Application of alpha spectrometry to the discovery of new elements by heavy-ion-beam bombardment
Starting with polonium in 1898, ..cap alpha..-spectrometry has played a decisive role in the discovery of new, heavy elements. For even-even nuclei, ..cap alpha..-spectra have proved simple to interpret and exhibit systematic trends that allow extrapolation to unknown isotopes. The early discovery of the natural ..cap alpha..-decay series led to the very powerful method of genetically linking the decay of new elements to the well-established ..cap alpha..-emission of daughter and granddaughter nuclei. This technique has been used for all recent discoveries of new elements including Z = 109. Up to mendelevium (Z = 101), thin samples suitable for ..cap alpha..-spectrometry were prepared by chemical methods. With the advent of heavy-ion accelerators new sample preparation methods emerged. These were based on the large momentum transfer associated with heavy-ion reactions, which produced energetic target recoils that, when ejected from the target, could be thermalized in He gas. Subsequent electrical deposition or a He-jet technique yielded samples that were not only thin enough for ..cap alpha..-spectroscopy, but also for ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-recoil experiments. Many variations of these methods have been developed and are discussed. For the synthesis of element 106 an aerosol-based recoil transport technique was devised. In the most recent experiments, ..cap alpha..-spectrometry has been coupled with the magnetic analysis of the recoils. The time from production to analysis of an isotope has thereby been reduced to 10/sup -6/ s; while it was 10/sup -1/ to 10/sup 0/ s for He-jets and 10/sup 1/ to 10/sup 3/ s for rapid chemical separations. Experiments are now in progress to synthesize super heavy elements (SHE) and to analyze them with these latest techniques. Again, ..cap alpha..-spectrometry will play a major role since the expected signature for the decay of a SHE is a sequence of ..cap alpha..-decays followed by spontaneous fission.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 5844647
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-15894; CONF-830539-3; ON: DE83015996; TRN: 83-022142
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International meeting for radionuclide metrology - alpha particle spectrometry and low level measurement, Harwell, UK, 10 May 1983; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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