The new SUERC AMS Laboratory was described at AMS-9. Since then there have been technological developments, added and improved analysis capability, the formation of additional complimentary groups, the purchase of another instrument, and 7000 samples measured. A series of modifications to the 5 MV Pelletron to manage accelerator sparks culminated in installation of spark-hardened tube supports. Full-terminal potential running is now routine and 5 MV is proving sufficient for all species. Ion detection and evaluation has also been improved by the use of even thinner detector windows (<100 nm) as necessary and a more powerful on-line data analysis system that can run several counters cascaded through an arbitrary series of gates. Be, C, Al, Cl, Ca and I-AMS are established with measured species changing weekly. Routine radiocarbon measurement is to 3‰ precision at medium (60 µA C-) current. Higher precision analysis, fast high-current measurement and low-current analysis with secure on-line δ13C determination are also possible. Graphite samples of as little as 100 µg C can be accommodated. Even smaller samples can be measured as CO2 using He carrier in the gas capable ion source, although the currents (15 µA C-) are only a tenth of that achievable with graphite. Laboratory inter-comparisons have confirmed the local capabilities for preparing and measuring the other species, and applications measurements are on-going. Two new sample preparation laboratories at SUERC are the NERC Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility and a similar University of Glasgow laboratory. Locally AMS is now divided amongst six groups, although samples prepared further afield are also accepted. Small sample radiocarbon measurement in particular has been sufficiently promising that a single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer has been ordered. This instrument is intended for the development of compound-specific radiocarbon science as well as providing operational flexibility. The spectrometer design is not restricted to the analysis of negative ions and the instrument will include a bipolar deck bias capability and additional ion source for positive ion-AMS experimentation. The University of Oxford microprobe AMS ion source has also been obtained.
See more of Poster Session I
See more of The 10th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (September 5-10, 2005)