The use of radionuclides for the study of crystal structure of solids

It is well known that by the coordinated action of atoms arranged in rows and planes in the crystal lattice, the motion of charged particles such as protons, alpha particles and heavier ions can be influenced so that their range in the single crystals is considerably enhanced in low-index directions. A technique has been developed based on such enhanced penetration (channeling) of radioactive atoms (²²⁰Rn) emitted by recoil with a 100 keV energy from a²²⁴Ra point source to record channeling patterns which show the crystal structure. The radioactive recoil atoms impinging from this source on the surface of a single crystal penetrate deeper in places where their direction of impact is identical with low index crystal directions and planes. These places can be visualized by autoradiography when having first stripped a thin layer from the surface corresponding to the random range of the atoms. This technique is generally applicable in close packed crystals and gives information about the crystal structure of very thin surface layers.