The use of isotope separators for ion implantation

Electromagnetic isotope separators serve a dual scientific purpose. The large production machines continue to provide the only practicable source of many stable isotopes, while the smaller laboratory separators have proved to be versatile research instruments in a variety of fields. The use of experimental separators in nuclear spectroscopy is now well established, and they have also been successfully employed in the study of ion-solid interactions. More recently they have proved particularly useful in the ion doping of semiconductors. The use of the separator for hyperfine interaction studies combines the stringent but largely disparate requirements of the nuclear and the ion implantation applications. The advantages and the limitations of this method of sample preparation are considered in some detail and briefly compared with other possible techniques.