Nanoscale diffusion tracing by radioactive⁸Li tracer

Abstract

We have developed a nanoscale diffusion measurement method using an α-emitting radioactive 8Li tracer. In this method, while implanting a pulsed 8 keV 8Li beam, the α particles emitted at a small angle (10°) relative to the sample surface were detected as a function of time. The method has been successfully applied to measuring lithium diffusion coefficients for an amorphous Li4SiO4–Li3VO4 (LVSO) thin film with a thickness of several hundred nanometers, demonstrating that the present method is sensitive to diffusion coefficients down on the order of 10−12 cm2/s, which is more sensitive by about two orders of magnitude than that previously achieved.

Tracer Diffusion Coefficients of Li Ions in LixMn2O4 Thin Films Observed by Isotope Exchange Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

“…LMO thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). ,− A pellet of LiMn 2 O x (Toshima Manufacturing Co., Ltd.), which consisted of a 1:1 mixture of LiMnO 2 and MnO, was used as a target. The thin film was deposited onto a Pt (200 nm)/Cr (10 nm)-coated SiO 2 glass substrate (Sendai Sekiei Glass Corp.).…”

Li Diffusion in Lithium Containing Metal Oxides Investigated by Tracer Methods

“…Lithium diffusivities in amorphous lithium aluminate as a function of temperature Rahn et al [111] in comparison to the charge diffusivities of a γ-LiAlO 2 single crystal data from Indris et al [92] (after [111]). [112,113]. This method is based on the implantation of short-living radioactive 8 Li tracers into the sample of interest at a depth of several micrometers.…”

“…Diffusivities can be determined down to 10 -16 m 2 /s. In the experiments, diffusion coefficients of 9 x 10 -16 m 2 /s at 100 °C and 1.7 x 10 -15 m 2 /s at 130 °C were obtained [112].…”