Surface-Barrier Detectors

In nonresonant profiling, the silicon surface barrier detectors that detect the products of the nuclear reaction may also detect signals from incident ions that have been backscattered from the sample. Figure 4 shows an a particle spectrum from the reaction (p, a) along with the signal produced by backscattered... 

As earlier discussed, the dominant factor in the near-surface region is the particle detection system. For a typical silicon surface barrier detector (15-keV FWHM resolution for Fle ions), this translates to a few hundred A for protons and 100— 150 A for Fle in most targets. When y rays induced by incident heavy ions are the detected species (as in FI profiling), resolutions in the near-surface region may be on order of tens of A. The exact value for depth resolution in a particular material depends on the rate of energy loss of incident ions in that material and therefore upon its composition and density. 

W. K. Chu, J. W. Mayer, and M. -A. Nicolet. Backscattering Spectrometry. Academic Press, New York, 1978, brief section on nuclear reaction analysis, discussions on energy loss of ions in materials, energy resolution, surface barrier detectors, and accelerators also applicable to NRA ... 

Eor analysis of emitted particles, solid state surface barrier detectors (SBD) are used inside the scattering chamber to measure the number and energy of the reaction products. Stopper foils are used to prevent scattered projectiles from reaching the detector. Depth profiles can be obtained from the energy spectra, because reaction products emitted in deeper layers have less energy than reaction products emitted from the surface. The concentration in the corresponding layer can be determined from the intensity of reaction products with a certain energy. 

Early measurements of " Th were on seawater samples and Th was co-precipitated from 20-30 L of seawater with iron hydroxide (Bhat et al. 1969). This procedure may not recover all of the " Th in the sample, and an alpha emitting Th isotope (e g., °Th or Th) is added as a yield monitor. Following chemical purification of the Th fraction by ion exchange chromatography, the Th is electrodeposited onto platinum or stainless steel planchets. The planchets are then counted in a low background gas-flow beta detector to measure the beta activity and subsequently with a silicon surface barrier detector to determine the alpha activity of the yield monitor. The " Th activity is thus determined as ... 

The chamber may also be equipped at 180° to the beam with a (silicon surface barrier) detector for analysis of scattered protons, which provides the option of performing quantitative light element analysis by RBS (q.v.). In certain applications RBS can determine most of the matrix composition and PIXE the trace element contribution. 

The radon in the air i/as measured continuously by electroprecipitation of the positively charged Po-218 ions in an electric field (10 kV) on a surface barrier detector (Porstendorfer, et al., 1980). For this purpose the air i/as dried, filtered and sucked into an aluminium sphere ( 2 1) with a flowrate of 0.5 lmin-1. The counts due to Po-218 and Po-214 were proportional to the radon activity concentration. Their disintegrations were directly detected by alpha spectroscopy with an energy resolution of about 80 keV. The monitor could detect down to 5 Bq m 3 with a two hour counting time and 30 % statistical accuracy. 

Each serie of measurements consisted of two parallel samples with counting during and after sampling, one with the screen diffusion battery and the second as the reference sample, so that the fractional free radon daughters could be calculated. The radon daughters are collected on a membrane filter (filter diameter 25 mm, pore diameter 1.2 ym) and the decays of Po-218 and Po-214 are counted by means of alpha spectrometry with a surface barrier detector (area 300 mn ). 

Lin [1] used coprecipitation with lead sulfate to separate 237actinium from seawater. The 237actinium was purified by extraction with HDEHP and determined by G -spcclromclry with a Si (Au) surface barrier detector. The method has a sensitivity of 10 3 Ci/g of ashed sample. 

The difficulties include the inconvenience of handling radioactivity and the necessity for obtaining an accurate radiochemical analysis of two phases containing several elements (which often involves complicated spectra). Highly sensitive instrumentation is required for the analysis e.g. a Li-Si surface barrier detector for a particles, a 2 r gas counter for (3-radiation and a Li-Ge detector for 7-radiation. Great care is required during source preparation, which is best done by electrodeposition. 

Radioactivity of uranium can be measured by alpha counters. The metal is digested in nitric acid. Alpha activity is measured by a counting instrument, such as an alpha scintillation counter or gas-flow proportional counter. Uranium may be separated from the other radioactive substances by radiochemical methods. The metal or its compound(s) is first dissolved. Uranium is coprecipitated with ferric hydroxide. Precipitate is dissolved in an acid and the solution passed through an anion exchange column. Uranium is eluted with dilute hydrochloric acid. The solution is evaporated to near dryness. Uranium is converted to its nitrate and alpha activity is counted. Alternatively, uranium is separated and electrodeposited onto a stainless steel disk and alpha particles counted by alpha pulse height analysis using a silicon surface barrier detector, a semiconductor particle-type detector. 

Detector solid angle 3 to 5 msr, surface barrier detector area 25 to 300 mm2... 

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