Development of an external PIGE method using nitrogen from atmospheric air as external beam current normalizer and its application to nondestructive quantification of total boron mass fraction in boron containing neutron absorbers

Characterization of ferroboron alloys by simultaneously quantifying Fe and B mass fractions and isotopic compositions of B by external particle induced gamma-ray emission method

“…This peak broadening occurs either due to short life time (∼ femtosecond order) or particle emission from the emitted state and the gamma rays are detected before the recoil nuclei comes to rest. 15…”

“…This peak broadening occurs either due to short life time (∼ femtosecond order) or particle emission from the emitted state and the gamma rays are detected before the recoil nuclei comes to rest. 15 The activation in air and irradiated target is very moderate for 3.5 MeV proton beam with 10-15 nA current. It does not raise any serious concern about radiation hazards.…”

“…Nuclear reactions induced by low-energy proton bombardment produce activation in air, target materials and structural materials. Reactions such as 12 C(p,g) 13 N (T 1/2 = 9.96 m), 13 C(p,n) 13 N (T 1/2 = 10 min), 14 N(p,a) 11 C (T 1/2 = 20.4 min), 15 N(p,n) 15 O (T 1/2 = 122.4 s), 16 O(p,g) 17 F (T 1/2 = 64.5 s), and 18 O(p,n) 18 F (T 1/2 = 110 min) from air and 10 B(p,a) 7 Be (T 1/2 = 53 d), 54 Fe(p,g) 55 Co (T 1/2 = 17.5 h), 56 Fe(p,g) 57 Co (T 1/2 = 271.8 d), and 57 Fe(p,n) 57 Co from targets produce positron-emitting radionuclides of different half-lives, and annihilation of these radionuclides gives the 511 keV gamma ray peak in the spectra. However, their production rate under the present irradiation conditions is negligibly small.…”

“…13 The quantication of total B and its isotopic composition (IC, 10 B/ 11 B atom ratio) was carried out in different neutron absorbers and shielding materials by both conventional and external PIGE set ups at FOTIA, BARC. [13][14][15] Recently, methodologies for the rapid quantication of isotopic compositions of boron in the 'as-received' samples and total boron mass fraction determination using nitrogen from the atmospheric air as current normalizer by external PIGE method were developed and standardized. 14,15 A beam line at FOTIA, BARC, is fully dedicated to external PIGE for the analysis of samples of both our routine and R&D work.…”

“…[13][14][15] Recently, methodologies for the rapid quantication of isotopic compositions of boron in the 'as-received' samples and total boron mass fraction determination using nitrogen from the atmospheric air as current normalizer by external PIGE method were developed and standardized. 14,15 A beam line at FOTIA, BARC, is fully dedicated to external PIGE for the analysis of samples of both our routine and R&D work. The development is application driven and the developed external PIGE method is particularly important for the analysis of nuclear materials, as there are only very few techniques available for the simultaneous nondestructive determination of boron mass fractions and its isotopic composition in direct solid samples.…”