of silicon tubes. Electrical and photoelectric properties of these structures have been studied in comparison with those of p-n tube-Si junctions obtained by thermal boron diffusion. On ITO/n-Si heterojunctions, the spectral quantum efficiency has a maximum value of about two times higher and a blue shift of the maximum position from 0.75 to 0.6 mu m, than those for p-n junctions. A theoretical investigation of the I-V curves for ITO/n-Si heterojunctions under various illumination levels has been performed and contribution of the tunneling and series resistance phenomena were evaluated. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.