Honors Senior Proposal

Nicholas Byrnes

Research Topic:
The topic of my research and thesis will be the study of surface characterization using
low energy positron annihilation and deflection on aluminum surfaces. By analyzing positron-
plasmon excitation at the surface of aluminum, I hope to determine a trend related to the
presence of surface plasmons in material surface analysis of other materials known to have
surface plasmons. If the behaviors exhibited by other materials that have surface plasmons, such
as copper, graphene, graphite, and silicon are present in aluminum, this will help to confirm how
surface plasmons affect positron analysis of surfaces, specifically in the formation of
positronium and the reemission of positrons.

Relevant Research and Scholarship:

The key component of this line of research is that positrons are an ideal particle in the
study of material surfaces. Low energy positron annihilation and diffraction allow for high
surface sensitivity, a smooth scattering factor, no forward focusing, and shallow surface depth
recording when analyzing surface materials. All of this gives the use of positrons a much greater
degree of accuracy in material surface analysis. A prime example of this is in the comparison of
two types of Auger Electron Spectroscopy; Positron annihilation induced Auger Electron
Spectroscopy (PAES) and Electron induced Auger electron spectroscopy (EAES). Not only does
EAES require ~100 times the incident particle energy when compared to PAES, but by the way
that PAES uses positron-electron annihilation at the topmost layer of the surface, the penetration
depth of the particle is only around 5nm, compared to EAES at roughly 10-15nm.
One of the characteristic features of using positrons in surface analysis is the creation and
subsequent emission of positronium versus the reemission of bare positrons from the surface the
positron beam is incident to. Positronium formation and positron emission occurs in a three-stage
process; implantation, thermal diffusion from the stopping distance of the particle to the surface
of the material, and electron capture with positron escape. It is the thought of my experiment that
the presence of a surface plasmon in a material plays a large part in this process, though as of
now it is not well known if surface plasmons play any role in the production of Positronium.
What is known is that use of positrons versus electrons when exciting surface plasmons results in
a greater number of excitations when using positrons. This is because positron interaction lengths
with plasmons are twice the duration than those of electrons, all almost entirely in the first layer
of atoms. This shows that if the surface plasmons interact at length with positrons at the surface
of materials, they quite possibly could affect the production of positronium.
When considering aluminum specifically, there are a few reasons to use it for this
experiment. The first and most important is that aluminum has a characteristic surface plasmon
energy of 10eV, which makes it useful for comparisons to other materials with surface plasmons.
It is also not widely analyzed regarding its positronium formation compared to other materials
such as Copper, Graphene, Graphite, and Silicon. This allows for the use of aluminum as a type
of control material against which we can compare other, more fully researched materials.
Significance:
By analyzing positron interactions on aluminum surfaces, the end goal is to see if a
consistent trend exists among materials with surface plasmons. The confirmation of this trend
would grant further insight as to the nature of positronium formation and the use of positrons in
Surface Physics. This is highly important, as advancements in surface physics spell large
advances in other fields that rely heavily on the characteristics of material surfaces. Electronics,
Material Physics, Chemistry, and Nano-Physics all rely on advancements in our analysis of
surfaces to make progress, as surface characteristics include features such as functional surfaces
for electronic devices; catalytic properties and surface alloying due to surface impurities; and
superstructure and reconstructed surface analysis.
Within the field of Surface physics itself, confirming this positronium-plasmon could
help increase the efficiency with which we can produce positronium on a well-prepared surface.
One interesting result of more consistent positronium production would be that Physicists could
create a new Positronium Bose-Einstein Condensate to help understand the behavior of particles
at near absolute zero temperatures. As of now, there are only a few materials capable of
producing a Bose-Einstein Condensate, and even fewer include the use of anti-matter such as
positrons. It is also important that the field of Surface Physics eventually move away from the
use of electrons in surface analysis completely, as the use of positron diffraction and annihilation
will provide an overall more accurate picture to help propel the field forward.
If the results refute the idea that surface plasmons positively impact the generation of
positronium in positron-electron interactions, this is equally fascinating, as it shows that the
interaction of positrons with surface particles are not all equal. This would merit even more
investigation to determine what quantum particles present at the surface of a material impact
positrons and to what degree.

Methodology:
The methodology in my research is three-fold. The first component will be slide
preparation and device construction. This will include creating samples to test, maintaining the
positron-laser and particle detector assembly, and running experiments using the prepared
components. This is really the labor of the project, as between slide preparation, device setup,
runtime, and cooldown, the machine can take up to a week to produce complete results.
The second part of this experiment is the data collection. While the machine is running,
data will be collected automatically from positron-laser, the particle detectors, and the ambient
conditions of the device such as temperature. Daily, data from the machine will have to be
analyzed for discrepancies or errors that might indicate a fault in the setup or maintenance and
the data will be saved. This step is crucial due to the long experiment runtimes; if an experiment
has failed, it needs to be known immediately so that the process can be canceled and reset,
otherwise a possible week’s worth of data might be compromised.
The last part of the process will be the final data analysis and report write-ups.
Information such as the production of positronium, output radiation from positron-electron
annihilation, surface plasma excitation and positron reemission will need to be plotted and
formulated so that the information can be made sense of, compared to known values, and be
analyzed for potential error to be avoided in the next experiment.
At the beginning of my research, I will primarily be assisting in the lab with experimental
setup and data recording. As I become more competent in the lab, I will begin participating in the
analysis of data gathered for experiments and eventually begin running my own experiments
with the aid of more experienced researchers. By the end, I should be able to run a complete
experiment without any aid beyond routine data checking.
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