Abstract
Neutron depth profiling (NDP) is a surface analysis technique based on the irradiation of samples with thermal or sub-thermal neutrons, and subsequent release of charged particles. Emitted particles rapidly lose kinetic energy primarily through interactions with the electrons of the substrate material. The depth of the reaction site can be found by using stopping power correlations. In conventional NDP, particle residual energy is measured by using a silicon semiconductor detector. In time-of-flight NDP (TOF-NDP), the energy can be determined by particle flight time. Time measurement can be made more sensitively than the energy measurement. Silicon semiconductor detectors can be replaced by microchannel plates (MCP). In this study, TOF-NDP concept will be briefly explained; Penn State TOF-NDP facility will be introduced; preliminary measurements performed with an alpha-source will be presented.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R. G. Downing, G. P. Lamaze, J. K. Langland, S. T. Hwang, J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol., 98 (1993) 109.
D. Fink, Neutron Depth Profiling, Reports of the Hahn-Meitner-Institute (HMI-B), HMI-B 539, Berlin, 1996.
N. Bohr, Phil. Mag., 30 (1915) 581.
W. Bothe, Phys. Rev., 89 (1921) 1256.
G. Moliére, Z. Naturforsch., 3a (1948) 78.
H. A. Bethe, Phys. Rev., 89 (1953) 1256.
L. Meyer, Phys. Stat. Sol., (b) 44 (1971) 253.
G. Amsel, G. Battistig, A. L’hoir, Nucl. Instr. Meth., B201 (2003) 325.
P. Sigmund, Stopping of Heavy Ions: A Theoretical Approach, Springer, Tactics in Modern Physics, Berlin, 2004.
J. T. Maki, R. F. Fleming, D. H. Vincent, Nucl. Instr. Meth., B17 (1986) 147.
J. T. Maki, Migration and Release of Helium Implanted in Single Crystal Nickel, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan, 1987.
H. Bichsel, Rev. Mod. Phys., 60 (1988) 663.
M. Ito, H. Kume, K. Oba, IEEE Trans. Nuc. Sci., NS-31(1) (1984) 408.
H. Kume, K. Koyama, K. Nakatsugawa, S. Suzuki, D. Fatlowitz, Appl. Opt., 27 (1988) 1170.
N. R. Parikh, E. C. Frey, H. C. Hofsäss, M. L. Swanson, R. G. Downing, T. Z. Hossain, W. K. Chu, Nucl. Instr. Meth., B45 (1990) 70.
J. F. Welsh, W. D. James, E. A. Schweikert, H. G. McWhinney, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 167 (1993) 111.
E. A. Schweikert, J. F. Welsh, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 180 (1994) 255.
J. F. Welsh, The Development and Evaluation of Recoil-Nucleus Time-of-Flight Neutron Depth Profiling, Ph.D. Thesis, Texas A&M University, 1996.
E. A. Schweikert, J. F. Welsh, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 215 (1997) 23.
Z. Li, K. Ünlü, Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 85 (2002) 248.
S. M. Çetiner, K. Ünlü, R. G. Downing, Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 90 (2004) 311.
J. L. Wiza, Nucl. Instr. Meth., 162 (1989) 587.
P. Wurz, L. Gubler, Rev. Sci. Instr., 67 (1996) 1790.
R. G. Downing, R. F. Fleming, D. S. Simons, D. E. Newbury, Neutron-Induced Reactions and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry: Complementary Tools for Depth Profiling, in: Microbeam Analysis, K. F. J. Heinrich (Ed.), San Fransisco Press, San Francisco, 1982, p. 219.
J. Ziegler, J. P. Biersack, Stopping and Ranges of Ions in Matter (SRIM) and TRansport of Ions in Matter (TRIM); http://www.srim.org
S. M. Çetiner, K. Ünlü, R. G. Downing, presented in the 11th Intern. Conf. on Modern Trends in Activation Analysis (MTAA), London, UK; J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 271 (2007) 275.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Çetiner, S.M., Ünlü, K. & Downing, R.G. Development and applications of time-of-flight neutron depth profiling (TOF-NDP). J Radioanal Nucl Chem 276, 623–630 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-008-0609-7
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-008-0609-7