Activation Analysis with 1 MeV/amu Heavy Ion Beams

Heavy ion beams Z ¿ 3 with energy of 1 MeV/amu have been used for activation analysis. The major advantage of Heavy Ion Activation Analysis (HIAA) lies in the fact that on any given target element a heavy ion beam can induce the greatest number of reactions. Some of these reactions result in radioactive products which can be measured. The increased number of reactions increases the probability of finding a reaction for a given target which is both selective and sensitive. By using low energy heavy ion beams an upper limit for elements that will activate occurs due to the Coulomb barrier between the two nuclei. It was determined experimentally that only elements Z ¿ 8 activate. This technique is thus an excellent method for trace determination of the lowest Z elements without interferences from the matrix.