Absolute surface carbon coverage determination via the 12C(3He, p)14N reaction

Abstract Absolute cross sections for the 12 C( 3 He, p) 14 N nuclear reaction have been measured at E( 3 He ) ≈ 2.4 MeV with a precision of 4–5% for angles in the range 86° ⩽ θ lab ⩽ 151°. The total cross section summed over p o , p 1 and p 2 varies from 5 to 7 mb/sr in the angular range studied. Due to its high Q -value, this reaction provides a useful alternative to the familiar 12 C(d, p) 13 C reaction for measuring submonolayer surface carbon coverage. This approach is of particular advantage for low-atomic-number substrates (e.g. Al, Si) which otherwise give rise to interfering reaction products.