9314133 McIntyre This U.S.-Mexico award will support a collaboration between Professor Laurence McIntyre of the University of Arizona and Professor Eduardo Andrade Ibarra of the Institute of Physics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The collaborators will study the (3HE,p) nuclear reaction as a tool for materials analysis. There are several major analytical techniques used in the field of Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) for detecting and quantifying elementary composition and depth distribution in thin films and surface layers of bulk materials. The predominant and most general technique involves nuclear scattering and reactions; however, this technique shows a lack of sensitivity to low mass elements in the presence of higher mass elements in the film or substrate material. Through the use of the (3He,p) nuclear reaction, the present study will search for additional, suitable techniques to overcome this problem. The experimental work will be divided between the laboratories with the expectation that at the end of the project, both labs will possess a new and powerful technique for materials analysis. ***
