Ion-beam based materials analysis

When ions interact with solids, many different processes can occur: Ions are scattered, recoiling target atoms can leave the sample, photons and electrons are emitted, and nuclear reactions may occur. The probability of these processes happening depends on the specific ion-target combination and the incident ion energy.

From the analysis of the reaction products, we can deduce certain characteristics of a sample of interest. In our group we perform all standard ion beam analysis (IBA) methods in dedicated beamlines and experimental set-ups. We employ conventional Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) for non-destructive depth profiling, Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) for light-element detection, Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) for isotope specific concentration profiling as well as Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) for trace-element analysis. These techniques can partially be combined with a microbeam or channelling experiments for analysis of crystalline materials. Besides standard IBA with MeV ions, we also have the possibility to perform analysis with keV ions. An overview of all available methods can be found here.