A PIXE System for Routine Longitudinal Scanning of Single Hair Strands

• This article describes a PIXE system designed and constructed for routine longitudinal scanning of single hair strands. In constructing a PIXE system for trace elemental scans of single hair strands on a routine basis, a fairly intense beam has to be used but the heating damage must be kept to a minimum. The experimental conditions (charge integration, beam homogeneity etc.) have to be carefully controlled in order to give accurate PIXE results. The geometrical thickness of the hair at each point of the scan has to be determined and a qualitative knowledge of the elemental distribution over the cross section of the hair has to be provided for a proper interpretation of the PIXE results. In the present PIXE system the geometrical thickness of a hair strand at each point along the scan is determined by counting the number of backscattered protons simultaneously with the PIXE analysis, and a qualitative knowledge of the elemental distribution over the cross section of the hair is obtained through bombarding the hair at particular points with different proton energies.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Produktionsteknik, arbetsvetenskap och ergonomi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Subatomär fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Subatomic Physics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

longitudinal scanning

hair strands

PIXE

trace element analysis

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)