Ion-induced electron emission ERDA with a nuclear microprobe

With intention to be used for the 3D analysis of hydrogen, a new ion-induced electron emission (IEE) ERDA system has been installed on the nuclear microprobe. A better depth resolution has been obtained with IEE particle identification system when compared to conventional ERDA systems that use stopping foil. Spectra of the forward scattered ions as well as the recoiled atoms are collected using the same particle detector. This simplifies normalization needed for quantitative analysis without the use of an additional detector. However, well defined but rather small solid angle of the IEE detector requires higher ion beam currents if sufficient sensitivity for H detection needs to be achieved. High beam currents focused to several micrometer spot size lead to rather high current densities and increased probability of H loss from the sample, which may limit the achievable sensitivity. By positioning IEE ERDA system at 45° instead of 30°, as well as by using heavier ions (O ions instead of He), two orders of magnitude better sensitivity can be obtained without a significant deterioration of depth resolution due to the increased recoil cross-section. In this work, several different sample types containing H have been studied. The capabilities of system for 3D imaging of H in samples have been demonstrated.