Nuclear stimulated desorption and its application to studies of surfaces and thin films

Nuclear Stimulated Desorption (NSD) uses two consecutive processes to initiate and then follow the desorption of atoms from surfaces or thin films. The initial process, such as neutron capture or the first of two beta decays, provides recoil energy for the desorption. The desorbed entity is then followed by its characteristic radiation. The premise underlying NSD is that information about the environment of the desorbing species and the dynamics of the event can be extracted from the temporal and angular characteristics of the process. Since the desorbing atom is open-quotes markedclose quotes by its radioactivity, sensitive methods for its detection may be applied. Similar methods can also be applied to the measurement of stable atoms which may have been dislodged during the desorption event. These nuclear techniques provide an important complement to other, non-nuclear, methods commonly used in the surface sciences