A NEW EVAPORATOR FOR THE LITHIUM DEPOSITION CHAMBER AT HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Light ion nuclear reaction experiments using ultra-fast high-power lasers performed at the Lab for Laser Energetics (LLE) use thin lithium films to measure nuclear cross sections using Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) or Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA). To make these films, a new lithium evaporator system has been developed at Houghton University. The new evaporator is easier to install, separates the two evaporator boats in order to evaporate one material at time for multilayer targets, uses a linear feedthrough to position the substrates, and incorporates a deposition rate monitor to control the layer thickness. Because lithium reacts with air, the new design allows the creation of a protective layer to coat the lithium film, and the deposition chamber is inside of an argon glove box.