A simple radionuclide-driven single-ion source
Abstract
We describe a source capable of producing single barium ions through nuclear recoils in radioactive decay. The source is fabricated by electroplating 148Gd onto a silicon {\alpha}-particle detector and vapor depositing a layer of BaF2 over it. 144Sm recoils from the alpha decay of 148Gd are used to dislodge Ba+ ions from the BaF2 layer and emit them in the surrounding environment. The simultaneous detection of an {\alpha} particle in the substrate detector allows for tagging of the nuclear decay and of the Ba+ emission. The source is simple, durable, and can be manipulated and used in different environments. We discuss the fabrication process, which can be easily adapted to emit most other chemical species, and the performance of the source.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1008.3422,
title = {A simple radionuclide-driven single-ion source},
author = {M. Montero Díez and K. Twelker and W. Fairbank and G. Gratta and P. S. Barbeau and K. Barry and R. DeVoe and M. J. Dolinski and M. Green and F. LePort and A. R. Müller and R. Neilson and K. O'Sullivan and N. Ackerman and B. Aharmin and M. Auger and C. Benitez-Medina and M. Breidenbach and A. Burenkov and S. Cook and T. Daniels and K. Donato and J. Farine and G. Giroux and R. Gornea and K. Graham and C. Hagemann and C. Hall and K. Hall and D. Hallman and C. Hargrove and S. Herrin and A. Karelin and L. J. Kaufman and A. Kuchenkov and K. Kumar and J. Lacey and D. S. Leonard and D. Mackay and R. MacLellan and B. Mong and E. Niner and A. Odian and A. Piepke and A. Pocar and C. Y. Prescott and K. Pushkin and E. Rollin and P. C. Rowson and D. Sinclair and S. Slutsky and V. Stekhanov and J. -L. Vuilleumier and U. Wichoski and J. Wodin and L. Yang and Y. -R. Yen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1008.3422},
year = {2010}
}