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Czochralski- and float-zone- grown silicon detectors were irradiated with 2 to 5 MeV protons. Capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements served to deduce the effective doping profiles and current-voltage (IV) measurements served to obtaining information on irradiation-induced deep levels. The CV measurements show that the proton-induced net space charge is positive or negative depending on the energy of the bombarding ion. The commonly employed nonionizing energy loss hypothesis was tested with the low energy proton regime and prominent previously unobserved deviations from predictions were noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon particle detectors made on Czochralski and float zone silicon materials were irradiated with 7 and 9 MeV protons at a temperature of 220 K. During the irradiations, the detectors were biased up to their operating voltage. Specific values for the fluence and flux of the irradiation were found to cause a sudden breakdown in the detectors. We studied the limits of the fluence and the flux in the breakdown as well as the behavior of the detector response function under high flux irradiations. The breakdown was shown to be an edge effect. Additionally, the buildup of an oxide charge is suggested to lead to an increased localized electric field, which in turn triggers a charge carrier multiplication. Furthermore, we studied the influences of the type of silicon material and the configuration of the detector guard rings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After irradiation with 7 and 9 MeV protons, activation-induced effects were encountered in measurements of current-voltage (IV) and capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics for Czochralski and float-zone grown silicon particle detectors prepared on printed circuit boards with copper electrodes. With the present detector construction, the 30Si(p,n)30P and 63Cu(p,n)63Zn reactions induce dominant interference in such measurements. The daughter nuclides are positron emitters with half-lives of 2.5 and 38.5 min, respectively, and the slowing down of the emitted positrons generates a significantly large concentration of electron-hole pairs in the detector volume increasing the leakage current level and decreasing the breakdown voltage. The observed time-dependent characteristics were verified by modeling the activation of the detector structure and the resulting leakage current. As a result, the electrical measurements cannot be performed immediately after irradiation due to silicon activation, and, generally, materials becoming easily activated should be avoided in the detector concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable and accurate knowledge of the physical properties of elementary point defects is crucial for predictive modeling of the evolution of radiation damage in materials employed in harsh conditions. We have applied positron annihilation spectroscopy to directly detect mono-vacancy defects created in tungsten through particle irradiation at cryogenic temperatures, as well as their recovery kinetics. We find that efficient self-healing of the primary damage takes place through Frenkel pair recombination already at 35 K, in line with an upper bound of 0.1 eV for the migration barrier of self-interstitials. Further self-interstitial migration is observed above 50 K with activation energies in the range of 0.12–0.42 eV through the release of the self-interstitial atoms from impurities and structural defects and following recombination with mono-vacancies. Mono-vacancy migration is activated at around 550 K with a migration barrier of E m V = 1.85 ± 0.05 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Irradiation-assisted photoelastic domain wall formation in single-crystalline X- and Y-cut lithium niobate (LNO) is studied at low displacement doses, namely, up to a maximum of 2.5×10−2 dpa and annealed at 270°C. The formation of surface ridges (or striations) is observed and quantified using atomic force and optical microscopy. In spite of the different crystallographic orientation of the two single-crystals a correlation between the density of surface defects and the displacement dose is established phenomenologically which means that the displacement damage and its consequent defect accumulation behavior prior to annealing (‘incubation phase’) defines to which extent the lattice undergoes an irreversible mechanical deformation immediately after annealing. This ridge formation mechanism assisted by irradiation and moderate annealing constitutes a fine tool to modify the near-surface structure and the local optical properties of LNO and hence it allows one to potentially micromachine new photonic devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]