Accelerator beam application in science and industry

Various accelerator beams are being used widely in science and industry. The area of their applications is so wide and rapidly expanding. This paper focuses on recent efforts made in the field of radiation chemistry, especially in materials development using electron and ion beams. Concerning the applications of electron beams, synthesis of SiC fibers, improvement of radiation resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and preparation of an adsorbent for uranium recovery from sea water were described. In the synthesis of SiC, the electron beams were used effectively to cross-link precursor fibers to prevent their deformation upon heating for their pyrolysis to SiC fibers. The improvement of radiation resistance of PTFE was resulted successfully by its crosslinking. As to the preparation of the adsorbent for uranium recovery, chelating resins containing amidoxime groups were shown to work as a good adsorbent of uranium from sea water. The Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment of JAERI completed the accelerator facility named TIARA for R and D of ion beam applications three years ago. Some results were presented on the studies about radiation effects on solar cells and LSIs for space use and synthesis of functional materials. Radiation resistance of solar cells was tested with both electron and proton beams using a beam scanning technique for the irradiation to a wide area, and ultra-fast transient current induced by heavy ion microbeam was measured for studies on mechanisms of single event upset (SEU) in LSIs. In the synthesis of organic functional materials, a temperature responsive particle track membrane was developed. Techniques for RBS and NRA using heavy ion beams were established for analyzing structures of multi-layered materials. Single crystalline thin film of diamond was successfully formed on Si substrate under the deposition of mass separated C-12 ions of 100 eV. (author)