Local Electrochemical Deposition of Nuclear Materials as a Method for Creating Miniature Solid-State Targets for Precision Measurements

Abstract

The results of a study of the local formation of thorium oxide-based coatings on the SiO2/Si (111) surface during electrochemical deposition are presented. It was experimentally found that as a result of electrochemical deposition of thorium atoms from an acetone solution of Th(NO3)4 with the presence of water on the silicon surface, local formation of thorium compounds occurs. The results of the analysis of the chemical composition of the surface by the method of local XPS analysis show that these compounds are those based on thorium, silicon, oxygen, and carbon. After annealing for 6 h at 600°C in atmosphere, carbon completely disappears, and the formed cluster film seemingly consists only of thorium and oxygen. It is shown that this system is promising for future research on nuclear low-lying isomeric transition in the 229Th isotope under electron beam irradiation.