CdTe detector use for PIXE characterization of TbCoFe thin films

Peltier cooled CdTe detectors have good efficiency beyond the range of energies normally covered by Si(Li) detectors, the most common detectors in PIXE applications. An important advantage of CdTe detectors is the possibility of studying K X-rays lines instead the L X-rays lines in various cases since CdTe detectors present an energy efficiency plateau reaching 70 keV or more. The ITN CdTe useful energy range starts at K-K_α (3.312 keV) and goes up to 120 keV, just above the energy of the lowest γ-ray of the ¹⁹F(p, p’γ)¹⁹F reaction. In the new ITN HRHE-PIXE line, a CdTe detector is associated to a POLARIS microcalorimeter X-ray detector built by Vericold Technologies GmbH (an Oxford Instruments Group Company). The ITN POLARIS has a resolution of 15 eV at 1.486 keV (Al-K_α) and 24 eV at 10.550 keV (Pb-L_α1). In the present work, a TbCoFe thin film deposited on a Si substrate was analysed at the HRHE-PIXE system. The good efficiency of the CdTe detector at 45 keV (Tb-K_α), and the excellent resolution of POLARIS microcalorimeter at 6.403 keV (Fe-K_α), are presented and the new possibilities open to the IBA analysis of systems with traditionally overlapping X-rays and near mass elements are discussed.     

Stopping cross-section and energy straggling of protons in SiC obtained by nuclear resonant reaction of protons with 12C and 28Si

In order to evaluate stopping cross-section and energy straggling of protons in compound material SiC and its constituents C and Si, resonant backscattering spectra have been measured using proton beams in an energy range 4.9–6.1 MeV per a 100 keV step. We have observed two sharp nuclear resonances at proton energies of 4.808 MeV by ¹²C and 4.879 MeV by ²⁸Si. By systematic analyses of the resonance peak profiles, i.e., energy shift of the peak position and broadening of the peak width, the values of the stopping cross-section and the energy straggling have been deduced to be compared with SRIM-2006 and Bohr’s prediction.     

Fabrication of a microreactor by proton beam writing technique

Microreactors are innovative and promising tools in technology nowadays because of their advantages compared to the conventional-scale reactors. These advantages include vast improvements in surface to volume ratio, energy efficiency, reaction speed and yield and increased control of reaction conditions, to name a few examples.The high resolution capability of the micromachining technique utilizing accelerated ion beams in the fabrication technology of microreactors has not yet been taken advantage of. In this work we present the design of a prototype micro-electrochemical cell of 1.5 μL volume (2.5 × 2.5 × 0.240 mm) created with a 3 MeV proton microbeam. The cell can be separated into two half-cells with a suitable membrane applicable to galvanic or fuel cells as well. We deposited gold electrodes on both of the half-cells.The operability of the device was demonstrated by electric current flow between the two electrodes in this micro-electrochemical cell containing a simple electrolyte solution. We used a polycapillary film to separate the two half-cells, hindering the mixing of the anolyte and catholyte solutions. As a result of the minimal mixing caused by the polycapillary film, this cell design can be suitable for electro-synthesis. Due to the high resolution of proton beam writing, it is planned to reduce the dimensions of this kind of microreactor.     

Mapping elemental distributions in submarine hydrothermal sulfide smokers using proton induced X-ray emission

PIXE analysis using a 3 MeV proton beam on the CSIRO Nuclear Microprobe was carried out on samples of four typical undersea sulfide chimneys from the Rogers Ruins and Fenway hydrothermal sites, PACMANUS field, Eastern Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea. The ability of PIXE to map the spatial association of trace elements within the sulfides across multiple mineralogical zones provides important insights into the mode of formation of structures and the nature of interaction between ～250 and 350 °C hydrothermal fluids and 3–4 °C ambient seawater within the chimney walls.     

Nuclear microanalysis of tooth enamel from a community in the Western Cape,South Africa

Extracted teeth collected from a Black African community living in the Gugulethu suburb of Cape Town, South Africa were studied by nuclear microscopy. Analysis by PIXE (with 3.0 MeV protons) of permanent extracted incisor and molar teeth from males and females of different ages showed a homogeneous elemental profile distribution for iron, zinc and strontium, irrespective of gender and/or age. Fluorine content as determined simultaneously from the 110 keV gamma-ray yield from proton bombardment had a similar mean value (females: 1.8% by mass and males: 1.6% by mass) for both genders. However, the mean content of strontium for females (97 μg g⁻¹) was about 40% lower than that for males (69 μg g⁻¹). In addition, a sub-group of children showed a smaller standard deviation on the distribution of zinc and fluorine. Previous results on the trace elemental concentration of the enamel of molar teeth, showed a depletion of up to 50% by mass for strontium after 20 h of exposure in acidic solution. Although the strontium level for the African female group fits this profile it is not certain what the demineralization observed was due too.     

Non-destructive analysis of coins using high-energy PIXE

At the Ionenstrahllabor (ion beam laboratory) a great variety of ions with variable energies up to several MeV/u can be produced. Performing proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) with protons of 68 MeV, heavy elements can be detected via the K X-rays in addition to their L X-rays. The large proton range and the small absorption coefficients for the K X-rays result in an analysable depth of several millimeters. The L–K line intensity ratio yields further information on the composition of the objects. The objects of the study were so-called “Wiener Pfennige” found in Tulln, Austria. The “hoard of Tulln” contains about 11 000 of these silver coins which were strongly corroded and agglomerated to a single block. After the restoration non-destructive analysis should provide information about the elemental composition. The goal was to show the evolution of the copper content of the coins and the verification of the actual coin classification.     

Nanosecond pulsed proton microbeam

We show the preparation of a pulsed 20 MeV proton beam at the Munich tandem accelerator which offers a fluence of more than 1 × 10⁹ protons/cm² being deposited in a beam spot smaller than 100 μm in diameter and within a time span of 0.9 ns fwhm. Such a beam is produced by an ECR type proton source using charge exchange in cesium vapor to obtain a beam of negative hydrogen of high brightness that is bunched, chopped, accelerated and then focused by the superconducting multipole lens of the microprobe SNAKE. Single beam pulses are generated in order to irradiate cell samples or tissue and to measure their biological effect in comparison to continuous proton or X-ray irradiation.     

Effect of the laser focus position on characteristics of X-ray and ion emission from gold plasmas generated by a sub-nanosecond laser

X-ray and ion emission from gold plasma produced by a sub-nanosecond Nd:glass laser has been studies as a function of distance of the target from the best focus position. Thermal ion (kinetic energy <19 keV) signals and soft X-ray flux (photon energy >0.7 keV) measurements decrease as the target is moved closer to the best focus position in spite of an increase in laser intensity. We observe simultaneously a strong correlation between the onset of this drop in the flux of soft X-ray and the growth of harder X-ray (photon energy 3–5 keV), alongside a growth in fast ion (energy >67 keV) numbers. This is indicative of the onset of non-linear processes at the higher irradiances (～10¹⁴ W/cm²) associated with the best focus position. Our results show that when using laser plasmas as X-ray or ion sources, X-ray and ion emission in a desired spectral range can be optimized by adjusting the focusing on the target.     

Quality control of coins mint using PIXE and RBS analysis

PIXE and RBS analysis is used to investigate the elemental content of modern Lebanese coins, in order to control their minting quality. The coins of interest were 100, 250 and 500 Lebanese Lira (LL), which are mainly bulky metals with or without coated layer. Using 3 MeV protons, proton induced X-ray emission PIXE identified and quantified elements while Rutherford backscattering spectrometry RBS checked the thickness of the coated layer. Indeed, the combination of PIXE and RBS provides a powerful tool to investigate the elemental composition of coins, either modern or ancient. In addition, the experimental protocol was checked by analyzing some other coins of known composition, such as 1-euro and 2-euro.     

Investigation of avalanche silicon detectors for low energy single ion implantation applications

Avalanche silicon photodiodes have potential applications to detect low energy single ions for counting single ion impacts in shallow implant depths for the deterministic doping of nanoscale electronic devices. This paper reports the investigation of avalanche photodiode detectors in the linear operation mode for detection of 0.5–2 MeV helium ions. The measured charge gain was found to be up to 100 depending on bias voltage. The charge gain was found to saturate at a level that correlated with the ion stopping depth in silicon. The measured charge gain for energetic ions, which have a well-defined depth in a silicon substrate for the deposition of ionization energy, is compared with that of X-rays and photons, which deposit the ionization energy over a wider range of depth. This allowed the identification of a suitable structure for an avalanche photodiode optimised for the detection of sub-10 keV heavy ions with an internal charge gain above 10 achievable. This offers significant advantages over conventional PIN devices where the signals from such ions would be lost in the noise.     

WDX-PIXE analysis of low energy X-rays using a microbeam

A high-energy resolution PIXE system developed at a heavy ion microbeam line was used to analyze low energy X-rays below 1 keV. The system is equipped with a plane crystal spectrometer with a gas flow position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC), which enables high-energy resolution PIXE analysis using a microbeam. In order to improve the detection efficiency for the low energy X-rays, the X-ray entrance window of the PSPC was replaced with a thin polymer film supported by a metal grid. As the result, the detectable energy range was extended to carbon K X-rays and chemical effect in Fe and Cu L X-rays could be detected. A preliminary result of high-energy resolution PIXE mapping of Cu mesh (#500) showed that it is possible to obtain the Cu L mapping image using a 2 MeV proton microbeam with the size of 20 × 20 μm.     

An energy dispersive micro X-ray diffractometer based on a combined system of polycapillary optics

An energy dispersive micro X-ray diffractometer based on a combined system of two polycapillary X-ray lenses is designed. The polycapillary X-ray lens in the excitation channel is either a polycapillary parallel X-ray lens (PPXRL) or a slightly focusing polycapillary X-ray lens (SFPXRL). The polycapillary X-ray lens in the detection channel is a PPXRL. At 6.4 keV and 2θ = 141.5°, the total resolution of the diffractometer based on a SFPXRL in the excitation channel and a PPXRL in the detection channel in Δd/d is 4.8%.     

Use of silicon drift detectors for the detection of medium-light elements in PIXE

In order to fully exploit in PIXE the superior performance of silicon drift detectors especially for the detection of low- and medium-energy X-rays, avoiding in particular the negative effects of backscattered particles, we developed a custom spectrometer based on a 10 mm² chip with a thermoelectric Peltier cooler and home-designed front-end electronics, coupled to a weakly focusing polycapillary lens.This paper briefly describes the detector + lens assembly and reports the results of first tests carried out at an external beam line of the LABEC laboratory in Florence. Excellent energy resolution is achieved under real operating conditions in a PIXE run (measured FWHM at 1 keV is 81 eV with a count-rate of 480 cps) and also the lineshapes are very good (FW1/10M over FWHM ratio is 2.1). As a whole, our preliminary tests gave encouraging results and also helped to point out some aspects which it is worthwhile to investigate further (e.g. how X-ray peak intensity ratios may be affected by inaccurate lens alignment), in order to profit fully from such a good performance of the spectrometer.     

Characterisation of inhomogeneous inclusions in Darwin glass using ion beam analysis

Darwin glass is an impact glass resulting from the melting of local rocks during the meteorite impact that formed the 1.2 km diameter Darwin Crater in western Tasmania. These glass samples have small spheroidal inclusions, typically a few tens of microns in diameter, that are of great interest to the geologists. We have analysed one such inclusion in detail with proton microbeam ion beam analysis (IBA). A highly heterogeneous composition is observed, both laterally and in depth, by using self-consistent fitting of photon emission and particle backscattering spectra. With various proton energies near 2 MeV we excite the ¹²C(p,p)¹²C resonance at 1734 keV at various depths, and thus we can probe both the C concentration, and also the energy straggling of the proton beam as a function of depth which gives information on the sample structure. This inclusion has an average composition of (C, O, Si) = (28, 56, 16) mol% with S, K, Ca, Ti and Fe as minor elements and Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Br as trace elements. This composition includes, at specific points, an elemental depth profile and a density variation with depth consistent with discrete quartz crystals a few microns in size.     

Effect of vacancy de-excitation parameters on L X-rays of Pb using H+ beam

The collision progression including ionization of an inner-shell by an energetic proton and decay of vacancy is a motivating theme in ion-beam analysis. To explore measured vacancy de-excitation parameters for Pb, intensity ratios are experimentally determined from L X-rays with proton impact in the energy range 225–400 keV. Predictions of UAECPSSR theory are employed for ionization cross-sections. For atomic parameters such as transition rates, fluorescence, Auger and Coster–Kronig (CK) yields, various databases are used. In this paper, significance of these features and current progress are discussed.     

Ion beam characterization of Fe-implanted GaN

Fe ion implantation in GaN has been investigated by means of ion beam analysis techniques. Implantations at an energy of 150 keV and fluences ranging from 2 × 10¹⁵ to 1 × 10¹⁶ cm^?2 were done, both at room temperature and at 623 K. Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry was used to determine the Fe implantation profiles, whereas Rutherford Backscattering in channeling conditions with a 2.2 MeV ⁴He⁺ beam allowed us to follow the damage evolution. Particle Induced X-ray Emission in channeling conditions with a 2 MeV H⁺ beam was employed to study the lattice location of Fe atoms after implantation. The results show that a high fraction of Fe-implanted atoms are located in high symmetry sites in low fluence implanted samples, where the damage level is lower, whereas the fraction of randomly located Fe atoms increases by increasing the fluence and the resulting damage. Moreover, dynamical annealing present in high temperature implantation has been shown to favor the incorporation of Fe atoms in high symmetry sites.     

Angular and lateral spreading of ion beams in biomedical nuclear microscopy

Nuclear scattering from target atoms gives rise to a spatial broadening of energetic ion beams penetrating matter. The spatial broadening of the ion beam presents an ultimate limit to the resolving power that can be achieved in nuclear microscopy methods. The pressing of the attainable resolution limit in biomedical nuclear microscopy to dimensions approaching 10 nm, or so, implies the fundamental limitation from ion-target scattering will become increasingly significant. This effect has been investigated by a combined analytical and numerical computational approach to determine the extent and how single and multiple scattering processes limit the resolution for analysis with 2 MeV ⁴He and ¹H ions of realistic biomedical samples. The cases studied were direct-Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (direct-STIM), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) studies of 20 μm tissue sections and in vivo single-ion irradiation of cells.     

Evaluation of soft error rates using nuclear probes in bulk and SOI SRAMs with a technology node of 90 nm

The difference of soft error rates (SERs) in conventional bulk Si and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) static random access memories (SRAMs) with a technology node of 90 nm has been investigated by helium ion probes with energies ranging from 0.8 to 6.0 MeV and a dose of 75 ions/μm². The SERs in the SOI SRAM were also investigated by oxygen ion probes with energies ranging from 9.0 to 18.0 MeV and doses of 0.14–0.76 ions/μm². The soft error in the bulk and SOI SRAMs occurred by helium ion irradiation with energies at and above 1.95 and 2.10 MeV, respectively. The SER in the bulk SRAM saturated with ion energies at and above 2.5 MeV. The SER in the SOI SRAM became the highest by helium ion irradiation at 2.5 MeV and drastically decreased with increasing the ion energies above 2.5 MeV, in which helium ions at this energy range generated the maximum amount of excess charge carriers in a SOI body. The soft errors occurred by helium ions were induced by a floating body effect due to generated excess charge carriers in the channel regions. The soft error occurred by oxygen ion irradiation with energies at and above 10.5 MeV in the SOI SRAM. The SER in the SOI SRAM gradually increased with energies from 10.5 to 13.5 MeV and saturated at 18 MeV, in which the amount of charge carriers induced by oxygen ions in this energy range gradually increased. The computer calculation indicated that the oxygen ions with energies above 13.0 MeV generated more excess charge carriers than the critical charge of the 90 nm node SOI SRAM with the designed over-layer thickness. The soft errors, occurred by oxygen ions with energies at and below 12.5 MeV, were induced by a floating body effect due to the generated excess charge carriers in the channel regions and those with energies at and above 13.0 MeV were induced by both the floating body effect and generated excess carriers. The difference of the threshold energy of the oxygen ions between the experiment and the computer calculation might be due to the difference between the designed and real structures.     

Deuterium trapping by irradiation damage in tungsten induced by different displacement processes

The deuterium trapping behaviors in tungsten damaged by light ions with lower energy (10 keV C⁺ and 3 keV He⁺) or a heavy ion with higher energy (2.8 MeV Fe²⁺) were compared by means of TDS to understand the effects of cascade collisions on deuterium retention in tungsten. By light ion irradiation, most of deuterium was trapped by vacancies, whose retention was almost saturated at the damage level of 0.2 dpa. For the heavy ion irradiation, the deuterium trapping by voids was found, indicating that cascade collisions by the heavy ion irradiation would create the voids in tungsten. Most of deuterium trapped by the voids was desorbed in higher temperature region compared to that trapped by vacancies. It was also found that deuterium could accumulate in the voids, resulting in the formation of blisters in tungsten.     

MD simulations to evaluate effects of applied tensile strain on irradiation-induced defect production at various PKA energies

Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to investigate the influence of applied tensile strain on defect production during cascade damages at various Primary Knock-on Atom (PKA) energies of 1–30 keV. When 1% strain was applied, the number of surviving defects increased at PKA energies higher than 5 keV, although they did not increase at 1 keV. The rate of increase by strain application was higher with higher PKA energy, and attained the maximum at 20 keV PKA energy with a subsequent gradual decrease at 30 keV PKA energy The cluster size, mostly affected by strain, was larger with higher PKA energy, although clusters with fewer than seven interstitials did not increase in number at any PKA energy.