Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2014
Abstract
Transmutation of 64Zn to 65Cu has been observed in a ZnO crystal irradiated with neutrons. The crystal was characterized with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) before and after the irradiation and with gamma spectroscopy after the irradiation. Major features in the gamma spectrum of the neutron-irradiated crystal included the primary 1115.5 keV gamma ray from the 65Zn decay and the positron annihilation peak at 511 keV. Their presence confirmed the successful transmutation of 64Zn nuclei to 65Cu. Additional direct evidence for transmutation was obtained from the EPR of Cu2+ ions (where 63Cu and 65Cu hyperfine lines are easily resolved). A spectrum from isolated Cu2+ (3d9) ions acquired after the neutron irradiation showed only hyperfine lines from 65Cu nuclei. The absence of 63Cu lines in this Cu2+ spectrum left no doubt that the observed 65Cu signals were due to transmuted 65Cu nuclei created as a result of the neutron irradiation. Small concentrations of copper, in the form of Cu+-H complexes, were inadvertently present in our as-grown ZnO crystal. These Cu+-H complexes are not affected by the neutron irradiation, but they dissociate when a crystal is heated to 900 °C. This behavior allowed EPR to distinguish between the copper initially in the crystal and the copper subsequently produced by the neutron irradiation. In addition to transmutation, a second major effect of the neutron irradiation was the formation of zinc and oxygen vacancies by displacement. These vacancies were observed with EPR.
Source Publication
Journal of Applied Physics
Recommended Citation
Recker, M. C., McClory, J. W., Holston, M. S., Golden, E. M., Giles, N. C., & Halliburton, L. E. (2014). Copper doping of ZnO crystals by transmutation of 64Zn to 65Cu: An electron paramagnetic resonance and gamma spectroscopy study. Journal of Applied Physics, 115(24), 243706. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4885439
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Comments
Copyright © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC., published under an exclusive license with American Institute of Physics.
AFIT Scholar, as the repository of the Air Force Institute of Technology, furnishes the published Version of Record for this article in accordance with the sharing policy of the publisher, AIP Publishing. A 12-month embargo was observed.
This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 115:243706 as fully cited below and may be found at 10.1063/1.4885439.
Funding notes: Support for this work at the Air Force Institute of Technology was provided by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.