TY - JOUR
T1 - Monte Carlo simulation of PKA distribution along nanowires under ion radiation
AU - Yang, Yang
AU - Short, Michael P.
AU - Li, Ju
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Prof. Jeremy Roberts from Kansas State University, Dr. Yonggang Li from the Institute of Solid State Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mr. Feng Zhou from McMaster University for helpful discussions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2018/12/15
Y1 - 2018/12/15
N2 - An open-source and full-3D Monte Carlo simulation code, Mat-TRIM, was developed in MATLAB to study the primary knock-on atom (PKA) statistics along nanowires under ion radiation. It is based on TRIM/SRIM's physics; however, compared to TRIM/SRIM, it enables us to properly handle the 3D geometry of a cylindrical nanowire and a planar source of ions. In this paper, we first discuss the mechanism of Mat-TRIM, followed by some validation examples. Then the distributions of ion density, PKA density, PKA total energy, and PKA average energy in nanowires are explored. Significant differences have been found between the slab and the nanowire simulations. The relative error of a 1D slab and the assumption of a point beam source can be more than 1000% when the nanowire is around 20 nm in diameter. In addition, collisions with electrons is demonstrated to be the dominant mechanism of energy loss in narrow nanowires. Our results reveal that full-3D simulations which correctly treat ion leakage at sample boundaries are necessary to properly simulate PKA production in nano-sized targets.
AB - An open-source and full-3D Monte Carlo simulation code, Mat-TRIM, was developed in MATLAB to study the primary knock-on atom (PKA) statistics along nanowires under ion radiation. It is based on TRIM/SRIM's physics; however, compared to TRIM/SRIM, it enables us to properly handle the 3D geometry of a cylindrical nanowire and a planar source of ions. In this paper, we first discuss the mechanism of Mat-TRIM, followed by some validation examples. Then the distributions of ion density, PKA density, PKA total energy, and PKA average energy in nanowires are explored. Significant differences have been found between the slab and the nanowire simulations. The relative error of a 1D slab and the assumption of a point beam source can be more than 1000% when the nanowire is around 20 nm in diameter. In addition, collisions with electrons is demonstrated to be the dominant mechanism of energy loss in narrow nanowires. Our results reveal that full-3D simulations which correctly treat ion leakage at sample boundaries are necessary to properly simulate PKA production in nano-sized targets.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2018.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2018.09.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85054440551
VL - 340
SP - 300
EP - 307
JO - Nuclear Engineering and Design
JF - Nuclear Engineering and Design
SN - 0029-5493
ER -