Deuteron induced gamma-ray emission method applied at a nuclear microprobe for carbon and oxygen content measurements

Abstract

The deuteron induced gamma-ray emission (DIGE) method is not usually used for analytical purposes at nuclear microprobes; therefore we show here its capabilities at the microprobe facility of the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI). In this paper the compositional analysis of magnetic spherules carried out earlier [Nucl. Instr. and Meth B 181 (2001) 557] is combined with the determination of their carbon and oxygen contents, elements which (beside nitrogen and hydrogen) play a relevant role in the study of planetary evolution and in the elucidation of the composition of cosmic parent bodies.