Fabrication of thin sandwiched 142,150Nd targets for HYRA spectrometer experiments

Sandwiched 142,150Nd targets of thickness (∼100–150μg/cm2) have been fabricated between two carbon layers of different thickness (∼ 30μg/cm2 and ∼ 10μg/cm2) using the thermal evaporation technique in the diffusion pump based coating unit at the target lab of Inter University Accelerator Center (IUAC), New Delhi. Thickness and purity measurement of the targets have been confirmed by using the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) technique and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) measurement present at IUAC, New Delhi and Panjab University, Chandigarh, respectively. These targets have been successfully used in a recent experiment to measure evaporation-residue (ER) cross section and spin distribution of ERs in the hybrid recoil mass analyzer (HYRA) facility present at IUAC.