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Applied Physics Letters 115, 201103 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5125671
© 2019 Author(s).
Applied Physics Letters ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/apl
ndez-Herna
M. C. Herna ndez and Juan Valentin Escobara)
AFFILIATIONS
Instituto de Fısica, Departamento de Fısica Quımica, Universidad Nacional Auto
noma de Me
xico, PO Box 20-364,
Mexico City 04510, Mexico
a)
Electronic mail: escobar@fisica.unam.mx
ABSTRACT
X-rays generated through tribological processes differ from those obtained with conventional X-ray tubes in that a substantial portion of the
total energy is emitted in pulses of order 10 ns in duration. The short duration of these pulses usually causes solid-state detectors to register
pileup events that can make the corresponding spectrum unreliable as a characterization tool. In this work, we find that a solid angle sub-
tended by the detector of 5 106 is necessary to obtain the true spectra of X-rays generated from peeling adhesive tape in a moderate vac-
uum. The maximum individual photon energy is found to be 30 keV, which is about half of that reported in previous studies that overlook
the effects of pileup. Being able to obtain a reliable spectrum may help us understand the physical processes behind this phenomenon so that
it can be optimized for present and future applications.
Published under license by AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5129277
The generation of X-rays through tribological processes1–4 [tribo- common effect in solid-state X-ray detectors—tends to distort spectra
generated X-rays (TGXs)] along with its related phenomena has raised measured from fast processes because multiple individual events sepa-
much interest over the past ten years in both the scientific5–8 and tech- rated by relatively short times are processed as a single one of higher
nological9–12 realms, in particular, due to its proven use as a source for energy. Consequently, the spectra from TGXs produced by tape peel-
imaging and chemical element detection.9 TGXs are part of a more ing,1,27 tack,28 friction,29 or Van de Graaff-type mechanisms,30 are
general phenomenon named “Triboluminescence”13–15 in which a likely to extend spuriously over higher energies. In this letter, we study
mechanical action such as rubbing,16 cleaving,17 peeling,18,19 or the effects of pileup in the measurement of X-rays generated by peeling
deforming20 some material produces a flash of light. The production off-the-shelf pressure sensitive adhesive tape in order to find its true
of TGXs can be separated into the following four stages:1,21 (1) forma- spectrum. An accurate measurement of the spectrum will help us gain
tion of an electric double layer4,8 during contact or friction, (2) build- a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and ultimately tune it to
up of the electric field during the separation of the contacting bodies,22 its full potential for present and future applications. In particular, our
(3) formation of a discharge,23 and (4) generation of “Bremsstrahlung” results may shed light on the triboelectric effect,31 which determines
radiation. Recently, it was shown that the production of TGXs differs the surface charge densities of stage 1.
from X-rays obtained with conventional X-ray tubes in that a substan- Some previous works that have investigated TGXs1,27–30 report
tial portion of the total energy (50%) is emitted in short pulses of individual photon energies above 60 keV. The blue trace in Fig. 1(c)
order 10 ns in duration.1 When TGXs are produced by peeling adhe- shows that, indeed, the spectrum of X-rays generated by peeling pres-
sive tape in a moderate vacuum [Fig. 1(a)], these X-ray bursts—which sure sensitive adhesive tape in a moderate vacuum (5 mTorr) can
are also present in the visible spectrum24—are concomitant with the reach 100 keV when measured using a cadmium telluride detector
emission of fast electric pulses1,25 [Fig. 1(b)]. Furthermore, they are (“CdTe”) [see Fig. 1(a)]. The spectrum shown in this figure was taken
believed to be responsible for the high collimation that allows for X- using the detector looking through a relatively wide window of area
ray images to be taken with a couple of rolls of commercially available 0.17 cm2 and shielded only by a 12 lm-thick Mylar sheet used to sus-
adhesive tape.1,9 However, the same fast nature of these pulses brings tain the vacuum inside the chamber. However, as we now show, the
about a previously overlooked crucial issue regarding the correspond- high-energy portion of this spectrum is heavily distorted by pileup.
ing energy spectrum. Specifically, the effect known as pileup26—a Note that, while pileup makes the solid-state detector count bursts
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 201605 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5129277 115, 201605-1
Published under license by AIP Publishing
Applied Physics Letters ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/apl
FIG. 1. Schematics of the setup and evidence of pileup. (a) Diagram of the experimental setup for measuring tribogenerated X-ray spectra from peeling off-the-shelf pressure-
sensitive adhesive tape from its own-backing (Scotch-tape 550, 3M, USA) inside a vacuum chamber. The detector is placed outside the chamber and looks at the source through a
12 lm-thick Mylar sheet, allowing for the placement of pinholes and aluminum shields, while a motor pulls on the adhesive tape at constant rpm. Air pressure inside the chamber is
controlled with a bleeding valve. The solid angle subtended by the detector is X ¼ A=r 2 , where A is the exposed area of the detector’s window and r the distance to the source. The
detector may be placed farther away from the window, in which case r increases accordingly. (b) Electric pulses measured as a roll of adhesive tape are peeled at 10 cm s1 at an
air pressure of 4 mTorr. Inset: one of these pulses resolved in time, which are concomitant with X-ray bursts and occur at a rate of 10 s1 at these peeling speeds. The pulses are
measured by placing a costume-made antenna close to the tape vertex. (c) Average X-ray spectrum from 10 complete rolls of Scotch-tape peeled at 4 mTorr and 80 rpm taken using
the CdTe detector (X-123 CdTe, Amptek, USA) placed 5 cm away from the Mylar window (Advent Research Materials Ltd, U.K.). For this experiment, r ¼ ð8 þ 5Þ cm. This original
spectrum (blue trace) is attenuated numerically (gray trace) and physically (orange trace) with a 200 lm-thick Al sheet (99.9% pure, Gammex, Inc., USA). Note that these spectra
begin to differ above 25 keV (dashed vertical line) and below 7 keV. Spectra are corrected for the detector’s efficiency (given by the manufacturer) and for the attenuation from both
the Mylar window and the 5 cm path of air. The detector was calibrated using standard procedures with a 241Am source. (d) Schematic illustration of the procedure followed to obtain
the attenuated spectra in (c): the physically and numerically attenuated spectra are obtained with an aluminum shield (top process) and a virtual one (bottom process), respectively.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 201605 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5129277 115, 201605-2
Published under license by AIP Publishing
Applied Physics Letters ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/apl
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 201605 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5129277 115, 201605-3
Published under license by AIP Publishing
Applied Physics Letters ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/apl
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 201605 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5129277 115, 201605-4
Published under license by AIP Publishing
Applied Physics Letters ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/apl
15
Being able to obtain accurate spectra as we have done in this let- D. O. Olawale, T. Dickens, W. G. Sullivan, O. I. Okoli, J. O. Sobanjo, and B.
ter may help us understand the fundamental physical processes behind Wang, J. Lumin. 131, 1407 (2011).
16
F. Bacon and V. S. Albans, Of the Advancement and Proficience of Learning
the X-ray bursts and, in doing so, keep pushing forward this promising
(Archival Facs. Limited, 1987).
technology. In this direction, it may be fruitful to take advantage of the 17
J. W. Obreimoff, Proc. Royal Soc. London Series A 127, 290 (1930).
coincidence between X-ray burst and both electric pulses [Fig. 1(b)] 18
E. N. Harvey, Science 89, 460 (1939).
19
and electric currents (if the tape is peeled from a metallic sub- E. E. Donaldson, J. T. Dickinson, and X. A. Shen, J. Adhesion 19, 267
strate37,38) By studying the statistical properties of these quantities, it 20
(1986).
may be possible to find the experimental conditions that maximize the S. M. Jeong, S. Song, S. K. Lee, and B. Choi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 5 (2013).
21
J. V. Escobar, Ph.D. disseration, University of California, Los Angeles
emission of X-ray bursts. In turn, this may improve the performance (2009).
of devices that employ TGXs for both imaging and element detection. 22
W. R. Harper, Contact and Frictional Electrification (Oxford Univeristy Press,
1967).
23
We acknowledge funding from CONACYT Project Nos. CB- Y. Raizer, Gas Discharge Physics (Springer, 1991).
24
2013-221235-F and 300354, and from DGAPA-UNAM Project Z. Y. Ma, J. W. Fan, and J. T. Dickinson, J. Adhesion 25, 63 (1988).
25
C. G. Camara, J. V. Escobar, J. R. Hird, and S. J. Putterman, Appl. Phys. B-
Nos. IA-101216 and IA-103018. We also thank H. Cruz-Manjarrez,
Lasers Opt. 99, 613 (2010).
J. I. Cruz, M. Perez, R. Gutierrez, and Joel Osornio for technical 26
K. Taguchi, E. C. Frey, X. L. Wang, J. S. Iwanczyk, and W. C. Barber, Med.
assistance, as well as the Biomedical Imaging group at IFUNAM, Phys. 37, 3957 (2010).
27
and J. Miranda and M. E. Brandan for interesting discussions. D. Kramer, D. Lutzenkirchen-Hecht, B. Luhmann, K. Keite-Telgenbuscher,
and R. Frahm, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 84, 7 (2013).
28
J. R. Hird, C. G. Camara, and S. J. Putterman, Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 3
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Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 201605 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5129277 115, 201605-5
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