Fabrication and characterization of enriched 154,144Sm and 142,148Nd targets on Al-backing for nuclear physics experiments at IUAC, New Delhi, India.

The enriched targets of stable isotopes ^154,144Sm and ^142,148Nd have been fabricated for the measurements of excitation functions and recoil range distributions studies using different heavy ion projectile at IUAC, New Delhi. These targets have been fabricated by electron gun evaporation on Al backing. A very thin capping has been applied to prevent material from getting oxidized and eventual deterioration of material itself. The enriched ^154,144Sm and ^142,148Nd samples have been capped by carbon and aluminium, respectively. These samples of multiple thicknesses have been prepared using a high vacuum evaporation chamber facility. The thickness and uniformity of the different samples have been measured by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). These measurements also confirm that there are no unwanted impurities in the prepared targets. Large number of sandwiched targets, more than 30, of ^144,154Sm and ^142,148Nd isotopes have been successfully fabricated in a single evaporation. In the present study, the sandwiched targets have been fabricated using high vacuum evaporation technique. This technique is a very useful and cost efficient method to prepare large number of thin isotopic enriched targets having oxidizing property for experimental nuclear physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]