A high-sensitivity method for hydrogen analysis in thin targets

Abstract

A sensitive and fast method for hydrogen analysis has been developed. The method is based on a technique where a proton beam of a few MeV impinges on the target and the elastically scattered proton and the recoiling target hydrogen nucleus are detected in coincidence. The method makes use of the difference in time of flight and requires no energy determination. The system consists of two thin, large-area plastic scintillation detectors placed at angles of 45° relative to the beam direction on either side of the beam. Evaluations of the system showed that a stable coincidence yield with respect to position in the target plane and target displacement can be obtained provided that the geometry of the setup is carefully designed. The yield as a function of target thickness was almost linear for target thicknesses up to 2000 μg/cm 2. It was also found that count rates up to 500000 s −1 in each branch may be used. The minimum detection limit for the hydrogen detection system was found to be of the order of a few pg/cm 2 for a proton beam energy of 3.6 MeV.