The Temperature-Variable Electron-Phonon Coupling and its Role in the Inelastic Thermal Spike in 3C-SiC

Author

Salah Al Smairat
Joseph T. Graham, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

In Two Temperature Model calculations of the inelastic thermal spike produced by swift ions, the electron–phonon coupling factor is often treated as a constant. However, recent first principles calculations in 3C-SiC have shown that this factor is strongly dependent on the electron temperature. The evolution of the electron and phonon temperatures were calculated using both an electron-temperature-variable electron–phonon coupling as well as constant couplings. Temperatures were compared for different stopping powers and at different radii from the ion path. While the use of constant couplings appears to be justified for certain combinations of radius and stopping power, the high energy densities at the center of ion paths formed by swift heavy ions are capable of greatly enhancing the coupling, sometimes by several orders of magnitude. This work emphasizes the importance of the temperature parameterization of the electron–phonon coupling in Two Temperature Model calculations.

Recommended Citation

S. Al Smairat and J. T. Graham, "The Temperature-Variable Electron-Phonon Coupling and its Role in the Inelastic Thermal Spike in 3C-SiC," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, vol. 518, pp. 23 - 28, Elsevier, May 2022.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2022.03.005

Department(s)

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science

Comments

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Grant NRC-HQ-84-15-G-0044

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0168-583X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2023 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 May 2022