Abstract
The separation of isotopes in space and time by gas-surface atomic diffraction is presented as a new means for isotopic enrichment. A supersonic beam of natural abundance neon is scattered from a periodic surface of methyl-terminated silicon, with the and isotopes scattering into unique diffraction channels. Under the experimental conditions presented in this Letter, a single pass yields an enrichment factor for the less abundant isotope, , with extension to multiple passes easily envisioned. The velocity distribution of the incident beam is demonstrated to be the determining factor in the degree of separation between the isotopes’ diffraction peaks. In cases where there is incomplete angular separation, the difference in arrival times of the two isotopes at a given scattered angle can be exploited to achieve complete temporal separation of the isotopes. This study explores the novel application of supersonic molecular beam studies as a viable candidate for separation of isotopes without the need for ionization or laser excitation.
- Received 15 August 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.176001
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
Atom Scattering Picks Out the Heavyweights
Published 23 October 2017
Atomic-beam diffraction emerges as a viable approach to separating isotopes within the beam.
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