Eur. Phys. J. A (2010) 44: 147-168
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2010-10936-8

Special Article - Tools for Experiment and Theory

Determining isotopic distributions of fission products with a Penning trap

¹ Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35 (YFL), FI-40014, Finland
² V.G. Khlopin Radium Institute, 194021, St. Petersburg, Russia

^* e-mail: heikki.t.penttila@jyu.fi

Received: 4 November 2009
Revised: 3 February 2010
Accepted: 7 February 2010
Published online: 14 March 2010

Abstract

A novel method to determine independent yields in particle-induced fission employing the ion guide technique and ion counting after a Penning trap has been developed. The method takes advantage of the fact that a Penning trap can be used as a precision mass filter, which allows an unambiguous identification of the fission fragments. The method was tested with 25MeV and 50MeV proton-induced fission of ²³⁸U . The data is internally reproducible with an accuracy of a few per cent. A satisfactory agreement was obtained with older ion guide yield measurements in 25MeV proton-induced fission. The results for Rb and Cs yields in 50MeV proton-induced fission agree with previous measurements performed at an isotope separator equipped with a chemically selective ion source.