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Description
Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) is a group of least-destructive techniques employing MeV ion beams to determine the composition and depth profile of materials. Particularly $^3$He beams come up with certain advantages. The most crucial ones are that the Q-values of $^3$He-induced reactions on most light isotopes are very high and that no special radiation safety precautions are required. In addition, $^3$He is the most suitable beam for the analysis of deuterium inside materials, rendering $^3$He-IBA essential in fusion energy research. Nevertheless, the application of $^3$He-IBA is hindered by the lack of suitable differential cross sections, which in the case of $^{16}$O are almost nonexistent.
In the present work, the differential cross sections of the $^{16}$O($^3$He, p$_0$)$^{18}$F, $^{16}$O($^3$He, p$_1$)$^{18}$F and $^{16}$O($^3$He, $\alpha_0$)$^{15}$O nuclear reactions, along with the $^{nat}O(^3$He, $^3$He$_0$) elastic scattering, were determined for the first time at five detection angles ranging from $130^{\circ}$ to $170^{\circ}$ over a beam energy range of 2.2 to 5 MeV. The obtained differential cross-section data were validated through a benchmarking experiment. All measurements took place at the 4 MV Dynamitron Tandem Laboratory of the Central Unit for Ion Beams and Radionuclides of the Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.