Surface analysis for students in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences

Abstract

Students in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan are required to learn about the various applications of radiation. Because of the broad applicability of accelerators to surface analysis, one of these courses includes a laboratory session on surface analysis techniques such as Rutherford Backscattering Analysis (RBS) and Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA). In this laboratory session, the students determine the concentration of nitrogen atoms in various targets using RBS and NRA by way of the 14N(d,α)12C reaction. The laboratory is conducted in a hands‐on format in which the students conduct the experiment and take the data. This paper describes the approach to teaching the theory and experimental methods behind the techniques, the conduct of the experiment and the analysis of the data.