Towards calibration and characterization of high-energy beams using charged particle retrodiffusion on a double thin carbon foil system

in Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section B, Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms (2010), 268(11-12), 2015-2018

The cyclotron of the IPNAS-CEA laboratory of the University of Liege (Belgium) has built a new high-energy, high-resolution beam line based on the use of a pair of 900 bending magnets showing a energy ... [more ▼]

The cyclotron of the IPNAS-CEA laboratory of the University of Liege (Belgium) has built a new high-energy, high-resolution beam line based on the use of a pair of 900 bending magnets showing a energy resolution of Delta E = 1.9 +/- 0.4 keV comparable to that of electrostatic IBA installations. In the 6-20 MeV energy range the contribution of non-Rutherford events to scattering spectra became important and are not very well known. In order to improve our knowledge in that field, a new vacuum chamber especially dedicated to differential cross-section measurements has been constructed. First results obtained with the new set-up are presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Combined PIXE/PIGE and IBIL with external beam applied to the analysis of Merovingian glass beads

in Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section B, Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms (2010), 268(11-12), 2078-2082

New improvements on our archaeometry line at the cyclotron of the Institute of Nuclear and Atomic Physics and of Spectrometry of the University of Liege have allowed the use of PIXE/PIGE and IBIL in-air ... [more ▼]

New improvements on our archaeometry line at the cyclotron of the Institute of Nuclear and Atomic Physics and of Spectrometry of the University of Liege have allowed the use of PIXE/PIGE and IBIL in-air for the analysis of cultural heritage objects. The extraction is performed through a 100 nm thick Si3N4 window. The detection set-up consists now of two X-ray and one gamma-ray detectors, together with a fiber optic UV-visible spectrometer. This set-up has already been tested for the analysis of modern corundum [1] and is now adapted to the analysis of archaeological artefacts. In this work, we have used it to analyse 216 out of the 5000 Merovingian glass beads that come from the necropolis of Bossut-Gottechain (Belgium), one of the most important ever found in Belgium. The IBA analyses confirmed the typological division of different beads groups through chemical composition that gives us new insights on fabrication techniques of glass matrices and colorants. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Characterization of modern Prussian blue pigments by Mössbauer spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation

Conference (2009, November 27)

Multi-disciplinary investigation of the tomb of Menna (TT69), Theban Necropolis, Egypt

in Spectrochimica Acta Part A : Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy (2009), 73(3), 546-552

The archaeometrical survey of the tomb of Menna (TT69), which took place in November-December 2007, is part of the extended research program that aims to study and preserve this tomb in all its aspects ... [more ▼]

The archaeometrical survey of the tomb of Menna (TT69), which took place in November-December 2007, is part of the extended research program that aims to study and preserve this tomb in all its aspects. Menna was a high official who served as an overseer of Cadastral surveys during the reigns of pharaohs Tuthmosis IV and Amenhotep Ill (ca. 1419-1370 BC). The research team aimed to gather information, in a totally non-destructive way, on the materials used and the painting techniques. The technical examinations included photography with normal and raking light. macrophotography, ultra-violet (UV) fluorescence photography, and microscopy. On selected points X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was combined with diffuse reflectance UV-spectrometry, near infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The technical aspects as well as problems that are inherently associated with an interdisciplinary survey of this extent, are discussed. The project worked with a large team of people with different backgrounds and sensitive technical equipment. Working conditions were quite hostile, including elevated temperatures and dust hampering the examinations. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Rapport Annuel 2009: First results on the analysis of Halaf Syrian Prehistoric ceramics

Report (2009)

Rapport Annuel 2009: Overview of the research carried out in 2009 by the IAP NACHO

Report (2009)

Rapport Annuel 2009: In-situ XRF and visible spectroscopy measurements of the Mediaeval book "Cartulario de los Jurados de Toledo" at the Archivo Municipal de Toledo, Spain

Report (2009)

On going study of treated and non-treated corundum samples

Conference (2009)

Glass production in late antiquity

Poster (2009)

Towards the differentiation of non-treated and treated corundum minerals by ion-beam-induced luminescence and other complementary techniques

in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2009), 394

Abstract  Differentiation of treated and non-treated gemstones is a chief concern for major jewellery import companies. Low-quality corundum specimens coming from Asia appear to be often treated with heat ... [more ▼]

Abstract  Differentiation of treated and non-treated gemstones is a chief concern for major jewellery import companies. Low-quality corundum specimens coming from Asia appear to be often treated with heat, BeO or flux in order to enhance their properties as precious minerals. A set of corundum samples, rubies and sapphires from different origins, both treated and non-treated has been analysed at the Centre Européen d’Archéométrie, with ion-beam-induced luminescence (IBIL) and other complementary techniques such as Raman, proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), and proton-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE). IBIL, also known as ionoluminescence, has been used before to detect impurities or defects inside synthetic materials and natural minerals; its use for the discrimination of gemstone simulants or synthetic analogues has been elsewhere discussed (Cavenago-Bignami Moneta, Gemología, Tomo I Piedras preciosas, perlas, corales, marfil. Ediciones Omega, Barcelona, 1991). PIXE has been frequently applied in the archaeometric field for material characterisation and provenance studies of minerals (Hughes, Ruby & sapphire. RWH Publishing, Fallbrook, 1997; Calvo del Castillo et al., Anal Bioanal Chem 387:869–878, 2007; Calligaro et al., NIM-B 189:320–327, 2002) and PIGE complements the elemental analysis by detecting light elements in these materials such as—and lighter than—sodium that cannot be identified with the PIXE technique (Sanchez et al., NIM-B 130:682–686, 1997; Emmett et al., Gems Gemology 39:84–135, 2003). The micro-Raman technique has also been used complementarily to ion beam analysis techniques for mineral characterisation (Novak et al., Appl Surf Sci 231–232:917–920, 2004). The aim of this study is to provide new means for systematic analysis of corundum gemstone-quality mineral, alternative to the traditional gemmologic methods; for this purpose, a Spanish jewellery import company supplied us with a number of natural corundum samples coming from different places (part of them treated as explained above). The PIXE elemental concentrations of the samples showed large quantities of calcium and lead in some cases that can be linked to treatment with fluxes or lead oxide. The plot of the chromium and iron concentration grouped the samples in various aggregates that corresponded to the different types of corundum analysed. Micro-Raman complemented the PIXE analysis corroborating the presence of lead oxides but the use of the PIGE technique was not successful for the detection of beryllium due to the low cross section of the nuclear reaction chosen for its identification. IBIL was capable of distinguishing between treated and non-treated samples of the same type based on the luminescent features of the materials. [less ▲]