Development of a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer for non-destructive analysis of isotope ratios in irradiated B4C pellets - Test measurements on an unirradiated control rod pellet

摘要

A laser mass spectrometric facility is developed using a home-built reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RTOFMS) to analyze the boron isotopic ratio B-10/B-11 in the irradiated B4C pellets of the FBTR control rod. Compared to other mass spectrometry-based methods, the present method is practically non-destructive and makes it relatively easier to handle irradiated (radioactive) B4C pellets through remote operation. The results with inactive samples indicate that the method yields B-10 percentage values, accurate to within +/- 1%. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.