Measurements of proton induced γ-ray emission cross sections on MgF2 target in the energy range 1.95–3.05 MeV

• We measured PIGE differential cross sections for F and Mg between 1.95 and 3.05 MeV with 15 keV step.
• In general good agreement was found with the data available from the literature.
• We observed resonance in the 24Mg(p,pγ1−0)24Mg reaction at 2.01 MeV, which is well-suited for depth profiling of Mg.

In this work we present differential cross sections for γ-ray emission from the reactions 19F(p,p′γ)19F (Eγ = 110, 197, 1236 and 1349 + 1357 keV), 24Mg(p,p′γ)24Mg (Eγ = 1369 keV) and 25Mg(p,p′γ)25Mg (Eγ = 390, 585 and 975 keV). Differential cross sections were measured for proton energies from 1.95 to 3.05 MeV with a 15 keV step and beam energy resolution of 0.06%. Thin reference standard, 54.1 μg/cm2 of MgF2 deposited on thin Mylar foil with additionally evaporated 4 nm Au layer, was used as a target. The γ-rays were detected by a 20% relative efficiency HPGe detector placed at an angle of 135° with respect to the beam direction, while the backscattered protons were collected using silicon surface barrier detector placed at the scattering angle of 165°. Obtained cross sections were compared with the previously measured data available from the literature.