The detailed process of preparing enriched 108Cd targets on mylar and copper backing using the vacuum evaporation technique is described. These targets were employed in an experiment to measure the proton capture cross-section at energies significantly below the Coulomb barrier, for the astrophysical p-process studies. Due to the low melting point and high vapor pressure of cadmium, some adjustments were implemented in the Telemark multipocket e-beam setup. The target thickness was determined through the measurement of alpha particle energy loss from a triple alpha source and also by RBS measurements. The thickness of the 108Cd films varies between 290 to 660 μg/cm2, with a non-uniformity of approximately 10%. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses were conducted to examine the presence of impurities and to assess surface morphology, phase, and chemical composition.
@article{arxiv.2402.16856,
title = {Fabrication of $^{108}$Cd target for the astrophysical p-process studies},
author = {Sukhendu Saha and Mousri Paul and Lalit Kumar Sahoo and Dipali Basak and Tanmoy Bar and Jagannath Datta and Sandipan Dasgupta and G. L. N. Reddy and Chinmay Basu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.16856},
year = {2024}
}