HPS masthead
What's New?
. Fukushima Decontamination Report
. CRCPD & CDC Grants for Volunteer Corps
. America's Nuclear Future
. February Newsletter
. Boice Nominated President of NCRP
. February Journal
. February ORS
. Schauer Given the Butterfly Award from Image Gently
. Kase President's Report to IRPA
. IRPA13 Accepting Posters
Upcoming Events
. HPS Midyear - Issues in Waste Management
5-8 February 2012
Dallas, Texas
. NRC Regulatory Information Conference
NRC Regulatory Information Conference
13-15 March 2012
Rockville, Maryland
. NCRP Annual Meeting
12-13 March 2012
Washington, DC
. James E. Turner Memorial Symposium
Call for Abstracts
18-19 April 2012
Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Pollard Auditorium, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
. IRPA13
13-18 May 2012
Glasgow, Scotland
. Canadian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA) Annual Meeting
27-30 May 2012
Halifax, Nova Scotia
. ACS Undergrad Summer Schools
10 June- 20 July 2012
. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Meeting Webcasts
February 2012
Bethesda, Maryland
08 February 2012

Answer to Question #6127 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Industrial Radiation — Industrial Exposures

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I have a question regarding incidental x radiation produced during ion-beam milling. I have been informed by a company representative that an ion-beam milling device operating in the 1 keV to 10 keV range produces no radiation. I have also found studies that noted radiation damage to samples that had been prepared by argon ion milling. Is this a response to only radiofrequency radiation or does the ion-milling device produce any x radiation in the course of its normal usage?

A

The company representative is correct that an ion-beam milling device, operating in the 1 to 10 keV range, produces no radiation outside the device. Heavy charged particles (those with masses greater than a proton), with energies much less than their rest-mass energy (E=mc2) slow down almost entirely due to coulombic interactions (Rutherford scattering off other nuclei), which will not produce characteristic x rays or x rays from bremsstrahlung. A few energetic electrons (delta-rays) can be produced, but these will be of such a low magnitude and low energy that the vacuum chamber, used for the ion-beam milling, will stop these electrons. The material being milled may suffer "damage" from the ion beam itself.

John P. Hageman, MS, CHP

Reference
Krane K. Introduction to nuclear physics; 1988.
Shultis K, Faw R. Radiation shielding; 2000.
 

Answer posted on 7 February 2007. The information and material posted on this website is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Website. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.
image
image
Home Affiliates Ask the Experts Radiation Terms Employment Meetings