ULTRA-TRACE DETERMINATION OF OXYGEN AND CARBON BY CHARGED PARTICLE ACTIVATION ANALYSIS

When considering ultra-trace analysis by charged particle activation using the equivalent thickness method of quantization, three factors are of prime importance to ensure valid results. First, accurate and well defined activation curves of the nuclear reactions being employed must be obtained. Second, all interfering reactions must be experimentally categorized to ensure the integrity of the radioisotope used for analysis. Third, all usable reactions for the analysis of a given element should be investigated to allow the best possible choice of reactions for analysis in a given matrix and impurity level. This paper presents a study of the ultra-trace determination of oxygen and carbon by charged particle activation analysis following the above outlined procedure. Analytical results are given for the nondestructive determination of oxygen in silicon in the part-permillion to the part-per-billion range. Results of some selected samples are compared to results independently obtained by infrared spectrometry. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.