Free volume study of sulfonated FEP proton exchange membrane

Oka, Toshitaka; Oshima, Akihiro*; Washio, Masakazu*

Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 215, p.111364_1 - 111364_4, 2024/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2023.111364

The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a promising electrochemical device to produce power through hydrogen and oxygen reaction. It has been expected as a leading future clean power source for a vehicle and a residential power generation. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a key material for the performance and the cost of PEFC, development of a high performance and a low-cost PEM is required. Poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) was irradiated by an electron beam under oxygen-free atmosphere at 25C, grafted with styrene in liquid phase at 80, and then sulfonated with a mixture of chlorosulfonic acid in carbon-tetrachloride at 25 for 24 h. The free volume size and the o-Ps annihilation probability were affected by not only the amount of the grafted styrene but also the sulfonic acid group.

Cosmogenic Be; Particle size distribution and chemical composition of Be-carrying aerosols in the atmosphere in Japan

Narazaki, Yukinori*; Sakoda, Akihiro; Takahashi, Shunta*; Momoshima, Noriyuki*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 237, p.106690_1 - 106690_7, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106690

The particle size distributions of airborne aerosols with Be were measured using cascade impactors at Dazaifu, a city in western Japan, in 2018 to observe their seasonal variation. Be was found to be attached to aerosols with a particle size of less than 2.1 m; in general, particles sized 0.43-0.65 m had the highest Be activity concentrations. The activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of Be was in the range of 0.39-0.52 m, which is the size range of particles that can reach human alveoli, and had an annual mean of 0.430.035 m. The activity concentrations of Be were significantly lower in summer, which affected its activity concentrations in the particle size distributions of Be. The particle size distribution of Be-carrying aerosols was also affected by that of the aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Finally, findings suggest that Be was mainly attached to sulfate aerosols (particularly ammonium sulfate aerosols).

Fabrication of fine imaging devices using an external proton microbeam

Sakai, Takuro; Yasuda, Ryo; Iikura, Hiroshi; Nojima, Takehiro; Koka, Masashi; Sato, Takahiro; Ishii, Yasuyuki; Oshima, Akihiro*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 332, p.238 - 241, 2014/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2014.02.069

We have successfully fabricated novel microscopic imaging devices made from UV/EB curable resin using an external scanning proton microbeams. The devices are micro-structured fluorescent plates that consist of an array of micro-pillars that align periodically. The base material used in the pillars is UV/EB curable resin and each pillar contains phosphor grains. The pattern exposures were performed using a proton beam writing technique. The height of the pillars depends on the range of the proton beam. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the samples. The results show that the fabricated fluorescent plates are expected to be high-spatial-resolution imaging devices.

Positive-negative dual-tone sensitivities of ZEP resist

Oyama, Tomoko; Nakamura, Hirotaka*; Oshima, Akihiro*; Washio, Masakazu*; Tagawa, Seiichi*

Applied Physics Express, 7(3), p.036501_1 - 036501_3, 2014/03

https://doi.org/10.7567/APEX.7.036501

A chlorinated polymer ZEP is a main-chain scission type (positive-tone) high-sensitivity resist. However, we found that ZEP changes to negative-tone with a high dose of electron beam irradiation. The sensitivities to a 100 kV electron beam as a dual-tone are evaluated with various developers. Owing to different solvation strengths, the resist sensitivity varied with different developers in the positive-tone region. On the other hand, it was found that the threshold dose for the positive-negative inversion is independent of the developer. According to an analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy, we found that the amount of chlorine atoms and terminal double bonds generated by chain scission determines the threshold of the P-N inversion. This result provides important information for possible ZEP applications such as a dual-tone resist.

Micro/nanofabrication of poly(-lactic acid) using focused ion beam direct etching

Oyama, Tomoko; Hinata, Toru*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Oshima, Akihiro*; Washio, Masakazu*; Tagawa, Seiichi*; Taguchi, Mitsumasa

Applied Physics Letters, 103(16), p.163105_1 - 163105_4, 2013/10

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4825277

Micro/nanofabrication of biocompatible and biodegradable poly(-lactic acid) (PLLA) was evaluated using focused Ga ion beam direct etching. The fabrication performance was determined with different ion fluences and fluxes. It was found that the etching speed and fabrication accuracy were affected by irradiation-induced heat because the resistance of PLLA to thermal deformation is decreased when above its glass transition temperature (approximately 60C). By controlling the irradiation conditions, controlled micro/nanostructures of PLLA were fabricated, such as holes (80 nm) and alphabets (width: 100 nm). Moreover, focused ion beam (FIB)-irradiated surfaces were analyzed using micro-area X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Owing to reactions such as the physical sputtering of atoms and radiation-induced decomposition, PLLA was gradually carbonized with increasing C=C bonds expected to have good cell attachment properties.

Micro-/nanofabrication of cross-linked poly(-lactic acid) using electron beam nanoimprint lithography

Okubo, Satoshi*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Kobayashi, Akinobu*; Oyama, Tomoko*; Taguchi, Mitsumasa; Oshima, Akihiro*; Tagawa, Seiichi*; Washio, Masakazu*

Applied Physics Express, 5(2), p.027303_1 - 027303_3, 2012/02

https://doi.org/10.1143/APEX.5.027303

Electron beam nanoimprint lithography was proposed for fabricating the micro-/nanostructures of cross-linked poly(-lactic acid) (RX-PLLA). PLLA with triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) solutions were dropped on the Si-molds fabricated by the conventional EB lithography technique. PLLA/TAIC on Si-molds were imprinted and cross-linked with doses from 10 to 500 kGy at room temperature under vacuum. The micro-/nanostructures of RX-PLLA were successfully obtained with high accuracy. Hence, it was found that the imprinted structures of RX-PLLA (100 kGy irradiation) show low line edge roughness and high thermal durability at 120 C.

Study on depth profile of heavy ion irradiation effects in poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-ethylene)

Gowa, Tomoko*; Shiotsu, Tomoyuki*; Urakawa, Tatsuya*; Oka, Toshitaka; Murakami, Takeshi*; Oshima, Akihiro*; Hama, Yoshimasa*; Washio, Masakazu*

Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 80(2), p.264 - 267, 2011/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2010.07.044

High linear energy transfer (LET) heavy ion beams were irradiated to poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-ethylene) (ETFE) under vacuum and in air. The irradiation effects in ETFE as a function of the depth was precisely evaluated by analyzing each one of the films of the irradiation samples which were made of stacked ETFE films. It was indicated that conjugated double bonds would be generated by heavy ion beam irradiation, and their amounts should show the Bragg-curve-like distributions. Also, it was suggested that higher LET beams would induce radical formation in high density and longer conjugated C=C double bonds could be generated by the second-order reactions. Moreover, for irradiation samples in air, C=O was produced correlating to the yield of oxygen molecules diffusing from the sample surface.

Micro-fabrication of biodegradable polymers using focused ion beam

Okubo, Satoshi*; Takahashi, Tomohiro*; Takasawa, Yuya*; Gowa, Tomoko*; Sasaki, Takashi*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Tamada, Masao; Oshima, Akihiro*; Tagawa, Seiichi*; Washio, Masakazu*

Journal of Photopolymer Science and Technology, 23(3), p.393 - 397, 2010/11

https://doi.org/10.2494/photopolymer.23.393

Microfabrication of biodegradable polymers such as poly(butylene succinate--adipate) (PBSA) and poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) were demonstrated using focused ion beam (FIB) with maskless direct etching. As the result, the micro structures of PBSA and PCL were obtained. The etching depth of both PBSA and PCL were increased with increasing FIB fluence, and the etching rates were estimated to be about 1.3 10 m/(ions cm) and 1.2 10 m/(ions cm), respectively. Moreover, very thin films of PBSA and PCL were made by spin-coating method. The thicknesses of the spin-coated samples were about 200 nm, and the surface roughness was less than 10 nm (RMS). The fine structures such as micro-gear of PBSA and PCL were obtained without solid debris. The line width of the fabricated structure was about 250 nm.

Study of ion-beam-induced damage and luminescence properties in terbium-implanted AlGaN

Park, J.-H.*; Wakahara, Akihiro*; Okada, Hiroshi*; Furukawa, Yuzo*; Kim, Y.-T.*; Chang, H.-J.*; Song, J.*; Shin, S.*; Lee, J.-H.*; Sato, Shinichiro; et al.

Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 49(3), p.032401_1 - 032401_5, 2010/03

https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.49.032401

Development of apparatus for electron irradiation and in-situ I-V characteristics measurements for space solar cells

Fumon, Takashi*; Kobayashi, Ippei*; Oshima, Takeshi; Sato, Shinichiro; Okuda, Shuichi*; Taniguchi, Ryoichi*; Iwase, Akihiro*

Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Radiation Effects on Semiconductor Devices for Space Applications (RASEDA-8), p.203 - 206, 2008/12

We developed an apparatus for electron irradiation and in-situ current-voltage (I-V) characteristics measurements for space solar cells. The apparatus was interfaced to an electron linear accelerator at Radiation Research Center of Osaka Prefecture University. By using this apparatus, the electron irradiation with the energies from 6 MeV to 12 MeV can be performed at various temperatures from -196 C to 100 C. In-situ I-V characteristic measurements are also possible at the temperature from -196 C to 100 C. As a first demonstration using this apparatus, we performed two experiments. First, I-V characteristics of a Si solar cell were measured at room temperature and at low temperature. Secondly, the Si solar cell was irradiated with 10 MeV electrons and I-V characteristics were measured at room temperature. The experimental result was compared with those for 1 MeV electron irradiation and 10 MeV proton irradiation.