Can-AMS: The New Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility At The University Of Ottawa

Abstract

The Canadian Centre for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the University of Ottawa will be equipped with a new, 3 MV tandem accelerator with peripheral equipment for the analysis of elements ranging from tritium to the actinides. This facility, along with a wide array of support instrumentation recently funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, will be located in a new science building on the downtown campus of the University of Ottawa. In addition to providing the standard AMS measurements on 14C, 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl and 129I for earth, environmental, cultural and biomedical sciences, this facility will incorporate the new technologies of anion isobar separation at low energies using RFQ chemical reaction cells for 36Cl and new heavy element applications, integrated sample combustion and gas ion source for biomedical and environmental 14C analysis and the use of novel target matrices for expanding the range of applicable elements and simplifying sample preparation, all currently being developed at IsoTrace. This paper will outline the design goals for the new facility, present some details of the new AMS technologies, in particular the Isobar Separator for Anions and discuss the design of the AMS system resulting from these requirements.