Developing a Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry Station for TUNL*

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is a technique used to characterize solids via surface-
layer analysis. RBS is performed at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) to better
understand the targets that are used in experiments. The RBS chamber located at TUNL was up-
graded by increasing the number of detectors and improving the vacuum. The baseline vacuum was
increased from 2×10^-5 torr to  7×10^-7 torr. The number of detectors was increased from one to four to
allow for better characterization of complicated targets. These were integrated into the existing data
analysis system, the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). Silicon dioxide
targets were produced and RBS analysis was performed on them. The RBS data was fit with SIMNRA software. The experimental cross section was compared to the theoretical cross section given
by the Rutherford formula. Our preliminary results show good agreement between the experimental
and theoretical cross sections.