Trace Analysis of the Radionuclides ~(90)Sr and ~(89)Sr in Environmental samples II: Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

摘要

The quantitative determination of extremely small quantities of rare isotopes is conveniently performed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), which is also operated in the Tandem Accelerator Laboratory of the Unilversitat Erlangen-Nurnberg. The measured ratio of the concentrations of the rare and the abundant isotopes can be in the range 10~(-9) to 10~(-15). Such ratios cannot be satisfactorily determined by conventional mass spectrometry. Instead, special nuclear physical methods must be applied that require energies in the MeV range only achievable using an accelerator. One of these methods has been used routiely for several years for the determination of ~(10)Be and ~(14)C; it is also suitable for elementary analysis.