Lifetime measurements with the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method using a thick homogeneous production target - Verification of the method

Doppler Shift Attenuation Method (DSAM) analysis of excited-state lifetimes normally employs thin production targets mounted on a thick stopper foil ("backing") serving to slow down and stop the recoiling nuclei of interest in a well-defined manner. Use of a thick, homogeneous production target leads to a more complex analysis as it results in a substantial decrease in the energy of the incident projectile which traverses the target with an associated change in the production cross section of the residues as a function of penetration depth. Here, a DSAM lifetime analysis using a thick homogeneous target has been verified using the Doppler broadened lineshapes of gamma rays following the decay of highly excited states in the semi-magic (N = 50) nucleus Ru-94. Lifetimes of excited states in the Ru-94 nucleus have been obtained using a modified version of the LINESHAPE package from the Doppler broadened lineshapes resulting from the emission of the gamma rays, while the residual nuclei were slowing down in the thick (6 mg/cm(2)) metallic Ni-58 target. The results have been validated by comparison with a previous measurement using a different (RDDS) technique.