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The purpose of this table is to quickly give the visitor to this site information on the sensitivity, depth of analysis and depth resolution of most of the modern ion beam analysis techniques in a single easy to use format: a periodic table. Note that you can click on each panel of this table to obtain even more information on the IBA of this element, such as collision cross sections and even sites where you can download programs to analyze IBA data.
Sensitivity and Depth Resolution (Key at the lower left)
The information is organized in a periodic table in order to facilitate its use for the visitor. It is assumed that most visitors will have little knowledge of IBA, but will know what element they want to detect. A key to the information included in this table is found in the lower left for the element W or tungsten. The first letter indicates the technique (see the Key: R=RBS, E=ERD, etc., where the acronyms are defined in the lower right, RBS = Rutherford BackScattering, …), the following numbers are logarithmic scales for sensitivity, analysis range, and depth resolution.
This information has been calculated based on available ion-atom interaction cross sections and assumes:
- That 100 counts are measured,
- That the integrated incident beam current is 10 particle microcoulombs,
- That the largest practical detector solid angles are used.
These calculations ignore backgrounds and other interferences, but on-the-other-hand, IBA scientists routinely use incident beams greater than 10 microcoulombs, and therefore we feel that the sensitivities sited are actually rather conservative, and, in many cases, are an order of magnitude better. The depth resolutions listed are also very conservative, and should be thought of as upper limits.
Mass Resolution (shaded regions)
You will note some shaded regions on the table, and these are used to indicate the mass resolution range for He-beam RBS. For the first 4 rows of the table (say through Ar), the resolution is adequate to separate all adjacent elements except specific cases of mass-interference which are shaded (e.g., Mn and Fe cannot be separated because their mass differs by only 1 amu). For the remainder of the table, no adjacent elements are separable, and the lightly shaded "generic" mass resolution range is characteristic for an entire row of the periodic table (e.g., the shading of Ru-Rh-Pd indicates the for row 5 of the periodic table, that the mass resolution is not adequate to separate Ru from Pd, but could separate Ru from Ag, and so on for other elements in this row).
Nuclear Energy Values Diagrams
In these diagrams, energy values are plotted vertically in MeV, based on the ground state as zero. Uncertain levels or transitions are indicated by dashed lines; levels which are known to be particularly broad are cross-hatched. Values of total angular momentum, parity, and isobaric spin which appear to be reasonably well established are indicated on the levels. Less certain assignments are enclosed in parentheses. For reactions in which the present nucleus is the compound nucleus, some typical thin-target excitation functions are shown schematically, with the yield plotted horizontally and the bombarding energy vertically. Bombarding energies are indicated in laboratory coordinates and plotted to scale in cm coordinates. Excited states of the residual nuclei involved in these reactions have generally not been shown. Where transitions to such excited states are known to occur, a brace is sometimes used to suggest reference to another diagram. For reactions in which the present nucleus occurs as a residual product, excitation functions have not been shown.
Single click on a table element for IBA detail.
Related IBA Links:
Data Analysis:
Ion Solid Interactions:
Point of Contact: Barney L. Doyle