Description
Abstract
For materials science and many interdisciplinary fields, the uniqueness of heavy ions lies in the enormous energy densities each projectile deposits within a highly localized volume. This drives the local atomic structure far from equilibrium and leads to phase transitions and complex structural modifications along the ion trajectory. Ion-induced material modifications are of interest for basic and applied research in many disciplines including materials science, solid state physics, surface science, crystallography, mineralogy, geosciences, nanotechnology, space science, and biology.
The present accelerators at GSI provide an extensive combination of beam parameters for materials science (MAT) including all ion species and energies from 3-11 MeV/u at the UNILAC up to 1 GeV/u of uranium at SIS-18, and new opportunities at the MAT station at the CRYRING for ions of highest charge states. To monitor beam-induced effects in situ and online, MAT experimental stations are equipped and constantly upgraded with a variety of analysis techniques. The MAT facilities at GSI are in many aspects complementary to the infrastructure for interdisciplinary research at GANIL (CIMAP). Both infrastructures provide intensive support for external users and are heavily overbooked with respect to beamtime request.
Current and prospective materials research activities with swift heavy ions include radiation hardness tests of functional materials in high-dose environments, studies of beam-induced sputtering and desorption processes, simulation of cosmic radiation to investigate astrochemical processes and exploration of ionoacoustics. The new high-pressure platform at SIS-18 (and later at FAIR) allows irradiations and in situ analysis of samples pressurized in diamond anvil cells to investigate the behavior of materials under extreme radiation and pressure conditions. In the field of ion-track nanotechnology, isoporous membranes with tunable pore sizes and novel functionalities are developed. Tailored nanowire structures electrodeposited in ion-track membranes enable the investigation of size-dependent physical, chemical, and radiation hardness properties of materials at the nanoscale.
In this document, we present several selected science activities as well as future technical developments such as the HELIAC, a novel linear accelerator that delivers a continuous wave beam with greatly improved beam conditions for materials science.