Advanced Physics Laboratory

Manual
Department of Physics
University of Notre Dame
2008
Edited by J.W. Hammer
Contents

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS 17

1 Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2 Speed of Light – Experiment using positron annihilation and ultrafast timing

techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS 35

3 Optical Diffraction and Interference using Single Photon Counting . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4 Saturation Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5 X-Ray-Spectroscopy and Moseley’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS 65

6 Alpha Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

7 Beta Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

8 Gamma Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

9 Compton Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

10 Rutherford Scattering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

11 Lifetime of Excited Nuclear States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

2 CONTENTS

12 Gamma–Gamma–Angular Correlation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

13 Multidimensional Coincidences – Determination of a Nuclear Level Scheme . . . 144

14 Neutron Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS 159

15 Cosmic Ray Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

16 Muon Lifetime Experiment – Determination of the Fundamental Weak Cou-

pling Constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS 177

17 X-Ray Diffraction and Crystal Structure (XRD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

18 Material Analysis using X-ray Fluorescence (XRFA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

19 Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

20 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

21 Mößbauer Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

22 Angular Correlation of Annihilation Radiation (ACAR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

23 Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

24 Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

III. APPENDIX 239

25 Tables of Important Constants, Units and Conversion Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

26 Units, Abbreviations, and Conversion Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

A. Introduction
This Lab Manual will provide the necessary information to perform the experiments in a reason-
able time. It cannot substitute reading of relevant literature nor will it work as a "cookbook" –
experimental expertise has to be aquired through your own exercise and careful thoughts about
the experiments. However, if well prepared and applying very careful experimental skills the
student can expect results which can compare with the best in literature.

B. General Remarks
.
The aim of a lab course in the Advanced Physics Teaching Lab is:

• Learn physics by proper preparation for the experiments and by doing.

• Learn experimental techniques. All theories have to be proven by experiments and new
discoveries mostly come from very advanced measurements.

• Working in experimental research requires techniques at the technical limits and the
knowledge can be acquired by training.

• The fight for better experimental results can only be won “in the field”. The subsequent
treatment of data on a computer cannot serve as a substitute for good experimental pro-
cedures but it should complement them.

• Training with established classical experiments should give the students confidence that
physics “works” and enables them later to explore new fields. Training of experimental
techniques promotes interest and ones own creativity.

• Learn how to review the results critically and to get a realistic estimate of uncertainties
4 GENERAL INFORMATION

• Learn some practical experiences in applied fields: electronics and signals, data process-
ing with computers, experience with large data banks over the internet, vacuum technique,
safe handling of radioactive material and measurement of radiation, appropriate presen-
tation of results, just to mention a few.

C. Homework
Time is required for appropriate preparation of the lab (homework). Use the precious lab time
for measurement and learning.

• The final evaluation of the measurements and the writing of the reports is mainly home-
work ! But some diagrams and preliminary results should be obtained in the lab immedi-
ately after the measurement, to get an idea whether the measurement was right.

• Of course questions about the evaluation and the writing of the reports should be dis-
cussed with the teaching personnel/staff.

• All measures are taken in international standards, the SI-system (95% of the world’s
population and all scientists are using it).

D. Organisational Remarks
• The experiments are performed by the students in groups of two.

• Schedule the experiments (new or extension) one week in advance with the TA’s.

• Each group has to come prepared about the theory of the experiment before the lab starts.
The students should understand the experiment before they start with setup and measur-
ing. There may be questioning by the TA’s before starting the experiment.

• Each group writes down all important information in a bound logbook, which is a docu-
ment and a lab diary. All information which can be plotted should be shown graphically
already during the lab.

• Finishing of an experiment needs to be approved either by the prof or the TA’s.

• After the lab an experimental report has to be written and handed in within 14 days after
completion of the experimentm as a first draft. This draft will be corrected by the teaching
staff and returned promptly for a second draft which should be final. The final report
version needs to be approved.
 5

• All set-ups using electronic equipment should be performed by using an oscilloscope and
by watching and understanding the signals. No trials without understanding ! Do ask the
TA’s and the professor !

• For most of the experiments an appropriate selection of electronic units has been made
which warrants a successful measurement and good results. If you want to try out some-
thing different, discuss it first with the teaching personnel.

• Follow the safety rules given below and those taught in the risk management course. In
case you are not sure, ask first ! Never play with or abuse radioactive sources.

• Do not change the computer-settings, don’t install or download your own software; re-
pairs of damaged computer software are a waste of time and we need our time for you.

E. Grading for the course is based on a selection of the following (will be

announced) :

1. Preparation for the scheduled experiment

2. Efforts during the laboratory session and volume of the work done; merely presence is
not sufficient.

3. Quality of the reports

4. Midterm and final examination

5. Special tasks can be defined by the professor as for example a presentation at the white-
board (or ppt) or the preparation of a poster (format DIN A0) with high quality.

6. A special task can also be a very accurate and exceptionally well-prepared and detailed
lab report on an experiment or a new variant of it.
6 GENERAL INFORMATION

F. Experiments in the Advanced Physics Lab

A. General Experiments 14. a) Neutron Spectroscopy

b) Neutron Diffusion
1. Statistics

2. Speed of Light
D. Elementary Particles

15. Cosmic Ray Experiment

B. Atomic Physics
16. Muon Lifetime Experiment
3. Optical Diffraction and Interference

4. Saturation Spectroscopy
E. Condensed Matter Experiments
5. Moseley’s Law and X-Ray Spectros-
17. X-Ray Diffraction and Crystal Struc-
copy
ture

18. Material Analysis (XRFA)

C. Nuclear Physics
19. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR)
6. Alpha-Spectroscopy
20. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
7. Beta-Spectroscopy
21. Mößbauer Spectroscopy
8. Gamma-Spectroscopy
22. ACAR
9. Compton-Scattering
23. Positron Lifetime
10. Rutherford-Scattering
24. Perturbed Angular Correlation
11. Lifetime of Excited Nuclear (PAC)
States

12. γ-γ-Angular Correlation

13. Multiple Coincidences

 7

G. General Literature and Textbooks

Adrian C. Melissinos, Jim Napolitano, Experiments in Modern Physics,
Academic Press, (Elsevier) Amsterdam ... Tokyo (2003)
Philip R. Bevington, D. Keith Robinson, Data Reduction and Error Analysis,
Mc Graw Hill, Boston ... Toronto (2003 third ed.)
Les Kirkup, Data Analysis with Excel,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, NY, Port Melbourne, Cape Town (2003 reprint)
Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca, Physics for Scientists and Engineers,
W. H. Freeman (2007)
Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, Lewis Ford, University Physics with Modern Physics,
Addison Wesley (2007)

More General Literature and Textbooks:

Glenn F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurement,

Wiley (2000)
Günter Schatz, Alois Weidinger, Nuclear Condensed Matter Physics: Nuclear Methods and
Applications,
Wiley (1996)
Christian Iliadis, Nuclear Physics of Stars,
Wiley (2007)
Kenneth S. Krane, Introductory Nuclear Physics,
John Wiley and Sons (2006)
Gordon L. Kane, Modern Elementary Particle Physics,
Westview Press (1993)
Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics,
Wiley (2004)
Peter Y. Yu, Manuel Cardona, Fundamentals of Semiconductors: Physics and Materials
Properties,
Springer (2005)
Francis A Jenkins, Harvey E White, Fundamentals of Optics,
McGraw-Hill (2001)
Max Born, Atomic Physics,
Dover Publications (1989)
Dmitry Budker, Derek F. Kimball, David P. DeMille, Atomic Physics: An Exploration
through Problems and Solutions,
8 GENERAL INFORMATION

Oxford University Press (2004)

H. Safety in the Experimental Course.

The students need to learn how to safely handle risks in a lab environment:

• Potential Mechanical, Thermal and Chemical Dangers: Falling objects, negative pressure,
positive pressure, refrigerants (liquid nitrogen), chemicals.

• Potential Electrical Danger : Voltages exceeding 50 Volts can be dangerous – don’t touch
parts with voltage > 24 V, report defects immediately.

• Radioactivity : Special rules apply, take a short course from Risk Management. Keep a
minimum distance from the sources as required. All radioactive sources are handled only
by the TA’s or the professor. Report any suspects to the personnel in charge.

• Lasers : There are several strong lasers in use, cover the beam as far as possible, wear
safety goggles, be aware of reflections !

• No food or drink in the lab ! No exceptions !

I. Maximum Dose Rate

In the experimental areas of the Advanced Teaching Lab the permanent dose rate to which a
person is exposed should not exceed :

10 µSv/h
 9

A calibrated survey meter, the Thermo

Mini Smart Ion, is at your disposal in the
lab. For short time periods, for example
changing the position of the source, this
limit might be exceeded, but the average
of these short higher dose rates over an
hourly limit, the above limit should still be
observed. Keep always at a distance from
sources (1/r2 - rule) ! All of our sources
are stored in a big safe when not used.

The dose for arbitrary matter is given in units of absorbed energy:

1 Gray = 1 J/kg (SI)
Old units : 1 Gy = 100 rad ; 1 mGy = 100 mrad ;
The dose rate is given in Gray/h or Gray/year
For biological tissue one takes the equivalent dose measured in Sievert (Sv).
One has introduced an equivalent dose rate factor r, which is r=1 for X-rays, γ-rays and beta’s,
but r=5 for slow neutrons, r=10 for fast neutrons and r=20 for alphas.
For X-rays the dose 1 Gray = 1 Sv.
The units for the dose rate are mSv/year or µSv/h
Compared to the old units rem and mrem : 1mrem/h ∼ = 10 µSv/h ;
∼
1 µSv/h = 100 µrem/h ∼
1 mSv/h = 100 mrem/h

J. About Lab History and Concepts

In the year 2005 the University of Notre Dame bought a whole Teaching Lab from the Univer-
sity of Stuttgart. The experiments were carefully packed at Stuttgart and then shipped in a sea
freight container to Notre Dame. The reason for this unusual transfer was that the Department
of Physics of the University of Stuttgart wanted to dedicate the space taken by this lab to some
new research activities.
The experiments of this lab were arranged and constructed at the former ’Institut fuer Strahlen-
10 GENERAL INFORMATION

Figure 1: Packing and transport of the "Teaching Lab" in Summer 2005 from the University of
Stuttgart to the University of Notre Dame

Figure 2: Packing and Unpacking of the "Teaching Lab" in Summer 2005, right side: Joseph
Bychowski, Chris Schmitt, Shawn O’Brian, Dan Robertson gathering items for setting up some
of the experiments.

physik’ in the years 1995 – 2000 with the help and contributions of many people under the
supervision of J.W. Hammer. Thirteen highschool teacher candidates contributed with their
thesis work to the development of the experiments.

The state (’Land’) of Baden-Wuerttemberg supported this project with a grant amounting to
about $ 120,000. The machine shops of the Stuttgart Dept. of Physics helped with the produc-
tion of many special parts (examples: Rutherford Scattering Chamber, Compton Experiment,
β-spectrometer, γγ-angular correlation set-up). Also a lot of valuable equipment (i.e. Ge-
detectors, NaI detectors, Si(Li) detector) was transferred from the research inventory (research
 11

Figure 3: Group of high school

teacher candidates who contributed
with their thesis to the development
of the teaching lab at Stuttgart Uni-
versity; from left to right :
Sabine Manger, Jens Meier, Beate
Stückel, Marc Banzhaf, Wolfgang
Eisele, Matthias Burger, Beate
Schattat, Johannes Becker.
Not shown in this picture :
Elke Döbling, Martina Bischoff,
Martin Willms, Christian Jelen,
Michael Fey

group Hammer) to the Teaching Lab to establish in total 14 state-of-the-art experiments. These
experiments were of course related to the field of atomic and nuclear physics and their appli-
cations in other disciplines, as the lab was based in the ’Institute fuer Strahlenphysik’ and their
aim was to widen the expertise of our students in modern experimental physics. In some aca-
demic years about 30 students participated in the lab course and have graduated from this lab
with a certificate.
In September 2005 we started to re-establish the lab in two rooms of Nieuwland Science Hall
under limited space conditions. However all 24 students of the fall semester 2005 could finish
8 experiments with written reports.
In July 2006 the lab was moved to the new rooms in Jordan Hall building, giving the exper-
iments more space. At the same time the University of Notre Dame supported the lab with
investment to construct new experiments and to improve and upgrade the existing ones. The
Machine Shop of the ND Dept. of Physics (Head Don Gard) contributed with many newly con-
structed and refurbished parts (i.e. a new Muon detector, a big optical box, a big lead shield),
which is widley acknowledged. Also some older experiments from ND were refurbished to
12 GENERAL INFORMATION

achieve better performance. Graham Konecki was working in the lab from July 2006 until
March 2008 as assistant. Since June 2008 James Miller-Marquez took over this task. The con-
tributions of Matt Smiley to this lab manual are highly appreciated. Thanks to Dan Robertson
and Chris Schmitt who were reading the manuscript.
In the year 2007 all administrative procedures to transfer also the valuable radioactive sources
from Stuttgart to Notre Dame could be completed and the sources finally arrived in Oct. 2007
at Jordan Hall. Nowadays it is often difficult to produce certain sources as for instance a very
thin β-source, a strong and thin α-source or isotopes like 44 Ti which is one of the best "nu-
clear lifetime" sources. All positron emitter sources need special preparation to produce the
wanted effects. A well and very carefully shielded, but sufficiently strong neutron source was
considered as "the poor man’s accelerator", but it offers still more experimental opportunities
in material research (activation analysis) or as a simple reactor model.
Beginning in 2005 we started working on broadening the experimental fields of our experiments
to address many important activities in physics. But we consider it to be more important to of-
fer excellent experiments in the first place because physical insights and principles can often be
transferred from one field to another and new experiments need a lot of time and effort for their
realization.

There exist different concepts for a teaching lab in physics. Our aim was to choose some kind
of a golden middle path which means: the students should be able to touch all elements of the
experiments, follow all steps and phases for example by watching all the relevant signals with
an oscilloscope or by doing sophisticated alignments. - No black box or push button experi-
ments !
In previous times the teaching labs were often filled with worn out or partially defective re-
search equipment which lead to a lot of frustration for those who had to work in this lab. Once
visiting physics labs in Beijing I noticed the investment was very limited but the best and most
modern equipment was sitting in the Advanced Teaching Lab ! Students should not gain the
impression that experimental results are at random and less precise than theoretical statements.
Doing an experiment right will bring consequently good results and will let the students aquire
the ability to find out what is eventually going wrong. Finally it will convince them that physics
really works ! One is learning from a final success. And experiments can be a lot of fun too !

This lab was not intended as a socalled project lab although one can use it this way. In a project
lab one provides just material and the students have to work out the complete concept and set-up
 13

which requires much more time than it is available and also much more tutorial efforts. Project
labs can better be realized directly with the research groups in the research areas. A project lab
requires the experience which should be aquired in this teaching lab as a pre-requisite.

K. Outreach activities in the Advanced Physics Lab

In addition to regular courses for undergraduate and graduate students, the lab is also used for
"outreach" activities to make school pupils or students interested in physics or to give high
school teachers the opportunity to work with modern experiments which are not available at the
schools. A further opportunity is it to bring researchers from quite different fields as for exam-
ple archeology, geology, art history just to mention some of them, closer to physical research
methods. Already in 2007 the Advanced Physics Lab was used for the PIXE-PAN summer
course (head Ed Stech) and outreach activity.

Figure 4: Pixe-Pan summer course 2007

14 GENERAL INFORMATION

Figure 5: Pixe-Pan summer course 2007

Figure 6: Pixe-Pan summer course 2008

Figure 7: Pixe-Pan summer course 2008

 15

We thank Mr. Kevin Johnson for providing the Pixe-Pan photographs.

A summer course for high school teachers in the context of the so-called "Quark Net" took
successfully place in July 2008. It was organized by Pat Mooney and supported by Quark Net,
Dan Robertson and Chris Schmitt worked as TA’s.

Figure 8: Quark Net summer course 2008, photos by J.W. Hammer

Figure 9: Quark Net summer course 2008, photos by J.W. Hammer

L. Additional Information
Detailed information on the experiments of the Advanced Physics Teaching Lab can be found
on the following web pages (read only) :
16 GENERAL INFORMATION

http://www.nd.edu/~jhammer/EXPERIMENTS%20ADV.PHYS.LAB./

http://www.nd.edu/~jhammer/LECTURES_2008/

J.W. Hammer
August 2008
II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

1 Statistics

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description

Many effects in nature are subject to the laws of statistics, like tossing a coin or rolling a die.
To estimate correctly the uncertainties and the physical relevance of a process dominated by
statistics one needs to know the physical context. Radioactive decay is a statistical process in the
time domain and at low numbers the so-called Poisson Statistics apply. Using two independent
nuclear detectors one can produce randomly generated and uniformly distributed pulses with a
time-to-amplitude converter. Measuring the pulse height of these pulses with a 16000 channel
multi-channel-analyzer enables one to perform 16000 experiments at once in the time domain.
Thus the Poisson distributions for 12 , 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 events for example can be obtained
with high precision. For numbers > 20 the Poisson distribution incrementally becomes the more
simple Gaussian distribution. The Statistics set-up uses the elements of the Nuclear Lifetime
experiment, but both detectors run fully independently.
18 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Basics statistical distributions for small numbers :
A. Binomial;
B. Poisson;
C. Gaussian Distribution – Cases, which distribution ap-
plies for which case ?
• Derive errors and uncertainties from the formulae
• Maximum likelihood method

Figure 10: Concept scheme of the experiment with 8000 (or 16000) independent and simulta-
neous counters using a multichannel analyzer

Measuring Technique : • Use of a MCA to have simultaneous high number

(8000 or 16000) of counters to obtain a perfect average of
the measured distributions
• Noise sources, scintillation detectors, photomultipliers
• Constant fraction discriminators, time-to-pulse-height-converters
(TAC)
• How is the uniform distribution produced ?
 19

Mathematics : • Use Excel to get the statistical distributions, but be careful

to chose only the selected 8000 or 16000 channels
• χ2 -test
• Optimizing of counting experiments
• Error propagation

References
[1] Fey, M. : Zählstatistik und Fehlerfortpflanzung : Ein Original thesis on this teaching lab
Praktikumsversuch experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1999
[2] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors and related
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989 features
[3] Nicholson, P.W. : Nuclear Electronics Standard work on nuclear electronics
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1974
[4] Leo, W.R. : Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Standard work on nuclear electronics
Experiments
Springer Verlag, Berlin 1987
[5] Bevington, P.R. and D.K. Robinson: Data reduction Standard work on error analysis
and error analysis for the physical sciences
Mc Graw-Hill, New York 1992
[6] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[7] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[8] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996

Some formulae

Binomial Distribution
The most general type of statistical model distribution for binary processes (i.e. yes or no; 1 or
0; boys or girls etc. ). If n is the number of trials, and each trial has a success probability p, then
the predicted probability of counting exactly x successes can be shown to follow this formula:
n!
P (x) = P x (1 − p)n−x
(n − x) ! x !
P(x) is the predicted probability distribution function, as given by the binomial distribution, and
is defined only for integer values of n and x. (Find some examples in 7). This distribution is
20 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

computationally cumbersome for radioactive decays and it needs only to be applied in rare cases
where the observation time is comparable to the half-life of the sample. The success probability
is constant.

Poisson Distribution

Many categories of binary processes can be characterized by a constant, small probability of

success for each given individual trial. Included in these categories are most nuclear counting
experiments, in which the number of nuclei in the sample is large and the observation time is
short compared with the half-life of the radioactive species. In these situations the Binomial
Distribution reduces to the Poisson form shown below:
(p n)x e−pn
P (x) =
x!
Because pn = x̄ holds for this distribution, as well as for the parent binomial distribution, one
can obtain the Poisson form which depends now only on one parameter, x̄, the product of the
number of trials and the success probability p:
(x̄)x e−x̄
P (x) =
x!
The Poisson distribution is normalized to 1; the mean value is x̄ (first moment) and the square
of the standard deviation, (second moment), is also x̄.

Gaussian Distribution

If the mean value of a Poisson distribution gets large, greater than 20, the distribution becomes
more and more the form the symmetric Gaussian distribution,

(x − x̄)2
!
1
P (x) = √ exp − .
2 πx̄ 2 x̄
The Gaussian distribution has the same properties as the Poisson distribution, it is normalized
to 1, it is characterized by a single parameter x̄ = n p and the predicticted variance, σ 2 , is again
equal to the mean value x̄.

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of the two NaI(Tl) detectors of the Nuclear Lifetime set-up, with faces in opposite
directions, high voltage is negative -1800 Volts (for the new detectors).
 21

• The pulses behind the main amplifier should not exceed 8 Volts in amplitude

• Both detectors run with separate sources, preferrably the 137 Cs sources or the 133
Ba
source, to get statistically uncorrelated pulses, like a source of noise.

• The timing pulses are derived from the zero crossing of the bipolar pulses after the Ortec
# 460 DDL-amplifier and a subsequent TSCA # 455. This is the set-up of the Life-time
experiment, for this experiment something simpler would also do it.

• The TAC produces a uniform distribution of all amplitudes because the time intervals
between uncorrelated pulses are uniformly distributed. The amplitude range is from 0 –
8 Volts but there are little deviatiations at the TAC on both ends of the range, therefore
we choose out of channels [0 – 8192] only the channels 100 – 8100 respectively channels
200 – 16200 [out of 0 – 16384] – enter this in the preset setup.

• With the distance source–detector one adjusts the single rates which should be about the
same for both detectors. With both channels and a proper choice of the TAC range one
can adjust a reasonable coincidence rate, about a few per second.

• By preselection of an exact number of 8000 counts for exact 16000 channels (channel 200
– 16200 for example) one selects an average number of 12 count per channel, statistically
distributed. The measuring time adjusts itself until the preselected counts are reached.
Running 16000 channels means 16000 independent counting experiments at the same
time to get the Poisson distribution with high accuracy. By preselection of 16000, 32000,
64000 etc. counts for that range of channels (200–16200) one selects 1, 2, 4 etc. counts
per channel in the average.

• With Excel one can determine how many channels show zero, one, two, three etc. events
which gives the Poisson distribution after normalization to the number of counts corre-
sponding to 100 % (or given in fractions of one).

• Determine the Poisson distributions for 21 , 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 25, 32, 64 average counts
and plot them in comparison with a) the Poisson formula and b) with comparison to the
Gaussian distribution, use different colors in the plot.

• Alternative task : Measure distributions in the time domain veryfying the scaler formula.
Technical problem: one needs a very fast downscaler with selectable scaling factor.
22 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Detector : NaI(Tl) detectors 1 21 " x 12 ", photomultiplier: Electron Tubes
(former EMI company) # 9814KB, assembly home-made,
active voltage divider Electron Tubes # TB1106-01,
HV : High voltage power supply for both detectors, Canberra #
3002D; negative HV = - 1800 V
pre-amps : Ortec # 113 and unknown #, input capacitor setting!
Amp : Main Amplifier Ortec # 460, Double Delay Line Amp (DDL)
for medium fast timing
TSCA : Timing Single Channel Analyzer for energy selection and
time signal derivation Ortec # 455
TAC : Time-to-Amplitude-Converter Ortec # 467
 23

MCA : Multichannel Analyzer Canberra Multiport II (USB); soft-

ware GENIE 2000, dongle!

Computer : Standard PC

Information on the radioactive sources

Figure 11: Decay scheme of 137 Cs from [8].

24 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

Figure 12: Decay scheme of 133 Ba from [8].

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide plots of all measured distributions correctly normalized. Discuss the accuracy.
(Reminder use the middle channels 100–8100 resp. 200–16200)

• Compare measured ’Poisson’ with calculated ’Poisson’, and with calculated ’Gaussian’.
Make plots of these comparisons using different colours.

E. Example Questions
• Describe the three main statistical distributions and describe their case of application.

• What is a "statistical error" and how is it calculated, what is the meaning ? What other
errors have to be considered in an experiment ?

• Considering the time intervals between statistically arriving pulses, which time interval
has the highest probability ? How can you explain it ? Which kind of statistics applies ?

• Why is the Poisson distribution asymmetric ?

• Which process mainly defines the resolution of a nuclear detector ? Give three examples
for nuclear detectors with their typical resolution and the resolution defining number.
 25

2 Speed of Light –
Experiment using
positron annihilation
and ultrafast timing
techniques

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
The speed of light c (latin celeritas) dominates most processes in the universe and has outstand-
ing importance for the principle of relativity. It is the speed of anything having zero rest mass.
It has practical applications in all communication-, telecommunication-, satellite- and space-
systems, or positioning systems as for example GPS.
The speed of light in vacuum c0 is nowadays fixed by definition (c0 = 299 792 458 m/s) to re-
place the standard meter. In the present experiment the speed of light is measured to study fast
timing methods at the extremes. In the present case the "light" has the very short wavelength
of a γ quantum. One makes use of the simultaneous emission of two annihilation quanta from
the positronium decay and their strong angular correlation (180 degrees). Two ultrafast plastic
scintillation detectors (Pilot U, BC 418) face each other on an optical bench at a distance of
about 2.7 meters. A positron source (sodium-22) in between emits the annihilation quanta. One
is measuring the small time difference between the arrival of both quanta at the detectors for
different positions of the source on the bench. The set-up is time calibrated using two differ-
ent methods to obtain absolute values for the speed of light which can be determined with a
precision of about 0.5 %.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Speed of light history, methods of measurement; see ap-
pendix;
Today fixed by definition (replaces meter-definition, a block
of material, difficult to reproduce)
26 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

• Importance of the speed of light

• Goal of this experiment: Training of ultrafast timing meth-
ods
• Units and numbers, standards
• Physics of beta-decay, positron annihilation, theory and ef-
fects
• Positron sources

Measuring Technique : • Fast γ-detectors : Pilot U (now BC 418 Saint Gob-

ain), and BaF2 ;
• Compare organic with anorganic scintillators
• Fast photomultipliers, characteristics
• Fast electronics: constant fraction discriminators and TAC’s
• Signals and cables
• Fast-slow method (timing and energy)
• Make familiar with differential constant fraction discrimi-
nators, which is much more elegant
• Compare coincidences with regular source and with anni-
hilation radiation source (strong angular correlation); effi-
ciency considerations
• Multi channel analyser (MCA),
• Time resolution

Mathematics : Method of least squares, linear fits, peak fitting

 27

References
[1] Chow, L., S. Lukacs, and K. Hopkins : Speed of light Original diploma
measurement using BaF2 scintillation detectors
Eur. J. Phys. 15 49 (1994)
[2] Mohr, J.P., B.N. Taylor, and D. B. Newell : CODATA Most recent compilation of fundamen-
Recommended Values of the Fundamental Physical Con- tal constants
stants
arXiv:0801.0028v1, physics.atom-ph, (2006); Rev. Mod.
Phys. 80, 633 (2008)
[3] Cohen, E.R., and B. N. Taylor : The Status of the Fun- Overview from 1992
damental Constants-1992
Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser. No. 132, Section 9, pp. 969-
977 (1992) 6th Int. Conf. on Nuclei Far From Stability
and 9th Int. Conf. on Atomic Masses and Fundamental
Constants, Bernkastel-Kues
[4] Cohen, E.R. : Changes in the Fundamental Constants- Review of changes of fundamental
Past and Future constants
IEEE Trans. Instrumen. and Meas. 38(2), 167-171
(1989)
[5] Taylor, B.N. : Recommended Values of the Fundamental Review of 1990
Physical Constants: A Status Report
J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. 95, 497-523 (1990)
[6] Maier, J. : Aufbau und Erprobung von Praktikumsver- Original thesis on this teaching lab
suchen zur Positronenzerstrahlung experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[7] Firestone, R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[8] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[9] Schatz G. and A. Weidinger : Nuclear Condensed Mat- Textbook
ter Physics, first edition
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester 1996

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of detectors and electronics using oscilloscope; negative HV = - 2100 Volts

• Set-up of the MCA to 1024 or 2048 channels, keep same setting for both runs !

• Use Co-60 source: Set the differential constant fractions to the major portion of the 1.17
and 1.33 MeV Compton spectrum (important !)
28 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

• Watch coincidence line using Co-60 source and about 30 cm distance source–detector,
TAC range 50 ns is more linear, determine ‘standard’ resolution

• Set the differential constant fractions to the major portion of the 511 keV Compton spec-
trum (important !)

• The additional coincidence and gating of the TAC is optional

• Measurement of speed of light: detector distance = max, source in the center, coincidence
peak at middle channel (512 or 1024)

• Measure peak for variations of source positions every 20 cm’s, one spectrum for all peaks
!
Stop MCA and continue without erase !

• Determine average value of channels/displacement (least square)

• Measure two time calibrations:

1) using the Ortec time calibrator; this module is shared with some other experiments!
2) using calibrated delay lines
One spectrum for all peaks ! Don’t change anything between the two runs (distance and
time calib.) – even don’t add or remove the scope, little impedance changes jeopardize
precision

• Determine average channels/time interval

• Determine speed of light immediately

• Measure the energy spectrum of the 22 Na source with appropriate settings, use Ortec
# 435A amp in unipolar mode but obtaining bipolar signals, explain !

WARNINGS

• Keep yourself at about 1m distance from source except when changing source position

• Don’t exceed HV-setting

 29

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
HV : High voltage power supply for the detectors, Canberra # 3002D
BC-418 : Pilot-U (BC-418) plastic scintillation detector; diameter
40 mm, thickness 25 mm (?)
PM : Photomultiplier, Hamamatsu # H2431-50
COINZ : Coincidence module, ORTEC # 418A (only optionally used)
Diff.CFD : Differential constant fraction discriminator, CMTE # 7029A
DELAY : nsec-Delay, FAST # 7800-7
TAC : Time amplitude converter, Canberra # 2145
ADC/MCA : MCA with Analog digital converter, Canberra Multiport II
Computer : Computer Dell PC with Canberra Genie 2000 multichan-
nel analyser programme, dongle!
30 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

AMP : Ampifier, ORTEC # 435A (used only for the energy spec-
trum)

Figure 13: Set-up of the speed of light experiment with the electronic units and the left Pilot-U
detector on the optical bench LINOS X 95
 31

Information on the used radioactive sources

Figure 14: Decay scheme of 22 Na and 60 Co from [7].

D. Discussion of Results
1. Plot all time and energy spectra.

2. Provide a plot of the energy spectrum and explain it.

3. Provide a plot of the calibration curve.

4. Plot the centroid shift of the time spectra as function of distance.

5. Determine the ’standard’ time resolution of the overall system (with plot).

6. Compute the speed of light.

7. Compute the errors associated with the experiment.

E. Example Questions
• Which methods to determine the speed of light do you know ?

• Is the improvement of a speed of light experiment still required ?

• What do we learn from a measurement using γ-rays ?

• Is the use of annihilation radiation important or could the experiment also be performed
using a cobalt-60 source f.e. ?
32 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS

• What is the detection efficiency of a coincidence experiment ?

• Which relation is valid in this experiment for the efficiency ?

• How can we get better time resolution ?

• How is the time calibration performed ?

• What makes a scintillator fast ? What makes a photomultiplier fast ?

 33

Appendix: Some History about the Speed of Light

Year Scientist Method Speed of Light Remarks
in km/s
about Galileo Galilei time delay observing lanterns at least several
1620 covered or uncovered by hand km/s
1676 - Ole Rømer time delays at astronomical ob- 213,000 Proof for finite speed of
1678 servations (moons of Jupiter) light
1728 James Bradley Aberration 301,000 Measurement of con-
stancy of speed of light
to 1%
about ? Venus-Transit 1769 etwa 285,000 First precise determina-
1775 tion of AE
1834 Charles Wheat- Rotating Mirror Method for mea- 402,336 El. current in conductor
stone surement of speed of electric cur-
rent
1838 François Arago Proposal of the Rotating Mirror - No measurement
Method
1849 Armand H. L. Toothed wheel method 315,000
Fizeau
1851 Léon Foucault Rotating Mirror Method 298,000 ± 500
1875 Alfred Cornu Rotating Mirror Method 299,990
1879 Albert A. Michel- Rotating Mirror Method 299,910 ± 50
son
1888 Heinrich Hertz Frequency and wavelength mea- about 300,000 Proof that light is an
surement on standing radio waves electromagnetic wave
1907 Edward Ben- theoretical calculation according 299,788 ± 30
nett Rosa, Noah to Maxwell equations
Dorsay
1926 Albert A. Michel- Rotating Mirror Method 299,796 ± 4.
son
1947 Louis Essen, Al- electric micro wave resonator 299,792 ± 3
bert Gordon-Smith
1958 Keith Davy Interferometer 299,792.5 ±
Froome 0.1
1973 Boulder-Group at Laser measurement 299,792.4574
NBS ± 0.001
1983 (Definition of the New Definition of the Meter 299,792.458 No measurement
CGPM) (exact)
about Grayfox, Internet chocolate bar - microwave 298,900 Quick and simple
2005 method method, accuracy 1%
34 II . A. GENERAL EXPERIMENTS
II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

3 Optical Diffraction and

Interference using Sin-
gle Photon Counting

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description

In this experiment the wave and quantum properties of light can be studied and measured with
high precision and within many aspects. The often complicated diffraction and interference
patterns can be measured quantitatively and the results compared with theory. Effects of single-
, double-, multiple slits, gratings, razor blade, disks and balls are measured in a wide dynamic
range of up to 1 : 10 000 using single photon counting as the detection technique. A linear
motion fine stepper motor allows scanning of the patterns within a precision of a few microns.
A 50 µm optical fiber is used to transmit the light from the plane where the effects are displayed
to the single photon detector, a fast and very sensitive photomultiplier. The effects can be stored,
displayed and evaluated on a computer. The use of single photon counting takes into account
the quantum nature of light.
36 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

B. Some history

C. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Diffraction of light
• Huygens principle
• Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction
• Wave-particle dualism, Heisenberg uncertainty principle
• Interference patterns
• Diffraction and interference behind various objects: slits,
double, multiple, grating, razor blade
• The so-called Poisson point

Measuring Technique : • Basic optical set-ups

• Single photon counting technique
• Physics and technics of basic lasers
• Beam expander and spatial filter
• Technique of micro-stepper motors and linear motion stages
• Fast counting electronics and multiscaler technique
• Photomultipliers

Mathematics : Method of least squares, MATHEMATICA program, MAPLE

program, MATHCAD program

References
[1] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[2] Hecht, E. : Optics Fundamental optics textbook
Addison-Wesley Publ. Comp. Reading, Amsterdam
Tokyo etc. 1987
[3] ..... : ....... optics textbook
...........
[4] ..... : ....... optics textbook
...........
[5] ..... : ....... optics textbook
...........
 37

Experimental Tasks

• Get familiar with principal optical set-ups, aligning, adjusting

• Adhere to laser safety rules

• Start with the preparation of the light source and alignment for a single and a double slit,
the light beam must be very parallel and "clean".

• The diffraction and interference pattern must be clearly visible on the paper screen !

• Align the slit vertically so that the end of the optical fiber (core) stays at the center of the
pattern during the whole scan; the slit can also be rotated to achieve this.

• Prepare the photon counter; HV = - 2000 Volts; threshold for pulses set at -50 mV (check
values); software selectable

• Get familiar with the two programs for scanning (ORTEC multiscaler and LINOS stepper
drive)

• Take several scans, duration about 10 – 30 min each

• Compare at least one pattern with theory quantitatively, the slit widths and distance are
fit-parameters !

• Produce diffraction patterns using the green and the red laser and compare both results

• Produce diffraction patterns of a razor blade and a round disk

• Get a clear scan of the so-called Poisson point alternatively the razor blade

• Proper graphical documentation of all scans and calculations

WARNINGS

• Switch off lasers when experiment is finished

• Shut down high voltage of the photomultiplier

38 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Laser : 3 Lasers available: 1) red diode laser with output 10mW;
2) green diode laser 10? mW with adjustable output power
and 3) a green HeNe-Laser with 0.5mW output
Beam : Preparation of light beam by means of a spatial filter (op-
tional) or a beam expander (10x or 20x) or both of them
Object : Various elements available: single slits, double slits, mul-
tiple slits, optical grating, razor blade, round disks, balls,
different holes
HV : High voltage power supply for the detectors, Canberra # 3002D
Detector : Single photon detector with a fast photomultiplier: Elec-
tron Tubes (former EMI Company) # 9814KB, assembly
 39

home-made with a light diffusor, active voltage divider

Electron Tubes # TB1106-01, quick connector to optical
fiber
Fiber : Optical fiber to transmit light from the field to the counter,
50 µm cross section with optical plugs
Stepper : Stepper motor driven linear table LINOS # XACT LT 150;
max. path length 150mm, resolution 2µm, with program
control and control board LINOS # 150.PCI in a standard
PC, software ...........
Multiscaler : Ortec multiscaler card with input discriminator Ortec # MCS.PCI
in a standard PC, software .......

E. List of available scattering objects

40 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

F. Discussion of Results
• Provide plots of all measurements with logarithmic intensity scale. Explain the observed
patterns.

• Describe at least two patterns mathematically: a double slit pattern and the razor blade
or the Poisson point pattern. Compare the graphs using different colors and use i.e. the
’M ATHEMATICA’ program.

• For the double slit the slit width and the distance of both slits can be used as parameters
to obtain a better fit and to determine those two values from the experiment.

G. Example Questions
• What is Fraunhofer diffraction ?

• What is Fresnel diffraction ?

• How does interference take place ?

• Is there a difference between diffraction and interference ?

• How does particle/wave dualism come into play ?

• Which typical patterns do we observe ?

• What story is behind the "Poisson point" ?

• Compare diffraction from a disk with that of a hole of the same diameter, which effects
are expected, explain !

• Why do we apply single photon counting, several reasons ?

• How does the beam expander work, what are the benefits ?

• How does a spatial filter work ?

• How does single photon counting technique work ?

• Explain the multiscaler technique ?

• Explain the function of a grating ?

 41

4 Saturation Spec-
troscopy

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
Saturation spectroscopy is a kind of high resolution spectroscopy free of Doppler broadening
of lines, similar to the Mößbauer-effect. It became available with the development of tunable
lasers. A monochromatic and tunable laser beam is absorbed in the vapor of a species in the
region of a strong line from the ground to the excited state. If one monitors the transmitted
light as a function of frequency, a Doppler broadened absorption spectrum will be observed. If
one splits the laser beam into a strong and a weak one, coming from opposite directions one
observes Doppler free absorption because only excited atoms with no velocity component in ei-
ther direction can interact, the others don’t match in frequency because of the opposite Doppler
shift. The sharp absorption lines have nearly the natural line width and are sometimes called
Lamb dip. When the level scheme shows narrow level splittings as from the hyperfine interac-
tion the so-called crossover lines can occur which are explained below. Saturation spectroscopy
can be easily observed in rubidium, cesium and sodium and it is used to lock lasers to a narrow
frequency.
Lit.: K.B. Mac Adam, A Steinbach, and C. Wiemann, Am. J. Phys. 60, 1098 (1992)

B. Notes on the rubidium hfs spectrum

Natural rubidium has two isotopes 85 Rb with nuclear spin I = 52 (abundance 72 %) and 87 Rb with
I = 23 . It is an alkali metal (Z = 37) with one single valence electron (5s) above a closed krypton
shell (n = 1,2,3 fully filled, 4s2 4p6 ).
The nuclear spin causes splitting of the ground states (1 S 1 ) and excited states 2 P 1 and 2 P 3 which
2 2 2
is shown in the next diagram. The hyperfine splitting is characterized by quantum numbers F.
For 85 Rb the groundstate splits in two levels with F = 2 and 3 and 4 levels in the 5 P 3 - state
2
42 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

(F = 1......4).
The so-called D2-line at 780.23 nm is split into 3 components because of the selection rule
∆F = 0, ±1 for dipole transitions. In fact one observes 3 more lines the so-called cross-over-
lines.
For 87 Rb the splittings are larger and better visible, the groundstate splits into a F = 1 and F = 2
level, the 5 P 3 - state into 4 levels (F = 1........4).
2
The regular Doppler broadening covers all hfs levels and one observes only one broad absorp-
tion line.
Switching on the pump beam one can observe all partners of the multiplett. Using two absorp-
tion beams, a probe beam with saturation and a reference beam with non-saturated Doppler
broadened absorption on two detectors which are delivering currents with opposite sign one
cancels out the regular absorption and slopes and gets as a difference signal the sharp dip lines.

Cross over lines

One can define for all atoms in the probe different velocity classes or bins according to the
movement of the atoms. The Doppler shift of an atom with velocity v|alpha is then να and the
laser frequency is νL . An ecited state of this velocity class has frequency ν1
ν1 = νL + να
But for the probe beam the frequency for the same class of atoms is
ν2 = νL - να
If this frequency happens to correspond to another atomic transition ν2 then the absorption will
again be saturated.
The condition is:
ν2 = νL - να → νL = (ν1 + ν2 )/2
One obtains frequencies exact in the middle from two multiplett levels, the "cross-over frequen-
cies". For 87 Rb for example one obtains for F = 2 → F’ six lines : ν1 , ν12 , ν2 , ν13 , ν23 , ν3 and
their frequencies can be determined in our experiment as well as for the other 3 transitions.

C. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Physics of tunable lasers
• Absorption spectroscopy, Doppler broadening
• Rubidium absorption spectroscopy
• Doppler-free spectroscopy
• Lamb dip
 43

• Hyperfine interaction
• Physics of atomic clocks

Measuring Technique : • Elements of an optical absorption set-up

• Mirrors, beam splitters, filters, positioning and aligning el-
ements (optomechanics)
• Photodiodes
• Fabry-Perot wavelength determination
• Temperature stabilization and compensation of laser diodes
• Lock-in signal technique
• Oscilloscope techniques

Mathematics : Method of least squares

References
[1] Haensch, T.W., M.D. Levenson and A.L. Schawlow: Original article explaining the method
Complete Hyperfine Structure of a Molecular Iodine Line on the example iodine
Phys. Rev. Lett. 26, 946 (1971)
[2] Haensch, I.S. Shahin and A.L. Schawlow: .............. Original article
Phys. Rev. Lett. 27, 707 (1971)
[3] Pappas, P.G., M.M. Burns, D.D. Hinshelwood, M.S. Theoretical treatment of optical
Feld and D.E. Murnick: Saturation spectroscopy with pumping Lamb dips and cross over
laser optical pumping in atomic barium resonances
Phys. Rev. A 21, 1955 (1980)
[4] Letokhov, V.S. : Saturation Spectroscopy High Resolution Laser Spectroscopy
Topics in Applied Physics Vol. 13, ed. K. Shimoda,
Springer Verlag, New York 1976
[5] Demtröder, W. : Laser Spectroscopy Textbook on Laser Spectroscopy
Springer Verlag, New York, 3rd ed., 2003
[6] Camparo, J.C.: The Diode Laser in Atomic Physics Basic review article on Diode Lasers
Contemp. Phys. 26, 443 (1985)
[7] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[8] THORLABS catalogue, Volume 18, 964 pages: Thor- optical components of nearly any kind
labs Inc., North Newton, NJ 07860, USA
www.thorlabs.com
44 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of the optical path using alignment aids

• Adjust the power in the different beams

WARNINGS

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Some hints for the set up:

• The light paths should be set up according to the second scheme. The IR-light can only
be seen by using the fluorescence card or an image intensifier. All beams should be
horizontal in the same plane.

• To achieve the saturation effect well, a certain beam power has to be set in the different
light paths by using adjustable grey filters, otherwise the lines are broadening.

• Some settings are important:

The laser should be at 25 ◦ C and needs several hours to stabilize. Laser beam output power
should be about 20 mW (use the extra power meter !). The frequency of the laser can be
fine-tuned with the Helipot at the left side (about 350 units) to bring it into the middle
of the tuned region. The laser frequency is tuned by a triangular and symmetric ramp
from the function generator. The repetition frequency should not be too high (stress for
the laser mechanics), about 20-30 Hz is appropriate. The amplitude of the ramp defines
the tuning range of the laser frequency; 220 mV is an appropriate value to cover two of
the rubidium resonances and about 1400 mV to see all four rubidium absorption lines,
but with reduced resolution. With about 120 mV one can observe one multiplet with high
resolution. Store a single scan in the Tektronix scope to obtain a sharp track.

• The second thick beam splitter achieves 3 beams:

1. the test beam which should produce the saturation effect (set to about 85 µW)
2. the reference beam (set also to about 100 µW) which doesnŠt undergo saturation but
shows the same absorption, Doppler- and ramp effect. It is used to compensate the test
beam. Without beam 3 the beams 1 and 2 should cancel out using the two detectors which
are summed with opposite signs.
3. The beam which produces the saturation effect in beam 1 and it should have as much
 45

as possible overlap with beam 1 in the Rb vapor cell. Its power needs to be higher (about
1.5 mW before the mirror and 0.7 mW after the mirror).

• The first beam splitter splits the main laser beam in a beam for the saturation effect (power
after the splitter 8.5 mW) and a beam for the wavelength measurement (power 11.5 mW)
in a Fabry Perot interferometer unit. But the wavelength measurement disturbs the satu-
ration effect because a part of the beam is reflected backwards and makes the main laser
beam somewhat unstable. Therefore the wavelength determination has to be made sepa-
rately. The distance between the interference peaks is exactly tuned to 8 GHz and is used
to calibrate the frequency axis.
46 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

One can obtain the effect already with a rather simple set-up shown below, but with a curved
base-line.

Legend:
Laser : Tunable infrared laser 783 nm, New Focus Inc. Mod. 6124
Control : Tunable laser control, New Focus Inc. Mod. V 6100, tem-
perature and output power control for the laser, laser fre-
quency remote control (ramp)
WaveGen : Waveform Generator, Hewlett Packard Mod. HP 33120 A,
provides the ramp for the frequency sweep of the laser
Oscill. : Two beam digital oscilloscope, 300 MHz, Tektronix Mod.
TDS 3032 B
Rb-cell : Cylindrical glass cell filled with rubidium-vapor, length
75.0 mm, diameter 25.0 mm, pressure (20 ◦ C) > 10−7 mbar,
windows Borofloat glass, flat, 3mm thick
 47

Mirrors : Gold coated mirrors on an optomechanical mount, 3 de-

grees of motion freedom, good for IR radiation
Splitter : Simple beam splitters, thickness defines the separation of
beams (see scheme)
Si-diodes : IR sensitive photodiodes to measure light intensity, work-
ing with or without bias voltage

Advanced set-up for saturation spectroscopy with compensation of background to obtain clear
net-spectra, free of background.

Legend:

Laser-etc. : Laser+controller, Rb-cell, mirrors, waveform generator, silicon-

diodes, oscilloscope are the same as in the simple set-up
(see scheme of simple set-up)
Grey-filter : Adjustable grey filters to set the necessary beam intensity
48 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

WaveAna : Wavelength analyzer from Burleigh, Fabry-Perot princi-

ple, .......... Mod. ........ and wavelength analyzer con-
troller, Burleigh Mod. # .....

E. Discussion of Results
1. Provide

F. Example Questions
 49

5 X-Ray-Spectroscopy
and Moseley’s Law

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
X-ray spectroscopy can be used to study inner shell phenomena of atoms, states of highly ion-
ized atoms produced by accelerators or to determine material properties. There are two princi-
pal methods : Using a semiconductor detector or a Bragg-type spectrometer (see expt. Nr. 17).
Semiconductor detectors are advantageous as they are simple, portable and yield sufficient reso-
lution to distinguish adjacent elements. They have a good intrinsic efficiency, and an acceptable
energy resolution in the range of a few percent, conversly the Bragg method yields much higher
resolution, but very poor detection efficiency. In our experiment a high resolution silicon detec-
tor is used to measure the K-lines (or also L-lines) of several elements to verify Moseley’s law.
The excitation of inner shell vacancies is performed by using the 59.5 keV γ-line of a strong
241
Am source (best range 30 < Z < 65), or by using a small special X-ray tube with a rhodium
anode which has its maximum of emission near 10 keV. The second method is preferable for
lower Z elements (10 < Z < 30). By observing the characteristic L - lines, one gets access
to the elements with Z up to 92, but the L–spectra yield more lines, and are more complicated.
Moseley’s relation has a broad field of application in material analysis — see experiment Nr. 18.

Remarks

Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (November 23, 1887 – August 10, 1915) was an English physi-
cist and a graduate of Trinity College Oxford. His main contributions to science were the quan-
titative justification of the previously empirical concept of atomic number, and Moseley’s law.
This law advanced chemistry by immediately sorting the elements of the periodic table in a more
logical order. Moseley could predict the existence of several then-unknown elements. Mose-
50 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

ley’s law also advanced basic physics by providing independent support for the Bohr model of
the Rutherford/Antonius Van den Broek nuclear atom, containing positive nuclear charge equal
to atomic number.
As Niels Bohr once said in 1962, "You see actually the Rutherford work [the nuclear atom]
was not taken seriously. We cannot understand today, but it was not taken seriously at all.
There was no mention of it any place. The great change came from Moseley."
Moseley fought at Gallipoli, Turkey, where he was killed in action by a sniper in 1915, shot
through the head while in the act of telephoning an order. Many speculated that he should have
won the Nobel Prize, but was unable to because it is only awarded to the living. It is speculated
that because of Moseley’s death in the war, the British and other world governments began a
policy of no longer allowing their scientists to enlist for combat.

B. Moseley’s Formulae
Moseley’s formulae for K-alpha and L-alpha lines, in his original semi-Rydberg style notion
(squaring both sides for clarity) :
3
f (Kα ) = (3.29 × 1015 ) · · (Z − 1)2 Hz
4
5
f (Lα ) = (3.29 × 1015 ) · · (Z − 7.4)2 Hz
36
the simple notation of Moseley’s law being :
q
f = k1 · (Z − k2 ).
Here f is the frequency of the main or K-X-ray emission line, and k1 and k2 are constants that
depend on the type of line, k1 is given in units of the fundamental Rydberg frequency fRy =
(3.29 × 1015 ), k1 = 43 = 1 - 14 for the K-alpha-lines and k1 = 36
5
for the L-alpha lines.
The constant k2 describes the screening of the nuclear charge and it was obtained empirically
to be 1 for the K-alpha transitions, and 7.4 for the L-alpha transitions.

C. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Basic atomic physics of inner shells, concepts and terms,
characteristic numbers, Roentgen fluorescence yield, bind-
ing energy in the shell model of the atom, Auger electron
emission
• Production of X-rays
• Bremsstrahlung; Synchrotron radiation
 51

• Characteristic X-rays, selection rules, K- and L-series

• Absorption and scattering of X-rays
• Applications of characteristic X-ray spectroscopy
• Some quantitative considerations

Measuring Technique : • Principles of X-ray detectors, especially silicon de-

tectors
• Classical method of X-ray wavelength determination
• Function of the specific 241 Am source
• Function of an X-ray tube
• Required electronic units and function
• Multichannel-Analyzer

Mathematics : Method of least squares, line separation, background subtraction

References
[1] Moseley H. G. J. : Phil. Mag. 26, 1024 (1913) and Phil. Original papers
Mag. 27, 703 (1914)
......
[2] ... : ...... ......
......
[3] Deslattes, R.D., E.G. Kessler Jr., P Indelicato, L. de Most recent review article on all X-ray
Billy, E. Lindroth and J. Anton : X-ray transition ener- transitions of the elements
gies : new approach to a comprehensive evaluation
Re. Mod. Phys. 75, 35 (2003)
[4] Jelen, Christian : Moseley’s Gesetz und Röntgen Spek- Original thesis on this teaching lab
troskopie experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
2000
[5] Bergmann-Schäfer: Experimentalphysik, Bd. IV, Teil 1, Basics of x-ray Radiation
S. 129 ff
Walter De Gruyter, Berlin, 1975
[6] Firestone, R. B. : Table of Isotopes Vol. II Current reference on nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996
[7] Mayer-Rimini: Ion Beam Handbook for Material Anal-
ysis
Ch. 5
52 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Experimental Tasks

• Get the variable X-ray source from the TA

• Turn on first the NIM power, then turn on very slowly the high voltage bias of the detector
(- 500 Volts) and watch the signals from the main amplifier. In case they are not regular
stop and ask.

• Important: Check the main settings of the main amplifier to obtain good resolution. Time
constant 2 - 3 µs should work best. Set amplification so that the 59.5 keV line of 241 Am
has an amplitude of nearly 8 Volts.

• Set MCA to 2048 or 4096 channels (both channel select and conversion gain)

• Check pole zero cancellation very carefully with the oscilloscope

• Calibration of the detector using three lines Cu Kα , Ba Kα and 59.5 keV 241 Am line,
you can also use the Cs-137 (36 keV X-ray), the Mn-54 (5.4 keV X-ray) and the Co-57
(14.4 keV γ-ray) source; measure the calibration spectrum with all lines at once, but keep
the total count rate within reasonable limits (1 kHz)

• Determine detector resolution in keV for at least two lines (iron Kα and 122 keV line of
57
Co)

• Measure the Kα and Kβ lines of the six elements of the variable source

• Verify Moseley’s law with a graph and table (+ uncertainties)

• Determine 1 – 2 unknown samples (ask TA which ones)

• Alternative task: Measure several L-spectra for various elements and explain them

• In addition, you can determine more elements than six, which have appropriate K lines

WARNINGS

• Make sure that the detector was cold for 3 hours or more prior to HV application

• No HV without preamp power on ! Internal FET can die !

• HV turn on and off very slowly. No abrupt switch off !

• Remove protection cap from detector before starting measuring

• Never touch the ultra thin Be window of the detector

 53

• Watch count rates ! Too high count rate can latch up preamp or deteriorate resolution

• Be careful with the 241 Am source, it is strong and under special regulations (transuranium
element)

• No measurement of spectra during LN2 filling

54 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Detector : Si(Li)–Semiconductor Detector Canberra EURISYS Mod.
ESLX 30-150-ER No 0251 (year 2002) Crystal dimen-
sions: useful surface 30 mm2 ; external diameter 6.2 mm;
length 5.5 mm; volume 0.15 cm3 ; dead layer ' 0.2 µm/Si;
distance from cap 3 mm
Energy resolution 150 eV at 5.9 keV
Bias : Canberra bias voltage supply Canberra # 2122 D, neg. -
500 Volts
Preamp : Preamplifier Canberra # PSC 854, "‘reset" - type
SpecAmp : Main spectroscopy amplifier CANBERRA # 2020, (im-
portant for "‘reset" - type preamp)
 55

MCA,ADC : Canberra multiport II (ADC and MCA)

Computer : Computer IBM think centre; CANBERRA MCA software
Genie 2000 (dongle !)

The preamplifier works with a so-called optical feedback, which means that most of the time
the feedback resistor is nearly infinite, but when the output signal reaches a certain amplitude,
it is switched to a low value by a flash of a light emitting diode. The main amplifier has to deal
with these strong negative switching signals and only a few have this property, the Canberra
2020 being one of them. The advantage is better resolution and higher count rates. The proper
settings for pole zero cancellation and base line recovery are very important.

Gamma source for the excitation of characteristic X rays

Figure 15: Decay scheme of 241 Am from [6].

In the block scheme the scheme of the so-called variable X-ray source is also given. The 241 Am
source is encapsulated in ring form and radiates downwards onto samples of material. This
americium-241 decay yields, besides α-particles, a strong 59.5 keV γ-transition which is used
56 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

for the excitation. The alphas cannot escape from the source which is shielded in the upwards
direction by tungsten to prevent the direct beam of 59.5 keV radiation being ’seen’ by the de-
tector. The produced characteristic X-rays are emitted upwards through the opening of the ring
and reach the detector. The source assembly includes a target revolver with six different sam-
ples covering the range 29 < Z < 65 (copper Cu, rubidium Rb, molybdenum Mo, silver Ag,
barium Ba, terbium Tb). For other materials the source is disassembled carefully and set on top
of material to be investigated.

Figure 16: Variable

X-ray source, an
encapsulated 241 Am
ring source radiating
on six elementary
targets (Cu, Rb, Mo,
Ag, Ba, Tb) on a
revolving disk to
obtain characteristic
X-rays for elements
in the range 29 < Z
< 65.
 57

Calibration sources for energy calibration of the detector

Figure 17: Decay scheme of 137 Cs from [6]. Decay scheme of 54 Mn from [6].

Figure 18: Decay scheme of 57 Co from [6].

The Cs-137 source delivers characteristic X rays of barium (Kα1 = 31.8 keV, Kβ1 = 36.38 keV),
the Mn-54 source those of chromium (Kα1 = 5.4 keV), and the Co-57 source those of iron
(Kα1 = 6.4 keV) in addition to the 14.4 keV Mößbauer-line.
58 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

X-ray tube for the excitation of characteristic X-rays

Figure 19: X-ray tube Eclipse IV. Emission spectrum of an Eclipse IV tube.

The Eclipse IV X-ray tube from Oxford Instruments, resp. AmpTek is designed as a compact
mobile X-ray source for material analysis. The maximum voltage applied is 45 kV, and it can be
set in a range from 10 to 45 kV. The X-ray tube is pressurized under sulfur-hexafluoride to iso-
late the high voltage. The anode current can also be varied in the range 0 – 50 µA by varying the
current through the tungsten cathode. The anode material is rhodium, the exit window is made
from a beryllium foil and the tube is operating in transmission yielding the spectrum shown in
Fig. 1b. Here the characteristic rhodium lines sit on a broad Bremsstrahlungs-spectrum ranging
from about 4 to 40 keV. The radiation is emitted in a cone with an angle of 130 degrees, there-
fore a collimator is indispensable.
 59

E. Data Tables on the Periodic System and X-ray transitions

Amptek Inc.
R 14 DeAngelo Drive
Bedford, MA 01730 USA
Tele: +1 781-275-2242 Fax: +1 781-275-3470
AMP TEK e-mail: sales@amptek.com
www.amptek.com

Group
IA
Amptek K and L Emission Line Lookup Chart VIIIA

H Key to He
1 2
Energy Values XR-100CR / XR-100T-CdTe / GAMMA-8000 /
IIA in keV IIIA IVA VA VIA VIIA
0.052 0.110 Kα1 Kβ1 X-123 0.185 0.282 0.392 0.526 0.677 0.851
Li Be Au B C N O F Ne
3 4 79 X-Ray and Gamma Ray Detectors 5 6 7 8 9 10
Lα1 Lβ1
1.04 1.07 1.25 1.30 1.49 1.55 1.74 1.83 2.02 2.14 2.31 2.46 2.62 2.82 2.96 3.19
Na Mg Group Al Si P S Cl Ar
11 12 VIII 13 14 15 16 17 18
IIIB IVB VB VIB VIIB IB IIB

3.31 3.59 3.69 4.01 4.09 4.46 4.51 4.93 4.95 5.43 5.41 5.95 5.90 6.49 6.40 7.06 6.93 7.65 7.48 8.26 8.05 8.90 8.64 9.57 9.25 10.26 9.89 10.98 10.54 11.73 11.22 12.50 11.92 13.29 12.65 14.11
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
0.34 0.40 0.45 0.46 0.51 0.52 0.57 0.58 0.64 0.65 0.70 0.72 0.78 0.79 0.85 0.87 0.93 0.95 1.01 1.03 1.10 1.12 1.19 1.21 1.28 1.32 1.38 1.42 1.48 1.53 1.59 1.64

13.39 14.96 14.16 15.83 14.96 16.74 15.77 17.67 16.61 18.62 17.48 19.61 18.41 19.61 19.28 21.66 20.21 22.72 21.18 23.82 22.16 24.94 23.17 26.09 24.21 27.27 25.27 28.48 26.36 29.72 27.47 30.99 28.61 32.29 29.80 33.64
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
1.69 1.75 1.81 1.87 1.92 2.00 2.04 2.12 2.17 2.26 2.29 2.40 2.42 2.54 2.56 2.68 2.70 2.83 2.84 2.99 2.98 3.15 3.13 3.32 3.29 3.49 3.44 3.66 3.61 3.84 3.77 4.03 3.94 4.22 4.11 4.42

30.97 34.98 32.19 36.38 55.76 63.21 57.52 65.21 59.31 67.23 61.13 69.30 62.99 71.40 64.89 73.55 66.82 75.74 68.79 77.97 70.82 80.26 72.86 82.56 74.96 84.92 77.10 87.34 79.30 89.81 81.53 92.32 83.80 94.88
Cs Ba Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
57 - 71
55 56 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
4.29 4.62 4.47 4.83 7.90 9.02 8.15 9.34 8.40 9.67 8.65 10.01 8.91 10.35 9.19 10.71 9.44 11.07 9.71 11.44 9.99 11.82 10.27 12.21 10.55 12.61 10.84 13.02 11.13 13.44 11.42 13.87 11.72 14.32

86.12 97.48 88.46 100.14 90.89 102.85 93.33 105.59 95.85 108.41 98.43 111.29 101.00 114.18 103.65 117.15 106.35 120.16 109.10 123.24 111.90 126.36 114.75 129.54 117.65 132.78 120.60 136.08
Fr Ra Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr Actinides
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 89-103
12.03 14.77 12.34 15.23 12.65 15.71 12.97 16.20 13.29 19.70 13.61 17.22 13.95 17.74 14.28 18.28 14.62 18.83 14.96 19.39 15.31 19.97 15.66 20.56 16.02 21.17 16.38 21.79

33.44 37.80 34.72 39.26 36.02 40.75 37.36 42.27 38.65 43.96 40.12 45.40 41.53 47.03 42.98 48.72 44.47 50.39 45.99 52.18 47.53 53.93 49.10 55.69 50.73 57.58 52.36 59.35 54.06 61.28
Lanthanides La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
57-71 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
4.65 5.04 4.84 5.26 5.03 5.49 5.23 5.72 5.43 5.96 5.64 6.21 5.85 6.46 6.06 6.71 6.28 6.98 6.50 7.25 6.72 7.53 6.95 7.81 7.18 8.10 7.41 8.40 7.65 8.71

Actinium - Ac 89 (10.07) Bromine - Br 35 (0.007139) Dysprosium - Dy 66 (8.55) Helium - He 2 (0.0001785) Lutetium - Lu 71 (9.84) Nobelium - No 102 Radium - Ra 88 (5.0) Strontium - Sr 38 (2.56) Uranium - U 92 (18.7)
Aluminum - Al 13 (2.70) Cadmium - Cd 48 (8.65) Einsteinium - Es 99 Holmium - Ho 67 (8.795) Magnesium - Mg 12 (1.74) Osmium - Os 76 (22.5) Radon - Rn 86 (4.4) Sulphur - S 16 (1.92) Vanadium - V 23 (5.98)
Americium - Am 95 (11.87) Calcium - Ca 20 (1.55) Erbium - Er 68 (9.066) Hydrogen - H 1 (0.0000899) Manganese - Mn 25 (7.41) Oxygen - O 8 (0.001429) Rhenium - Re 75 (21.0) Tantalum - Ta 73 (16.6) Xenon - Xe 54 (0.00585)
Antimony - Sb 51 (6.62) Californium - Cf 98 Europium - Eu 63 (5.234) Indium - In 49 (7.28) Mendelevium - Md 101 Palladium - Pd 46 (12.16) Rhodium - Rh 45 (12.44) Technetium - Tc 43 (11.5) Ytterbium - Yb 70 (6.965)
Argon - Ar 18 (0.001783) Carbon - C 6 (2.25-G; 3.51-D) Fermium - Fm 100 Iodine - I 53 (4.94) Mercury - Hg 80 (13.55) Phosphorus - P 15 (1.83-Y 2.20-R) Rubidium - Rb 37 (1.53) Tellurium - Te 52 (6.25) Yttrium - Y 39 (3.8)
Arsenic - As 33 (5.73) Cerium - Ce 58 (6.90) Fluorine - F 9 (0.00169) Iridium - Ir 77 (22.42) Molybdenum - Mo 42 (10.22) Platinum - Pt 78 (21.45) Ruthenium - Ru 44 (12.1) Terbium - Tb 65 (8.229) Zinc - Zn 30 (7.1)
Astatine - At 85 Cesium - Cs 55 (1.87) Francium - Fr 87 Iron - Fe 26 (7.88) Neodymium - Nd 60 (6.96) Plutonium - Pu 94 (19.8) Samarium - Sm 62 (7.75) Thallium - Tl 81 (11.86) Zirconium - Zr 40 (6.4)
Barium - Ba 56 (3.5) Chlorine - Cl 17 (0.003220) Gadolinium - Gd 64 (7.90) Krypton - Kr 36 (0.00368) Neon - Ne 10 (0.000900) Polonium - Po 84 (9.27) Scandium - Sc 21 (3.02) Thorium - Th 90 (11.3)
Berkelium - Bk 97 Chromium - Cr 24 (7.14) Gallium - Ga 31 (5.93) Lanthanum - La 57 (6.15) Neptunium - Np 93 (20.4) Potassium - K 19 (0.86) Selenium - Se 34 (4.82) Thulium - Tm 69 (9.321)
Beryllium - Be 4 (1.85) Cobalt - Co 27 (8.71) Germanium - Ge 32 (5.46) Lawrencium - Lr 103 Nickel - Ni 28 (8.88) Praseodymium - Pr 59 (6.48) Silicon - Si 14 (2.42) Tin - Sn 50 (7.3)
Bismuth - Bi 83 (9.78) Copper - Cu 29 (8.96) Gold - Au 79 (19.32) Lead - Pb 82 (11.34) Niobium - Nb 41 (8.57) Promethium - Pm 61 Silver - Ag 47 (10.49) Titanium - Ti 22 (4.5)
Boron - B 5 (2.53) Curium - Cm 96 Hafnium - Hf - 72 (13.3) Lithium - Li 3 (0.534) Nitrogen - N 7 (0.001251) Protactinium - Pa 91 (15.4) Sodium - Na 11 (0.97) Tungsten - W 74 (19.3) (density in g/cm3 at NTP)

Figure 20: X-ray chart from Amptek

60 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 21: Table of the X-ray K-series energies from NIST

 61

Figure 22: Table of the X-ray K-series energies from NIST

62 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 23: X-ray transitions for the L-series in uranium. The designation of the observed lines
is according to Siegbahn.
 63

Most intense L-X-ray lines of some heavy elements

Element Tantalum Tungsten Platinum Gold Mercury Lead Thorium Uranium

Symbol (Z) Ta (73) W (74) Pt (78) Au (79) Hg (80) Pb (82) Th (90) U (92)

Line* Energies in electron-volts [eV]

α1 (L3 M5 ) 8146.17 8398.242 9442.39 9713.44 9988.91 10551.6 12967.937 13614.87

α2 (L3 M4 ) 8087.93 8335.34 9361.96 9628.05 9897.68 10449.59 12809.49 13438.97

β1 (L2 M4 ) 9343.19 9672.575 11070.84 11442.45 11822.7 12613.8 16201.556 17220.15

β2 (L3 N5 ) 9651.89 9964.133 11250.66 11584.75 11924.2 12622.8 16024.6 16428.44

β3 (L1 M3 ) 9487.62 9818.91 11230.89 11610.5 11995.4 12793.4 16423.855 17455.17

β4 (L1 M2 ) 9212.47 9525.23 10854.41 11204.81 11563.1 12305.9 15639.54 16575.51

γ1 (L2 N4 ) 10895 11286 12942 13381 139830 14764 18978 20167

γ2 (L1 N2 ) 11217 11610 13270 13709 14162.3 15218.2 19302 20484

γ3 (L1 N3 ) 11277.68 11680.49 13361.5 13809.1 14264.8 15218.2 19503 20712.95

γ5 (L2 N1 ) 10570 10948 12552 12974 13410 14307 18364 19506

l (L3 M1 ) 7173.2 7387.8 8268.2 8494.03 8721.32 9184.56 11118.06 11618.41

η (L2 M1 ) 8428.09 8724.42 9975.2 10308.41 10651.4 11349.4 14510.327 15399.81

* Siegbahn notation (modern notation)

F. Discussion of Results
1. Discuss the energy spectra of the 57 Co, 137 Cs, 54 Mn and 241 Am sources.

2. Construct the energy calibration.

3. Explain the energy spectra of the different elements.

4. Plot the energy of the X-rays as a function of nuclear charge number Z.

5. Plot the energy resolution as a function of energy.

6. Plot the detector response function as a function of energy.

7. Check Moseley’s law and compute the shielding constants.

64 II . B. ATOMIC PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

8. Identify the unknown materials based on Moseley’s law.

9. Explain the obtained X-ray L-spectra

G. Example Questions
1. How are X-rays created ?

2. What is the difference between X-rays and γ-rays ?

3. What is the Auger effect ?

4. What is a fluorescence yield ωK ?

5. Explain Moseley’s formula.

6. How is the material analysis performed ?

7. Why does the silicon-detector have to be cooled ?

8. Which other methods of X-ray spectroscopy are known ?

II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

6 Alpha Spectroscopy

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short description
α-spectroscopy is related to the α-decay of nuclei which is described by the Gamow theory
and the tunneling effect. These effects are also important for fusion reactions, for example in
the nucleosynthesis of the chemical elements. Using a modern high resolution silicon detector
(resolution 11 keV at about 5 MeV) one can explore the fine structure of specific α decays
or determine the line energy of unknown samples. Through this the identity of the unknown
nucide can be determined. Furthermore the relative intensities within an alpha-spectrum can be
measured as well.
In this experiment a small vacuum chamber is evacuated by an oilfree forepump and it houses
the detector, the optional foil and the α emitter. To reach high resolution the α sources used
have to be very thin.
Energy loss in matter is used to determine the thickness of foils and thin layers, an important
application of particle spectroscopy. The energy loss of α particles in matter is described by the
Bethe-formula and more recently simulated by the TRIM or the SRIM codes.
66 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 24: Gamow model of Alpha-decay. The alpha particles exist as a substructure inside
the nuclear potential (see α cluster model) and can escape through the barrier by the tunneling
effect. Depending on the primary energy the alpha particles are facing a different barrier depth
which leads to the dependence of the half-lives according to the Geiger-Nuttal rule.

B. Necessary knowledge
Physics : • Gamow-theory of α-decay
• Tunneling-effect at barriers
• Compare with Sub-Coulomb-barrier astrophysical particle
reactions
• Geiger-Nuttal rule
• Compare with age of the universe and cosmic clocks
• Interaction of particles with matter
• Bethe-formula for energy loss and energy straggling
• TRIM- or SRIM-code
241
• Am decay scheme
 67

Technique : • Principles of solid state detectors

• Principles of spectroscopy
• What "makes" energy resolution ?
• What is Stopping Power ?
• Technical applications of energy loss
• Compare with other methods for thin layers or foils
• Principles of vacuum technology
• Multi channel analyser (MCA) and analog-digital converter
(ADC)

C. References
[1] Gamow, G. : . Original article
Z. Phys. 51, 204 (1928)
[2] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[3] Firestone, R. B. : Table of Isotopes Vol. II Current reference book of nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996
[4] Leo, W. R. : Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Text book of measuring techniques
Experiments
Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1994
[5] Knoll, H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements, Standard work on detectors
S. 360 ff
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1989
[6] C. M. Lederer et al. : Energy levels of 237 Np Original work of 237 Np
Nucl. Phys. 84, 481 (1966)
[7] Ziegler...: Stopping powers ..... .............
.............
[8] ......: Manual for the SRIM code .........
..........

D. Experimental Tasks
This experiment can be finished in one afternoon.

• Set-up of detector and α-source

• Produce vacuum (≈ 0.5 mbar)

68 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• Set-up of electronics, bias voltage, depending on the type of detector (ask TA !) (+25 –
+75 Volts) and set-up of main amplifier (time constant, pole-zero cancellation !)

• Measure the energy resolution of the semiconductor detector as a function of the operating
(bias) voltage. Vary the operating voltage between u = 10 − − max. allowed voltage V
in 10 V steps.

• Determine the optimum energy resolution

• Determine energy calibration using zero-point and the single-α-source

• Determine all the α lines and from that the unknown isotope; explain the spectra with the
level schemes

• Determine the energies and relative intensities of all the lines.

Measure energy loss in some thin foils:

• Determine foil thickness

• Compare energy straggling with theory

WARNINGS:

• Be careful with bias voltage : never exceed maximum voltage, never apply when vacuum
bad.

• Shut down bias before venting and when done with spectroscopy

• Never touch surface of α-source or surface of detector

• Remove source after measurement

• Never expose a biased detector to light !

 69

E. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Sketch of the experimental setup

Legend:
Detector : High resolution Si surface barrier detector (original reso-
lution 11 keV at 5.48 MeV)
Bias : Operating biass voltage for the detector, u ' +30 V ; Dual
HV Supply Canberra # 3122D
Pre-amp : Preamplifier Enertec # PSC762B
MA : Main spectroscopic amplifier Ortec # 762
APTEC-5008 : MCA and ADC (Analogue to digital converter) on one ISA
computer card
Computer : Computer with Aptec -Card (ISA bus !) and Canberra Ge-
nie 2000 multichannel analyzing program (with dongle!)
Vacuum-pump : Diaphragm Pump (dry, oilfree) Neuberger # N 813.5 ANE
70 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 25: Vacuum chamber for α-spectroscopy

Information Regarding the Experimental Procedure

The particle counter is light sensitive, therefore the chamber must be covered with the cap when
the detector is biased.
The pressure in the chamber should be kept under 1 mbar during the measurement – why?

Radioactive sources

One source is a mixed α source, containing 241 Am and an unknown nuclide. The decay pattern
of the known nucleus is in the appendix to this experiment.
The other source is a very thin single isotope source with 241 Am.
 71

Additional Data

Energies of the most intense α lines:

237 241
Np Am

Eα (keV) Intensity Eα (keV) Intensity

4790 47.0 % 5486 85.2 %

4773 25.0 % 5443 12.8 %

4642 6.2 %

F. Discussion of Results
1. Discuss and sketch the energy resolution of the semiconductor detector as function of the
voltage. Determine the conditions for the best energy resolution (relative and absolute).

2. Measure the energy spectrum and identify the α lines. Include a diagram of the linear
calibration.

3. Compute the relative line intensities.

4. Identify the unknown nuclide

5. Compute the theoretical radioactive half-lives using the Gamow theory and compare with
the actual radioactive half-lives of the two nuclides. Discuss what effects are neglected in
the theory. The following applies for the decay constant λ:

λ = λ0 · e−2 G

s
E
λ0 = 2
2mRK
v
u 2m(Z1 Z2 e2 )2 √
u q
G = t
2
· (arccos x − x(1 − x))
(4πε0 h̄) E
RK E
x = 0
=
R VC
1 1
RK = r0 (A13 + A23 ) mit r0 = 1.19 fm
72 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Z1,2 : Charge number

A1,2 : Mass number
E: Decay energy
m: Reduced mass

G. Example Questions
• α-emission and the tunneling-effect; connection to nuclear astrophysics ?

• Compare Geiger-Nuttal rule and the age of stars

• Charged particle detection

• Principal difference between particle- and γ- or -(X)-detection

• Slowing down of particles

• Why evacuate the little measuring chamber, what vacuum is sufficient, how can it be
achieved, why oilfree pump ?

• Why cover the window of the measuring chamber ?

• Resolution of the silicon detector, understanding of how is resolution accomplished

 73

H. Appendix

Figure 26: Decay scheme of 241 Am from [8].

Similar schemes of neptunium-237 and plutonium-239

74 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

7 Beta Spectroscopy

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
β-decay is one of the prominent decay modes of nuclei caused by the so-called weak interaction.
In the β − and β + decay, energy and momentum are shared with the accompanying neutrino to
fulfill lepton number-, momentum-, energy- and angular momentum conservation. In β-decay
three partners in the outgoing channel are involved, the e±, the neutrino, and the final nucleus,
therefore β-spectra are continuous and they can be described in simple cases by Fermi-theory
of β-decay. Phase-space considerations together with the application of Pauli-principle (Fermi-
Dirac statistics) lead to the shape of the β-spectrum; the nuclear matrix element having no
influence. β-decay violates parity conservation.
The double focusing magnetic β-spectrometer is a classical instrument for the measurement
of continuous or discrete β-spectra with magnetic fields. It is a scanning spectrometer which
measures the momenta of the beta’s by varying the electric current through the coils of the
magnet. Double focusing is achieved by choosing a toroid-sector-field spectrometer. The ob-
tained β-spectra are displayed in a so-called Fermi-Kurie-plot from which after a correction
for the forbiddeness (form factor) the endpoint energy of the spectrum can be obtained. In this
experiment the double-forbidden β-decay of 99 Tc is investigated.
 75

B. Nuclear β-decay
We define the Q value to be the difference between the initial and final nuclear mass energies.
For the following case n → p + e− + ν̄ ,
the Q value would be: Q = (mn - mp - me− - m0 ) c2
Let us consider the three cases of β-decay in a nucleus:

β − –decay
In the case of ’regular’ β − -decay we obtain,
0
A
ZX → A
Z+1 X + e− + ν̄ ,
0
Qβ − = [mn (A A 2
Z X) − mn (Z+1 X ) − me ]c .

In the above case mN indicates nuclear masses. In order to use the tabulated atomic masses we
have to convert these using the following
Z
m (A X) c2 = mn (A X) c2 + Z me c2 −
X
Bi ,
i=1

Bi is the binding energy of the ith electron. Replacing in the formula above we obtain :

Qβ − = [m (A X) − m (A X 0 )] c2

The Q value represents the energy shared by the electron and the antineutrino

Qβ − = Te + Eν̄

β + –decay
Using similar arguments in the case of positron decay we obtain :
A A 0
ZX → Z−1 X + e+ + ν

Qβ + = [m (A X) − m (A X 0 ) − 2 me ] c2

EC–decay
The electron-capture process is represented by :
A
ZX + e− → A
Z−1 X
0
+ ν.
76 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

We obtain :
Qβ − = [m (A X) − m (A X 0 )] c2 − Bn

where Bn is the binding energy of the captured electron

All the above expressions assume β-decay between a specific state and the ground state. If the
final state is an excited state, this must be taken into account.

C. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Discovery of β-decay and of the continuous spectrum (his-
tory)
• Why is the β-spectrum continuous ?
• Pauli principle and Fermi theory of β-decay
• Is the knowledge of the nuclear matrix element necessary ?
• Some ideas about forbiddenness in β-decay, rules, log ft-
value
• Characterize weak force and weak interaction, weak cou-
pling constants
• Symmetries and parity
• Helicity, left-handedness and right-handedness, Parity vi-
olation, Wu experiment, Goldhaber experiment
• What is Internal Conversion, and how can one make use of
it ?

Measuring Technique : • Particles in electromagnetic fields, how is momen-

tum, energy and velocity selection achieved ?
• Principles of β-spectrometers
• Focusing techniques
• How does an electromagnet work ?
• Some vacuum techniques, how is a clean vacuum achieved ?
• Techniques of thin source preparation
 77

• Electron backscattering and energy loss : Bethe-Landau

equation
• Electronic set-up, noise, pre-amp, main amp, MCA

Mathematics : Method of least squares

References
[1] Schüpferling, H.M. : Bau eines Toroid-Sektorfeld- Thesis on the design and construction
Spektrometers of the present β-spectrometer
Diploma thesis, University of Stuttgart 1966
[2] Reich, M. : Untersuchung des 2-fach verbotenen β- Thesis on the β-decay of the source
Zerfalls von Technetium-99 used in the present experiment
Diploma thesis, University of Stuttgart 1973
[3] Reich, M. and H.M. Schüpferling : Formfaktor des β- Article on the form factor of 99 Tc, the
Spektrums von 99 Tc source used in the present experiment
Z. Phys. 271, 107 (1974)
[4] Schattat, Beate: Praktikumsversuch zur β- Original thesis on this teaching lab ex-
Spektroskopie periment with some more references
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[5] Siegbahn, K., Ed.: Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-Ray Spec- Detailed textbook on Nuclear
troscopy Spectroscopy
North Holland, Amsterdam 1965
[6] Landolt–Börnstein, Eds.: Numerical Tables for Beta- Detailed tables on Beta-decay
Decay and Electron Capture, Vo. I/4, pp. 30, 86
Springer-Verlag, Berlin ....
[7] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Textbook on Nuclear Methods and Ap-
ter Physics plications in Condensed Matter Physics
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[8] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[9] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[10] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988

Experimental Tasks

• Produce and check vacuum; about 3 x 10−5 mbar should be achieved in the chamber;
after check: switch off ionization vacuum gauge (interference with the spectroscopy)
78 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• The current through the spectrometer coils is in the range of 8-30mA and should be kept
constant (current mode). To be at a well-defined level of the hysteresis curve, one should
run through the hysteresis twice clock-wise and finally stay on the branch with positive
coercitive force.

• Detector bias is +60 Volts (turn the dial slowly to approach this value)

• Signals are noisy, therefore threshold for ADC at about 8-9%

• The line of the β’s should be clearly visible at the MCA in the whole range of coil currents

• Set the MCA to 512 channels

99
• Measure the momentum spectrum of Tc by taking spectra for every mA of the coil
current between 8 and 30 mA
99
• Tc has no conversion lines, so the spectrometer has to be calibrated by the endpoint
energy of the spectrum
99
• Calculate the Fermi-Kurie-Plot for the measured Tc spectrum, a double forbidden β-
decay

WARNINGS

• Shut down bias when measuring has been finished.

• Close the gate valve after finishing.

• Don’t forget filling of the dewar every 10 hours.

 79

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Beta-spec : Classical Toroid-Sectorfield-β-Spectrometer, momentum res-
olution about 4 %, transmission about 4 %; brass vacuum
chamber with aluminum liner, soft iron choke
vacuum : The vacuum system for the β-spectrometer is hydrocarbon-
free and safe (open radioactive β-source), the main pump
is a Zeolith absorption pump, cooled down to liquid nitro-
gen temperature when used. Two gauges provide pre- and
main vacuum indication and a diaphragm pump is used to
regenerate the absorber, which then will be heated up. The
β-spectrometer can be separated from the vacuum system
by a gate valve.
80 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

magnet : The two magnet coils of the β-spec have a resistance of

585 + 591 = 1176 Ohms. The current is provided by a
power supply working in current mode (BEHA # NG 315),
and the applied current is monitored by a Keithley digital
multimeter mod. # 195A. The required voltage is around
36 V at 30 mA.
detector : The detector is a Si(Li)-detector working at room temper-
ature with sufficient intrinsic zone to measure electrons up
to 2 MeV.
bias : Bias power supply Canberra # 3102/2, bias voltage + 60 Volts.
pre-amp : Pre-amplifier Tennelec # TC 170 (works best together with
the Si(Li)-detector)
main-amp : Main spectroscopic amplifier Ortec # 471
bias-amp : Optional biased amplifier Ortec # 408 to cut off the noise
signals
MCA : MCA-card with Gatti ADC 8k Aptec # 5008 working with
Canberra Genie 2000 software with dongle
PC : Industrial PC from DSM-computer with passive backplane
to accomodate ISA and PCI cards, with a slot-CPU.
 81

Figure 27: Two cross section schemes of the β-spectrometer showing details of the construction,
the arrangement of source and detector, the lead shield, the inclined pole shoes to produce the
double focusing field properties (orange type), the vacuum chamber and the iron choke with the
two coils.
82 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 28: Two views of the Toroid-Sectorfield-β-spectrometer (orange type) with vacuum
system.

Figure 29: Advanced Physics Teaching Lab with β-spectrometer in the fore-ground.
 83

Information about the source used

Figure 30: Decay scheme of 99 Tc from [8]. Note that this source is free of γ-transitions, there-
fore the radiation level outside the spectrometer is zero.

An alternative source would be 137 Cs, from which one obtains also conversion lines for the
calibration of the spectrometer and the determination of the momentum resolution. The disad-
vantage is the emission of the 662 keV γ line, which produces a certain radiation level.

E. Discussion of Results
• Provide example spectra of the β-lines

• Provide a plot of the momentum spectrum, a Fermi-Kurie-plot with calibration on the

endpoint energy with and without the form-factor correction

• Calculate the uncertainties

F. Example Questions
• Why is a β-spectrum a continuous spectrum ?

• Principles of β-decay theory; what are the basic ideas, what makes the shape of an allowed
β-spectrum ? Is it necessary to know the nuclear matrix element ?
84 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• Discovery of the neutrino

• Principles of β-spectrometers

• Trajectories of particles in electromagnetic fields

• Why not use a simple silicon-detector for the electrons ?

• What can β-spectrometers do for γ-spectroscopy ? (spec. of conversion electrons)

 85

8 Gamma Spectroscopy

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
Gamma spectroscopy is the most important tool to study properties of excited nuclei, to deter-
mine decay schemes and explore nuclei with respect to nuclear models. In our experiment a
high purity germanium detector with a typical resolution of about 0.15 % (or 2.2 keV for the
1.33 MeV Co-line) is used. The largest of our three detectors has a relative efficiency of 30 %
compared to a standard 3 x 3 " NaI detector. The term γ-spectroscopy comprises these technical
aspects, but even more it considers theoretical understanding and interpretation of the underly-
ing models. In the present experiment a rotational band in the nucleus 166 Er is measured and
from a precise determination of the gamma energies the momentum of inertia of the erbium
nucleus can be calculated and then compared with the model of a rigid or a liquid drop rotator.
Alternative studies can be made for complicated decay schemes of some heavy nuclei, the de-
termination of a level scheme applying the Ritz’ combination method.
Further by making use of a large passive shield one can measure weak radiation from samples
taken in the environment for material analysis using neutron activation techniques. In general
gamma spectroscopy is often used for the study of nuclear reactions, high spin states, gamma’s
resulting from capture reactions (charged particle or neutron capture). Gamma spectroscopy
has also very important applications in material analysis (NAA), geological exploration or in
computer tomography (CT-scan).

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Theory of multipole radiation and selection rules
86 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• The rotational nuclear model

• Other nuclear models
• Exploration of a nuclear level scheme; Ritz’ combination
method
• γ-shielding passive and active
• low level γ-detection methods to find weak radioactivity
• Use of LN2 as a cooling agent
• Typical γ-spectra of calibration and test sources
• Some important examples of nuclear level schemes

Measuring Technique : • γ-spectroscopic techniques

• scintillation detectors
• semiconductor detectors
• Bragg type detectors
• Resolution of detectors and efficiency
• The HPGe detector, physics and properties
• Noise reduction using appropriate pre-amps and spectroscopy
amps; electronic filters and filter theory, application of Fourier
or Laplace transform for circuit design
• Calibration and evaluation of γ-spectra

Mathematics : Method of least squares, line fitting, background determination

and subtraction

References
[1] Debertin, K., and R.G. Helmer : Gamma- and X-ray Standard textbook for Gamma Spec-
spectrometry with semiconductor detectors troscopy with semiconductor detectors
North Holland, Amsterdam, 1988
[2] Heath, G. L., and R.G. Helmer : Gamma Ray Spectrum Comprehensive collection of gamma
Catalogue, Fourth Edition, 1998 spectra of the isotopes together with de-
Idaho National Engeneering and Environmental Labora- cay schemes and tables
tory
[3] Reus, U., and W. Westmeier : Catalog of Gamma Rays Comprehensive catalog of gamma ray
from Radioactive Decay energies and related isotopes
Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables Vol. 29 p. 1-406
(1983)
 87

[4] Vegors Jr., ST.H., Marsden, L.L., and Heath, R. L. : Report on the efficiencies of NaI-γ-
Calculated Efficiencies Of Cylindrical Radiation Detec- detectors
tors
Report IDO-16370, Phillips Petrolium Company, Atomic
Energy Division, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 1958
[5] Siegbahn, K., Ed. : Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-Ray Spec- Detailed textbook on Nuclear
troscopy Spectroscopy
North Holland, Amsterdam 1965
[6] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[7] Eisenberg, J.M.,and W. Greiner : Nuclear Theory Vol. Comprehensive textbook on nuclear
1 Nuclear Models, Vol. 2 Excitation Mechanisms of the theory
Nucleus, Vol. 3 Microscopic Theory of the Nucleus
North Holland, Amsterdam, Oxford etc. 3rd Ed. 1987,
1988
[8] Hamilton, W.D. : The Electromagnetic Interaction in Standard textbook
Nuclear Spectroscopy
North Holland Publishing Comp., Amsterdam, New York
etc. 1975
[9] Cerny, J., Ed. : Nuclear Spectroscopy and Reactions, Standard compendium for Nuclear
Part A,B,C,D Spectroscopy
Academic Press, New York, 1974 and 1975
[10] Casten, R.F. : Nuclear Structure from a Simple Perspec- .......
tive
Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford etc. 1990
[11] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[12] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard textbook on detector
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989 technology

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of the γ-detector

• Make sure that the crystal is at least for one hour at LN2 -temperature

• Make sure that the pre-amp has power (± 12 V_; ± 24 V_)

• Check sign of HV very carefully ! Different detectors !

• Switch on HV, raise HV slowly from 0 to the nominal voltage by watching the output of
the main amp on the oscilloscope
88 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• After reaching the nominal voltage, check all settings of the main amp: time constant
3µs; amplification such that the 1.46 MeV 40 K line has 8 V amplitude

• Set the pole zero cancellation very carefully

44 133 22 137 54 60 40
• Get the following calibration sources: Ti; Ba; Na; Cs; Mn; Co; K (salt
containers)

• Chose appropriate distance for each source that all lines are clearly visible but the total
count-rate must not exceed 2kHz

• Calibrate the detector in the whole energy range 0 .... 1500 keV with the calibration
sources all at once in one spectrum

• Determine the standard detector resolution using a weak 60 Co-source, determine the line
shape and the peak/Compton ratio.

• Determine a background-free single line spectrum of 40 K using 4 or 5 salt containers in

the lead shield.
166m 166
• Measure the Ho-source (= states in Sm) and evaluate the lines of the rotational
band

• Evaluate the momentum of inertia

• Compare with the theoretical values for a rigid rotator and a liquid drop

• Alternative tasks: Evaluate sample spectra of thorium and uranium ore or their com-
pounds

• Determine background spectra as well and find out which lines are present.

• Alternative: Determine the decay scheme of 152 Gd from measuring the 152
Eu spectrum
and applying the Ritz’ combination principle.

• Alternative: Determine gamma spectra of neutron activated material in the "Big Shield"

• Alternative: Determine environmental samples by a low level gamma spectrum measure-

ment ("Big Shield").

• Alternative tasks: Compare the performance of the Ge-detector with that of a standard
3x3" NaI-detector. Determine the standard resolution of the NaI-detector using a weak
137
Cs-source. Compare multiple line spectra taken with the Ge- and the NaI-detector.
 89

• Determine the relative efficiency of one of our Ge-detectors with that of a standard 3x3"
NaI-detector using a 60 Co-source at 25 cm source-crystal distance.

WARNINGS

• Make sure that the Ge detector is at liquid nitrogen temperature

• Turn on and set the bias voltage slowly by watching the detector signals

• Never disconnect power from the pre-amp, the FET transistor might die !

• Never turn off bias voltage abruptly

• After finishing measurement turn down bias slowly

• Move the door of the "Big Shield" slowly and controlled, its weight is nearly 100 kg !

• Never apply pressure or tension to the cup of a Ge-detector.

90 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

Ge-detector : There are three Ge-detectors available:

A. Eurisys n-type detector with transistor reset preamp,
high voltage negative - 3000 Volts; relative efficiency about
30 %; resolution 2.2 keV, symmetric line shape.
B. Princeton Gammatech p-type detector with resistive
feedback pre-amp, high voltage positive + 2500 Volts; rel-
ative efficiency about 15(?) %; resolution 2.1 keV, sym-
metric line shape.
C. Eurisys n-type detector with transistor reset preamp,
 91

high voltage negative - 3000 Volts; relative efficiency 18 %;

resolution about 2.7 keV ; asymmetric line shape due to
imperfect crystal.

HV : High Voltage for the Detectors, Mechtronics #258 or better

CAEN # N471, double high voltage power supply.

Amp : Main Spectroscopy amplifier Canberra #2020, set to 3 µs

time constant, set properly pole-zero and baseline restora-
tion

MCA : Canberra Multiport II multichannel analyzer with 2 sepa-

rate ADC’s, special green dongle required for the GENIE
2000 software "multi-input" connected to the printer jack,
USB connection to PC

PC : Standard PC

There is a standard 3x3" NaI(Tl)-detector available for measurements and for comparison of its
performance with that of the Ge-detector. The detector is sitting in an aluminum stand and it is
shielded by a lead cylinder of about 20 mm thickness. The high voltage for this deiector is +800
Volts. The dynode signals of the NaI-detector are connected to a preamp and then to a simple
main amplifier (f.e. Canberra # 2022). The amplified bipolar signals (max. 8 V) are connected
to the ADC of a Canberra Multiport II using 256 or 512 channels.

Information about the "Big Shield"

Diameter : 49 cm
Length (without the door) : 56 cm ; with door : 61.5 cm
Inner diameter (without the supporting steel ring): 29 cm
Lead thickness of the mantle : 10 cm
Lead thickness of the door : 5.5 cm Thickness of copper liner : 1.5 mm
Thickness of the front lead cover : 7.5 cm
Weight of the lead (without stand etc.) : ca. 882 kg
92 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 31: Photo of the "Big Lead Shield" showing the door closed and open, and the closed
front side with one of the Ge-detectors looking inside the shield. All inner lead parts are covered
with a 1.5 mm copper liner to absorb lead X-rays. There are openings in the front side and in
the door for Ge-detectors, the detector diameter is matched with brass inserts. This shield
makes low radiation level measurements possible as for example environmental investigations
or neutron activation analysis (NAA).
 93

Figure 32: 3x3" NaI-detector with stand and lead shield on the right side, HPGe-detector (30 %
rel. efficiency) in the middle and the "Big Lead Shield" on the left side. The performance of
both detectors can be measured and compared.
94 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Information about the radioactive sources

Calibration Sources

Figure 33: List with a selection of common radioactive sources for gamma ray spectroscopy.
 95

Figure 34: Alternative list of radioactive sources for gamma ray spectroscopy together with the
list of lines from a 56 Co source.
96 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 35: List of the gamma lines of a radioactive 152 Eu source used as a calibration standard
for efficiencies
 97

Figure 36: List of gamma lines produced by nuclear reactions for standard calibration purposes.
98 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 37: Decay scheme of 60 Co (60 Ni) and 22 Na (22 Ne) used as standard calibration sources

Figure 38: Decay scheme of 56 Co from [11], a common used multiline source with gamma-lines
up to 3.5 MeV.
 99

Figure 39: Decay scheme of 137 Cs and 133 Ba, calibration sources useful for the medium energy
range.

Figure 40: Decay scheme of 40 K and 208 Bi, two long living natural radioactive sources used for
calibration purposes.
100 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

109 44
Figure 41: Decay scheme of Cd and Ti, two standard calibration sources for the lower
energy range.

Sources for the measurement task

Figure 42: Decay scheme of 166m Ho from [11], used to measure the ground state rotational band
of 166 Er and for the determination of the momentum of inertia of the 166 Er nucleus.
 101

152
Figure 43: Decay scheme of Eu from [11], used to exercise the determination of a decay
scheme.
102 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide a documentation of the calibration measurement (graphs) and the measurement
of the main spectrum of Ho-166m

• Evaluate the lines of the members of the rotational band

• Apply the model of a rigid rotator and a liquid drop rotator and compare with your results

• Alternative tasks ..........

E. Example Questions
• What is multipole radiation and which rules are valid concerning γ-transitions ?

• Why is it multipole-radiation in the case of γ’s and not simply dipole radiation as in the
case of visible light from atoms ?

• What is the difference between X-rays and γ-rays ? Production mechanism : atom/nucleus

• Which parameters of nuclei can be studied from γ-spectroscopy? (Eγ , τ , Jπ , conversion

coefficient α, mixing, γγ-angular correlation, polarization (Compton))

• What is internal conversion ?

• What is the "natural line width" and how can it be observed ?

• How can the polarization of γ-rays be determined ?

• Nuclear models and γ-spectroscopy

• What kinds of γ-detectors do you know ?

• Which effects are used for γ-detection ?

• Describe these effects, dependence on atomic number Z and on Eγ ?

• How is a Ge-detector working (like a semiconductor ionization chamber)

 103

• What makes the resolution of a detector, compare several with different resolution ?

• Describe the scintillation detector and some different types of crystals and their properties

• What is efficiency of a detector ?

• What is the principal difference between the detection and spectroscopy of gammas and
of charged particles ?

• What is the purpose of a main spectroscopic amplifier ?

• What is a line shape and how is it defined ?

• What device is usually used to extract information from a scintillating material ? Describe
briefly its operation.

• How is the peak intensity derived from a gamma-spectrum for usual peaks ?

• What are the practical methods of background consideration (subtraction) when evaluat-
ing a gamma-spectrum ?

• What is the best method for measuring precise gamma-energies ?

• What is the purpose of so-called detector-balls, what can be measured ?

104 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

9 Compton Effect

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description

The Compton effect is one of the most fundamental effects: scattering of high energetic photons
off a free or bound electron. It is important for the understanding of basic quantum mechan-
ical effects and it demonstrates that light cannot be explained purely as a wave phenomenon.
Thomson scattering, the classical theory of an electromagnetic wave scattered by charged par-
ticles, cannot explain any shift in wavelength. Light must behave as if it consists of particles
in order to explain the Compton scattering. The discovery of Compton effect established the
wave - particle dualism.
In this experiment the energy shift of the scattered gamma radiation and the scattering cross-
section are examined in relation to the scattering angle. In the present set-up the probes are
ring-shaped, allowing one to get a much higher scattered yield than with standard geometry.
Using angles from 20 to 165 degrees, the Compton relationship can be determined for the en-
ergy shift with an error of 3%. The Klein-Nishina formula provides an accurate prediction of
the angular distribution of X-rays and gamma-rays which are incident upon a single electron.
The Klein-Nishina formula, derived in 1929 by Oskar Klein and Yoshio Nishina, describes the
differential cross section or in other words the probability of incoherent or Compton scattering.
It was one of the first results obtained from the study of quantum electrodynamics. The validity
of the Klein-Nishina formula for the effective cross-section can be proven in this experiment
with an error of approximately 10%.
 105

Figure 44: Scheme of Compton Scattering = scattering of a photon off bound or free electrons.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Theory of the Compton effect = Scattering of γ’s off elec-
trons
• Energy and momentum conservation
• Klein-Nishina formula
• Interaction of γ’s with matter
• Absorption of γ’s in matter
• Corrections required for the chosen set-up : Multiple scat-
tering; absorption in the ring samples; variable solid an-
gles; virtual source is off-axis which modifies the efficiency,
efficiency for a collimated detector.

Measuring Technique : • Principles of Gamma detectors, especially NaI(Tl)

detectors
• Principles of γ-spectroscopy
• Photomultipliers and basic electronics
• Advantage of collimated detector geometry (compare with
anti-Compton shield)
106 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• Advantage of ring samples (compare with other methods

for the Compton effect measurement)

Mathematics : Method of least squares, spectrum stripping, peak evaluation

with background subtraction

Energy Shift
Applying energy and momentum conservation one obtains:

Eγ
Eγ0 =
1 + (Eγ /mc2 )(1 − cos θ)
 107

Some formulae

Figure 45: Compton-scattering cross section for various incident energies. This cross section
is described by the Klein-Nishina formula. The polar plot shows the intensity of the scattered
radiation as a function of the scattering angle θ. (From R.D. Evans, The Atomic Nucleus, Mc.
Graw Hill 1955)

Klein-Nishina Cross Section

#3 "
α2 (1 − cos θ)2
" # " #
dσc 1 1 + cos θ
= r02 × 1+
dΩ 1 + α (1 − cos θ) 2 (1 + cos2 θ) [1 + α (1 − cos θ)]

The photon energy is given in units of the electron rest energy α = Eγ /mc2 and r0 is the
classical electron radius r0 = e2 /4 π 0 mc2 = 2.818 fm
108 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

References
[1] Compton, A., H. : A Quantum Theory of the Scattering Original article on the ’Compton’ effect
of X-rays by Light Elements
Phys. Rev. 21, 483 (1923)
[2] Döbling, Elke : Der Compton-Effekt als Praktikumsver- Original thesis on this teaching lab
such experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1997
[3] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[4] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[5] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[6] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of detector and electronics using a weak 137 Cs source, put source above the end of
the shadow bar. Never change the detector position and holder !

• Calibrate the detector with 662 keV line and the Ba Kα -line from the Cs-137 source

• Determine standard detector resolution

• Set MCA to 512 channels

• Align source, sample, shadow bar and detector very precisely to the optical axis

• First think about an optimal setting for the scattering angles, work out a scheme

• Measurement of 2 angular distributions using the strong 137 Cs source for Cu or Al:
1. Energy of scattered γ’s in dependence of scattering angle
2. Angular distribution of the scattering cross section (Klein-Nishina)

• Always use differential measurement with equal time for ring-sample-in and Űout spec-
tra; use subtraction (stripping) function for the spectra

• Determine uncertainties
 109

• Compare Compton effect for Cu and Al at one convenient angle

WARNINGS

• Keep distance from the strong 137 Cs source, stay behind yellow chains !
110 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
source : Pointlike 137 Cs source for the scattering
ring : There are 3 ring samples with (neutral) diameters 10, 14
and 20cm for copper and and for aluminum, they are pre-
aligned in holders "A", "B" and "C"; exact alignment be-
ing very important, also the gap on top for sliding the other
holders. Material diameter of the ring samples is 8mm.
shadow : Shadow bar made of brass to hold off direct radiation from
the source to the detector, make sure that the shadow bar
doesn’t limit the path of the scattered photons, use a slab
det : NaI(Tl) detector 3x3" in a lead collimator with opening
50mm
 111

Div : Voltage divider Canberra 2007 for positive voltages, here

apply + 830 Volts
HV : High Voltage power supply for the detectors, Tennelec # 952A
Preamp : Preamp to match the output impedance to 50 Ohms
amp : Amplifier Tennelec # 241, used in bipolar mode
MCA : USB-port Multichannel Analyzer Canberra Multiport II
using the Genie 2000 software with dongle

Figure 46: Set-up of the the Compton experiment with ring geometry for cross section de-
termination. Note the considerable distances for all structural elements which contribute to
background
112 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 47: Other view of the Compton experiment setup with central parts: source, ring-sample,
shadow-bar, detector

Information regarding the Experimental Procedure

1. Scattering spectra should be taken for the following parameters: (t = Measuring time,
s = Distance from source to detector, s1 = Distance from source to the ring, r = Ring ra-
dius):

2. For the angle θ = 60◦ collect an additional scattering spectrum using the copper ring
with cm r = 7 instead of the aluminum ring.
 113

θ 20◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 75◦ 90◦ 105◦ 120◦ 135◦

r [cm] 5 5 7 7 10 10 10 10 10

s [cm] 60 60 44 30 30 30 30 40 40

s1 [cm] 21,9 10,1 11,6 7,6 8,3 3,8 0,7 -3,0 -6,5

t [s] 600 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 600

Additional Formulae

Calculation of the scattering angle θ with respect to s, s1 and r:

rs
tan θ =
s1 (s − s1 ) − r2
Calculation of the quanta emitted per second of the source Q:
4πZ
Q= ,
Ω(E)
where
πrDet 2
Ω= ,
a2
(E) = 1, 102e−2,4408E/1000 ,
with:

a: Distance between the source and detector

E: Energy of the quanta emitted by the source in keV
: Efficiency of the detector
Ω: Solid angle that the detector covers
rDet : Radius of the detector
Z: Number of the quanta registered per second in the photo
peak
Calculation of the differential cross section W :
Zθ 4π (s21 + r2 )
W = ,
Q Ω2 (Eθ ) Ne
where
V ρ ZNL
Ne = ,
A
114 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

π rDet 2
Ω2 = ,
r2 + (s − s1 )2
with:

A: Atomic mass
Eθ : Energy of the scattered quanta in keV
NL : Avogadro’s constant
Ω2 : Solid angle that the detector covers
ρ: Density of the ring material
V: Volume of the rings
Z: Nuclear charge
Zθ : Number of the scattered quanta registered per second

Additional Data
Radius of the Aluminum Rings:
r1 =5 cm
r2 =7 cm
r3 =10 cm

Radius of the cross section of the aluminum rings:

r = 0, 4 cm

Radius of the copper rings:

r =7 cm
Cross section of the aluminium rings:
q = 2 · 2 cm2
Energy of the γ-quanta emitted from 137 Cs:
E = 662 keV

Energy of the Pb Line:

E =75 keV

Energy of the 57 Co-Line:

E =122 keV
 115

The computed cross-sections are to be multiplied by the correction factors (due to self absorp-
tion of the scattered quanta) c

θ 20◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 75◦ 90◦ 105◦ 120◦ 135◦

c 1.57 1.582 1.613 1.658 1.705 1.745 1.795 1.87 1.934

Information about radioactive sources

Figure 48: Decay scheme of 137 Cs from [5].

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide diagrams of both angular distributions: energy shift and Klein-Nishina cross
section

• Calculate the corrections and the uncertainties

• Show at least three examples of Compton scattering spectra (at 20◦ , 75◦ and 135◦ , total
and background subtracted
116 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

E. Example Questions
• What principal interactions are known for gamma’s with solid matter, energetic depen-
dencies and range of importance ?

• What is the Compton effect and how can it be studied ?

• What dependences can be observed in a Compton experiment ?

• Discuss different geometries of a setup, advantages and disadvantages.

• Would we need a Ge-detector for this experiment ?

• Discuss necessary corrections for this measurement. (Finite geometry, correction of vary-
ing solid angle, correction of absorption in the sample).

• Explain the detector used in the Compton experiment.

• What is the advantage using that kind of collimator ?

• Explain the energy dependence of the Compton effect

• What Z-dependence can be observed ?

 117

10 Rutherford Scatter-
ing

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description

Rutherford scattering is based on the elastic deflection of charged particles in the Coulomb
field of an atomic nucleus. It can be observed and measured by radiating α-particles on a thin
metallic foil and measuring the angular distribution of the scattered α’s behind that foil. The
intensity of the α-particle beam varies with the deflection angle and the proton number of the
used material (see formula). Rutherford’s measurement was the basis of Bohr’s atomic model
and determined the size of the nucleus for the first time.
In this experiment both the angular and the Z-dependence can be measured in a broad dynamic
range (up to six orders of magnitude !). However some corrections due to the thickness of the
foil which causes multiple scattering and angular straggling are necessary. For this purpose
a special scattering chamber has been designed with fixed detector, rotational α source from
-44◦ .... 0◦ ...... +144◦ and a sliding frame with three foils and one empty frame to measure also
the Z-dependence without breaking the vacuum. Collimators have been provided in front of the
strong 241 Am source and of the silicon particle detector. Clean vacuum is obtained by the use
of an cryo-absorption pump. Nowadays Rutherford scattering is applied for material analysis
and as a cross section calibration in nuclear experiments.
118 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 49: Principle of Rutherford scattering = scattering by the Coulomb force.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Bohr’s theory of the atom
• Rutherford’s experiment
• Theory of the scattering, two body problem
• Definition of the cross section
• Derivation of the Rutherford scattering cross section σRuth
• Z-dependence and angular dependence
• Energy loss and straggling : corrections for the measure-
ments
• Deviations from sRuth at higher energies : nuclear inter-
action

Measuring Technique : • Radioactive α-emitters, preparation of α-sources

• Applications: 1. standard cross section for comparison and
calibration;
2. RBS-method
• Finite geometry corrections
• Physics of particle detectors, especially Si-detectors
 119

• Electronics for spectroscopy

• Principles of vacuum techniques

Mathematics : Method of least squares

References
[1] Burger, Matthias : Rutherford Streuung als Prak- Original thesis on this teaching lab
tikumsversuch experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1997
[2] Rutherford, E. : The Scattering of α and β Particles by Original article on Rutherford Scatter-
Matter and the Structure of the Atom ing and the Structure of the Atom
Phil. Mag. 21, 669 (1911)
[3] Geiger, H. and E. Marsden : On a Diffuse Reflection of Original article on new findings with
the α-Particles scattering of α particles off a gold foil
Proc. Roy. Soc. 82, 495 (1909)
[4] Geiger, H. and E. Marsden : The Laws of Deflection of Original article
α-Particles through Large Angles
Phil. Mag. 25, 604 (1913)
[5] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[6] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[7] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[8] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[9] Ziegler, J.F. : Helium Stopping Powers and Ranges in Standard work on α Stopping Powers,
All Elements see also the TRIM code
Pergamon Press, New York 1977
[10] Haferung, A : Geschichte der Blattgoldschlägerei sowie Article on the preparation of extreme
Moderne Blattgoldherstellung thin gold foils
Naturstein-Fachblatt für die Natursteinindustrie, Ebner
Verlag Ulm 3, 32 (1997)
120 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Experimental Tasks

• Produce vacuum in the range 10−5 mbar (our instrument shows only 10−3 mbar)

• Switch on NIM-power

• Watch detector signal on oscilloscope and turn on slowly bias voltage of Si-detector (+
25 Volts), angular position of 241 Am-source at 5◦ , gold foil

• Get a signal from the α-line at about 7 Volts and get the line at the MCA (set to 256 or
512 channels)

• Measure the line resolution with and without foil (angle 0◦ )

• Measure the angular distribution using the gold foil; the larger angles need longer mea-
suring time, evaluate the line always at the MCA, consider background and uncertainties

• Determine the Z-dependence using the three foils Havar, Silver, Gold and an angle of 10◦

• Consider energy loss, straggling and double scattering at small angles and correct for
those effects

WARNINGS

• Close chamber window with black cover because Si-detector is light sensitive

• Don’t forget to fill the dewar. For overnight runs: fill at least at 10-hourly intervals

• After finishing the measurement : hide source behind bar in order to protect the detector,
a-source stays in the chamber

• Shut down detector bias

• Close the gate valve

• Never vent the chamber, get help if there is a problem.

• From time to time regeneration of the Zeolith is necessary, heating up with pumping
using the forepump, main gate valve closed. Forepump (diaphragm) often starts only
after venting. Your TA can help with this.
 121

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Detector : Silicon surface barrier detector, about 30 mm dia, light sen-
sitive
Bias : Bias voltage for the Si-detectors, Canberra # 3102/2, bias
voltage + 25 Volts.
pre-amp : Preamplifier Ortec # 109A
Amp : Main spectroscopy amplifier Tennelec # 202BLR
TSCA : Timing single channel analyzer Canberra # 2037A to de-
rive a standard signal for the ratemeter
Ratemeter : Log/Lin Ratemeter Ortec # 9349 for quick evaluation and
demonstration
122 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

MCA : Multichannel Analyzer Aptec 5008A (ISA board in an in-

dustrial computer with passive backplane) working with
Canberra Genie 2000 software (dongle!)
PC : Industrial PC (DSM) with passive backplane and a so-
called slot-CPU on a card board
forepump : Two stage diaphraggm pump, dry and oilfree, Neuberger
N 813.5 ANE; endpressure about 25 mbar
Abs.pump : Absorption pump with zeolith 5 Angstroem and stainless-
steel-dewar, end pressure about 10−5 mbar.

Information about Havar

Havar, a heat treatable cobalt base alloy, provides very high strength at high temperatures, has
excellent corrosion resistance and is non-magnetic. Applications have included pressure di-
aphragms, power springs, gap spacers in magnetic heads, and target foils in nuclear physics.

Analysis of the Havar-alloy in percent:

Co Fe Cr Ni W Mo Mn C
42 bal. 19.5 12.7 2.7 2.2 1.6 0.2

Typical Physical Properties:

Density: 8.3 g/cm3

Melting Point: 1480 ◦ C
Electrical Resistivity (20 ◦ C): 92 microhm · cm
Thermal Expansion Coefficient (0 ◦ C to 50 ◦ C): 12.5 x 10−6 / ◦ C
Thermal Conductivity: 13.0 W/m · K
Magnetic Attraction: None
Ultimate Tensile Strength: 1860 MPa
Modulus of Elasticity (Tension): 200 GPa
 123

Figure 50: Cross section of the scattering chamber, especially designed for Rutherford scatter-
ing using a radioactive α-source. The detector is fixed and the source is moveable in the whole
angular range. The incoming and the outgoing beam is collimated by rectangular collimators.
At the center three foils (gold, silver, Havar) are located in a frame which can be moved without
breaking vacuum, bringing each foil into the beam position, an additional empty frame serves
for a measurement without foil.
124 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 51: Rutherford scattering chamber and vacuum system.

 125

Information about the radioactive sources

Figure 52: Decay scheme of 241 Am from [6].

Figure 53: Decay scheme of 244 Cm from [6].

126 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide a graph with experimental results of the angular distribution of scattered α parti-
cles off a gold foil together with a theoretical fit of the curve, present it on a linear and on
a double logarithmic scale

2. Provide some measurements of small angle scattering with derivation of corrections

3. Measure the Z dependence of α scattering for one or two fixed angles using the three foils
gold, silver and Havar

E. Example Questions
• Is Rutherford scattering a nuclear physics experiment ?

• What can be studied by Rutherford scattering ? What was the exciting result of that
experiment, when it was discovered the first time ?

• Can we learn something about the strong force ?

• Which forces do you know ?

• Which force makes the Rutherford-scattering ?

• Why is the Rutherford scattering still important for research in nuclear physics ?
 127

11 Lifetime of Excited
Nuclear States

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
The lifetime of an excited nuclear state (level) is along with its energy, spin and parity an
important and characteristic property required for nuclear model description. This experiment
which makes use of the so-called delayed coincidence method is well suited for the milli- to
nano-second time range. Two γ-transitions to and from an excited nuclear level provide the
start and stop signal to measure the individual decay time of that level. Taking the decay time
of many nuclei gives the whole decay curve in a major dynamic range to determine the lifetime
with precision. For example with a dynamic range of about 1000:1 one obtains 8 half-lives. In
this experiment the decays of 57 Co and 44 Ti are used to determine the lifetime of a level in 57 Fe
and 44 Sc.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Heisenberg uncertainty principle
• Principles of nuclear level schemes
• Principles of γ-spectroscopy, physics, laws and rules
• Lifetime of a nuclear state, partial lifetimes
• Weißkopf model of γ-decay
• Short time measurement methods, overview
• Special: Method of delayed coincidences
• Method of Time-to-Amplitude Converter
128 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Measuring Technique : • Fast-Slow-method

• Function of NaI(Tl)-detectors
• Modular nuclear electronics: Pre-amplifier, Main Ampli-
fier, Timing single channel analyzer, TAC (=Time-to-Amplitude-
Converter), MCA (= Multichannel-Analyzer)
• Types of signals
• Time Calibrator, time resolution
• Energy calibration, energy resolution

Mathematics : Method of least squares

References
[1] Manger, Sabine : Lebensdauern angeregter Original thesis on this teaching lab
Kernzustände experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[2] Cerny, J., Ed. : Nuclear Spectroscopy and Reactions, Standard compendium for Nuclear
Part A,B,C,D Spectroscopy
Academic Press, New York, 1974 and 1975
[3] Blatt, J.M. and V.F. Weisskopf : Theoretical Nuclear Standard textbook for Theoretical Nu-
Physics clear Physics
Dover publications (paperback) 1991
[4] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[5] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[6] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of detectors and HV (high voltage): negative HV = - 1800 Volts for both detectors
from one power supply

• Check signals after pre-amp and amps choosing one of the two available sources for
lifetime measurement 57 Co and 44 Ti; relevant γ-lines should have an amplitude of 1 –
2 Volts, not more, the anode output of the high voltage divider is not used and has to be
closed with a 50 Ohms resistor, else the whole detector doesn’t work ! Don’t change the
input capacitance of the the preamp.
 129

• Set the single channel correctly on the relevant γ-line

• Start time measurement in appropriate range (4 or 8 µs), adjust count rate by choosing
proper detector-source distance, when o.k. start

• longer run (overnight)

• Calibrate TAC with time calibrator (about 10 lines should fill the MCA-range)

• Evaluate lifetime from both measurements with error

• Get energy spectrum of the source and some appropriate other calibration lines

• Determine the overall time resolution of the chosen set-up using a radioactive source with
a prompt cascade, no lifetimetime in that time-range

WARNINGS

• Caution with high voltage, get the right HV-sign for the detectors

• Order switching on: First NIM-crate and power for pre-amps, second HV with appropri-
ate sign and value

• Order switching off: First HV off, then NIM-power off

130 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

Detector : NaI(Tl) detectors 1 21 " x 12 ", photomultiplier: Electron Tubes

(former EMI company) # 9814KB, assembly home-made,
active voltage divider Electron Tubes # TB1106-01,
HV : High Voltage power supply for the detectors, Canberra #
3002D
pre-amps : Ortec # 113 and unknown #, input capacitor setting!
Amp : Main Amplifier Ortec # 460, Double Delay Line Amp for
medium fast timing
TSCA : Timing Single Channel Analyzer for energy selection and
time signal derivation Ortec # 455
 131

TAC : Time-to-Amplitude-Converter Ortec # 467

MCA : Multichannel Analyzer Canberra Multiport II (USB)

computer : standard PC

Information about the radioactive sources used

Figure 54: Decay scheme of 57 Co from [5].

132 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 55: Decay scheme of 44 Ti from [5].

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide diagrams of the energy spectrum, the setting of the windows and on the lifetime
measurement (long run),

2. Diagram of the time calibration

3. Evaluation of the lifetime after consideration of chance coincidences, use the whole decay
curve for a least square fit

4. Evaluation of the numerical values of the lifetime and the halflife, calculation of the
uncertainty and comparison with literature values

E. Example Questions
• Why is the lifetime of a nuclear level interesting ?

• Connection between width and lifetime of the level ?

• What does the Heisenberg relation mean ?

• How can we study lifetimes ?

• Which method is used in our experiment and why ?

 133

• Explain lifetime and halflife, how can these values be read from a decay curve ?

• What makes the lifetime ? Give some ideas of the Weisskopf-theory

• What is the influence of E on the lifetime ?

• What range of lifetimes do we know ?

• How is the method of Delayed Coincidences working ?

• What happens when we cannot distinguish the start- and the stop-Gamma ?

• How can we shift the time-zero-point to a positive value and why is it necessary ?
134 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

12 Gamma–Gamma–
Angular Correla-
tion

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
The measurement of γ-angular distributions in coincidence is the standard method of determin-
ing the spin of excited nuclear levels. In this experiment the measurement of three-dimensional
spectra enables a quick and very accurate determination of the angular distribution character-
ized by the coefficients of the Legendre polynoms from which the spin of the intermediate level
can be deduced. The parity of the states can only be obtained by a separate experiment using a
Compton polarimeter.
In the present setup two standard NaI(Tl) detectors (3 x 3" or 4 x 4") are measuring in coin-
cidence, one is fixed in position, the other can be moved to different angular positions with
about 0.1◦ precision. A FAST-COMTEC multiparameter system provides the collecting of 3-
dimensional spectra with an instantaneous contour plot display. Using this, one gets rid of most
of the systematic uncertainties because the possible drifts (magnetic fields, time, temperature)
are overcome; one can clearly evaluate the threedimensional peaks correctly.
Two different sources with very different angular distributions are available for this experiment :
60
Co and 106 Ru. The measurement should be corrected for finite geometry effects and then com-
pared with the theoretical distribution yielding the two coefficients A2 and A4 for the Legendre
description of the angular distribution.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Theory of γ-decay
• Rules for γ-emission, multipole radiation
 135

• Theory of γ-angular distributions, well presented under-

standing and explanation
• Finite geometry correction
• Interaction of γ’s with matter; 3 effects
• Decay schemes of 60 Co and 106 Ru

Measuring Technique : • Scintillation detectors and photomultipliers

• Quasi-Anti-Compton arrangement
• Coincidence measurements, simple or multidimensional
• Multichannel analyzer for singles or threedimensional spec-
tra
• ADC’s
• Fast-slow method (fast circuit for timing, slow circuit for
energy selection)

Mathematics : Method of least squares, curve fitting, peak fitting

References
[1] Willms, M. : γγ-Winkelkorrelation in 106 Pd als Prak- Original thesis on this teaching lab
tikumsversuch experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1997
[2] Klema, E.D. : γγ-Angular Correlation in 106 Pd Original article on a measurement of
Phys. Rev, 92, 1469 (1953) the 106 Pd angular distribution
[3] Siegbahn, K., Ed.: Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-Ray Spec- Detailed textbook on Nuclear
troscopy Spectroscopy
North Holland, Amsterdam 1965
[4] Cerny, J., Ed. : Nuclear Spectroscopy and Reactions, Standard compendium for Nuclear
Part A,B,C,D Spectroscopy
Academic Press, New York, 1974 and 1975
[5] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Textbook on Nuclear Methods and Ap-
ter Physics plications in Condensed Matter Physics
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[6] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[7] Firestone, R. B. : Table of Isotopes Vol. II Current reference on nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996
136 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Experimental Tasks

1. Set-up of the detectors depending on the source used : for a strong source like the 60 Co
source use the max. source-detector distance (......cm, equal for both detectors). For a
weak source like the 106 Ru source use a short distance of about ...... cm. The distance has
to be considered in the finite solid angle correction.

2. High voltage for both detectors is positive + 800 Volts.

3. Check the path of the signals for both detectors with the oscilloscope Tektronix #.......
The signal amplitude for the 1.33 MeV 60 Co-line should be + 6.5 Volts after the DDL
main amplifier in bipolar mode (important for the timing).

4. The TSCA Ortec # 455 are working in the "integral" mode, where only the lower level
threshold is active and which should be set to about 1 V. Adjust the walk to achieve a
minimum time spread for the zero crossing trigger.

5. Several timing conditions have to be set correctly : The fast neg. TSCA 455 output sig-
nals are connected to a TAC which generates the coincidence signal. The peak of the
coincidences should produce a TAC output of about +4 – 5 V. This can be achieved by
appropriate setting of the delay of the stop-signal at the TSCA 455 which yields the stop
pulse – the delay at the other TSCA being set to minimum.

6. A further single channel analyzer is set exactly on the coincidence-peak, e.g. the pulses of
the TAC by chosing appropriate LL and UL settings. This SCA produces the coincidence
and gate signal for the ADC’s, which has to be formed by an additional "Gate and Delay
Generator" Ortec # 416 to get a gate-signal height of +5 V and length of .... µs to open
the gate of the ADC’s.

7. The gate signal is delayed by several microseconds with respect to the real events for
technical reasons and what cannot be avoided. To compensate this delay the linear signals
have to be delayed by the same amount using the delay amplifiers Ortec # 427A (not
to be mixed up with the DDL main amp’s !). Watching both channels (traces) of the
oscilloscope showing the linear and the gate signal, the linear signal has to be exactly
within the gate signal.

8. The external coincidence is required to reduce random coincidences considerably.

9. Both ADC’s Canberra # 8701 are connected to a FAST COMTEC Dual Parameter Box #
MCA MPA-3, which itself is connected to an USB-port of a PC.
 137

10. Open the Dual Parameter program .......... on the PC. To obtain the right settings open an
old measurement, rename it without erasing the old one and use the settings for the new
measurement. The program provides four spectra simutaneously : the "single" spectra
of both detectors, the coincidence matrix in 512-channel resolution and another one in
256-channel resolution.

11. Chose an appropriate color coding for the third, the intensity parameter for the map-like
or contour-display. The default coding is unfavorable because the small numbers like
zero, 1, 2 etc. are dark, making most of the map dark.

12. Measure the angular distribution in one quadrant because of its symmetry, including the
angles 90◦ and 180◦ in increments of 10◦ , or at least 15◦ . Normalize runs to same mea-
suring time. Best results are obtained by measuring the whole distribution on the same
day.

13. Evaluate both coincidence peaks (1.33–1.17 and 1.17–1.33 for E1 and E2 ) using the circu-
lar region of interest. This circular region should have the same radius for all runs and the
evaluation of them. The circular region cannot be draged, one has to set the coordinates
in a menu to adjust the ROI to the peak position. This step is important and is accountable
for most of the errors.

14. Determine the 1.33–1.33 (for the 60 Co-case) intensity as well and use it as a measure
for the random coincidences. The 1.17–1.17 coincidences are not as well representative
because of Compton events.

15. Plot imediately the angular distribution to notice inconsistencies and to repeat a run if
necessary.

WARNINGS

16. The 60 Co source is strong, stay behind the yellow chains !

138 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

Detectors : NaI(Tl) detectors 3x3" or 4x4" with brass collimators

Preamp : Pre-amps Tennelec # TC 145
HV : One High Voltage power supply for both detectors, Can-
berra # 3002D
MainAmp : Delay line amplifier Ortec # 460 to obtain fast bipolar sig-
nals for timing and a linear signal for the spectra.
TSCA,TAC : External coincidence circuit consisting of TSCA Ortec #
420A as timing discriminator used in the "integral" mode,
TAC Tennelec # TC 861A to generate a coincidence peak,
 139

SCA Canberra # 2031 to select only events in the coinci-

dence peak, and the Gate & Delay Generator Ortec # 416A
to form the Gate-signal.
DelayAmp : Delay amplifiers to compensate the delay of the coinci-
dence circuit
ADC : Two Canberra # 8701 ADC’s to digitize the linear signals
MCAMPA3 : Dual parameter box FAST COMTEC # MCA MPA-3 to
generate digital words for the coincident events and for
storage in the MCA.
PC : Standard IBM PC with USB inputs, running the FAST
COMTEC dual parameter software ......

IA l1 IB l2 IC a2 a4 example

0 1 1 1 0 1 0

1 1 1 1 0 - 13 0

1 2 1 1 0 - 13 0
1
2 1 1 1 0 3
0
3
3 2 1 1 0 - 29 0
106
0 2 2 2 0 -3 4 46 Pd

1 1 2 2 0 - 13 0
3
2 1 2 2 0 7
0

2 2 2 2 0 - 15
13
16
13

3
3 1 2 2 0 - 29 0
1 1 60
4 2 2 2 0 8 24 28 Ni

Table 1: Coefficients a2 and a4 of several γγ-angular distributions of γ-cascades; IA = spin of

initial state, IB = spin of intermediate state; IC = spin of final state; l1 = multipole order of first
γ-transition, l2 = multipole order of second γ-transition.
140 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Figure 56: Photo of the set-up for the measurement of gamma-angular distributions with two
NaI-detectors. One detector is fixed in its position, the other is moveable by increments of
exactly 1◦ . The angular scale was produced by drilling holes in an aluminum plate on top of the
experimental table.
 141

Information about radioactive sources

Figure 57: Decay scheme of 106 Ru from [6].

Figure 58: Decay scheme of 60 Co from [6].

142 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Corrections for finite solid angle

See thesis Ralf Kunz or Siegbahn

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide a plot of the single, the dual parameter spectra for several angular positions.
Provide a plot a plot of the angular distribution uncorrected and corrected.

2. Describe all steps made in the measurement and the evaluation.

3. Determine the coefficients a2 and a4 (A2 and A4 ) of the angular distribution and derive
from their values the spin of the intermediate state.

4. Determine and calculate all uncertainties of the data and the evaluation (realistic please).

5. Compare your results with those of the literature.

E. Example Questions
• What is the purpose of a γγ-angular correlation measurement ?

• How can the correlation be observed ? What is required to measure it ?

• What is the advantage of measuring 3-dimensional spectra ?

• Can we observe a γ-angular distribution without a coincidence ?

• What is finite geometry and how can we correct for it ?

• What is the advantage of using the big brass collimators ?

• What is its influence on the peak/Compton ratio ?

• Compare this effect with the effect of a Compton-suppression detector (Anti-Compton

shield)

• From where is the so-called backscatter-peak coming ?

• What is the efficiency of a γ-detector ?

• What makes the shape of the angular correlation ?

 143

• Why is the intensity not zero at any point (Folding of two angular distributions, finite
geometry)

• Why is the angular distribution symmetric around 90◦ ?

• Can we determine the parity of a state by this kind of experiment ?

144 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

13 Multidimensional
Coincidences – Deter-
mination of a Nuclear
Level Scheme

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
Multidimensional spectra of γ-transitions are useful to observe the logical relations between
many γ transitions of a nuclear level scheme within one run. The coincidence peaks make
the determination of level schemes much easier. In the present case three-dimensional spectra
obtained with the use of two HPGe detectors are measured to exercise the determination of the
nuclear level scheme of 152 Eu. The resolution of the Ge-detectors allows one to observe even
very weak lines. The registration of the events is performed using the FAST three-dimensional
MCA (shared with the γγ angular correlation experiment) with an online display of the three-
dimensional spectra. The FAST MCA software is also used for the analysis of the spectra.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Nuclear level schemes
• Principles and rules of γ decay
• Some basic nuclear models
• Exploration of a nuclear level scheme; Ritz’ combination
method
• γ-shielding passive and active
• Low level γ-detection methods to find weak radioactivity
• Use of LN2 as a cooling agent
 145

• Typical γ-spectra of calibration and test sources

Measuring Technique : • The HPGe detector, physics and properties

• Noise reduction using appropriate pre-amps and spectroscopy
amps
• Detector resolution and efficiency
• Calibration and evaluation of γ-spectra
• γ-spectroscopic techniques
• Semiconductor detectors
• Scintillation detectors
• Fast-Slow Coincidence method (one circuit for energy and
another for timing)
• Techniques for multidimensional spectra, matrix storage
or list mode data

Mathematics : Method of least squares, Ritz’ combination principle, peak fit-

ting procedures

References
[1] Bischoff, Martina : Gamma-Kaskaden und multidimen- Original thesis on this teaching lab
sionale Koinzidenzen experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1996
[2] Debertin, K. and R.G. Helmer: Gamma- and X-ray Standard textbook for Gamma Spec-
spectrometry with semiconductor detectors troscopy with semiconductor detectors
North Holland, Amsterdam, 1988
[3] Cerny, J., Ed. : Nuclear Spectroscopy and Reactions, Standard compendium for Nuclear
Part A,B,C,D Spectroscopy
Academic Press, New York, 1974 and 1975
[4] Heath, G. L. and R.G. Helmer: Gamma Ray Spectrum Comprehensive collection of gamma
Catalogue, Fourth Edition, 1998 spectra of the isotopes together with de-
Idaho National Engeneering and Environmental Labora- cay schemes and tables
tory
[5] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[6] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[7] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
146 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Experimental Tasks

• Make sure that both Ge detectors are at liquid nitrogen temperature and that there is
enough LN2 for the next hours; the pre-amp power has to be turned on and connected all
the time

• Set-up of two Ge detectors, appropriate bias high voltage, turn it on very slowly watching
the signals on the oscilloscope

• Settings on the main amp

• Set up of the fast circuit with Timing Filter Amplifiers and constant fraction discrimina-
tors

• Set-up of correct timing for the gate signal

• Measure 3-dimensional spectra of coincidential events in a matrix with 4096 x 4096 res-
olution, together with the single spectra of both detectors.

WARNINGS

• After finishing the spectra, turn down the bias high voltage slowly
 147

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

Detectors : There are three Ge-detectors available:

A. Eurisys n-type detector with transistor reset preamp,
high voltage negative - 3000 Volts; relative efficiency about
30 %; resolution 2.2 keV, symmetric line shape
B. Princeton Gammatech p-type detector with resistive
feedback pre-amp, high voltage positive + 2500 Volts; rel-
ative efficiency about 10(?) %; resolution 2.1 keV, sym-
metric line shape
C. Eurisys n-type detector with transistor reset preamp,
148 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

high voltage negative - 3000 Volts; relative efficiency 18 %;

resolution 2.7 keV(?); asymmetric line shape due to imper-
fect crystal
The use of the "Big Shield" is recommended

HV : Dual High Voltage unit for Ge-detectors, CAEN # N471

Amp : Main spectroscopic amplifiers Canberra # 2020, shaping

time constant 2 or 3 µs, for the linear (energy) signals

TFA : Timing Filter Amps to get a fast well shaped pulse from
which a timing signal for the coincidence is derived

CFD : Constant fraction discriminators to derive the timing sig-

nals, use the positive output pulses, their length is deter-
mining the resolution of the overlap-coincidence.

Coinc : Coincidence unit working after the logical overlap princi-

ple

GateGen : Pulse former to obtain a gating pulse of the right length

and shape to open the gates of the ADC’s

ADC : NIM standard ADC Canberra # 8701

FAST : FAST Comtec Dual Parameter System MCA MP3 (shared

with the γγ angular correlation experiment); special exter-
nal box with PC interface card and special PC
 149

Figure 59: Example of a threedimensional spectrum obtained with the 152 Eu source
150 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Information about radioactive sources

For information on calibration sources see experiment "Gamma Spectroscopy"

Figure 60: Decay scheme of 152 Eu from [5]; only the EC/β + branch is shown

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide plots of calibration spectra, the three-dimensional coincidence spectrum in iso-
metric and contour display form; choose a proper color code for the third dimension;
show both single spectra; verify the resolution of both detectors

2. Evaluate a table with all coincidence peaks (energies, intensities)

3. Evaluate the decay scheme using the coincidence peak table, show the evaluation path

E. Example Questions
 151

14 Neutron Spectros-
copy

Location: room Jordan 305 and 305a

A. Short Description
In this experiment the so-called proton-recoil spectrometer technique can be studied. Fast neu-
trons from an AmBe source are scattered elastically off the hydrogen nuclei of an organic scin-
tillator. The proton spectra can be measured and calibrated by the use of standard γ calibration
sources, because the scintillation detector (stilbene or liquid NE 213, now BC 501A) is sensi-
tive to both, gamma’s and neutrons. The light output is given in so-called light units. From
the Compton edge of a single line Compton spectrum one derives the detector resolution. The
light output of BC 501A has different rise times or pulse shapes for electrons and for protons
because of the different excitation density along the path length. The electronic pulse shape
discrimination technique allows the separation of neutron and gamma events. The proton recoil
spectra are continuous and need to be unfolded by use of appropriate codes for the response
matrix and the unfolding procedure itself.

B. About the AmBe-neutron source and its shielding

The AmBe-neutron source is sitting inside a shielding cylinder providing about 60 cm of paraf-
fine shield in either direction. Under the surface of the cylinder there is a thick layer of boron-
carbide which absorbs the thermalized neutrons but produces only little gamma radiation in
comparison for example with cadmium. The channel on top of the source is closed by a
polyethylene plug which can be exchanged with a polyethylene collimator to let a beam of
fast neutrons enter the neutron detector.

The measured radiation levels are the following:

152 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Neutron dose rate in µSv/h :

at the middle of the cylinder mantle: 0.07
at the center of cylinder top when closed with the plug: 0.016
at the center of cylinder top using the collimator: 14.0
at the center of cylinder top using the collimator and the additional cap: 0.09

Gamma dose rate in µSv/h :

at the middle of the cylinder mantle, directly at the surface: < 0.35
So it is safe to work near the neutron source the whole day, which is not necessary because the
electronics of the neuton experiment are outside this room 305A.

C. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Spectroscopy methods for fast neutrons in comparison
• Proton recoil spectroscopy, elastic n-p-scattering, kinemat-
ics
• Physics of organic scintillators with pulse shape discrimi-
nation properties
• Some important neutron producing reactions, especially
(α,n) reactions; the 9 Be(α,n)12 C reaction
• Physics of an AmBe neutron source
• Light output functions

Measuring Technique : • Design and function of proton recoil spectrometers

using NE 213 (now BC 501A)
• Shielding of neutron sources
• Compton spectra obtained with an organic scintillator
• Electronic pulse shape discrimination technique
• Unfolding techniques for continuous spectra: Matrix in-
version, stability problems, maximum likelihood
• Calculation of the so-called response matrix

Mathematics : Method of least squares, unfolding techniques, matrix inversion

 153

References
[1] Eisele, Wolfgang : Praktikumsversuch zur Neutro- Original thesis on this teaching lab
nenspektroskopie mit Hilfe eines Protonenrückstoß- experiment
Spektrometers
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[2] Hammer, J.W., G. Bulski, W. Grum, W. Kratschmer, Comprehensive article on measure-
H. Postner and G. Schleussner : SCORPION, the ment techniques for fast neutrons with
Stuttgart Scattering Facility for Fast Polarized Neutrons references
Nucl. Instr. Meth. A 244, 455 (1986)
[3] Cierjacks, S. and H. Barshall : Neutron Sources for Compilation on different, mostly accel-
Basic Physics and Applications erator based neutron sources
Pergamon Press, Oxford 1983
[4] Dietze, G. and H. Klein : Gamma-Calibration of NE 213 Method to use radioactive γ-source to
scintillation counters calibrate organic scintillators with a
Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 193, 549 (1981) Compton edge
[5] Etzel, R. : Entfaltungsmethoden bei Neutronenspektren Unfolding of proton recoil spectra
Diploma thesis, University of Stuttgart 1991
[6] Marion, J.B. and J.L. Fowler : Fast Neutron Physics Standard work on fast neutron physics
Interscience Publishers, New York, 1960
[7] Geiger, K.W. and L. van der Zwan : Radioactive Neu- Examples of neutron spectra
tron Source Spectra from 9 Be(α, n)12 C cross section data
Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 131, 315 (1975)
[8] Vijaya, A.D. and A. Kumar : The neutron spectrum of Examples of neutron spectra
Am-Be neutron sources
Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 111, 435 (1973)
[9] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[10] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[11] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of one of the fast neutron detectors; for the small stilbene detector HV = - 1900 V

• Watch signals on a fast oscilloscope

• First test with the detector facing a 22 Na source, two Compton edges visible

• Put the detector (HV off) on top of the neutron collimator

154 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

• Study the function of the pulse shape discrimination circuit with the oscilloscope

• Get help for the variation of parameters at the special DDL amplifier

• Measure the TAC spectrum showing neutrons and gammas well separated using the Mul-
tiport II MCA (512 channels); the gamma peak from the TAC should have exactly an
amplitude of 8 Volts

• Set the discrimination to gammas (SCA: LL = 700; UL = 900); measure the Compton
spectra of 22 Na, 60 Co, 137 Cs; the detector is removed from the neutron collimator); mea-
sure the gammas coming from the neutron source: np-fusion gammas at 2.2 MeV and the
4.4 MeV gammas from 12 C*.

• Set the discrimination to neutrons (SCA LL = 030; UL = 650) and measure the neutron
spectrum (= proton recoil) from the AmBe neutron source

• At present the unfolding codes for unfolding the p-recoil spectra (FANTI and NRESP)
are not available

• Alternatively use a detector with a liquid scintillator (NE 213); same procedures as above

WARNINGS

•
 155

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
Detector : 3 organic scintillation detectors are available:
A. A small stilbene crystal, 1" dia x 1" length, best n-γ
separation properties
B. NE 213 fluid cell 4" dia x 1" length
C. NE 213 fluid cell 3" dia x 1" length

HV : High voltage power supply for the detectors, Canberra #

3002D
CFD : Canberra # 1328 constant fraction discriminator, to derive
a timing signal from the anode pulse at about 10 % fraction
of the anode pulses
156 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

Pre-amp : Pre-amplifier (home-made) for obtaining fast signals at low

impedance from the dynode pulses
DDL : Special fast DDL shaping amplifier (home-made) to obtain
bipolar pulses at a fraction of about 80 - 85 %
TSA : Modified timing single channel analyzer (Ortec #455) unit
to derive a time signal with minimum walk from zero cross-
ing of the DDL amp pulse
TAC : TAC (Ortec # 437A) to measure the rise time of each indi-
vidual pulse between 10 % and 85 % fraction
Amp : Amp Tennelec # TC 202 BLR; slow signal circuit to treat
the linear (energy) signal of the proton recoil detector
SCA : Ortec single channel analyzer # 550 to select neutron or γ
events from the TAC output
DelAmp : Delay amplifier Tennelec # TC 215 to accomodate the tim-
ing for the ADC
LinGate : Linear Gate Tennelec # TC 1451 to select either the neu-
tron or the gamma events
MCA : Canberra Multiport II MCA, connected via USB to a PC,
software GENIE 2000 with dongle
 157

Information about the radioactive neutron source

Figure 61: Decay scheme of 241 Am from [11].

For the decay schemes of the γ calibration sources see under experiment 08 "Gamma Spec-
troscopy".

E. Discussion of Results
• Provide

F. Example Questions
•

•
158 II . C. NUCLEAR PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS
II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

15 Cosmic Ray Ex-

periment

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
The flux of cosmic rays consists at the surface of the earth mainly of positive and negative
muons µ± , the strong component and fast electrons, the weak component and in addition some
γ-rays. The muons are created through the decay of pions which themselves are created mainly
by the interaction of very fast protons with the nuclei of the earth atmosphere, causing huge "air
showers" of secondary particles. So all strong interacting particles are transformed in the outer
atmosphere and only weak interacting particles reach the earth’s surface, in the case of muons
due to the relativistic time dilatation effect. The muon, a lepton, is the heavy "brother" of the
electron with a mass mµ = 206.7 me (105.7 MeV/c2 ). It interacts only by the weak interaction
(and the coulomb force) and has therefore a relative long lifetime of 2.197 µs. In the cosmic
ray flux it has an average energy of about 2 GeV. About 104 muons reach 1 squaremeter of the
earth’s surface every minute.
The flux of secondary cosmic rays, mainly the muons, shows a strong zenith angle dependence
( cos2 θ; θ = zenith angle; θ=0 zenith) and which differs slightly when measured in the North-
160 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

South or in the East-West direction. The muon flux intensity is measured in this experiment by
using a counter telescope, made of three thin plastic scintillator plates coupled each to a 2" pho-
tomultiplier. A cosmic particle is releasing a triple coincidence when its direction corresponds
to the direction of the telescope. The effect is mainly caused by the atmosphere of the earth
where an inclined infall causes the secondary particles to cross a thicker layer of air. Another
effect is caused by the magnetic field of the earth.
The polar angle dependence is measured in north-south and in east-west direction.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Basics of cosmic rays, chain of interactions, showers, phe-
nomens
• Basic principles of elementary particles
• Muon physics, lifetime, decay, energy spectrum
• The standard model of elementary particles
• Basic interactions: Strong, weak and electromagnetic in-
teraction
• Conservation laws in particle physics
• The interaction with the earth’s atmosphere

Measuring Technique : • Detection techniques of cosmic rays and elementary

particles
• Plastic scintillators and detector telescopes
• Fast coincidence techniques; basic electronic circuits, con-
stant fraction discriminators, coincidendence circuits, time-
to-amplitude converters, electronic counters etc.
• Energy loss of cosmic rays

Mathematics : Method of least squares for arbitrary functions

References
[1] Grieder, P. K. F. : Cosmic Rays at Earth: Researcher’s Reference Manual
Reference Manual and Data Book
Elsevier, 2001. ISBN 0444507108
 161

[2] Hillas, A. M. : Cosmic Rays A good overview of the history and sci-
Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1972, ISBN 0080167241 ence of cosmic ray research including
reprints of seminal papers by Hess, An-
derson, Auger and others
[3] Perkins, D. : Particle Astrophysics Very interesting and well written book
Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0198509510
[4] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[5] Gaisser, T. K. : Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics Standard textbook
Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0521326672
[6] Heath, G. L. and R.G. Helmer: Gamma Ray Spectrum Comprehensive collection of gamma
Catalogue, Fourth Edition, 1998 spectra of the isotopes together with de-
Idaho National Engeneering and Environmental Labora- cay schemes and tables
tory

Experimental Tasks

• In this experiment the properties of cosmic rays should be studied with aim on the fol-
lowing

1. The fraction of cosmic rays which are electrons/muons

2. The ratio of gamma rays to charged particles in cosmic rays
3. The zenith angle distribution of muons
4. The zenith angle distribution of electrons
5. As a possible extension: measure the muon energy distribution by using up to four
layers of lead bricks in region "B"

• Set-up of the detectors: high voltage negative HV = - 1300 Volts for all three detectors,
which determines their gain

• Set the threshold of the three constant fraction discriminators very carefully, to obtain a
good signal/background ratio; there are only the two parameters: high voltage versus the
CFD-threshold, try 10 – 50 mV threshold

• Make yourself familiar with the operation of the counter telescope, all the signals and
settings, there is a region for the HV and threshold setting where the count-rate shows
some kind of plateau e.g. the coincidence count rate is independent of gain and threshold;
if the gain is too low, counts are lost, if it is too high, accidental counts rise rapidly.
162 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

• Set the timing of the three signals entering the triple coincidence unit very carefully to
obtain optimal overlapping by the use of both tracks of the oscilloscope. The matching
of the timing is achieved by inserting appropriate delay cables RG 58. One can measure a
coincidence resolution curve by this way, or borrow a TAC-unit and get the coincidence
timing curve from the TAC spectrum. Counts outside the coincidence peak are accidental
or chance coincidences and should be subtracted to obtain the true rate.

• One can fill the gap between detector 2 and 3 with three rows of lead bricks to slow down
the muons or absorb the electrons, also a thin layer of lead can be put on top of detector
1 to discriminate the different constituents of cosmic rays. There are about seven choices
for the absorbing layer:

1. no absobers
2. 2" or 50mm of lead between detector 2 and 3 (region B)
3. 4" or 100mm of lead in region B
4. 6" or 150mm of lead in region B
5. 8" or 200mm of lead in region B
6. 1/16" or 1.5mm of lead on top of detector 1 (region A)
7. 1/16" or 1.5mm of lead in region B

One should verify the following:

– The efficiency for γ-rays is nearly zero for the detector telescope, it can be risen
by applying the lead sheet in region A where the cosmic gamma rays interact by
creating electron/positron pairs, which can be detected.
– The charged particles with sufficient energy are detected with intrinsic efficiency =
1
– Cosmic ray electrons lose energy by bremsstrahlung characterized by an expone-
nential energy loss with characteristic length Lrad which is 42.4 cm for a plastic
scintillator and 0.52 cm for lead.
– Cosmic muons lose energy by ionization (bremsstrahlung is suppressed relative to
electrons by(me /mµ )2 ). This process is characterized by approximately constant
ionization energy loss per unit length, dE/dx, which is 2.09 MeV/gcm−2 for plastic
scintillator and 1.13 MeV/g cm−2 for lead.
 163

• Verify the response to those different settings with absorbers: cosmic ray electrons should
be stopped almost completely by 2" of lead, while successive layers of 2" of lead will
stop increasing fractions of cosmic ray muons according to their energy distribution and
respective ranges in lead. The coincidence count rates in 6) and 7) will both be decreased
from 1) due to stopping some fraction of electrons and muons. However, the rate in 6)
will also be increased by conversion of some fraction of γ’s to e± pairs in the thin layer
of lead. A rough estimate of the conversion efficiency assumes that every pair production
event leads to an extra coincidence count, i.e. that none of the e± pairs so produced are
stopped in the thin layer of lead. As a result, the difference in coincidence count rates
in 6) and 7) can be used to estimate the gamma ray flux with energies above the pair
production threshold energy.

• Measure triple coincidences for a preset time (about 5 min) and polar angles between
90◦ and 0◦ for the East–West and the North–South direction, setting the angle every 5◦
by the use of the threaded rod and the steering wheel and the attached angle meter – use
some lubricating oil. Do this measurement in configuration 2) and 1) with respect to the
absorbers.

• Consider the acceptance angle of the detector telescope which folds with the azimuthal
distribution

WARNINGS

• The wooden box has some taped connections to achieve light-tightness, from time to time
this has to be controlled by using a flashlight. If room light can enter the box it can happen
that the detector is blocked by that leaky current.

• Don’t touch the photomultiplier connectors, they are fragile

164 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

detectors : Detector telescope made of three plastic scintillator sheets

BC 400, each 20 x 120 x 1.27 cm’s, attached photomul-
tipliers: Hamamatsu # R 878, photomultiplier voltage di-
viders (bases) Hamamatsu # E 1198-03, magnetic shields
Hamamatsu # E 989-05
CFD : Constant fraction discriminators Canberra # 1326D, exter-
nal delay about 50 cm of RG 58, threshold about 050
HV : High Voltage for the Detectors, Tennelec # TC 952, set to
HV = - 1300 Volts, never exceed 1500 Volts
Coinc : Universal Coincidence Unit Ortec # 418
 165

Scaler : Mech-Tronics Dual Scaler # 716

lead : The gap between detector 2 and 3 (region B) can be filled

with layers of lead bricks (2", 4", 6", 8", 1.5mm - sheet) to
get information on the other constituents of cosmic rays.
In addition one can put a layer of lead on top of the first
detector (region A) when there is no tilt choosen, layer
thickness about 1.5 mm

Figure 62: Cross section of the tiltable counter telescope for cosmic rays
166 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

Figure 63: Photo of the tiltable counter telescope

 167

Information on used calibration sources

Figure 64: Gamma spectrum (two pages) of a natural thorium ore sample from [6].
168 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide in the analysis the count rates due to each type of cosmic ray: Ne , Nµ , Nγ

• Calculate Eµmean , the approximate mean muon energy, assuming that the energy depen-
dence you observe at low energies can be extrapolated linearly.

• Determine the cosmic muonic flux in dependence from the polar angle in the East-West
and North-South direction and present it in appropriate diagrams with a model fit assum-
ing a (cosθ)n - behaviour, n = 1,2 or 3. Try to fold out the rather large angular acceptance
of the detector telescope.

• Repeat this procedure without the 2" lead absorber in region B. Subtract the results from
the rates obtained in the procedure before to find the angular dependence for the elec-
tron component of the cosmic flux. Again fit the distribution and try to correct for the
acceptance angle.

E. Example Questions
 169

16 Muon Lifetime
Experiment –
Determination of
the Fundamental
Weak Coupling
Constant

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
Muons are produced in the outer atmosphere mainly by reactions of cosmic protons with air,
yielding pions and kaons which decay into muons µ− , antimuons µ+ and related neutrinos.
Because of their high speed and the involved time dilatation muons reach the earth’s surface
despite of their short lifetime of about 2.2 µs and can be detected in a scintillation detector.
The energy loss and the decay of the muon can be measured in the same detector as two well
separated events and the time interval between both is the individual decay time. Collecting
the decay of many muons leads to the decay curve and the nominal decay time τ . The decay
of negative muons is enhanced in matter because a further decay channel opens up depending
strongly on the Z of the material. In an organic scintillator as used in this experiment this effect
is small. From the decay time τ and the muon mass the Fermi coupling constant GF of the weak
interaction can be derived . Furthermore for valid decays the energy spectrum can be measured
and compared with theory.

Some formulae

The Muon is unstable and decays into an electron, a neutrino and an antineutrino:

µ+ −→ e+ + νe + ν̄µ

µ− −→ e− + ν̄e + νµ

The lifetime of the muon is of order 2.2 µs and its mass is mµ = 105.65 MeV/c2 . The neutrinos
170 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

from the muon-decay are not detected, only the electron or positron; the maximum energy is
observed when the two neutrinos recoil against the electron, the corresponding energy being:
1
Ee (max) = mµ c2 = 53 M eV
2
The energy spectrum of the decay-electrons is shown in the next slide; it is difficult to sep-
arate from all other events in the big detector used. The spectrum is continuous because the
decay involves 3 resp. 4 ’bodies’. Because of the high energy deposit one has to work with
low amplification and therefore the high voltage is set to only -1300 Volts. Important are also
the threshold settings of the two constant fraction discriminators, scale 250 for the start signal
and 050 for the stop. Because the start and the stop signal are derived from the same detector
and signal line one has to make sure that no stop pulse will be on the stop line when the start
arrives; for this purpose the start signal is delayed by about 60 ns using a delay cable. The TAC
is set to the 10 µms range and it has to be calibrated by using the Ortec time calibrator. Random
coincidences are determined from a fit to the background line and have to be subtracted from
all channels.

The Fermi Weak Interaction Constant GF

The decay of the muon proceeds through the weak interaction, only leptons being involved in
this process. Therefore one can calculate the weak interaction constant GF , one of the funda-
mental constants, from the measured muon lifetime:

1 1 G2F (mµ c2 )5
=
τ h̄ (h̄ c)6 192 π 3
The measured lifetime has to be corrected for a small effect: When negative muons are stopped
in matter they can be captured by protons of a nucleus opening thus a further decay channel,
which shortens the lifetime of negative muons to some extent:

µ+Z −→ (Z − 1)∗ + νµ

The effective mean life τe for negative muons becomes:

1 1 1
= +
τe τµ τe
where 1/τµ and 1/τC are the rates for decay and capture, respectively. For a plastic scintillator
(carbon in the hydrocarbon, average Z ≈ 5) this effect of shorter lifetime is about 4%.
 171

The measurement of the energy spectrum of the muon decay products is more difficult because
one has to consider only events that have shown a decay, e.g. one selects after a true coincidence
the second event with its amplitude. The selection is made by a single channel analyzer (SCA)
after the TAC, choosing the range of about 1 – 6 µs. The other difficulty is, that the linear pulses
have to be quite short to avoid pileup with the first event, the stopping of the muon in the scin-
tillator. Therefore the linear pulses are prepared in a very unconventional manner: The linear
signal is prepared in a timing filter amplifier to be very short. But the decision whether it is a
valid pulse comes after the sequence of the TAC, e.g. after a few microseconds and therefore
the linear pulse has to be delayed before the gate which is opened by a logic pulse after a true
decay event. The other problem is the high energy range of the signals of about 50 MeV and
their calibration. The highest energies of radioactive sources are in the range of 2 – 3 MeV and
they are therefore nearly invisible in this setup. But γ transitions in the range of 8 – 10 MeV can
be produced by using our Am-Be neutron source and a neutron capture reaction, for example
the 7.3 MeV n-capture line of iron.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Basic elementary particle physics
• The Standard Model of elementary particles
• Lepton families
• Lepton number conservation
• Weak interaction
• Neutrinos
• Weak interaction, theory, the Fermi weak coupling conb-
stant
• Muon decay
• Cosmic rays, showers, energy spectra of Cosmic rays
• Relativistic time dilatation
• Decay characteristics of the muon

Measuring Technique : • Scintillation detectors

• Properties of fast plastic detectors
• Fast photomultipliers
172 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

• Fast time measurement techniques, fast signals

• Basic nuclear electronics; fast NIM electronics
• Multichannel analyzer
• Neutron capture and γ-transition production
• Problems to isolate the right muon decay events and to
measure the energy spectrum of decay electrons (or positrons)

Mathematics : Method of least squares for a logarithmic decay curve

References
[1] Kane, G.L. : Modern Elementary Particle Physics Textbook on Modern Particle Physics
Westview Press (1993)
[2] Perkins, D.H. : Introduction to High Energy Physics Textbook on Modern Particle Physics
Cambridge University Press 2000
[3] Melissinos, A. C. and J. Napolitano : Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[4] Siegbahn, K., Ed. : Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-Ray Spec- Detailed textbook on Nuclear
troscopy Spectroscopy
North Holland, Amsterdam 1965
[5] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger : Nuclear Condensed Textbook on Nuclear Methods and Ap-
Matter Physics plications in Condensed Matter Physics
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[6] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[7] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
[8] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988

Experimental Tasks

1. Prepare setup for lifetime measurement (block scheme Nr.1)

2. HV = -1300 Volts, TAC-range 10µs or 20µs, MCA 1024 or 2048 channels,

3. Thresholds of the two CFD’s: scale 250 (start) and 050 (stop)

4. Use oscilloscope to watch and understand all signals

 173

5. Measure lifetime by an overnight or overweekend run

6. Calibration of the TAC and the time-axis with Ortec time calibrator

7. Prepare set-up for measurement of the energy spectrum according to block scheme Nr. 2

8. The linear pulses have to be very short, else one obtains summing up of the incoming
muon energy and the decay product energy

9. The exact timing of all pulses is very important (use oscilloscope)

10. Calibration of the energy spectrum using n-capture γ-rays, get help with handling of the
neutron source

WARNINGS

11.
174 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram Nr. 1 (lifetime measurement)

Legend for the simple set-up of the muon-lifetime measurement:

Detector : Fast plastic detector, Saint Gobain BC 400, 250 mm diam-
eter, 562.5 mm total height with tapered section, cylindri-
cal section 500 mm height, reflector Teflon-sheet as inner
layer, aluminum foil as outer layer, fast photomultiplier
Photonis XP 4572 B
Div : Voltage divider Photonis VD 105k/01
HV : High voltage power supply for the detector, Canberra Mod. #
3002D, set to neg. -1300 V
CFD : Two constant fraction discriminators, Ortec Mod. # 473 A
???; threshold start-signal 250 scale-units, stop-signal 050
scale-units
 175

Delay : Cable delay 60 ns to avoid self-coincidences from the same

event, the start is delayed
TAC : Time-to-amplitude converter Ortec Mod. .... , set to range
10 or 20 µs to cover the decay curve and random coinci-
dences
ADC/MCA : ADC set to 1024 channels, Aptec MCA-card with 8192
channel ADC, Mod. # 5008, software Canberra Genie 2000
with dongle
PC : ’Industrial’ PC with passive backplane and ISA and PCI
slots to accomodate measuring cards as the Aptec 5008,
’slot-CPU"

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram Nr. 2 (energy spectrum measurement)

Legend for the advanced set-up, measurement of the energy spectrum of muon decay :
176 II . D. ELEMENTARY PARTICLES EXPERIMENTS

:
:
:
:
:
HV : High Voltage for the Detectors, Canberra 3002D

Information about the used radioactive sources

Figure 65: Decay scheme of 22 Na from [6].

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide

E. Example Questions
II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

17 X-Ray Diffraction
and Crystal Struc-
ture (XRD)

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is one of the most important non-destructive tools to analyze all kinds
of matter - ranging from fluids, to powders and crystals. From research to production and en-
gineering, XRD is an indispensible method for structural materials characterization and quality
control, typically making use of what is known as the Debye-Scherrer or powder diffraction
method. Just as an optical grating diffracts laser light, an atomic grating can be used to diffract
significantly shorter wavelength light: X-rays. As the structure of most solids is based on pe-
riodic arrangements of atoms, with regular spacings on the order of Angstroms, X-rays can be
diffracted through such an atomic or crystalline lattice. If one knows the X-ray wavelength,
one can interpret the lattice structure of the solid from the observed diffraction peaks, which
is essential to calculating the electronic, thermal, and structural properties of the solid. One
can use ’white’ X-rays instead of monochromatic X-rays in what is known as the Laue method–
however, this is mostly useful only for crystal orientation and not determination of crystal struc-
ture.
178 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

As any local physical property of a crystal, such as the charge concentration, electron number
density, or magnetic moment density is invariant under a fixed length translation, it is conve-
nient to describe lattices in terms of Fourier analysis. This analysis generates a set of vectors
related to, but ’reciprocal’ to, the coordinate vectors that uniquely describe the arrangement of
atoms in a solid–these are the reciprocal lattice vectors. It is these vectors that determine the
possible X-ray reflections. Any sets of parallel planes of atoms in a crystal will diffract X-rays
when illuminated at the right angle; it is mathematically much simpler to work in reciprocal
space than in coordinate space. One could imagine mounting a crystal and rotating an X-ray
beam around it, such that every orientation of lattice planes will be observed. In practice, it is
much simpler to rotate the crystal and keep the X-ray source fixed. However, both methods have
a drawback–the diffracted X-rays will come off in all directions! X-ray sensitive film, mounted
in a loop around the experiment, was used to measure these. The Debye-Scherrer method, or
powder diffraction method, removes this technical obstacle. In this the crystal is ground into
powder containing micron-scale crystallites, tiny on a physical scale but still huge on an atomic
scale. With such a powder, every orientation of lattice planes is achieved simultaneously; a 3
dimensional problem is reduced to a 1 dimensional problem. One describes the three dimen-
sional space with reciprocal axes x*, y* and z* or alternatively in spherical coordinates q, ϕ∗,
χ∗. The Debye-Scherrer method averages over ϕ∗ and χ∗ and only q remains as an important
measurable quantity. To eliminate effects of texturing and to achieve true randomness one ro-
tates the sample orientation. In the socalled diffractogram the diffracted intensity is shown as
function either of the scattering angle 2θ or as a function of the scattering vector q which makes
it independent of the used X-ray wavelength. The diffractogram is like a unique “fingerprint”
of materials.
This method gives laboratories the ability to quickly analyze unknown materials and character-
ize them in such fields as metallurgy, mineralogy, forensic science, archeology and the biologi-
cal and pharmazeutical sciences. Identification is performed by comparison of the diffractogram
to known standards or to international databases.
In addition, neutron diffraction is also a popular tool for investigation of the physical properties
of materials – a coherent beam of thermal neutrons is used instead of X-rays. In addition to
structural information via Bragg scattering off of lattice points, there is additional scattering
due to the magnetic moment of the neutron interacting with the magnetic moments of atoms or
magnetic field lines inside the material.
 179

Related Nobel Prizes in Physics :

• Max von Laue, 1914 "For his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals."

• W.H. Bragg and W.L. Bragg, 1915 "For their services in the analysis of crystal structure
by means of X-rays."

• C.J. Davisson and G.P. Thomson, 1937 "For their experimental discovery of the diffrac-
tion of electrons by crystals."

• B. Brockhouse and C.G. Shull, 1994 "For the development of the neutron diffraction
technique"

Figure 66: Scheme of X-ray diffraction using the Debye-Scherrer method

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Bragg condition for diffraction, n · λ = 2 d · sin(θ)
• Max von Laue and Bragg method
• Debye-Scherrer technique
• Crystal lattices
180 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

• Reciprocal space
• Identification of lattice parameters; Miller indices
• Identification of compounds
• Powder Diffraction File (PDF)
• Cambridge Structural Database (CSD)
• Electron density determination

Measuring Technique : • Generation of monochromatic X-rays

• Principles of a Bragg spectrometer
• X-ray tube and X-ray production
• X-ray optics, slits, Soller slits, X-ray reflexion
• Wavelength discrimination
• X-ray detectors
• Sample preparation
• Compare with Neutron Diffraction
• Application of the XRD method to different other fields

Mathematics : • Fourier Analysis

• Computer programming to calculate locations of diffrac-
tion peaks, can even be done in Mathematica
 181

References
[1] von Laue, M. : Fields of X-ray waves in crystals ......
Sitzungsberichte der Deutschen Akademie der Wis-
senschaften zu Berlin, Klasse für Mathematik, Physik
und Technik, n 1 (1959), 3-26
[2] Scherrer, P. : Crystal Structure of Aluminum ......
Physikalische Zeitschrift, v 19, 15. Jan 1918, 23-27
[3] Debye, P. : Scattering of X-rays ......
Annalen der Physik, v 46, n 6, 30 Mar 1915, 809-823
[4] Kittel, Ch. : Introduction to Solid State Physics (Chap- Fundamental textbook on Solid State
ters 1-2) Physics
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 2005
[5] Wyckoff, R.W.G. : Crystal Structures ......
Wiley & Sons, New York 1963
[6] Ashcroft, N., and N. D. Mermin: Solid State Physics ......
(Chapters 4-7)
Thomson Learning, Inc., USA 1976
[7] Hook, J.R. and H.E. Hall : Solid State Physics (Chap- ......
ters 1-2, 12)
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 2003
[8] Serway, R. et.al. : Modern Physics (Chapter 11) ......
Saunders College Publishing, New York 1989
[9] ......: ....... ......
.......
[10] ......: ....... ......
.......

Experimental Tasks

• Grind KCl, Na salts to reduce clumpiness caused by hydration

• Clean sample stages with ethanol (NOT acetone!)

• Neatly pour powder into sample apparatus, load materials into XRD machine

• Adjust system for measurement parameters, 10 - 120◦ is sufficient

• Select alternate set of chemicals from lab inventory and repeat

• This experiment will likely require 2 - 3 lab periods of data acquisition.

182 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Warnings:

• The Rigaku Miniflex II system is designed as a functioning end-user workstation. Main-

tenance of the instrument should not be required. This means do NOT touch the insides
of the machine aside from mounting samples !

• Never touch the Be foil window on the X-ray generator inside the machine !

• Do not attempt to use the Rigaku Miniflex II if the water circulator is not operating

• The Miniflex II is designed with safety in mind. The X-ray beam will be shuttered if the
machine is opened or any panels are removed on the machine.

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Procedure

A respirator mask and gloves are available for use while grinding materials. The only health
hazard is due to inhaling very small particles, but is very unlikely due to the minimum particle
size generated in grinding.
In the Miniflex II system, to save on physical space, the X-ray generator is kept stationary.
The sample stage is rotated, as is the X-ray detector. This is equivalent to rotating the X-ray
generator and the X-ray detector while keeping the sample stationary, but makes the engineering
significantly simpler as one need not worry about moving the water cooling lines and the high
voltage lines.
Remember, the angle measured is actually 2 · θ, the angle between arms of the gonimeter, NOT
θ, the angle from vertical (see scheme of X-ray diffraction) !

Information about sample preparation

.........................

D. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Detector: ?
X-ray wavelength: 1.5459 Angstrom, Cu K-alpha line
 183

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Figure 67: Block scheme of the XRD-experiment with cooling unit, RIGAKU Miniflex II
diffractometer, consisting of X-ray source, double angle Bragg difractometer drive (goniome-
ter), detector and electronic control, PC for data taking and evaluation.
184 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Figure 68: Photo of the RIGAKU Miniflex II with some schematic figures
 185

Figure 69: Photo of the interior of the RIGAKU Miniflex II, especially the goniometer, Soller
slits, sample holder and changer, and the detector
186 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Figure 70: Block scheme of the software for the RIGAKU Miniflex II, including control of the
goniometer, data taking, peak evaluation, and analysis procedures.
 187

E. Discussion of Results
• Identify the lattice structures for the Na salts and KCl from the literature. Using this infor-
mation, calculate via computer program the location of all diffraction peaks, and compare
with the observed diffraction data. The calculation can be done in Mathematica or Maple,
or in whatever computer language you are comfortable in. Doing the calculation by hand
is extremely tedious as the calculation will be repeated up to 1000 times in order to match
the observed data.

• From the diffraction data on the Na salts, and the information in item 1 above, estimate
the ionic radii of the halogen ions. What systematic effect is there, and does this match
your expectations from the literature?

• The structural calculations for the halide salts is simple due to their easy basis vectors.
Repeat the calculations for your additional materials and explain any discrepencies.

F. Example Questions
• How is the X-ray beam generated and wavelength-selected ?

• How do scientists classify lattices, and how does the mathematical description of lattices
work ?

• What do reciprocal vectors actually mean ?

• Demonstrate how one determines whether a set of Miller indices describing a plane results
in constructive interference.

• How is the amplitude of X-ray diffraction peaks determined ?

• How would one determine the structure of an unknown material from an X-ray diffraction
pattern ?

• How would one identify the existence of impurities in a material by X-ray (or neutron)
diffraction ?
188 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

18 Material Analysis
using X-ray Fluores-
cence (XRFA)

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
The excitation of characteristic X-rays in a sample of material is the preferred method of mate-
rial analysis. It is based on the pioneering work of H.G.J. Moseley, who explored the systematics
of characteristic X-rays.
In this experiment a radioactive γ-source (241 Am) or an X-ray tube is used for the excitation
depending on the energy range or Z-region of interest. A high resolution Si-X-ray detector
and a multichannel analyzer enables us to distinguish neighbor elements which differ only by
one unit in the proton number (Z). The X-ray fluorescence is an efficient and quick method. It
doesn’t harm the investigated sample. Several examples are given below. The XRFA-method
is complimented by the method of proton induced X-ray measurement (PIXE) which requires
higher expenditures, shown in the example of the mask of Queen Sat-Djehuti.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Basic atomic physics of inner shells, concepts and terms,
characteristic numbers, Roentgen fluorescence yield, bind-
ing energy in the shell model of the atom, Auger electron
emission
• Production of X-rays
• Bremsstrahlung; Synchrotron radiation
• Characteristic X-rays, selection rules, K- and L-series
 189

• Absorption and scattering of X-rays

• Applications of characteristic X-ray spectroscopy
• Some quantitative considerations

Measuring Technique : • Principles of X-ray detectors, especially silicon de-

tectors
• Classical method of X-ray wavelength determination
• Function of the specific 241 Am source
• Function of an X-ray tube
• Required electronic units and function
• Multichannel-Analyzer and function of an ADC

Mathematics : Method of least squares, peak evaluation, background subtrac-

tion

References
[1] Deslattes, R.D., E.G. Kessler Jr., P Indelicato, L. de Most recent review article on all X-ray
Billy, E. Lindroth and J. Anton : X-ray transition ener- transitions of the elements
gies : new approach to a comprehensive evaluation
Re. Mod. Phys. 75, 35 (2003)
[2] Beckhoff, B. (Ed.), KanngieSSer, B. (Ed.), Langhoff, Comprehensive handbook
N. (Ed.), Wedell, R. (Ed.),and H. Wolff (Ed.) : Hand-
book of Practical X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis
Springer; 1. edition (July 28, 2006)
[3] Jenkins, R. : X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (Chem- Good introduction into the field
ical Analysis: A Series of Monographs on Analytical
Chemistry and Its Applications)
Wiley-Interscience; 2 edition (June 18, 1999)
[4] Van Grieken, R. (Ed.), and A. Markowicz (Ed.) : Current reference for nuclear data
Handbook of X-Ray Spectrometry Revised and Ex-
panded (Practical Spectroscopy, V. 29)
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[5] Jenkins, R., Gould, R. W., and D. Gedcke : Quantita- Valuable compendium
tive X-ray Spectrometry (Practical Spectroscopy)
Marcel Dekker; 2 edition (April 26, 1995)
[6] Janssens, K.H.A., Adams, F.C.V., and Anders Rindby ........................
(Eds.) : Microscopic X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis
Wiley; 1 edition (May 12, 2000)
190 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

[7] Van Grieken, R.,and K. Janssens : Cultural Heritage .......................

Conservation and Environmental Impact Assessment by
Non-Destructive Testing and Micro-Analysis
Taylor & Francis (August 15, 2004)
[8] Janssens, K., and R. Van Grieken (Eds.) : Non- ......................
destructive Micro Analysis of Cultural Heritage Materi-
als, Volume 42 (Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry)
Elsevier Science; 1 edition (January 26, 2005)
[9] Uda, M., Demortier, G., and I. Nakai (Eds.) : X-rays .........................
for Archaeology
Springer; 1 edition (September 27, 2005)
[10] Sven A. E. Johansson (Editor), John L. Campbell (Ed- .............................
itor), Klas G. Malmqvist (Editor) : Particle-Induced X-
Ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE) (Chemical Analysis:
A Series of Monographs on Analytical Chemistry and Its
Applications)
Wiley-Interscience; 1 edition (August 4, 1995)
[11] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[12] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
Kap. 10, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989

Experimental Tasks

• Get the X-ray tube or the variable X-ray source from the TA; get help with the set-up

• Turn on first the NIM power, then turn on very slowly the high voltage bias of the detector
(- 500 Volts) and watch the signals from the main amplifier. In case they are not regular
stop and ask.

• Important: Check the main settings of the main amplifier to obtain good resolution. Time
constant of 3µs will work best. Amplification set that the 59.5 keV line of 241 Am has an
amplitude of nearly 8 Volts.

• Set MCA to 2048 channels (both channel select and conversion gain)

• Check pole zero cancellation very carefully with the oscilloscope, the baseline must be
absolutely flat and quiet

• Calibration of the detector using three lines Cu Kα , Ba Kα and 59.5 keV 241 Am line, you
can also use the Cs-137, the Mn-54 and the Co-57 source
 191

• Determine detector resolution in keV for at least two lines (iron Kα and 122 keV line of
57
Co)

• Determine about 10 unknown samples (ask TA which ones), about 30 samples are avail-
able

• Alternative task: Measure several L-spectra for various elements and explain them

• In addition, you can determine some more elements than six, which have appropriate K
lines

• Alternative experiment: use X-ray tube instead of the 241 Am source. There are two set-
tings for the tube: the applied high voltage and the tube current. The high voltage affects
the X-ray spectrum shape (more soft or more hard) and the current affects the intensity.
In most cases a few µA’s are sufficient !

• The X-ray tube is more appropriate and efficient for elements in the range 20 < Z < 40.
Consider also the use of the L-series.

WARNINGS

• Make sure that the detector was cold for 3 hours or more prior to HV application

• No HV without preamp power on ! Internal FET can die !

• HV turn on and off very slowly. No abrupt switch off !

• Remove protective cap from detector before starting measuring

• Never touch the ultra thin Be window of the detector

• Watch count rates ! Too high count rate can latch up preamp or deteriorate resolution
241
• Be careful with the use of the Am source, it is strong and under special regulations
(transuranium element).

• No measurement of spectra during LN2 filling.

• The X-ray tube can deliver very high intensities of X-radiation, several precautions are
necessary: use always a brass collimator with the tube, start working with low currents
( 1 - 2 µA) and watch the detector signals, use sufficient shielding around the irradiated
area. Let the TA or the professor check your set-up before switching on the X-ray tube.
192 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

• Never touch the extemely thin and expensive Be-window of the X-ray tube.
 193

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

X-ray : Excitation source for fluorescent X-rays: X-ray tube Eclipse IV

from Oxford Instruments or AmpTek, with a Rd-anode;
max. voltage: 45 kV; max current : 50 µA. Usual setting
about 30 kV and 1 – 4 µA.
Alternatively : 241 Am source using the 59.5 keV γ transi-
tion
Detector : Si(Li)–Semiconductor Detector Canberra EURISYS Mod.
ESLX 30-150-ER No 0251 (year 2002)
Crystal dimensions : useful surface 30 mm2 ;
external diameter 6.2 mm; length 5.5 mm; volume 0.15 cm3 ;
194 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

dead layer ' 0.2 µm/Si; distance from cap 3 mm

Energy resolution 150 eV at 5.9 keV
Bias : Canberra HV 2122 D, neg. -500 Volts
Preamp : Preamplifier PSC 854
SpecAmp : Main spectroscopy amplifier CANBERRA 2020
MCA,ADC : Canberra multiport II (ADC and MCA)
Computer : Computer IBM think centre; CANBERRA MCA software
Genie 2000 (dongle !)

Figure 71: XRFA-set-up using the X-ray tube Eclipse IV from Oxford Instruments aiming on a
coin. The indispensable X-ray collimator is a provisional one in this picture. The characteristic
X-rays are detected with a Canberra SiLi-X-ray detector.

About the preamplifier and the main amplifier

The preamplifier works with a so-called optical feedback, which means that the feedback resis-
tor is over most of the time nearly infinite, but after reaching a certain level of amplitude of the
output signal it is switched to a low value by a flash of a light emitting diode. The main ampli-
fier has to deal with these strong negative switching signals and only a few have this property,
the Canberra 2020 being one of them. The advantage is better resolution and higher count rates.
The proper settings for pole zero cancellation and base line recovery are very important. With
an unappropriate main amp one can produce so-called "ghost-lines", electronic artefacts.
 195

Tables of the X-ray lines

Those tables are already given in experiment No 5 "X-ray Spectroscopy". Here are only the
data for the L-series displayed.

Figure 72: X-ray transitions for the L-series in uranium. The designation of the observed lines
is according to Siegbahn.
 196 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Most intense L-X-ray lines of some heavy elements

Element Tantalum Tungsten Platinum Gold Mercury Lead Thorium Uranium

Symbol (Z) Ta (73) W (74) Pt (78) Au (79) Hg (80) Pb (82) Th (90) U (92)

Line* Energies in electron-volts [eV]

α1 (L3 M5 ) 8146.17 8398.242 9442.39 9713.44 9988.91 10551.6 12967.937 13614.87

α2 (L3 M4 ) 8087.93 8335.34 9361.96 9628.05 9897.68 10449.59 12809.49 13438.97

β1 (L2 M4 ) 9343.19 9672.575 11070.84 11442.45 11822.7 12613.8 16201.556 17220.15

β2 (L3 N5 ) 9651.89 9964.133 11250.66 11584.75 11924.2 12622.8 16024.6 16428.44

β3 (L1 M3 ) 9487.62 9818.91 11230.89 11610.5 11995.4 12793.4 16423.855 17455.17

β4 (L1 M2 ) 9212.47 9525.23 10854.41 11204.81 11563.1 12305.9 15639.54 16575.51

γ1 (L2 N4 ) 10895 11286 12942 13381 139830 14764 18978 20167

γ2 (L1 N2 ) 11217 11610 13270 13709 14162.3 15218.2 19302 20484

γ3 (L1 N3 ) 11277.68 11680.49 13361.5 13809.1 14264.8 15218.2 19503 20712.95

γ5 (L2 N1 ) 10570 10948 12552 12974 13410 14307 18364 19506

l (L3 M1 ) 7173.2 7387.8 8268.2 8494.03 8721.32 9184.56 11118.06 11618.41

η (L2 M1 ) 8428.09 8724.42 9975.2 10308.41 10651.4 11349.4 14510.327 15399.81

* Siegbahn notation (modern notation)

 197

Information on the used radioactive sources

Figure 73: Decay scheme of 241 Am from [11].

198 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

D. Examples

Figure 74:
Restoration of
the surface of
Michelangelo’s
David; remove
of sulphates

Figure 75:
Restoration of
Cellini’s bronce
statue Perseus;
investigation of
the patina
 199

Figure 76: Rare

found: the Gold
Ibex from San-
torini; the body
is cast gold, the
legs are soldered

Figure 77:
Investigation of
the ’make’ of
the Gold Ibex
200 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Figure 78:
Investigation of
the elementary
composition
of roof tiles
from the famous
summer palace

Figure 79: PIXE

investigation of
the gold plated
funeral mask of
Queen Sat Dje-
huti at the HMI
Berlin
 201

E. Discussion of Results
• Provide ..............

F. Example Questions
• How are X-rays created ?

• What is the difference between X-rays and γ-rays ?

• What is the Auger effect ?

• What is a fluorescence yield ?

• Explain Moseley’s formula

• How is the material analysis performed ?

• Why has the silicon-detector to be cooled ?

• Which other methods of X-ray spectroscopy are known ?

• Can you explain whether one can distinguish all chemical elements in an X-ray analysis
or not ? Is it possible to distinguish isotopes ? Explain.

• What is the purpose of a so-called "main spectroscopy amplifier" ?

202 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

19 Electron Spin Res-

onance (ESR)

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a
technique for studying chemical species that have one or more unpaired electrons, such as or-
ganic and inorganic free radicals or inorganic complexes possessing a transition metal ion. The
radicals typically produce an unpaired spin on the molecule from which an electron is removed.
Particularly fruitful has been the study of the ESR spectra of radicals produced as radiation dam-
age from ionizing radiation. Study of the radicals produced by such radiation gives information
about the locations and mechanisms of radiation damage. The basic physical concepts of EPR
are analogous to those of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), but it is electron spins that are
excited instead of spins of atomic nuclei. Therefore this technique finds application in physics,
chemistry, biology and medicine. When the molecules of a solid exhibit paramagnetism as a
result of the unpaired electron spins, transitions can be induced between spin states by applying
a magnetic field and then supplying electromagnetic energy, usually in the microwave range of
frequencies. The resulting absorption spectra are described as electron spin resonance (ESR) or
electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The interaction of an external magnetic field with an
electron spin depends upon the magnetic moment associated with the spin, and the nature of an
isolated electron spin is such that two and only two orientations are possible. The application of
the magnetic field then provides a magnetic potential energy which splits the spin states by an
amount proportional to the magnetic field (Zeeman effect), and then radio frequency radiation
of the appropriate frequency can cause a transition from one spin state to the other. The energy
associated with the transition is expressed in terms of the applied magnetic field B, the electron
spin g-factor g, and the constant µB which is called the Bohr magneton. The difference between
 203

the energies of two possible spin states of a free electron in a magnetic field of flux density B0
is

∆E = µB · g · B0 .

where µB is Bohr’s magnetron and g the Landé factor (almost exactly equal to 2 for a free elec-
tron). The absorption of electromagnetic radiation at the resonance frequency n = ∆E/h induces
transitions from the low-energy level to the higher level. The numerical value equation is n =
2.8026 · 1010 · B0 Hz / T, i.e. for a magnetic field of about 0.35 T the resonance frequency lies
in the so-called X-band between 9 and 10 GHz.
Due to the interaction between spin and lattice, the occupation of the higher level is again
reduced, i.e. the absorbed energy is dissipated to the environment in the form of heat.ăThe res-
onance is determined by linearly varying the flux density B of the magnetic field over a small
interval in the vicinity of the resonance value B0 and by recording the variation of the absorbed
energy with B as the signal of a so-called ESR spectrometer.

About E. K. Zavoisky

E.K. Zavoisky, from Kazan, Tatarstan, is nowadays acknowledged as the inventor of Electron
Spin Resonance. There is also strong support for the thesis that he was the first to observe a
NMR signal as early as 1941, but he could not detect the signal reproducibly with the very basic
apparatus he was able to build with the limited means available to him.
Due to the political situation at that time, Zavoisky’s work remained largely unnoticed in the
West. Although unquestionably the first to observe spin resonance, the Nobel Prize Committee
did not further consider his contribution due to the lack of follow-up papers and his move to
other fields.
It is interesting to note that the C.V. of Zavoisky explicitly reports his first trip to an international
conference (1961). There is little doubt that the history of spin resonance would be seen from
a different perspective if Zavoisky had been able to pursue his work within the awareness of an
international scientific community.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • ............

Measuring Technique : • ....................

Mathematics : Method of least squares

204 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

References
[1] Melissinos, A. C. and Napolitano J.: Experiments in Textbook on Modern Physics
Modern Physics Experiments
Academic Press, Amsterdam etc. 2003
[2] Bielski, B.H.J. and J.M. Gebicki: Atlas of Electron Data Handbook about measured ESR
Spin Resonance Spectra spectra
Academic Press, New York and London, 1967

Experimental Tasks

1. Set-up of

2. WARNINGS

3.
 205

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

HV : ..........................
.. : ..............................

Information about the samples

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide

E. Example Questions
•

•
206 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

20 Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR)

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) is one of the most important spec-
troscopic methods to explore the structure and dynamic of molecules especially in organic
chemistry and biochemistry. Suitable subjects for this method are materials with odd nucleon
numbers in their nucleus. All nuclei that contain odd numbers of protons or neutrons have an
intrinsic magnetic moment and angular momentum. The most commonly measured nuclei are
hydrogen-1 (the most receptive isotope at natural abundance) and carbon-13, although nuclei
from isotopes of many other elements (e.g. 15 N, 14 N, 19 F, 31 P, 17 O, 29 Si, 10 B, 11 B, 23 Na, 35 Cl,
195
Pt) can also be observed. NMR resonant frequencies for a particular substance are directly
proportional to the strength of the applied magnetic field, in accordance with the equation for
the Larmor precession frequency. In an external magnetic field the magnetic momentum of the
nucleus gets aligned according to quantum mechanical rules and the nuclear Eigenstates split in
energy. The energy difference between these states is proportional to the magnetic field strength
and depends also on the so-called gyromagnetic ratio. Transitions between those states can be
resonantly induced by application of electromagnetic radiation of the appropriate frequency.
One observes a phenomenum called relaxation which describes several processes by which nu-
clear magnetization prepared in a non-equilibrium state return to the equilibrium distribution.
In other words, relaxation describes how fast spins "forget" the direction in which they are
oriented. The rates of this spin relaxation can be measured in both spectroscopy and imaging
applications. One observes: A. Longitudinal Relaxation or Spin-Lattice-Relaxation (Mz ) char-
acterized by the relaxation time T1 and B. Transversal Relaxation or Spin-Spin-Relaxation (Mx
and My ) characterized by T2 , the spin-spin relaxation time T2 .
 207

Two main methods are applied in NMR-spectroscopy, 1. The continuous wave spectroscopy
(CW-NMR) and 2. The pulsed NMR. Further, one applies Fourier-transforms to obtain spectra
in the time and the frequency domain, used mainly nowadays because it is more efficient. NMR
has a very important application in the so-called MRI, the 3 D imaging of the human body for
example, complementary to CT scans.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Spin physics

• Magnetic resonance phenomena, classic experiments

• The Bloch equations

• Hyperfine interactions

• Relaxation effects, spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation

• Nuclear magnetic moments, gyromagnetic ratio

• CW magnetic resonance

• Pulsed NMR, spin echoes

• The time and the frequency domain, Fourier and Laplace

transform

Measuring Technique : • The basic magnetic resonance experiments

• Construction and design of precise magnets, electromag-

netic and permanent

• NMR samples

• Measurement techniques of magnetic fields

• Electronic pulses

• RF- and microwave techniques

• Oscilloscope techniques

• Fast Fourier transform

Mathematics : Method of least squares

208 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

References
[1] Rabi, I. I., J.R. Zacharias, S. Millman, and P. Kusch : ......
A New Method of Measuring Nuclear Magnetic Moment
Phys. Rev. 53, 318 (1938)
[2] Purcell, E.M., H.C. Torrey, and R.V. Pound : ....... original article on NMR
Phys. Rev. 69, 37 (1946)
[3] Bloch, F., W.W. Hansen, and Martin Packard : ....... original article on NMR
Phys. Rev. 69, 127 (1946)
[4] Bloch, F. : Nuclear Induction ......
Phys. Rev. 70, 460 (1946)
[5] Bloch, F., W.W. Hansen, and M. Packard : The Nu- ......
clear Induction Experiment
Phys. Rev. 70, 474 (1946)
[6] Bloembergen, E.M., E.M. Purcell, and R.V. Pound : ......
Relaxation effects in nuclear magnetic resonance absorp-
tion
Phys. Rev. 73, 679 (1948)
[7] Hahn, E.L. : Spin Echoes ......
Phys. Rev. 80, 580 (1950)
[8] Bovey, F.A. : Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ......
.......
[9] Carrington, A., and A.D. McLachlan : Introduction to ......
Magnetic Resonance
.......
[10] Farrar, T.C., and E.D. Becker : Pulse and Fourier ......
Transform NMR
Academic Press, New York 1971
[11] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger : Nuclear Condensed Mat- Standard textbook on nuclear methods
ter Physics in solid state physics
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[12] Manual of the commercial Teach-Spin experiment : ......
Teach Spin company
.......
[13] ........ : ........ ......
.......

Experimental Tasks

1. Set-up of

2. WARNINGS

3.
 209

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
HV : .................................
.. : ..................................

Information ..............

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide
210 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

E. Appendix
Isotopes with odd nucleon numbers used for NMR

Many chemical elements can be used for NMR analysis :

• 1 H, the most commonly used, very useful. Highly abundant, the most sensitive nucleus
apart from tritium. Narrow chemical shift, but sharp signals. In particular, the 1H signal
is that used in magnetic resonance imaging.

• 2 H, commonly used in the form of deuterated solvents to avoid interference of solvents in

measurement of 1 H. Rarely used in NMR measurents themselves, due to low resolution
and low sensitivity; mainly utilized in determining of effectiveness of chemical deutera-
tion.

• 3 He, very sensitive. Low percentage in natural helium, has to be enriched. Used mainly
in studies of endohedral fullerenes.
13
• C, commonly used. Low percentage in natural carbon, therefore spectrum acquisition
takes a long time. Frequently used for labeling of compounds in synthetic and metabolic
studies. Has low sensitivity and wide chemical shift, yields sharp signals. Low percentage
makes it useful by preventing spin-spin couplings and makes the spectrum appear less
crowded.
15
• N, relatively commonly used. Can be used for labeling compounds. Nucleus very
insensitive but yields sharp signals. Low percentage in natural nitrogen together with low
sensitivity requires high concentrations or expensive isotope enrichment.
14
• N, medium sensitivity nucleus with wide chemical shift. Its large quadrupole mo-
ment interferes in acquisition of high resolution spectra, limiting usefulness to smaller
molecules.
19
• F, relatively commonly measured. Sensitive, yields sharp signals, has wide chemical
shift.
31
• P, 100% of natural phosphorus. Medium sensitivity, wide chemical shift range, yields
sharp lines. Used in biochemical studies.
17
• O, low sensitivity and very low natural abundance.
 211

10 11
• B, lower sensitivity than B. Use quartz tubes, as borosilicate glass interferes with
measurement.
11
• B, more sensitive than 10 B, yields sharper signals. Use quartz tubes, as borosilicate
glass interferes with measurement.
35
• Cl and 37 Cl, broad signal. 35 Cl significantly more sensitive, preferred over 37 Cl despite
its slightly broader signal. Organic chlorides yield very broad signals, use limited to
inorganic and ionic chlorides and very small organic molecules.
43
• Ca, used in biochemistry to study calcium binding to DNA, proteins, etc. Moderately
sensitive, very low natural abundance, has to be enriched.
195
• Pt, used in studies of catalysts and complexes.

• Other nuclei, usually used in the studies of their complexes and chemical binding, or to
detect presence of the element :
6
Li, 7 Li, 9 Be, 21 Ne, 23 Na, 25 Mg, 27 Al, 29 Si, 33 S, 39 K, 40 K, 41 K, 45 Sc, 47 Ti, 49 Ti, 50 V, 51 V,
53
Cr, 55 Mn, 57 Fe, 59 Co, 61 Ni, 63 Cu, 65 Cu, 67 Zn, 69 Ga, 71 Ga, 73 Ge, 77 Se, 81 Br, 87 Rb, 87 Sr,
95
Mo, 109 Ag, 113 Cd, 125 Te, 127 I, 133 Cs, 135 Ba, 137 Ba, 139 La, 183 W, 199 Hg.

F. Example Questions
212 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

21 Mößbauer Effect

Location: room Jordan 305

A. Short Description
In the Mößbauer-experiment one makes use of the recoilless resonant absorption or fluores-
cence of specific γ-transitions in nuclei embedded in a lattice of solid matter. These lines have
a relative and natural line width in the order of 10−13 .....10−17 ("sharpest line of the world") and
they can be used to measure extreme small energy shifts or splittings and to determine internal
fields in solid matter. One famous example was the measurement of the gravitational redshift
of photons at Harvard by Pound and Rebka, testing and proving general relativity at a 10−15 -
level. To make use of these sharp lines one has to make them quasi Doppler-free. In a lattice
the absorption and reemission of γ’s happens to a certain portion recoilless – no exchange of
phonons – and the portion is given by the theory of the Debye-Waller factor. The energy shift is
achieved by moving the source and applying the controlled Doppler effect. In this experiment
the hyperfine splitting, quadrupole splitting and isomeric shift can be determined in specific
probes.
Pound and Rebka, Phys. Rev. Lett. 4, 337 (1960)

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Natural line width of γ-lines; Heisenberg uncertainty prin-
ciple
• Doppler effect, recoil of nuclei
• Resonance fluorescence
 213

• Nuclei in solid matter lattice, Debye-Waller factor

• Mößbauer effect, "sharpest line of the world"
• Mößbauer isotopes and sources

Measuring Technique : • Mößbauer drives

• What can be measured with the Mößbauer effect
• Energy shift, line splittings, internal fields
• Pound-Rebka experiment
• γ-laser
• Proportional counter
• Nuclear electronics
• Principles of a multiscaler
• Mößbauer data software
• Evaluation software

Mathematics : Method of least squares

214 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

References
[1] Stückel, B.: Der Mößbauer-Effekt im Praktikum Original thesis on this teaching lab
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart experiment
1998
[2] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Standard textbook on nuclear methods
ter Physics in solid state physics
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[3] Gibb, T.C. : Mössbauer Effect: Principles and Applica- Fundamental textbook
tions
Halsted, New York, 1976
[4] Gonser, U., Ed. : Mössbauer Spectroscopy Expert textbook with collected articles
Topics in Applied Physics, Vol.5 Springer-Verlag, Berlin
1975
[5] Gonser, U., Ed.: Mössbauer Spectroscopy II, The Exotic Expert textbook with collected articles
Side of the Methods
Topics in Applied Physics, Vol. 26 Nr. 1, Springer-
Verlag, Berlin 1981
[6] Krane, K. S. : Introductory Nuclear Physics Standard textbook for Nuclear Physics
John Wiley and Sons New York 1988
[7] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996

Experimental Tasks

• Switch on NIM-power

• Set HV for proportional counter to + 2020 Volts (Scale 3400)

• Remove brass plug from the source and insert lead aperture

• Watch pulses of main amp on the oscilloscope, get appropriate count rate by chosing right
source-detector distance

• Set single channel analyzer exactly on the 14.4 keV line

• Set Mößbauer drive controller to sinus mode and max. velocity to 7 mm/s at 1024 chan-
nels

• Insert pure iron absorber to get first hyperfine splitting

• Start multiscaler, lines should show up after about 10 minutes, take longer run
 215

• Determine quadrupole splitting and isomeric shift by a similar procedure, max. velocity
5 mm/s resp. 3 mm/s

• Measure energy spectrum of the Mößbauer source using the ADC of the FAST MCA-3
card (see Manual !)

• Evaluate the Mößbauer spectra with the software, determine field etc.

• Alternative tasks : measure hyperfine splitting with an applied transversal and/or longi-
tudinal magnetic field to the iron foil, the occupation probabilities of the sublevels will
change !

WARNINGS

• After finishing the measurement, turn down HV of the proportional counter

• Insert plug into the collimator of velocity transducer to stop the radiation from the source

• Put all the absorbers back to the box

216 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

MBdrive : Mößbauer drive (motion transducer) FAST-ComTec # MA-

250, closed loop loudspeaker system with calibrated pre-
cise velocity scan, attached to the drive is the Mößbauer
source 57 Co, 50 mC at delivery date,
Controller : Mößbauer electronic drive controller FAST-ComTec # MR-
351, use the sinusoidal-mode of the drive because of the
analysis software (PC-MOS II), minimize the movement
errors
Foil : Absorber foil; choice of natural iron, enriched natural iron
(?), stainless steel, FeSO4 , Fe4 CN6 xH2 O, etc.
 217

Det : Detector: proportional counter tube from LND Inc., Ocean-

side, NY, filled with xenon, LND # 45432, required high
voltage + 2020 Volts
HV : High voltage power supply for the proportional counter,
Canberra # 3106B
preamp : Pre-amplifier for proportional counters, Ortec # 109 PC
mainamp : Main spectroscopy amplifier, Tennelec # TC 203 BLR
SCA : CF-timing single channel analyzer, Tennelec # TC 451
MSC-MCA : FAST-ComTec Dual Multiscaler # 7882 and MCA inter-
face card # MCA 3FADC with an ultrafast ADC; this card
runs with the MCDWIN software under Windows XP
PC : PC : industrial PC (DCM-computer ?, check) with slot-
computer card and passive backplane to accomodate ISA
and PCI measuring cards
soft : Evaluation software for Mößbauer effect PC-MOS II for
the final analysis, requires data taken in sinusoidal mode
218 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Information about the sources

Figure 80: Decay scheme of 57 Co from [7].

D. Discussion of Results
1. Provide graphs of the 57 Co spectrum, the three Mößbauer spectra for hyperfine splitting,
quadrupole splitting and isomer shift (or chemical shift)

2. Evaluate the Mößbauer spectra with respect to line shifts and line splittings

3. Use the analysis software PC-MOS II to determine the internal fields or field gradients

E. Example Questions
• What is the Mößbauer effect ?

• What are the preconditions for observing that effect ?

• Which experimental preconditions have to be fulfilled ?

 219

22 Angular Correlation
of Annihilation Radi-
ation (ACAR)

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
Positrons are slowed down in matter to thermal energies before they can form positronium
with the electrons and finally annihilate. In case the solid matter is a metal the annihilation
proceeds mostly with the electrons of the free electron gas. Only a very small portion annihi-
lates with the so-called core electrons. Electrons of the free electron gas carry a momentum
which corresponds to one for this metal characteristic Fermi-momentum and therefore also the
electron-positron pairs have a characteristic momentum distribution. This momentum causes
a small modification of the angular correlation of the two annihilation quanta which would be
emitted at exactly 180◦ to each other if the positronium was at rest. This modification is ex-
pressed by the angular deviation θ from 180◦ and it is caused by the transverse momentum of
the conduction electrons. In a free electron gas (T = 0) all states with momentum below the
Fermi momentum are occupied and all higher states are empty. The momentum distribution is
a filled sphere with uniform density and radius h̄ kF . The count rate per momentum interval
∆pT of the γ-rays with correlation 180◦ ± θ is therefore proportional to the volume of the slice
of the Fermi sphere for which pT = me c θ. Therefore the angular distribution has a parabolic
dependence on θ and the coincidence rate vanishes for angles larger than the maximum angle
θmax which is related to the Fermi momentum via θmax = h̄ kF /me c. Therefore this method
allows an accurate determination of the Fermi momentum or the Fermi energy in metals. The
angles θ to be measured are rather small because the Fermi energies are small in relation to the
electron’s rest mass; they are in the range of a few millirads or a few angular minutes.
For an ACAR-experiment (Angular Correlation of Annihilation Radiation) one needs a small,
high concentrated strong positron source, strongly collimated beams, fast γ-detectors, one on
220 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

a fixed bench the other on a moveble arm with extreme fine movement control. In the present
case two fast BaF2 detectors coupled to fast UV-sensitive photomultipliers (Photonis # 2020/Q)
are used. The coincidence circuit consists of two fast constant fraction discriminators and a
time-to-amplitude converter (TAC), achieving an overall time resolution of about 340 picosec-
onds. The coincidence events are registered in a multichannalanalyzer. Optional one can add a
slow circuit for the energy selection in both channels and gating of the TAC by the logic pulses
derived from the energy discrimination. In the present case the positrons are slowed down in
a pure aluminum sample, which gives the highest effect, aluminum having with 11.7 eV the
highest Fermi energy of all metals.

Element n EF TF kF
(1022 /cm3 ) (eV) (104 K) (10 cm−1 )
8

Li 4.70 4.74 5.51 1.12

Na 2.65 3.24 3.77 0.92
Cu 8.47 7.00 8.16 1.36
Ag 5.86 5.49 6.38 1.20
Au 5.90 5.53 6.42 1.21
Mg 8.61 7.08 8.23 1.36
Ca 4.61 4.69 5.44 1.11
Nb 5.56 5.32 6.18 1.18
Fe 17.0 11.1 13.0 1.71
Cd 9.27 7.47 8.68 1.40
Hg 8.65 7.13 8.29 1.37
Al 18.1 11.7 13.6 1.75
In 11.5 8.63 10.0 1.51
Ti 10.5 8.15 9.46 1.46
Sn 14.8 10.2 11.8 1.64
Pb 13.2 9.47 11.0 1.58

Table 2: Density of conduction electrons, Fermi energy EF , Fermi temperature TF , and Fermi
wave vector kF for several metals (after Frederikse, 1981)

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • The positron, particle properties
• Formation of positronium in solids, positronium physics
 221

• Free electrons in metals and free electron gas model, Fermi-

Dirac statistics, formalism of Fermi-sphere and Fermi-surface,
metal physics
• Angular correlation of annihilation radiation, applied to
positronium-formation in metals
• Derivation of the Fermi-energy from an ACAR experiment

Measuring Technique : • Set up of an ACAR experiment

• Detector–source–collimator geometry
• How to align properly four collimators with a source using
a) a thread or b) an alignment laser
• Very fast detectors for very high time resolution
• BaF2 detectors yielding two scintillation light components
in the UV and the visible regime
• Fast NIM electronic modules, especially constant fraction
discriminators, time-to-amplitude converters, time calibra-
tion, handling of ns-signals etc.
• Fine mechanical angular drive, handling

Mathematics : Method of least squares

References
[1] Maier, Jens : Aufbau und Erprobung von Prak- Original thesis on this teaching lab
tikumsversuchen zur Positronenvernichtung experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[2] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Standard textbook on nuclear methods
ter Physics in solid state physics
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[3] Vesely, Charles J. : A Comparison of Methods Used Report on design criteria for an ACAR
for Angular Correlation of Annihilation Radiation by experiment
Slit Geometry, report and master’s thesis, University of
Texas, 1963
http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/
GetTRDoc?AD=AD407994&Location=U2&doc=
GetTRDoc.pdf
222 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

[4] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes, CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
[5] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of

• WARNINGS

•
 223

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:
detectors : BaF2 detectors, 40 mm dia, 25 mm thick connected to UV-
sensitive photomultipliers Photonis # 2020/Q to access the
so-called fast UV-scintillation component.
collimators : Two pairs of lead collimators close to the positron source
and close to the detectors to achieve a sharp angular accep-
tance, collimator width can be adjusted to 0.5 – 3.5 mm,
recommended 1.0 – 1.5 mm
22
source : Na source in a pure aluminum capsule; the present source
needs to be replaced by a stronger one with capsule diam-
eter of only 4 mm to obtain a good angular response func-
tion (To-do-list !)
224 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

drive : Ultrafine mechanical angular drive (obtained from an old

machine), one scale corresponds to 2 angular seconds ∼ =
19 µrad, one full turn corresponds to 240 scale-units = ∼
480 arc-seconds ∼= 2.3 mrad; the unit should only be used
turning the screw always in one direction; there is a loaded
spring to keep the arm close to the drive, but the spring is
too weak for the weight of the arm, therefore one needs to
make sure the arm is in contact with the drive

HV : High voltage power supply for the detectors, Canberra #

3002D

CFD : Two constant fraction discriminators to derive uniform time

signals; Canberra # 2128 and Ortec # 473A

delay : Switchable ns-cable delay to bring zero time difference at

the TAC output to a signal of about 4 V ∼ = middle of the
dynamic range

TAC : Time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) Canberra # 2044, time

measuring, used in the 50 ns range

MCA : Multichannel analyzer and ADC, Canberra Multiport II,

USB-connected to a PC, software GENIE 2000 with don-
gle

PC : Standard PC with USB-ports

 225

Information on the used radioactive sources

Figure 81: Decay scheme of 22 Na from [4].

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide

E. Example Questions
226 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

23 Positron Annihila-
tion Lifetime Spec-
troscopy (PALS)

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description

The positron e+ is the only antiparticle which is available without major efforts from radioac-
tive β-decay. Positrons were discovered in 1932 by Carl D. Anderson, who gave the positron
its name. The discovery was made by passing cosmic rays through a cloud chamber which was
equipped with a strong magnet to determine the momentum (and charge) of the particles. The
existence of positrons was first postulated theoretically in 1928 by Paul Dirac as a consequence
of the Dirac equation.
The positron annihilates with electrons under emission of γ-quanta. The lifetime of positrons in
solid matter depends on the specific electron density which can be determined by this method.
Positronium is formed in two different states: Ortho-Positronium (↑ ↑; triplet state 3 S1 ) and
Para-Positronium (↑ ↓; singlet state 1 S0 ) which differ in lifetime by a factor of 1120; the singlet
state having a mean lifetime of 125 ps, and the triplet state 142 ns. In metals the conduction
electrons behave like an electron gas and the annihilation takes place as with free electrons
because no bound state is possible and the positron is effectively screened by the conduction
electrons. In isolators the positron lifetime is prolongated because of the much lower electron
density. In this experiment the lifetime in aluminum (or copper) and Teflon is determined by
applying fast timing methods. The γ-decay of 1.27 MeV from a 22 Na positronium source can
be used as a timing signal to start the time-to-amplitude-converter (TAC) for the decay time
measurement. The lifetimes to be measured are in the range of 100 picoseconds up to several
nanoseconds and therefore ultrafast time measurement methods have to be applied.
 227

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Theory of β-decay
• Annihilation of positrons
• Positronium formation in solids
• Positronium lifetime and electron density determination
• Positrons in metals and isolators
• Properties of annihilation radiation

Measuring Technique : • Physics of fast and ultrafast γ-detectors, emission

characteristics
• Construction of BaF2 -detectors
• Fast photomultiplier tubes
• Constant fraction discriminators
• Time-to-amplitude converters (TAC)
• Fast-slow-method: fast circuit for timing; slow circuit for
energy selection
• Multichannel analyzer (MCA)
• Preparation of positronium sources

Mathematics : Method of least squares and fitting procedures

228 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

References
[1] Becker, Johannes : Praktikumsversuch zur Positronen- Original thesis on this teaching lab ex-
vernichtung in Festkörpern periment with many references
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[2] Dlubek, G., K. Saarinen and H.M. Fretwell : Positron Special article on the subject
states in polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene : A
positron lifetime and Doppler broadening study
Nucl. Instr. Meth. in Phys. Res. B 142, 139 (1998)
[3] Hautojärvi, P. : Positrons in solids Standard textbook on positrons in
Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1979 solids
[4] Ferrell, R.A. : Theory of positron annihilation in solids Fundamental article on the subject
Rev. Mod. Phys. 28, 308 (1956)
[5] Seeger, A. and F. Banhart : On the systematics of Systematic article on the subject
positron lifetimes in metals
Phys. Stat. Sol. A 102, 171 (1987)
[6] Seeger, A. : The study of defects in crystals by positron Systematic article on the subject
annihilation
Appl. Phys. 4, 183 (1974)
[7] Frank, W. and A. Seeger : Theoretical foundation and Article on the so-called ’Trapping
extension of the trapping model Model’
Appl. Phys. 3, 61 (1974)
[8] Kendall H.W., and M. Deutsch: Annihilation of Fundamental article on annihilation of
positrons in flight positrons, references
Phys. Rev. 93, 932 (1954) and Phys. Rev. 101, 20 (1956)
[9] Dirac, Paul A.M. : Theory of Electrons and Positrons Dirac Nobel Lecture, Dec. 12th 1933
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/
physics/laureates/1933/dirac-lecture.
html
[10] Anderson, C.D. : The Positive Electron Fundamental article on the discovery of
Phys. Rev. 43, 491 (1933) the positron
[11] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Standard textbook on nuclear methods
ter Physics in solid state physics
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[12] Laval, M. et al. : Barium fluoride – Inorganic scintillator Article on the BaF2 detectors
for subnanosecond timing
Nucl. Instr. Meth. 206, 169 (1983)
[13] Wisshak, K. and F. Käppeler : Large barium fluoride Article on a crystal ball made of BaF2
detectors detectors
Nucl. Instr. Meth. 227, 91 (1984)
[14] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes, CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996
 229

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of the detectors, HV = - 2100 Volts (negative !)

• Set-up of the NIM electronics, check all important signals with oscilloscope, separate
NIM units and crate for positron lifetime, don’t mix with speed of light

• Measurement of the energy spectrum of the radioactive 22 Na-source

• Setting of the CFD’s and SCA’s on the 1275 keV resp. the annihilation line (511 keV);
these signals provide the Start and Stop for the TAC

• Calibration of the TAC using the Ortec Time Calibrator unit, determine the calibration
curve

• Measurement of the lifetime curve for teflon and for one metal (aluminum or copper),
run-time about 24 hours

• Evaluation of the decay-time curves

WARNINGS

• First provide NIM crate power before turning on the high voltage for the detectors

• Use close geometry, e.g. short source–detector distance, but watch chance coincidences

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

HV : High Voltage for the Detectors, Canberra 3002D

230 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Information about the used radioactive sources

Figure 82: Decay scheme of 22 Na and 60 Co from [14].

D. Discussion of Results
• Explain the energy spectrum of the 22 Na source

• Produce a time calibration curve for the TAC, graphical representation of the calibration

• Determine the standard time resolution of the whole set-up using a 60 Co source

• Graphical presentation of the measured lifetime curves; show fits

• Determine the different lifetimes of the positrons

• Determine the experimental uncertainties (statistical and systematic).

E. Example Questions
 231

24 Perturbed Angular
Correlation (PAC)

Location: room Jordan 308

A. Short Description
Applying the method of perturbed γγ-angular correlation (PAC) one measures in contrast to the
Mößbauer effect not an energetic shift of a γ-line which characterizes the state of the probe,
but one measures the time variable γ-angular emission characteristic. One can also say that
the γ-angular correlation distribution rotates or precesses like the light beam of a lighthouse.
The cause for this effect is the hyperfine interaction of a nucleus in an excited state which has
a finite lifetime, long enough, that the precession can work. Precondition for this effect is the
anisotropic emission of γ’s from that specific level. The corresponding nucleus must be po-
larized or at least aligned, which means the M-sublevels differ in their population probability.
The measurement of PAC requires the preparation of specific probes and the application of very
fast timing measurement methods. There are no long-living isotopes for PAC available in na-
ture, therefore the source has to be prepared new for each experiment. The pilot experiment
has been performed with a radioactive 182 Hf-source which was prepared by neutron activation
of a hafnium single crystal in a reactor. The upcoming experiments will use commercial 111 In
sources diffused into Cd.

B. Necessary Knowledge
Physics : • Gamma transitions in nuclei and γ spectroscopy, selection
rules, multipole radiation, lifetime etc.
232 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

• Regular angular correlation measurements on γ cascades,

Wigner-Eckart theorem, 3j-symbols
• Hyperfine interactions of nuclei in solid matter
• The method of Perturbed Angular Correlations
• Gamma detection techniques

Measuring Technique : • Techniques for PAC

• Fast γ detection and timing methods
• Fast NIM electronic modules
• Fast-slow-coincidence method
• PAC set-up with three γ detectors
• Sample preparation for the PAC method
• Multichannel analyzer

Mathematics : Method of least squares for arbitrary functions

References
[1] Banzhaf, Marc : Gestörte γ − γ-Winkelkorrelation als Original thesis on this teaching lab
Praktikumsversuch experiment
Thesis of high school teachers, University of Stuttgart
1998
[2] Lieder, R.M., Buttler, N., Killig, K. and K. Beck : Original article concerning this teach-
Level crossing in hyperfine interactions studied by per- ing lab experiment
turbed γ − γ angular correlations
Zeitschrift für Physik 237, 137 (1970)
[3] Karlsson, E., E. Matthias and K. Siegbahn : Perturbed Standard special textbook
Angular Correlation
North Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam 1964
[4] Siegbahn, K., Ed.: Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-Ray Spec- Detailed textbook on Nuclear
troscopy Spectroscopy
North Holland, Amsterdam 1965
[5] Gill, R.D. : Gamma-Ray Angular Correlations Textbook on Angular Correlations
Academic Press, London, New York, San Francisco 1975
[6] Schatz, G. and A. Weidinger: Nuclear Condensed Mat- Standard textbook on nuclear methods
ter Physics in solid state physics
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, New York etc. 1996
[7] Knoll H. G. : Radiation Detection and Measurements Standard work on detectors
John Wiley & Sons, New York 1989
 233

[8] Firestone R. B. : Table of Isotopes, CD-ROM Current reference for nuclear data
John Wiley & Sons New York 1996

Experimental Tasks

• Set-up of

• WARNINGS

•
234 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

C. Information Regarding the Experimental Setup

Schematic Drawing, Block Diagram

Legend:

Detectors : Three NaI(Tl) detectors 1 12 " x 12 ", photomultiplier: Elec-

tron Tubes (former EMI company) # 9814KB, assembly
home-made, active voltage divider Electron Tubes # TB1106-
01,
HV : High voltage power supply for the 3 detectors, Canberra
3002D, neg. HV !, max current 10mA
fastpreamp : Fast, special designed pre-amps for the anode signals to
match better the sensitivity of the CFD’s
CFD : 3 Constant fraction discriminators FAST-Comtec (Quantar
in the US) # 2128 ? to derive a fast uniform timing signal
 235

Delay : ns-delay unit with switchable delay-cables to set the zero-

point of the TAC to a certain value
TAC : Time-to-amplitude converter for the time measurement, one
for each fast branch, gated by the energy signal from the
slow branch
preamp : Slow branch: pre-amp for the dynode signal, impedance
matching from about 100 kΩ to 50 or zero Ohms, home-
made model
mainamp : Main amplifier to produce bipolar linear signals in a dy-
namic range of 8 Volts for energy selection by a timing-
single-channel-analyzer (TSCA); model at present unde-
termined
TSCA : Timing single channel analyzer selects a specific γ line
from the energy spectrum, an output signal is generated
at zero crossing of the bipolar signal, delay is adjusted by
the internal delay unit
coin : Coincidence unit to set a logic condition for true coinci-
dences in the slow branch, mostly for energy selection and
a moderate timing condition, one unit required for each
slow branch, Ortec # 418
MCA : Multichannel analyzer Canberra Multiport II with USB
connection to a PC; software Canberra Genie 2000 with
dongle
fastslow : In this set-up at least two fast and two slow branches should
be set-up to get the 180◦ and 90◦ relation in one run to re-
duce systematic errors
236 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS

Information about some radioactive PAC-sources

Figure 83: Decay scheme of an 111 In source from [8].

Figure 84: Decay scheme of a 181 Hf source from [8].

 237

Figure 85: Decay scheme of a 100 Pd source from [8].

D. Discussion of Results
• Provide

E. Example Questions
•

•
238 II . E. CONDENSED MATTER EXPERIMENTS
III. APPENDIX

25 Tables of Important Constants, Units and Conversion Fac-

tors

Important Physics Constants

General Constants

Speed of Light in Vacuum c 299 792 458 (Def.) ms−1

Permeability in Vacuum µ0 4π × 10−7 NA−2

= 12.566370614 10−7 NA−2

Permittivity in Vacuum, 1/µ0 c2 0 8.854 187 817 10−12 Fm−1

Gravitational Constant G 6.672 59(85) 10−11 m3 kg−1 s−2

Planck’s Contant h 6.626 075 5(40) 10−34 Js

in eV, h/{e} 4.135 669 2(12) 10−15 eVs

h/2π h̄ 1.054 572 66(63) 10−34 Js

in eV, h̄/{e} 6.582 122 0(20) 10−16 eVs

240 III. APPENDIX

Electromagnetic Constants

Elementary Charge e 1.602 177 33(49) 10−19 C

Bohr Magneton, eh̄/2me µB 9.274 015 4(31) 10−24 JT−1

in eV, µB /{e} 5.788 382 63(52) 10−5 eVT−1

in Hertz µB /h 1.399 624 18(42) 1010 HzT−1

in Wavelenghts, µB /hc 46.686 437(14) m−1 T−1

in Kelvin, µB /k 0.671 709 9(57) KT−1

Nuclear Magneton, eh̄/2mp µN 5.050 786 6(17) 10−27 JT−1

in eV, µN /{e} 3.152 451 66(28) 10−8 eVT−1

in Hertz, µN /h 7.622 591 4(23) MHzT−1

in Wavelengths, µN /hc 2.542 622 81(77) 10−2 m−1 T−1

in Kelvin, µN /k 3.658 246(31) 10−4 KT−1

Atomic Constants

Fine Structure Constant, µ0 ce2 /2h α 7.297 353 08(33) 10−3

α−1 137.035 989 5(61)

Rydberg Constant, me cα2 /2h R∞ 10 973 731.534(13) m−1

in Hertz, R∞ c 3.289 841 949 9(39) 1015 Hz

in Joule, R∞ hc 2.179 874 1(13) 10−18 J

in eV, R∞ hc/{e} 13.605 698 1(40) eV

Bohr’s Radius, α/4πR∞ a0 0.529 177 249(24) 10−10 m

Hartree Energy, e2 /4π0 a0 = 2R∞ hc Eh 4.359 748 2(26) 10−18 J

in eV, Eh /{e} 27.211 396 1(81) eV

25. TABLES OF IMPORTANT CONSTANTS, UNITS AND CONVERSION FACTORS 241

Electron

Electron Mass me 9.109 389 7(54) 10−31 kg

5.485 799 03(13) 10−4 u

in eV, me c2 /{e} 0.510 999 06(15) MeV

Compton Wavelength, h/me c λc 2.426 310 58(22) 10−12 m

λc/2π = α a0 = α2 /4πR∞ λ̄c 3.861 593 23(25) 10−13 m

Classic Electron Radius, α2 a0 re 2.817 940 92(38) 10−15 m

Thomson Cross Section,

(8π/3)re2 σe 0.665 246 16(18) 10−28 m2

Magnetic Moment of the Electron µe 928.477 01(31) 10−26 JT−1

in Bohr Magneton µe /µb 1.001 159 652 193(10)

Magnetic Moment of the Electron

Anomaly, µe /µB -1 ae 1.159 652 193(10) 10−3

g-Factor, 2 (1 + ae ) ge 2.002 319 304 386 (20)

Muon

Muon Mass mµ 1.883 532 7(11) 10−28 kg

0.113 428 913(17) u

in eV, mµ c2 /{e} 105.658 389(34) MeV

Muon-Electron Mass Ratio mµ /me 206.768 262(30)

Magnetic Moment µµ 4.490 451 4(15) 10−26 JT−1

Anomaly, [µµ /(eh̄/2mµ )]-1 aµ 1.165 923 0(84) 10−3

g-Faktor, 2(1 + aµ ) gµ 2.002 331 846(17)

Life time (free) τµ 2,19703 ± 0,00004 10−6 s

Half Life t1/2 = τ ln2 1,52287 ± 0,00003 10−6 s

242 III. APPENDIX

Proton

Proton Mass mp 1.672 623 1(10) 10−27 kg

1.007 276 470(12) u

in eV, mp c2 /{e} 938.272 31(28) MeV

Proton-Electron Mass Ratio mp /me 1 836.152 701(37)

Proton-Muon Mass Ratio mp /mµ 8.880 244 4(13)

Magnetic Moment µp 1.410 607 61(47) 10−26 JT−1

in Bohr Magnetons µp /µb 1.521 032 202(15) 10−3

in Nuclear Magnetons µp /µN 2.792 847 386(63)

Life Time τp > 1033 a

Neutron

Neutron Mass mn 1.674 928 6(10) 10−27 kg

1.008 664 904(14) u

in eV, mn c2 /{e} 939.565 63(28) MeV

Neutron-Electron Mass Ratio mn /me 1 838.683 662(40)

Neutron-Proton Mass Ratio mn /mp 1.001 378 404(9)

Magnetic Moment µn 0.966 237 07(40) 10−26 JT−1

in Bohr Magnetons µn /µB 1.041 875 63(25) 10−3

in Nuclear Magnetons µn /µN 1.913 042 75(45)

Lifetime τn 888,6 ± 3,5 s

Halflife t1/2 = τ ln2 615,9 ± 2,4 s

25. TABLES OF IMPORTANT CONSTANTS, UNITS AND CONVERSION FACTORS 243

Physical-Chemistry Constants

Avogadro Constant NA , L 6.022 136 7(36) 1023 mol−1

Atomic Mass Units,

mu = 1
12 m(12 C) mu 1.660 540 2(19) 10−27 kg

in eV, mu c2 /{e} 931.494 32(28) MeV

Faraday Constant, NA e F 96 485.309(29) C mol−1

Molar Gas Constant R 8.314 510(70) Jmol−1 K−1

Boltzmann Constant, R/NA k 1.380 658(12) 10−23 JK−1

in eV, k/{e} 8.617 385(73) 10−5 eVK−1

in Hertz, k/h 2.083 674(18) 1010 HzK−1

in Wavelengths, k/hc 69.503 87(59) m−1 K−1

Stefan-Boltzmann Constant,

(π 2 /60)k 4 /h̄3 c2 σ 5.670 51(19) 10−8 Wm−2 K−4

Wien’s Constant,

b = λmax T b 2.897 756(24) 10−3 m K

Source: Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables,

Volume 70, Number 1, Sept.’98
244 III. APPENDIX

26 Units, Abbreviations, and Conversion Formulas

Primary SI Units

Meter m Newton N

Kilogram kg Farad F

Second s Joule J

Ampere A Coulomb C

Kelvin K Tesla T

Mol mol Hertz Hz

Candela cd Watt W

Prefixes for SI Units

10 102 103 106 109 1012 1015 1018

Deca Hecto Kilo Mega Giga Tera Peta Exa

da h k M G T P E

10−1 10−2 10−3 10−6 10−9 10−12 10−15 10−18

Deci Centi Milli Micro Nano Pico Femto Atto

d c m µ n p f a

Conversion Factors

1 12
1u = mu = 12 m( C) 1T = 104 G

1 eV = 1.602 177 33(49)×10−19 J 1 Ci = 3.7×1010 s−1

1J = 107 erg 1 = 10−10 m = 10−8 cm

1C = 10−1 e.m.u. 1 fm = 10−15 m = 10−13 cm

= 2.997 924 58×109 e.s.u. 1b = 10−28 m−2 = 10−24 cm−2