The André E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory – The new accelerator mass spectrometry facility at the University of Ottawa

Abstract

The University of Ottawa, Canada, has installed a multi-element, 3MV tandem AMS system as the cornerstone of their new Advanced Research Complex and the principal analytical instrument of the André E. Lalonde Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory. Manufactured by High Voltage Engineering Europa B.V., the Netherlands, it is equipped with a 200 sample ion source, a high resolution, 120° injection magnet, a 90° high energy analysis magnet (mass-energy product 350MeV-AMU), a 65°, 1.7m radius electric analyzer and a 2 channel gas ionization detector. It is designed to analyze isotopes ranging from tritium to the actinides and to accommodate the use of fluoride target materials. This system is being extended with a second injection line, consisting of selected components from the IsoTrace Laboratory, University of Toronto. This line will contain a pre-commercial version of the Isobar Separator for Anions, manufactured by Isobarex Corp., Bolton, Ontario, Canada. This instrument uses selective ion–gas reactions in a radio-frequency quadrupole cell to attenuate both atomic and molecular isobars.This paper discusses the specifications of the new AMS equipment, reports on the acceptance test results for 10Be, 14C, 26Al and 127I and presents typical spectra for 10Be and actinide analyses.