PIGE analysis of sodium in thin aerosol samples

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Abstract

The detection of sodium in thin (sample thickness <0.25 mgcm2) aerosol samples using PIGE (particle induced gamma-ray emission) was investigated. In order to find the best energy suitable for a simultaneous PIXE and PIGE analysis, an energy scan from a proton energy 2.20 up to 3.56 MeV was made. The γ yields for the reactions 23Na(p, p′γ)23Na and 23Na(p, αγ)20Ne giving 439 and 1634 keV γ radiation were measured using both a 3 × 3 in. NaI(T1) detector and a Ge(Li) detector. Two proton energy intervals at 2.64 and 2.96 MeV were found to have a fairly stable yield for the 439 keV γ decay and were further investigated. For these energies, the detection limit for Na in thin aerosol samples was determined to be of the order of 100 ngcm2 when using the Ge(Li) detector.

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