Fabrication of $^{108}$Cd target for the astrophysical p-process studies

Sukhendu Saha; Mousri Paul; Lalit Kumar Sahoo; Dipali Basak; Tanmoy Bar; Jagannath Datta; Sandipan Dasgupta; G. L. N. Reddy; Chinmay Basu

arXiv · 2402.16856

Fabrication of $^{108}$Cd target for the astrophysical p-process studies

Sukhendu Saha·Mousri Paul·Lalit Kumar Sahoo·Dipali Basak·Tanmoy Bar·Jagannath Datta·Sandipan Dasgupta·G. L. N. Reddy·Chinmay Basu

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Abstract

The detailed process of preparing enriched $^{108}$Cd targets on mylar and copper backing using the vacuum evaporation technique is described. These targets were employed in an experiment to measure the proton capture cross-section at energies significantly below the Coulomb barrier, for the astrophysical p-process studies. Due to the low melting point and high vapor pressure of cadmium, some adjustments were implemented in the Telemark multipocket e-beam setup. The target thickness was determined through the measurement of alpha particle energy loss from a triple alpha source and also by RBS measurements. The thickness of the $^{108}$Cd films varies between 290 to 660 $\mu$g/cm$^2$, with a non-uniformity of approximately 10$\%$. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses were conducted to examine the presence of impurities and to assess surface morphology, phase, and chemical composition.

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Sukhendu Saha, Mousri Paul, Lalit Kumar Sahoo, Dipali Basak, Tanmoy Bar, Jagannath Datta, Sandipan Dasgupta, G. L. N. Reddy, Chinmay Basu. 2024-01-19. Fabrication of $^{108}$Cd target for the astrophysical p-process studies. https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.16856

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