IAEA CRP on Development of a Reference Database for Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) spectroscopy

(1) Nuclear Data Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
(2) Ruhr Universität Bochum, Gebäude NT05/130, Postfach 102148, Bochum 44721, Germany
(3) Department of Experimental Physics, Institute Rudjer Boskovic, Bijenicka cesta 54, Zagreb, Croatia
(4) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Via Sansone 1, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, Italy
(5) Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, National Science Center, Kharkov 61108, Ukraine
(6) Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, PO Box 14395-836, Tehran, Iran
(7) Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), Bem ter 18/c, PO Box 51, 4001 Debrecen, Hungary
(8) National Center of Scientific Research "Demokritos", P.O. Box 60228, 15310 Athens, Greece
(9) Centro de Física Nuclear, Av. Gama Pinto, N˚2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
(10) Division of Materials Physics, Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, PO Box 43, Finland
(11) Institut de Physique Nucleaire, Atomique et de Spectroscopie, Universite de Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
(12) Centro de Micro Análisis de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain

Particle-Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) is a powerful analytical technique that exploits the interactions of rapid (~1-10 MeV) charged particles with nuclei located near a sample surface to determine the composition and structure of the surface regions of solids by measurement of characteristic prompt γ rays. The potential for depth profiling of this technique has long been recognized, however, the implementation has been limited owing to insufficient knowledge of the physical data and lack of suitable user-friendly computer codes for the applications.   Although a considerable body of published data exists in the nuclear physics literature for nuclear reaction cross sections with γ rays in the exit channel, there was, until now,  no up-to-date, comprehensive compilation specifically dedicated to IBA applications. A number of PIGE cross-section data had already been uploaded to the Ion Beam Analysis Nuclear Data Library (IBANDL) (http://www-nds.iaea.org/ibandl) by members of the IBA community by 2011, however a preliminary survey of this body of unevaluated experimental data has revealed numerous discrepancies beyond the uncertainty limits reported by the authors. Using the resources and coordination provided by the IAEA, a concerted effort to improve the situation was made within the Coordinated Research Project on the Development of a Reference Database for PIGE spectroscopy, from 2011 to 2015.  The aim of the CRP was to create a data library for Ion Beam Analysis that contains reliable and usable data on charged particle γ-ray emission cross sections that would be made freely available to the user community.  As the CRP has reached its completion, we shall present its main achievements, including the results of nuclear cross-section evaluations and the development of a computer code that will become available to the public allowing for the implementation of a standard-less PIGE technique.