Backscattering spectroscopy developments for the University of Oxford Scanning External Proton Milliprobe (SEPM)

Abstract

An external beam facility has recently been developed at the University of Oxford with the aim of carrying out non-sampling material characterisations on objects which are kept at atmospheric pressure using magnetically focused scanning beam of protons. This publication deals with one part of the developments, which is the application of backscattering spectroscopy in both operational diagnosis and the analysis of solids and gases. Results are reported for tests using an experimental external beam nozzle incorporating a window for extracting the proton beam from the vacuum to a helium gas flushed external chamber housing a Si(Li) detector and a semi-conductor charged-particle detector. The latter is used in the backscattering analysis of objects whilst a second charged-particle detector is also incorporated under vacuum in order to monitor backscattering signals originating from the window and the gas present in the vicinity of the analysis volume. The aim of the development is to create controlled conditions for comprehensive analysis using both PIXE and RBS. Two new backscattering techniques are reported in this publication: (a) External Beam Multi-Dimensional Analysis (EBMA) and (b) Resonant Scattering Multi-Dimensional Analysis (RSMA). In addition, we report on the findings of an initial study of using EBMA to assess gold layer application in Japanese porcelain and Islamic manuscripts, and using RSMA in investigating gas dynamics.