Overview

Researchers and students have not yet had access to a book which would enable them to trace the origins of the concepts that explain the behavior of materials under irradiation. This book fills the gap. As far back as antiquity, the notions of purity and disorder have been evoked to explain the different properties of materials. It was geologists who developed the subject in the 19th century. Then, with the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity, disorder in materials became the domain of physicists and chemists. The first observations focused on the color changes of ionic crystals, then gradually all the techniques for characterising materials were used. However, questions about the resistance of the components of the first atomic piles to irradiation led to the development of irradiation studies. This book describes the historical approaches to particle transport and defect creation mechanisms. Several chapters detail the history of irradiation of different types of materials: metals, semiconductors, iono-covalent insulators, polymers and radiolysis of water. The final two chapters deal with irradiation tools and applications.

Full Product Details

Author:   Serge Bouffard (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA))
Publisher:   ISTE Ltd
Imprint:   ISTE Ltd
ISBN:  

9781789452211

ISBN 10:   178945221
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   25 March 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Preface xi Chapter 1 Preliminary Remarks 1 1.1 References 4 Chapter 2 Prerequisites for the Irradiation of Materials 5 2.1 Materials and purity, an old story 5 2.1.1 Materials and disorder in ancient history 5 2.2 Discovering the particles behind irradiation 14 2.2.1 High-voltage generation 15 2.2.2 Vacuum control 19 2.2.3 Cathode rays 24 2.2.4 Discovery of X-rays 27 2.2.5 Discovery of the electron 28 2.2.6 Discovery of radioactivity 29 2.3 First irradiation experiments 30 2.3.1 Pleochroic halos 34 2.4 Secondary effects of radiation 35 2.5 Chapter 2 references 38 2.5.1 A brief chronology 38 2.5.2 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 39 2.6 References 40 Chapter 3 Particle Transport 47 3.1 It all started with collision experiments 47 3.2 Slowing down in the matter 50 3.3 Particle stopping power 60 3.3.1 Electronic stopping power 60 3.3.2 Nuclear stopping power 64 3.4 Particle range 67 3.5 Transport simulation 68 3.5.1 First simulations 70 3.6 Channeling effects 74 3.7 Chapter 3 references 79 3.7.1 Short chronology 79 3.7.2 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 79 3.8 References 81 Chapter 4 First Notions of Defects 89 4.1 First observations of defects 89 4.1.1 Photographic processes 89 4.1.2 First experiments: an approach guided by sight 92 4.1.3 Defects, a useful concept for diffusion 96 4.2 Notions of defects 98 4.3 Chapter 4 references 100 4.3.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 100 4.4 References 103 Chapter 5 Defect Creation Mechanisms 107 5.1 Production of defects by irradiation 109 5.1.1 Creation of defects by electronic excitations and ionizations 109 5.1.2 Models for the creation of defects by elastic collisions 114 5.2 Determination of threshold displacement energy 120 5.2.1 Threshold displacement energy mapping 122 5.3 Numerical simulations 124 5.3.1 Creation and stability of point defects 124 5.3.2 Thermal spike 126 5.4 Irradiation-induced sputtering 128 5.4.1 Metal sputtering 129 5.4.2 Uranium sputtering 130 5.5 Chapter 5 references 132 5.5.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 132 5.6 References 134 Chapter 6 Metals Under Irradiation 139 6.1 Notions shared with other disciplines 141 6.1.1 Self-diffusion in metals 141 6.1.2 Cold metalworking 142 6.1.3 Dislocation theory 145 6.2 Creation of defects in metals by irradiation 146 6.2.1 Irradiation of pure metals 147 6.2.2 Irradiation of ordered alloys 149 6.3 Displacement threshold 151 6.4 Description of defects 154 6.4.1 Experimental observations of point defects 155 6.5 Defect annealing 159 6.6 Chapter 6 references 167 6.6.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 167 6.7 References 168 Chapter 7 Semiconductors Under Irradiation 175 7.1 First irradiation of semiconductors 176 7.2 Defect generation and counting 181 7.2.1 Determining the displacement threshold 181 7.2.2 High-energy deposits 183 7.2.3 Description of defects 184 7.3 Diffusion in semiconductors 187 7.3.1 Smart Cut process 188 7.4 Chapter 7 references 189 7.4.1 Laboratories and personalities in this chapter 189 7.5 References 191 Chapter 8 Iono-covalent Insulators Under Irradiation 195 8.1 Iono-covalent materials under irradiation 195 8.1.1 Defects in iono-covalent materials 197 8.1.2 Threshold displacement energy in inorganic insulators 200 8.1.3 Phase transformation under irradiation 202 8.2 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 203 8.3 References 203 Chapter 9 Polymers Under Irradiation 207 9.1 First irradiations of polymers 207 9.2 Research into degradation mechanisms 211 9.3 Radio-oxidation of polymers 217 9.4 Research and development, an active field 218 9.5 Chapter 9 references 219 9.5.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 219 9.6 References 219 Chapter 10 Radiolysis of Liquids 223 10.1 Upstream of the notion of radiolysis 223 10.2 Activated water 227 10.3 Free radicals 228 10.4 Solvated electrons 229 10.4.1 Solvated electrons, an old story 230 10.5 Effects of the spatial structure of energy deposits 234 10.6 Radiolysis yields 237 10.7 Chapter 10 references 237 10.7.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 237 10.8 References 239 Chapter 11 Irradiation Tools 243 11.1 Accelerators 244 11.1.1 Radio-frequency cavity accelerators 244 11.1.2 Electrostatic accelerators 249 11.1.3 Tandem electrostatic accelerators 252 11.1.4 Pulsed electron accelerators 254 11.2 Nuclear reactors 255 11.3 Recent developments 260 11.4 Chapter 11 references 260 11.4.1 Biographies of some of the chapter’s personalities 260 11.5 References 262 Chapter 12 Irradiation Applications 267 12.1 Medical applications 269 12.1.1 Radiography 269 12.1.2 Radiotherapies 271 12.1.3 Nuclear medicine 273 12.1.4 Radiosterilization 274 12.2 Food processing 274 12.3 Polymer irradiation applications 277 12.4 Semiconductor doping 278 12.4.1 Doping by implantation 279 12.4.2 Transmutation doping 281 12.5 Radiation resistance of electronic components 282 12.6 Ion track technology 283 12.7 Cultural and historical heritage materials 287 12.8 References 289 Conclusions 293 C.1 An active community 293 C.2 Future prospects 295 C.3 References 297 Index 299

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Author Information

Serge Bouffard is a retired director of research at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), where he has devoted his career to the study of materials irradiation and defect creation mechanisms. His latest research focuses on the effects of high densities of electronic excitation on materials.

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