Complementarity of low-energy spin polarized radioactive nuclei and muons

The recently completed ISAC facility at TRIUMF is the most intense source of low-energy radioactive ions in the world. Beams of short-lived radioactive ions have applications in many different areas of physics including condensed matter research. At ISAC we are developing the technique of beta-detected nuclear magnetic resonance (beta-NMR) as a tool for investigating thin structures and dilute impurities. Large nuclear spin polarization can be generated using a fast collinear laser method so that a beam of highly spin polarized ions can be implanted at low energies (1-90 keV). In this paper we describe the facility and the initial experimental program with emphasis on how this technique can complement mu SR. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.