Performance and application of scanning nuclear microprobe at the Institute of Applied Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Abstract

The scanning nuclear microprobe of the Institute of Applied Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is an analytical channel based on the compact electrostatic accelerator "Sokol" of the Van de Graaff type with the maximum voltage at the high-voltage terminal of 2 MV and is designed for local non-destructive analysis of samples of various origins with high sensitivity (~1 ppm), as well as for the fabrication of three-dimensional small structures of high quality using proton beam writing. The resolution of the microprobe is about 3 μm with a beam current of I ~ 100 pA and 0.6 μm with I ~1 pA. The maximum scanning raster with a focused beam on the sample surface is 1 × 1 mm2. The microprobe implements the techniques of particle-induced X-ray emission, Rutherford backscattering, and secondary electron microscopy. The article also gives examples of the use of the nuclear microprobe in physical research.