Radioactive ion beams for solid state research

Abstract

Radioactive isotopes are widely used in many research fields. In some applications they are used as tracers after diffusion or after activation in the material itself through nuclear reactions. For research in solid state physics, the ion implantation technique is the most flexible and convenient method to introduce the radioactive isotopes in the materials to be studied, since it allows the control of the ion dose, the implantation depth and the isotopic purity. The on-line coupling of isotope separators to particle accelerators, as is the case of the ISOLDE facility at CERN, allows the obtention of a wide range of high purity short lived isotopes. Currently, the most stringent limitation for some applications is the low acceleration energy of 60 keV of the ISOLDE beam. In this communication a short review of the current applications of the radioactive beams for research in solid state physics at ISOLDE is done. The development of a post-accelerator facility for MeV radioactive ions is introduced and the advantages of energetic radioactive beams are discussed.