Fabrication of the gold (Au) backed T130e targets for in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy

The isotopically enriched T130e targets of ~ 1.2 mg/cm² thickness were fabricated on 4–6 mg/cm² gold (Au) backing. The vapor deposition method was employed using the resistive heating technique. To minimize the material consumption and increase the deposition efficiency, an indigenously developed graphite crucible with 1 mm opening was used to deposit T130e metal powder at a minimum source to substrate distance of 2 cm. A heat shield was placed at 1 cm above the graphite crucible to dissipate the heat. The fabrication of these targets were successfully achieved by using 10 mg of metal powder in each evaporation. The fabricated targets were characterized by using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). An experiment to study the nuclear structure via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy was preformed using one of the fabricated T130e targets. The T130e(B9e,xn) reaction was used to populate the intermediate and high-spin states of Ba isotopes with B9e beam at 36- and 48 MeV lab energy. The relative percentage (%) cross-sections were measured for the B134−136a nuclei and found to be in agreement with the PACE4 calculations.