Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Paul A. DeYoung, Physics
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-17-2026
Abstract
Faraday cup is a conductive cup that measures the current of an incident beam of charged particles. Faraday cups are frequently used in particle accelerator-based studies where the beam intensity must be measured. A previous study determined the systematic error in Faraday cup measurements for a 3.4 MeV proton beam using Rutherford scattering at large angles. Our study builds upon this previous work to include six different beam energies ranging from 3.0 MeV to 0.6 MeV and two different incident masses (H and He). A silicon surface barrier detector measured the energy of back-scattered ions from a copper target. The number of incident beam particles was determined by fitting this energy spectrum with SIMNRA. This value was compared to the Faraday cup measurement to give a correction factor for each distinct beam setting. These correction factors allow cup readings to be corrected, reducing the systematic error in fluence and cross-section measurements.
Recommended Citation
Repository citation: Hughes, Spencer; Bunnell, A.; and Kim, J., "Correcting Faraday Cup Measurements Using Rutherford Backscattering" (2026). 25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026). Paper 13.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/curca_25/13
April 17, 2026. Copyright © 2026 Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
Comments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. PHY-2209138.
Two author names appear on poster but not in the abstract booklet: A. Bunnell and J. Kim.