AMS method for depth profiling of trace elements concentration in materials – Construction and applications

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Vol. 361; pp. 250 - 256
• Main Authors: Stan-Sion, C., Enachescu, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.10.2015
• Subjects: AMS; Carbon; Concentration depth profiling; Construction materials; Craters; Depth profiling; Detectors; Impact analysis; Trace elements; Tungsten; Concentration depth profiling; 3H; 2H; AMS
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2015.04.050

The need to investigate the behavior of solid state materials on the impact/retention/repulsion/contamination/impregnation with special trace elements or radioactive elements has driven us to develop a modified Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) analyzing method that is able to perform the measurement of the concentration depth profile of an element in a host material. This upgraded method that we call AMS-depth profiling method (AMS-DP) measures continuously the concentration of a trace element in a given sample material as a function of the depth from the surface (e.g., tritium in carbon, deuterium in tungsten, etc.). However, in order to perform depth profiling, common AMS facilities have to undergo several changes: a new replaceable sample target-holder has to be constructed to accept small plates of solid material as samples; their position has to be adjusted in the focus point of the sputter beam; crater rim effects of the produced hole in the sample have to be avoided or removed from the registered events in the detector; suitable reference samples have to be prepared and used for calibration. All procedures are presented in the paper together with several applications.