Production and characterisation of 20,22Ne targets

Targets of 20Ne and 22Ne nuclides were produced for nuclear astrophysics experiments by implanting them into tantalum backing material at the Ion Beam Centre (IBC), Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden. Each Ne nuclide was implanted alternatively at 30 keV and 50 keV. As significant sputtering of both neon and tantalum atoms occurs during implantation, the final neon depth profiles and areal densities of all four target types were analysed. Nuclear resonance analysis (NRA), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) and proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) methods were used for detailed neon target analyses using the 6 MV Tandetron facility at the Advanced Technologies Research Institute of the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava. Nuclear reactions 22Ne(p, γ)23Na at resonance energy (Eres) = 639 keV and 20Ne(p, γ)21Na at Eres = 1169 keV were used for neon concentration depth profiling. The measured depth profiles were compared with the predictions given by the SRIM and the dynamic TRIDYN implantation simulations, which also consider the sputtering process. Impurity contamination and substrate roughness were checked by PIXE and ERDA measurements, respectively. The NRA technique was suitable for monitoring the target stability after one year of implantation.