Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) is a nuclear method in materials science to obtain concentration vs. depth distributions for certain target elements in a solid thin film. The Materials Science Tetrahedron Materials science is a multidisciplinary field focusing on functional solids, whether the function served is structural, electronic, thermal, chemical, magnetic, optical, or some combination of these. ... The term element can refer to: Chemical element — material that consists of atoms with the same number of protons in the nucleus (see also Periodic table). ...

If irradiated with select projectile nuclei at kinetic energies E_kin these target elements can undergo a nuclear reaction under resonance conditions for a sharply defined resonance energy. The reaction product is usually a nucleus in an excited state which immediately decays, emitting ionizing radiation. Plural: nuclei In chemistry and physics, the nucleus (atomic nucleus) is the collection of protons and neutrons in the center of an atom that carries the bulk of the atoms mass and positive charge. ... This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to absorb more oscillatory energy when the frequency of the oscillations matches the systems natural frequency of vibration (its resonant frequency) than it does at other frequencies. ... Ionizing radiation is a type of particle radiation in which an individual particle (for example, a photon, electron, or helium nucleus) carries enough energy to ionize an atom or molecule (that is, to completely remove an electron from its orbit). ...

To obtain depth information the initial kinetic energy of the projectile nucleus (which has to exceed the resonance energy)and its stopping power (energy loss per distance travelled) in the sample has to be known. To contribute to the nuclear reaction the projectile nuclei have to slow down in the sample to reach the resonance energy. Thus each initial kinetic energy corresponds to a depth in the sample where the reaction occurs (the higher the energy, the deeper the reaction). Stopping power is a colloquial term used to describe the ability of a particular weapon to stop the actions of an individual by means of penetrating ballistic injury. ...

For example, a commonly used reaction to profile Hydrogen is General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ...

¹⁵N + ¹H → ¹²C + α + γ (4.965MeV)

with a resonance at 6.385 MeV. The energetic emitted γ ray is characteristic of the reaction and the number that are detected at any incident energy is proportional to the concentration at the respective depth of Hydrogen in the sample. The H concentration profile is then obtained by scanning the ¹⁵N incident beam energy. Hydrogen is an element inaccessible to RBS due to its low mass, although it is often analysed by Elastic Recoil Detection. General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... An alpha particle is deflected by a magnetic field Alpha particles or alpha rays (named after the first letter in the greek alphabet) are a form of particle radiation which are highly ionizing and have low penetration. ... This article is about electromagnetic radiation. ... Rutherford backscattering is an analytical technique in materials science. ...

NRA can also be used non-resonantly. For example, deuterium can easily be profiled with a ³He beam without changing the incident energy by using the Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a stable isotope of hydrogen with a natural abundance of one atom in 6500 of hydrogen. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ...

³He + D = α + p + 18.353MeV

reaction. The energy of the fast proton detected depends on the depth of the deuterium atom in the sample. Properties In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ...

External links

Details of many known reactions are hosted by the IEAE at http://www-nds.iaea.org/ibandl/. IAEA flag The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. ...

The energy released in nuclear reactions (the "Q value") can easily be calculated (from E=mc²): see http://nucleardata.nuclear.lu.se/database/masses/. Albert Einsteins equation E=mc² is among the best-known equations of all time. ...