Analysis of the composition of surface layers in high-temperature superconducting materials by the combination of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear resonance reaction

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry combined to the 16O(α, α) nuclear resonance (E=3.045 MeV) are used to determine the stoichiometry of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconducting samples. The oxygen depth profile is also measured at thin surface layers of the compound.