Development of a Facility for Ultrahigh Resolution Depth Profiling using Nuclear Resonances for Materials Research and Education

Rutgers University will build a facility for very-high resolution (

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Rutgers University will construct a novel facility for depth profiling of light elements by ion beam analysis using narrow nuclear resonances. This will be the first facility for nuclear resonance depth profiling in the US. In many scientific applications, one needs to quantify the number of atoms as a function of their distance from the surface. Examples of such diverse applications, described in the proposal, include studies of diffusion, segregation and breakdown in ionic conductors, diffusion of sodium in minerals in interplanetary space, novel materials for high performance computer chips, and the long term stability of materials used for storage of nuclear waste. The facility will utilize several different extremely narrow nuclear resonances. Depth profiling will be accomplished by changing the incident ion energy, so that the depth at which nuclear reactions occur is varied continuously. The educational program includes high school students, undergraduates and also senior materials scientists. Research using ion beams is attractive to a wide range of students. The technical sophistication of these experiments, the 'straightforward' (classical, model independent) quantitative data analysis and the close coupling to very real modern technical applications makes it possible to attract promising students to science.