Electron diffraction radial distribution function analysis of amorphous boron carbide synthesized by ion beam irradiation and chemical vapor deposition

Ishimaru, Manabu; Nakamura, Ryusuke; Zhang, Yanwen; Weber, William J.; Peterson, George G.; Ianno, Natale J.; Nastasi, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2021.10.020

Title: Electron diffraction radial distribution function analysis of amorphous boron carbide synthesized by ion beam irradiation and chemical vapor deposition

Journal Article · 18 October 2021 · Journal of the European Ceramic Society

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2021.10.020 · OSTI ID:1837850

Ishimaru, Manabu ^[1];

^[2]; Zhang, Yanwen ^[3];

^[3];

^[4]; Ianno, Natale J. ^[5];

^[6]

Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukaoka (Japan)
Osaka Prefecture Univ., Sakai (Japan)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States)
Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States)
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

Amorphous boron carbide (a-BxC) networks consist of light elements, and their low atomic scattering factors makes structural analysis by x-ray diffraction difficult. Electron diffraction has an advantage of detecting the light elements, because of the strong interaction between the matter and electrons. In this work, we prepared a-BxC by ion beam technologies and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and characterized their structures via atomic pair-distribution functions derived from electron diffraction intensity profiles. It was found that a pentagonal pyramid is the most favorable cluster in a-B4C generated by ion irradiation, while C—C homonuclear bonds were formed in the deposited a-B_xC thin film. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy revealed that the a-BxC thin film possesses more carbon than B₄C, which is responsible for the formation of the homonuclear bonds.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); MEXT

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; JPMXP09-A-19-KU-0034

OSTI ID:: 1837850

Journal Information:: Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Vol. 42, Issue 2; ISSN 0955-2219

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (48)

Direct observations of crystallization processes of amorphous GeSn during thermal annealing: A temperature window for suppressing Sn segregation Higashiyama, Masashi; Ishimaru, Manabu; Okugawa, Masayuki Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 125, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5086480	journal	May 2019
Microstructure and mechanical properties of B4C films deposited by ion beam sputtering Zhou, M. J.; Wong, S. F.; Ong, C. W. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 516, Issue 2-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2007.06.030	journal	December 2007
Crystallization process and glass stability of an Fe 48 Cr 15 Mo 14 C 15 B 6 Tm 2 bulk metallic glass Hirata, Akihiko; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko; Amiya, Kenji Physical Review B, Vol. 78, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.144205	journal	October 2008
New ion beam materials laboratory for materials modification and irradiation effects research Zhang, Y.; Crespillo, M. L.; Xue, H. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 338 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2014.07.028	journal	November 2014
Amorphous boron carbide from ab initio simulations Yıldız, Tevhide Ayça; Durandurdu, Murat Computational Materials Science, Vol. 173 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2019.109397	journal	February 2020
Improved p–n heterojunction device performance induced by irradiation in amorphous boron carbide films Peterson, George; Su, Qing; Wang, Yongqiang Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 202 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mseb.2015.09.002	journal	December 2015
The control of B N and B C bonds in BCN films synthesized using pulsed laser deposition Wada, Y.; Yap, Y. K.; Yoshimura, M. Diamond and Related Materials, Vol. 9, Issue 3-6 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-9635(00)00204-1	journal	April 2000
Local Atomic Structure Analysis of Zr-Ni and Zr-Cu Metallic Glasses Using Electron Diffraction Hirata, Akihiko; Morino, Takuro; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS, Vol. 48, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MF200618	journal	January 2007
Structural modifications of boron carbide irradiated by swift heavy ions Pipon, Y.; Victor, G.; Moncoffre, N. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 546 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152737	journal	April 2021
SUePDF : a program to obtain quantitative pair distribution functions from electron diffraction data Tran, Dung Trung; Svensson, Gunnar; Tai, Cheuk-Wai Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 50, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057671601863X	journal	February 2017
Liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous GeSn under electron beam irradiation Inenaga, Kohei; Motomura, Ryo; Ishimaru, Manabu Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 127, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0006416	journal	May 2020
Raman spectroscopy of pressure-induced amorphous boron carbide Yan, X. Q.; Li, W. J.; Goto, T. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2189826	journal	March 2006
The Study of Nanovolumes of Amorphous Materials Using Electron Scattering Cockayne, David J. H. Annual Review of Materials Research, Vol. 37, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.matsci.35.082803.103337	journal	August 2007
Application of nano-diffraction to local atomic distribution function analysis of amorphous materials Hirotsu, Y. Journal of Electron Microscopy, Vol. 50, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmicro/50.6.435	journal	November 2001
Boron carbide and boron carbonitride thin films as protective coatings in ultra-high density hard disk drives Chen, Yanfeng; Chung, Yip-Wah; Li, Shu-You Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 200, Issue 12-13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.02.164	journal	March 2006
Atomic Structure of Icosahedral B 4 C Boron Carbide from a First Principles Analysis of NMR Spectra Mauri, Francesco; Vast, Nathalie; Pickard, Chris J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 87, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.085506	journal	August 2001
Short range order structure of amorphous B4C boron carbide thin films Bao, Ruqiang; Chrisey, Douglas B. Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 46, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-5320-3	journal	February 2011
Electrical and structural characterization of neutron irradiated amorphous boron carbide/silicon p-n heterojunctions Nastasi, Michael; Peterson, George; Su, Qing Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 432 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2018.07.006	journal	October 2018
Structure of an Amorphous Boron Carbide Film: An Experimental and Computational Approach Pallier, Camille; Leyssale, Jean-Marc; Truflandier, Lionel A. Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 25, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1021/cm400847t	journal	June 2013
Improved a -B ₁₀ C _2+x H _y /Si p-n heterojunction performance after neutron irradiation Peterson, George Glenn; Su, Qing; Wang, Yongqiang Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Nanotechnology and Microelectronics: Materials, Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena, Vol. 36, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5008999	journal	January 2018
Études sur le carbure de bore iii. domaine d'existence de la phase carbure de bore Bouchacourt, M.; Thevenot, F.; Ruste, J. Journal of the Less Common Metals, Vol. 59, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5088(78)90126-1	journal	June 1978
Volume swelling of amorphous SiC during ion-beam irradiation Ishimaru, Manabu; Bae, In-Tae; Hirata, Akihiko Physical Review B, Vol. 72, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.72.024116	journal	July 2005
Investigations in the boron-carbon system with the aid of electron probe microanalysis Schwetz, Karl A.; Karduck, P. Journal of the Less Common Metals, Vol. 175, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5088(91)90345-5	journal	September 1991
Liquid boron and amorphous boron: An ab initio molecular dynamics study Durandurdu, Murat Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 417-418 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2015.03.004	journal	June 2015
Electron Density Distributions in Derivative Crystals of α-Rhombohedral Boron Hosoi, Shizuka; Kim, Hongki; Nagata, Tomohiro Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, Vol. 76, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1143/JPSJ.76.044602	journal	April 2007
Local Atomic Arrangements and Band Structure of Boron Carbide Rasim, Karsten; Ramlau, Reiner; Leithe‐Jasper, Andreas Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 57, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201800804	journal	April 2018
Nanoindentation and Raman spectroscopy studies of boron carbide single crystals Domnich, Vladislav; Gogotsi, Yury; Trenary, Michael Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1521580	journal	November 2002
Chemical vapor deposition of boron carbide Sezer, Ali O.; Brand, J. I. Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 79, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5107(00)00538-9	journal	February 2001
Electron-beam radial distribution analysis of irradiation-induced amorphous SiC Ishimaru, Manabu Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 250, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2006.04.129	journal	September 2006
Nanosprings McIlroy, D. N.; Zhang, D.; Kranov, Y. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 79, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1400079	journal	September 2001
Compositional effects on radiation tolerance of amorphous silicon oxycarbide Mizuguchi, Shoki; Inoue, Shinsuke; Ishimaru, Manabu Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 518 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.03.012	journal	May 2019
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigation of boron carbide films deposited by sputtering Jacobsohn, L. G.; Schulze, R. K.; Maia da Costa, M. E. H. Surface Science, Vol. 572, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2004.09.020	journal	November 2004
In situ TEM observations of ion irradiation damage in boron carbide Victor, Guillaume; Pipon, Yves; Moncoffre, Nathalie Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Vol. 39, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2018.11.011	journal	April 2019
Atomic rearrangements in amorphous Al ₂ O ₃ under electron-beam irradiation Nakamura, R.; Ishimaru, M.; Yasuda, H. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4790705	journal	February 2013
First-principles study of the atomic and electronic structures of crystalline and amorphous B 4 C Ivashchenko, V. I.; Shevchenko, V. I.; Turchi, P. E. A. Physical Review B, Vol. 80, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.235208	journal	December 2009
Application of the “imaging plate” to TEM image recording Mori, N.; Oikawa, T.; Katoh, T. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 25, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3991(88)90014-9	journal	January 1988
Evidence of amorphisation of B4C boron carbide under slow, heavy ion irradiation Gosset, D.; Miro, S.; Doriot, S. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 365 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.07.054	journal	December 2015
Amorphisation of boron carbide under slow heavy ion irradiation Gosset, D.; Miro, S.; Doriot, S. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 476 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2016.04.030	journal	August 2016
Effect of deposition time on the growth mode and stoichiometric of amorphous boron carbide thin films deposited by electron beam evaporation Chen, Ruichong; Su, Lin; Qi, Jianqi Ceramics International, Vol. 44, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2018.06.191	journal	October 2018
Electron diffraction analysis of polycrystalline and amorphous thin films Cockayne, D. J. H.; McKenzie, D. R. Acta Crystallographica Section A Foundations of Crystallography, Vol. 44, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1107/S0108767388004957	journal	November 1988
Structural Relaxation of Amorphous Silicon Carbide Ishimaru, Manabu; Bae, In-Tae; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko Physical Review Letters, Vol. 89, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.055502	journal	July 2002
Chemical states of carbon in amorphous boron carbide thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering Bao, Ruqiang; Chrisey, Douglas B. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 519, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.07.090	journal	October 2010
Local structure analysis of Ge-Sb-Te phase change materials using high-resolution electron microscopy and nanobeam diffraction Naito, Muneyuki; Ishimaru, Manabu; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 95, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1728316	journal	June 2004
Experimental evidence of homonuclear bonds in amorphous GaN Ishimaru, Manabu; Zhang, Yanwen; Wang, Xuemei Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 109, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3552987	journal	February 2011
Stoichiometric limits of carbon-rich boron carbide phases Beauvy, M. Journal of the Less Common Metals, Vol. 90, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5088(83)90067-X	journal	April 1983
Boron carbide thin films deposited by RF-PECVD and PLD technique: A comparative study based on structure, optical properties, and residual stress Bute, A.; Jena, S.; Kedia, S. Materials Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 258 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.123860	journal	January 2021
Deposition and characterization of thin boron-carbide coatings K�nzli, H.; Gantenbein, P.; Steiner, R. Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 346, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00321379	journal	January 1993
Predicting damage production in monoatomic and multi-elemental targets using stopping and range of ions in matter code: Challenges and recommendations Weber, William J.; Zhang, Yanwen Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cossms.2019.06.001	journal	August 2019