Thick target γ-ray yields for light elements measured in the deuteron energy interval of 0.7–3.4 MeV

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Abstract

With the aim of providing missing basic data for deuteron-induced γ-ray emission (DIGE, or d-PIGE) analysis a completion of our earlier work (Kiss et al., 1994) has been performed. Typical γ-ray spectra, tables for the most suitable γ-ray lines for elemental analysis and a complete series of absolute thick-target yields for the most characteristic γ-rays of elements with Z=3–20 (except for Be, Ne, P and Ar) in the deuteron energy range of 0.7–3.4 MeV are presented. An analytical formula fitting well the measured yield curves is suggested for the yield calculations in elemental analysis, and also for the effective design and operation of low background experiments. The capability of this method is illustrated in the examples by spectra taken on an industrial glass and an obsidian sample.

Introduction

In recent years there has been a growing interest of such ion beam analyses in which charged-particle induced reactions leading to the emission of γ-rays are applied. This is partly due to the use of heavy ion reactions via γ-ray detection [2], and partly to the appearance of large γ-ray detectors [3] and detector systems [4] of high efficiency in ion beam applications. The nondestructivity of the methods and the easy use of external beams when γ-ray detection is desired are also important advantages.

Systematic studies of p, α, 7Li, 12C, 14N and 16O induced γ-ray emission have been performed in several works (see [2], [5], [6] and references therein) while as far as the deuteron-induced γ-ray emission (DIGE, or d-PIGE) is concerned only our former publication [1] presents systematic investigations, according to our best knowledge.

Deuteron induced γ-ray yields are needed not only for analytical purposes but also for the effective design and operation of low background experiments in many other fields where energetic deuteron beams are used.

The aim of the present paper is to continue the analysis of the experimental work done at the AGLAE facility of the Louvre Museum. It was intended to complete the results (published in [1]), with the presentation of typical γ-ray spectra for the analyzed elements and to construct tables summarizing the most suitable γ-ray lines for elemental analysis of a given element. The thick-target yields for the most characteristic γ-rays of elements with Z=3–20 (except Be, Ne, P and Ar) in the deuteron energy range of 0.7–3.4 MeV are also completed with additional yield curves. DIGE technique has been used in some applied works performed with the deuteron beam of the 5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator of ATOMKI. The experience obtained permits us to point out some features of the method which make DIGE well applicable and complementary to other accelerator-based analytical methods.

Section snippets

Experiments and data analysis

The measurements were performed with deuteron beams from the 6 SDH-2 2 MV Pelletron accelerator of AGLAE. Typical ion currents were in the range of 0.5–10 nA with average measuring times of about 300 s. The collected charge measured by a calibrated current integrator varied between 0.02 and 20 μC depending on the sample and on the deuteron energy. A precision of about 5% in the determination of the ion dose could be achieved with this set-up. Instead of elemental targets, compound samples were

Results and discussion

In Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 12, Fig. 13, Fig. 14 γ-ray spectra corresponding to each element (bombarded by deuteron beam of 1.8 MeV) and yield curves of the strongest γ-rays are plotted together. Tables listing the γ-ray energies originating from the samples and the nuclear reaction from which the respective γ-rays emerged are added to the figures. The energy values of peaks for which yield curves are showed and proposed to

Conclusions

The results of the above systematic study of the energy and yield of γ-rays emitted during irradiation of thick samples by deuterons complete the existing knowledge on the deuteron-induced γ-ray emission method. The spectra, the yield values and the formula for calculating absolute γ-ray yields presented here could have a practical use in the qualitative and quantitative elemental DIGE analysis. The results presented here could be very helpful also in monitoring good deuteron beam alignment in

Acknowledgements

The authors express their thanks to Prof. E. Koltay for the fruitful discussions and his valuable advices. This work has been supported by the Hungarian National Science Research Foundation (OTKA) under Res. Contract No. T 025771 and by the project IAEA CRP HUN 10032.

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