Ion beam lab offers sample analysis at open house

The Ion Beam Analytical Facility, part of the Cornell Center for Materials Research, will hold an open house Dec. 8 from 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to take a tour of the facility at 150 Bard Hall. Visitors will be able to discover what analytical services are available and to bring samples for analysis.

Energetic ion beams are used for analytical measurements, particularly those based on atomic concentrations and layer thicknesses, enabling materials analysis through the measurement of thin films or surface layers. The techniques used in the Cornell laboratory are:

• Rutherford backscattering, or RBS. This is a simple, nearly non-destructive way to analyze samples to establish concentration depth profiles. The method is effective in studies of thin films and electronics materials.

• Forward recoil scattering, or FRES. This simple method enables easy measurement of hydrogen and deuterium depth profiles. The technique has been widely used in studies of polymer materials.

• Ion channeling. This technique is used to obtain important structural information of a sample. Crystalline damage and disorder in single-crystals can be measured.

The major pieces of equipment in the Cornell lab are two Tandetron accelerators.

The 1.0 megavolt (MV) accelerator, used for most RBS and FRES measurements, provides a helium-ion beam at energies up to 3 megaelectronvolts (MeV). The 1.7 MV accelerator can provide beams of heavy ions, as well as of hydrogen and helium, at energies up to 5 MeV.

Measurements are mostly done in vacuum sample chambers. The lab will soon be adding the capability to analyze other samples, such as a painting or biological specimen, at atmospheric pressure.

Those wishing to arrange for analysis of a sample should contact Peter Revesz revesz@msc.cornell.edu or Nick Szabo szabo@msc.cornell.edu.

The schedule provides for two overview talks on ion beam analytical method sand two open house tours as follows:

Overview, 140 Bard Hall, 9:45-10 a.m. and 2:15-4:30 p.m.; open house, 150 Bard Hall, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-2:15 p.m. Coffee and doughnuts will be served.