Condensed matter physics with radioactive ion beams

Abstract

An overview of the present uses of radioactive ion beams from ISOLDE for condensed matter research is presented. As simple examples of such work, tracer studies of diffusion processes with radioisotopes and blocking/channeling measurements of emitted particles for lattice location are discussed. Especially the application of nuclear hyperfine interaction techniques such as PAC or Mössbauer spectroscopy has become a powerful tool to study local electronic and structural properties at impurities. Recently, interesting information on impurity properties in semiconductors has been obtained using all these methods. The extreme sensitivity of nuclear techniques makes them also well suited for investigations of surfaces, interfaces, and biomolecules. Some ideas for future uses of high energy radioactive ion beams beyond the scope of the present projects are outlined: the study of diffusion in highly immiscible systems by deep implantation, nuclear polarization with the tilted-foil technique, and transmutation doping of wide-bandgap semiconductors.