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The age of the surface of Europa is probably tens of Myr or less, but is poorly constrained. Two different geochronology schemes could potentially be applied to near-surface samples to provide far more precise ages. First, the surface salts apparently contain enough potassium to make potassium–argon dating feasible. Second, the bombardment of the surface with both galactic cosmic rays and protons trapped within the jovian magnetosphere will cause nuclear reactions that can lead to measurable buildups of cosmogenic noble gases, which can be used to determine both cosmic-ray exposure ages and erosion, deposition, or mixing rates for surface modification. The major differences between Europa's salt-rich ice and the rocks (meteorites, lunar samples and terrestrial rocks) in which cosmogenic noble gases are normally measured are that the abundance of target elements for nuclear reactions creating neon and argon are lower (because of the high water content), but neutron-capture reactions, particularly 35 Cl( n , γ ) 36 Cl( β − ) 36 Ar, are enhanced because of the thermalizing effects of the water. As well as presenting calculations of noble gas production near the surface of Europa, we also show that the measurements required to determine ages are within reach of technology in the near future, if an instrument can be landed on the surface of Europa.

Using the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer on the Mars Odyssey, we have identified two regions near the poles that are enriched in hydrogen. The data indicate the presence of a subsurface layer enriched in hydrogen overlain by a hydrogen-poor layer. The thickness of the upper layer decreases with decreasing distance to the pole, ranging from a column density of about 150 grams per square centimeter at –42° latitude to about 40 grams per square centimeter at –77°. The hydrogen-rich regions correlate with regions of predicted ice stability. We suggest that the host of the hydrogen in the subsurface layer is ice, which constitutes 35 ± 15% of the layer by weight.

The energies and intensities of prompt gamma rays produced by the radiative capture of thermal neutrons have been compiled and evaluated for elements with atomic numbers Z=1–30. These elements are important for many applications, including well logging, planetary remote sensing, and other analytic and diagnostic applications. Experimental data for 70 isotopes from 1H to 68Zn were compiled and evaluated. Published thermal-capture cross sections were used to convert the isotopic gamma-ray intensities to elemental intensities. The evaluated energies and absolute intensities of these capture gamma rays are presented by element and a subset is sorted by gamma-ray energy. The literature has been covered to August 2000.

The production of 3 He, 21 Ne, and 22 Ne in meteoroids of various sizes and in the lunar surface was investigated. The LAHET code system, a purely physical model for calculating cosmic- ray particle fluxes, was used to simulate cosmic-ray particle interactions with extraterrestrial matter. We discuss the depth and size dependence of the shielding parameter 22 Ne/ 21 Ne, which is used for reconstruction of pre-atmospheric sizes, depth, and exposure histories. The 22 Ne/ 21 Ne ratio decreases with increasing depth or pre-atmospheric size but then increases with depth in very large objects. This increase with depth in the 22 Ne/ 21 Ne ratio means that this ratio is a poor indicator of shielding in some large objects. The dependence of 3 He/ 21 Ne as function of 22 Ne/ 21 Ne was also calculated, and differences between the calculations and the Bern line are discussed.

In this paper, we present methods for the quantitative secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) characterization of amorphous SiGe:H alloy materials. A set of samples was grown with germanium content ranging from 5% to 77% and was subsequently analyzed by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). Calibration of the SIMS quantification was performed with respect to EPMA data for germanium and NRA data for hydrogen.

This paper details preliminary results obtained in incorporating low H content, high substrate temperature hot wire (HW) deposited amorphous silicon material into a substrate solar cell structure. By necessity, since the learning curve for this complete structure involves metal/n‐i/Schottky barrier structure optimization, a large part of the results are focused on this (partial) structure. We have found that the treatment of the top surface of the HW i layer during cooling is crucial to device performance. Without any particular attention paid to the treatment of this surface while the sample is cooling from its high deposition temperature, a significant amount of H diffuses out of the sample during the cooling process, particularly near the surface, resulting in devices with very poor photovoltaic properties. By designing a surface treatment to address this problem, we have been able to deposit HW Schottky structures with device characteristics as good as the best glow discharge devices produced in our l...

GaInNAs solar cells could be useful in next-generation multijunction solar cells if issues surrounding low photocurrents and photovoltages are surmounted. Wide-depletion-width devices generate significant photocurrent using a p-i-n structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy, but these depletion widths are only realized in a region of parameter space that leads to rough surface morphologies. Here, bismuth is explored as a surfactant for the growth of GaInNAs solar cells. Very low fluxes of Bi are effective at maintaining smooth surfaces, even at high growth temperatures and In contents. However, Bi also increases the net donor concentration in these materials, manifested in our n-on-p device structures as a pn-junction that moves deeper into the base layer with increasing Bi fluxes. Quantum efficiency modeling and scanning kelvin probe microscopy measurements confirm the type conversion of the base layer from p type to n type. Bi incorporation in GaAsBi samples shows signs of surface segregation, leading to a finite buildup time, and this effect may lead to slow changes in the electrical properties of the GaInNAs(Bi) devices. Bi also appears to create a defect level, although this defect level is not deleterious enough to increase the dark current in the devices.

The Cameca IMS-3F secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instrument, now three generations old, is still considered quality surface-analysis equipment. It was designed more than two decades ago, at a time when power transistors were the means of rastering high voltages at high frequencies. In our modification, we have replaced the high-frequency amplifiers with a simple operational amplifier (op amp) circuit that greatly enhances the capabilities of this instrument. In a Cameca dynamic SIMS instrument, the primary ion beam is focused into a small spot (∼5–100 μm) and then is rastered over an area generally between 25 μm×25 μm and 500 μm×500 μm. The raster signal is a sawtooth waveform with separate high and low-frequency components for X and Y, respectively. The transistor design of the raster amplifier does not produce a sharp waveform at high frequencies. Instead, the signal appears rounded at the top and bottom. This, in turn, allows the ion beam to spend more time at the edges of the rastered area, et...

Beryllium-10 contents in the 20-28 dpm/kg range, averaging 24.5 + or - 0.9 dpm/kg, have been obtained for 11 samples taken from along the 35-cm core AIII of the St. Severin LL chondrite. Be-10 content increases with depth in the outermost 8 cm, and there is little change in content at greater depths. Significant disagreement is noted between the measured values and the results of calculations based on the cross sections for proton-induced Be-generating reactions. Cosmogenic Be-10 in stony meteorites is better described as a medium-energy product than a high energy one.

Gamma-ray spectrometers on the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 missions have been used to map the moon's radioactivity over 20 percent of its surface. The highest levels of natural radioactivity are found in Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum with contrastingly lower enhancements in the eastern maria. The ratio of potassium to uranium is higher on the far side than on the near side, although it is everywhere lower than commonly found on the earth.

The basis for transphosphorylation between nucleotides and hydroxyapatite (HA) has been explored. Using a recently-proposed model for the surface of HA and the structure of 2- and 3-membered polyphosphates, a reasonable atomic explanation can be shown for this reaction. Transphosphorylation has been found to result in a pyrophosphate on HA which is distinctive from pyrophosphate absorbed onto HA from solution. The models suggest that this distinction is due to a different orientation of the pyrophosphate on the surface of the HA depending on the origin of the pyrophosphate.