Comparing $$^{3}$$He content in magnetron sputtered and implanted targets for nuclear studies

Abstract $$^{3}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> He targets are a valuable tool in nuclear physics, particularly for studying nuclear structure and dynamics via direct reactions in inverse kinematics. However, they are often prone to degradation under intense beam irradiation and have insufficient $$^{3}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> He content for use with low-intensity exotic beams. In a recent AGATA experiment at LNL, designed to study the astrophysically relevant lifetime of a $$^{15}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>15</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> O excited state, two types of $$^{3}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> He targets were tested. One was produced using ion implantation and the other with a novel magnetron sputtering technique, in both cases on Au substrates. Following irradiation with a stable $$^{16}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>16</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> O beam, they were characterized using Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) and Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA). Results demonstrated that, under the here used fabrication conditions, sputtered targets present a higher $$^{3}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> He content, while implanted ones exhibit thinner profiles. This highlights the possibilities and complementarity of these targets, suggesting their tailored use for future experimental campaigns.