Positronium reemission yield from mesostructured silica films

The reemission yield of ortho-positronium (o-Ps) into vacuum outside mesoporous silica films on glass is measured in reflection mode with a specially designed lifetime (LT) spectrometer. Values as high as 40% are found. The intensity of the 142 ns vacuum LT is recorded as a function of reemission depth. The LT depth profiling is correlated to the 2γ and 3γ energy ones to determine the annihilation characteristics inside the films. Positron lifetime in capped films is used to determine the pore size. For the first time, a set of consistent fingerprints for positronium annihilation, o-Ps reemission into vacuum, and pore size, is directly determined in surfactant-templated mesoporous silica films.