Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for changing the physical character of a material, the method comprising:providing a material sample including atoms that are nuclearly transmutable via bombardment by helium three ions, wherein said material sample includes a semiconducting solid-state crystalline zinc oxide film; andirradiating said material sample with helium three ions so as to effect transmutation, to nitrogen atoms, of oxygen atoms that are contained in said zinc oxide film, said transmutation being of 16O to 15N. 2. The method for changing of claim 1 wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material sample. 3. The method for changing of claim 1 wherein said irradiating results in changing at least one physical characteristic of said material sample, said physical characteristic being selected from the group consisting of electronic carrier concentration, electronic carrier type, resistivity, photoconductivity, luminescence, and morphology. 4. The method for changing of claim 1 wherein said transmutation further includes transmutation, to fluorine atoms, of oxygen atoms that are contained in said zinc oxide film, said transmutation being of 16O to 18F. 5. The method for changing of claim 4 wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material sample. 6. The method for changing of claim 1 wherein said transmutation includes:transmutation, via bombardment, of 16O to 15O; andtransmutation, via decay by positron emission, of 15O to 15N. 7. The method for changing of claim 6 wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material sample. 8. The method for changing of claim 6 wherein said irradiating results in changing at least one physical characteristic of said material sample, said physical characteristic being selected from the group consisting of electronic carrier concentration, electronic carrier type, resistivity, photoconductivity, luminescence, and morphology. 9. The method for changing of claim 8 wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material sample. 10. The method for changing of claim 9 wherein said transmutation further includes transmutation, to fluorine atoms, of oxygen atoms that are contained in said zinc oxide film, said transmutation being of 16O to 18F. 11. A method for doping a material, the method comprising:positioning a target entity in a chamber of a particle accelerator apparatus, said target entity including a material film containing semiconducting solid-state zinc oxide; andirradiating said target entity with 3He ions via a high energy beam so that transmutation results in said target entity of at least some oxygen atoms to nitrogen atoms, said transmutation including transmutation, to 15N, of 16O contained in said zinc oxide, wherein said transmutation of 16O to 15N includes:transmutation, via bombardment, of 16O to 15O; andtransmutation, via decay by positron emission, of 15O to 15N. 12. The method for doping of claim 11, wherein said target entity prior to said irradiation is lower in at least one of resistance and photoconductivity than is said target entity subsequent to said irradiation. 13. The method for doping of claim 11, wherein said zinc oxide is crystalline. 14. The method for doping of claim 11, wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material film. 15. The method for doping of claim 11, wherein said irradiating results in changing at least one physical characteristic of said material film, said physical characteristic being selected from the group consisting of electronic carrier concentration, electronic carrier type, resistivity, photoconductivity, luminescence, and morphology. 16. The method for doping of claim 15, wherein said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material film. 17. The method for doping of claim 16, wherein said transmutation further includes transmutation, to fluorine atoms, of oxygen atoms that are contained in said zinc oxide, said transmutation being of 16O to 18F. 18. A method for changing the physical character of a material, the method comprising:providing a material film including atoms that are nuclearly transmutable via bombardment by helium three ions, wherein said material film includes semiconducting solid-state zinc oxide; andirradiating said material film with helium three ions so as to effect transmutation, to nitrogen atoms, of oxygen atoms that are contained in said zinc oxide, said transmutation being of 16O to 15N. 19. The method for changing of claim 18 wherein:said material film is crystalline;said irradiating includes causing a beam of helium three ions to be incident upon said material film;said irradiating results in changing at least one physical characteristic of said material film, said physical characteristic being selected from the group consisting of electronic carrier concentration, electronic carrier type, resistivity, photoconductivity, luminescence, and morphology;said transmutation includes: transmutation, via bombardment, of 16O to 15O; and transmutation, via decay by positron emission, of 15O to 15N.