Speaker
Mrs
ntombizonke kheswa
(iThemba LABS)
Description
In most of nuclear physics experiments conducted at iThemba LABS, a particle beam from the separated sector cyclotron (SSC) impinged upon a target material, either self-supporting or on a backing. The methods currently used to manufacture these target materials include vacuum evaporation system with various heating sources, one using electrons and the other using resistive heating. Mechanical rolling system is available also for rolling the material to the required thicknesses. In this contribution, the method to synthesise deuterated polyethylene (d4) targets is described. Polyethylene targets were prepared before in other laboratories, for example by dissolving polyethylene resin into hot xylene (Arnison, 1966) or using a hot presser (Kusuhara, 1970). The method used for this contribution was adapted from the one by Arnison (1966), with further heat treatment of substrate as the modification to enhance the strength of the films and easy release from the substrate without the application of the parting agent. Polyethylene targets with various thicknesses were successfully manufactured.
Primary author
Mrs
ntombizonke kheswa
(iThemba LABS)