Glow discharge electron guns are used to generate continuous electron beams at 0.5keV-3.0keV in the intermediate range of gas pressures (0.1mb-10.0mb). Cathodes incorporating internal cavities are used to generate distinct electron beam filaments in both Helium and Argon. The formation of such beam filaments has been investigated using a number of different cathode types, and criteria for the production of stable electron beams are established. The production of an electron beam in a glow discharge is largely determined by the motion of electrons in the Cathode dark space sheath region next to the cathode, and other discharge processes in this region. A theoretical model has been developed to simulate electron motion in the sheath region, and in the Negative glow plasma region, of a Helium discharge with a Cathode fall of between 150V and 1000V. It is shown that the electron flux at the 'sheath/Negative glow boundary becomes increasingly monoenergetic as the Cathode fall rises to 1000V. The results are also compared with experimental spatial emission profiles of the glow in the Cathode dark space and Negative glow regions of a helium discharge. In particular, properties of the Cathode glow region in the sheath are discussed. Aspects of the theoretical model and results from the experimental measurements are also used to discuss discharge processes in the sheath region of cathodes incorporating internal cavities, and mechanisms leading to the formation of the electron beam filaments. The production of fast electrons in a glow discharge has a number of applications, including the excitation of gases leading to laser action. Aspects relating to the excitation of high lying energy states in gases, corresponding to known laser transitions, are discussed. It is shown that the production of helium ions, which are responsible for the excitation of metal atoms via asymmetric charge transfer in metal ion lasers, is theoretically more efficient in an electron beam discharge. The results are compared with the theoretical ion production rates in Hollow cathode discharges, and high-voltage Hollow cathode devices. Several electrode geometries using multiple arrays of electron gun cathodes have been developed. Investigations of an electron beam excited argon plasma suggest that Ar II excited states are pumped directly by single electron impacts, even at very low current densities (~10^-3 A cm^-2). From previous calculations using the 'sudden perturbation' approximation, those ion states known to have large cross-sections for direct electron impact excitation (3p44p2P) appear to be favourably pumped in the electron beam plasma.

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Exposure of a range of dilute solutions of halogenobenzenes in fluoro-trichloromethane to 60Co y-rays at 77 K gave the corresponding cations characterised by their ESR spectra. The approximate spin-densities on the halogens were greater than predicted by comparison with neutral x-bromo radicals and increased from ca, 8% for PhF+ to 23% for PhCl+, 30% for PhBr+ and 46% for PhI+ In accord with the fall in the ionization potential for this series of halogen. For PhBr+, replacement of para hydrogen by Br, OH and SH gave a steady fall in spin-density on Br reflecting increasing n delocallsation onto the para substituent. Evidence for dimer cation formation in concentrated solutions is presented. The major species obtained from benzyl chloride suggested a preferred conformation with the chlorine close to, but not in, the plane of the benzene ring, with a significant barrier for the in-plane site, in contrast with benzyl bromide with strong hyperfine coupling to bromine [Chapters 3, 4 and 9]. Exposure of dilute solutions of Me2C(Br)C(Br)Me2 In CD3OD and MeTHF to 60Co y-rays at 77 K gave the radical Me2CC(Br)Me2. From changes in the e.s.r. spectrum of this radical, it is deduced that the stable structure is asymmetric, but that the rate of migration of bromine between the two equivalent sites becomes fast on the e.s.r. time-scale at ca. 100-1 [Chapter 6]. Evidence is given for the 1,2-intramolecular proton shift in the interconversion of isobutyl to tert-butyl radicals. The parent material was dissolved in a variety of matrices and exposed to 60Co y-rays at 77 K. The reaction was observed using an in-cavity Proportional, Integral and Differential (PID) temperature control system [Chapter 5]. A single crystal of ethyl iodide was grown and irradiated at 77 K with a a 60Co y-ray source. The spectra were orientation dependent but it was not possible to determine the principal g-values and the elements of the hyperfine tensor [Chapter 7]. 1-Bromo adamantane was dissolved in a variety of deuterated matrices and exposed to 60Co y-rays at 77 K. No firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the single proton coupling of ca. 65 G to the bromine. Exposure of dilute solutions of m-dinitrobenzene or s-trinitrobenzene in methyltetrahydrofuran to 60Co y-rays at 77 K gave two species at 77 K. One, favoured at low doses, had features characteristic of mono-anions with the unpaired electron localized on one nitro-group. At high 7-ray doses a second species with triplet state characteristics grew at the expense of the first. The average separation between the two unpaired electrons was estimated to be 5-6 A.

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This dissertation focuses on an electron microscopy investigation of the microstructure of SiC layers in TRISO coated particles deposited by chemical vapour deposition under different experimental conditions, which include temperature, concentration of gases and deposition time. The polycrystalline β-SiC was deposited from the decomposition of methyl trichlorosilane MTS in the presence of hydrogen (H2) as carrier gas. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), using the backscattered electron (BSE) mode, was used to image the microstructure of and defects in the SiC layers of TRISO particles. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in the SEM was used to determine the SiC grain sizes and distribution thereof in TRISO particles deposited under different conditions. For samples with a poor EBSD indexing rate, transmission Kikuchi diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations were also carried out. From the results, the effects of growth temperature on the SiC microstructure, specifically on the grain size and shape and the porosity were determined. The effects of cooling or non-cooling of the gas inlet nozzle on the SiC microstructure were also investigated. TEM and scanning TEM (STEM) analyses of the SiC layers in TRISO particles were performed to image the defects and reveal the crystallinity of SiC layers. The microstructure and composition of SiC tubes fabricated by reaction bonding (RB) was also investigated by using electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. SEM-BSE imaging of RBSiC samples allowed the identification of impurities and free silicon in the RBSiC. Finally, the penetration of the metallic fission product, palladium, in reaction bonded SiC at a temperature of a 1000ºC is determined. A brief comment on the suitability of RBSiC as candidate for fuel cladding in a PWR is made. A short discussion of the suitability of the characterisation techniques used is included at the end.