Hydrogen detection near surfaces and shallow interfaces with resonant nuclear reaction analysis

Special emphasis is placed on the powerful combination of 1H(15N,αγ)12C NRA with surface science techniques of in-situ target preparation and characterization, as the NRA technique is ideally suited to investigate hydrogen interactions with atomically controlled surfaces and intact interfaces. In conjunction with thermal desorption spectroscopy, 15N NRA can assess the thermal stability of absorbed hydrogen species in different depth locations against diffusion and desorption. Hydrogen diffusion dynamics in the near-surface region, including transitions of hydrogen between the surface and the bulk, and between shallow interfaces of nanostructured thin layer stacks can directly be visualized. As a unique feature of 15N NRA, the analysis of Doppler-broadened resonance excitation curves allows for the direct measurement of the zero-point vibrational energy of hydrogen atoms adsorbed on single crystal surfaces.