Probing the homogeneity of the isotopic composition and molar mass of the ‘Avogadro’-crystal

Abstract

Improved measurements on silicon crystal samples highly enriched in the 28Si isotope (known as ‘Si28’ or AVO28 crystal material) have been carried out at PTB to investigate local isotopic variations in the original crystal. This material was used for the determination of the Avogadro constant NA and therefore plays an important role in the upcoming redefinition of the SI units kilogram and mole, using fundamental constants. Subsamples of the original crystal have been extensively studied over the past few years at the National Research Council (NRC, Canada), the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ, Japan), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA), the National Institute of Metrology (NIM, People’s Republic of China), and multiple times at PTB. In this study, four to five discrete, but adjacent samples were taken from three distinct axial positions of the crystal to obtain a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of the distribution of the isotopic composition and molar mass throughout the crystal. Moreover, improved state-of-the-art techniques in the experimental measurements as well as the evaluation approach and the determination of the calibration factors were utilized. The average molar mass of the measured samples is M = 27.976 970 12(12) g mol−1 with a relative combined uncertainty uc,rel(M) = 4.4 ×10−9. This value is in astounding agreement with the values of single samples measured and published by NIST, NMIJ, and PTB. With respect to the associated uncertainties, no significant variations in the molar mass and the isotopic composition as a function of the sample position in the boule were observed and thus could not be traced back to an inherent property of the crystal. This means that the crystal is not only ‘homogeneous’ with respect to molar mass but also has predominantly homogeneous distribution of the three stable Si isotopes.