| AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Applied Surface Science | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session AS-TuP |
| Session: | Applied Surface Science Poster Session |
| Presenter: | K. Fazel, Naval Research Laboratory |
| Authors: | K. Fazel, Naval Research Laboratory K. Grabowski, Naval Research Laboratory D. Knies, Naval Research Laboratory G. Hubler, Naval Research Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will be constructing a SIMS Single Stage Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (SSAMS) instrument starting at the end of 2013 for use with nuclear forensics, cosmology, and other applications. The instrument will enable analysis of both positive and negative ions, and will have a molecular destruction capability. These features will address our goal to improve sensitivity and precision of select species, broaden the range of elements and isotopes to measure, and ease sample chemical pre-processing requirements.
To provide these features, the front portion of a Cameca IMS 6f will be combined with an NEC SSAMS system. The NEC SSAMS system will include a bipolar 300-kV air insulated single stage accelerator, custom multi-port 90° high mass resolution injection magnet (ME/Z2 = 2.6 amu-MeV), 90° double focusing analysis magnet (ME/Z2 = 75 amu-MeV), electrostatic spherical analyzer, and a molecular ion dissociator. High-speed electrostatic switching is also included in both magnets to allow high efficiency and precision of measurements of small sample particles. The multi-port injector magnet enables nearly continuous matrix normalization over a large mass range without having to change the magnetic field of the injector. The bipolar power supply for the accelerator allows measurement of both electropositive and electronegative elements, while the molecule destruction feature minimizes molecular interferences. Access to electropositive elements should provide improved sensitivity for rare earth elements, Uranium, and Plutonium. Before NRL can apply the instrument, the fundamentals of the instrument must be established.
The fundamentals include establishing molecular destruction cross sections of anticipated molecular ions, charge state distributions, overall transmission, and molecule fragment patterns. Upon establishing the performance characteristics of the instrument, the NRL SIMS-SSAMS will be unique tool able to better understand the constituents of an unknown material in nuclear forensics, cosmology, and other applications.