Utilization of the RBI tandem accelerator facility for analytical applications

Through its Division of Experimental Physics, Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI) has a long-standing tradition in accelerator science, technology and applications. In 1956 the first Cockroft-Walton accelerator was built and used as a source of fast neutrons (neutron generator) for nuclear physics experiments. In 1971 new neutron generator was commissioned and is still in use as a source of neutrons for applied research. Between 1954 and 1962 a cyclotron was built, which during its best years produced up to 75 GBq of radio-nuclides per year used for production of radiopharmaceuticals. This cyclotron was decommissioned, and the new one is under installation to be used mostly for the production of PET pharmaceuticals. Through the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions (LIBI), the Division of Experimental Physics of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI) operates and maintains the Tandem Accelerators facility that physically consists of the 6 MV Tandem Van de Graaff and 1MV Tandetron accelerators, associated beam lines and measurement end-stations, including ion microprobe, Time-of-Flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (TOF-ERDA) end-station, general purpose Ion Beam Analysis (IBA), High-Resolution Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE), and in-air end stations. The facility is used for research and applications in a range of fields, including nuclear and atomic physics, ion beam modification and characterisation of materials by a variety of ion beam analytical methods. Interdisciplinary research is performed at this facility as a collaborative effort between different RBI laboratories from several departments, and between RBI and other institutions from Croatia and abroad. Capabilities of the RBI Tandem accelerator facility for analytical applications will be presented, illustrated with several examples of recent interdisciplinary collaborations. (author)