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Radioactivation Analysis of Oxygen in Silicon by Irradiation with α-Particles in a Cyclotron

Abstract

ALTHOUGH the determination of a trace of oxygen in transistor-grade silicon is very important, it cannot be done reliably by a chemical or by a neutron activation method. Radioactivation analysis using 16O(t,n)18F, 16O(γ,n)15O and 17O(d,n)18F reactions were tried1–3, but were far from satisfactory. Use of tritium in an atomic reactor resulted in low precision and sensitivity, owing to its short range and the inevitable presence of oxygen in lithium. Chemical separation of oxygen-15 is impractical because of its short life, and radioactivation of oxygen-17 is less advantageous because of its low abundance.

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NOZAKI, T., TANAKA, S., FURUKAWA, M. et al. Radioactivation Analysis of Oxygen in Silicon by Irradiation with α-Particles in a Cyclotron. Nature 190, 39–40 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190039a0

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