Analyzing hydrogen with nuclear reactions

OCT 01, 1977

Nuclear‐reaction techniques for determining depth profiles of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium are of value in solar‐cell manufacture and metallurgical problems such as steel embrittlement and radiation damage.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3037748

Samuel T. Picraux

There are many ways in which hydrogen plays an important role in today’s materials problems. Our newly developed ability to detect and probe sensitively and quantitatively for hydrogen has provided valuable new insight into many of these problems. By means of nuclear‐reaction techniques we can develop depth profiles of the hydrogen, deuterium and tritium concentration in various materials; these techniques have already been of practical assistance in several areas of technology, and promise to be helpful in others as well (see box on page 45). Here we shall describe rather briefly the types of nuclear‐reaction techniques now used to probe for hydrogen. Then we shall concentrate on the way these techniques have been applied to studies of hydrogen isotopes in various materials, making particular note of the uses of implantation for these studies and the effect of changing the implanted‐hydrogen concentration on the observed properties of the bulk materials.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

1. J. Bottiger, S. T. Picraux, N. Rud, in Ion Beam Surface Layer Analysis (O. Meyer, G. Linker, F. Kappeler, eds), Plenum Press, N.Y. (1976), page 811; see also other articles in these conference proceedings.
2. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Ion Beam Analysis, Washington, D.C., June 1977, (to be published in Nucl. Inst. and Methods).
3. D. A. Leich, T. A. Tombrello, Nucl. Inst. and Methods 108, 67 (1973).
4. S. T. Picraux, in New Uses of Low Energy Accelerators (J. F. Ziegler, ed), Plenum Press, N.Y. (1975) page 229;
F. L. Vook, S. T. Picraux, in Advances in Chemistry Series No. 158: Radiation Effects on Solid Surfaces (M. Kaminsky, ed), American Chemical Society (1976) page 308.
5. S. T. Picraux in reference 1, page 527.
6. S. T. Picraux, J. Bo/ttiger, N. Rud, J. Nucl. Materials 63, 110 (1976).https://doi.org/JNUMAM
7. E. P. EerNisse, S. T. Picraux, J. Appl. Phys. 48, 9 (1977).https://doi.org/JAPIAU
8. J. C. Davis, J. D. Anderson, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 12, 358 (1975).https://doi.org/JVSTAL
9. R. S. Blewer in reference 1, page 185.
10. R. A. Langley in reference 1, page 201.
11. P. N. Adler, G. M. Padawer, E. A. Kamykowski, Proceedings of the 1974 Tri‐Service Corrosion of Military Equipment Conference, AFML‐TR‐75‐42, vol. II, page 25, WPAFB, Ohio.
12. G. J. Clark, C. W. White, D. D. Allred, B. R. Appleton, I. S. T. Tsong, F. B. Koch, C. W. Magee, D. E. Carlson, to be published in reference 2.
13. I. Friedman, R. L. Smith, W. D. Long, Geological Soc. Amer. Bulletin 77, 323 (1966).https://doi.org/BUGMAF
14. W. A. Lanford, Science 196, 975 (1977).https://doi.org/SCIEAS
15. M. H. Brodsky, M. A. Frisch, F. J. Ziegler, W. A. Lanford, Appl. Phys. Lett. 30, 561 (1977).https://doi.org/APPLAB
16. P. N. Adler, E. A. Kamykowski, G. M. Padawer, Hydrogen in Metals (I. M. Bernstein, A. W. Thompson, eds) American Society for Metals (1974) page 623.
17. W. A. Lanford, R. C. Dynes, J. M. Poate, J. M. Rowell, T. H. Schmidt, to be published.
18. W. A. Lanford, to be published in reference 2;
W. A. Lanford, R. Golub, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.

More about the authors

Samuel T. Picraux, Ion‐Solid Interactions Research Division, Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque.