Potku – New analysis software for heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis

Time-of-flight elastic recoil detection (ToF-ERD) analysis software has been developed. The software combines a Python-language graphical front-end with a C code computing back-end in a user-friendly way. The software uses a list of coincident time-of-flight–energy (ToF–E) events as an input. The ToF calibration can be determined with a simple graphical procedure. The graphical interface allows the user to select different elements and isotopes from a ToF–E histogram and to convert the selections to individual elemental energy and depth profiles. The resulting sample composition can be presented as relative or absolute concentrations by integrating the depth profiles over user-defined ranges. Beam induced composition changes can be studied by displaying the event-based data in fractions relative to the substrate reference data. Optional angular input data allows for kinematic correction of the depth profiles. This open source software is distributed under the GPL license for Linux, Mac, and Windows environments