The course is focused on the principles of modification of materials by ion beam(s), so-called ion implantation. Ion implantation is based on the use of charged particles with known energy, which are implanted into the surface layer of materials. The first part of the course will cover the theory of energy loss of ions, theoretical and semi-empirical description of electron and nuclear ion losses in materials. Depending on the implantation parameters used (ion fluence, ion mass, ion energy, the amount of deposited energy, the amount of dopant and its depth distribution in the material), the resulting modified properties of the surface layer can be controlled with great precision. This also defines the resulting physical properties of a material synthesized by ion beams. The following processes and applications will be emphasized in the course, that is the possibility of using ion-beam irradiation for radiation hardness testing of materials for energetic application, dpa (displacement per atom) evolution in fusion and other related nuclear materials, ion-beam modification of surfaces for applications in solar cells, materials for hydrogen evolution etc. The course will demonstrate that ion implantation modifies the physical properties of ion-implanted materials due to the disruption of chemical bonds, and the ongoing ionization can lead to the formation of defects, the release of volatile compounds from the material, and different positioning of the dopant in the structure of the irradiated material. All of those result in a change in chemical composition, electron structure, chemical bonds, dynamic changes in the movement of the effects in the material, local deposition of energy, etc. Focused-ion beam usage for micro- and nanostructures formation will be demonstrated for flexible electronics, energetically and carbon-free favourable materials and technological applications using energetic ions. Monoenergetic ion implantation typically uses charged particle accelerators and ion implanters to produce ion beams, which offer a plethora of combinations of ion types, masses and energies in parallel with specific instrumentation of focused ion beams. The course contains also a basic description of ion-beam analytical methods used for layered and bulk materials characterization. Main physical principles, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the spectroscopic data from Rutherford Back-Scattering spectrometry (RBS), Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA), Particle Induced X-ray Emission spectroscopy (PIXE) and Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) will be described. In the above-mentioned methods, the students will acquire the basics of quantitative and qualitative analysis and knowledge on the evaluation of energy spectra of the above-mentioned ion analytical methods. Part of the course will be practising in SRIM (Stopping Range and Ions in Matter) and simulations for ion ranges, energy stopping, defect creation and dpa evolution will be realized.
|