A radio frequency (rf) quadrupole instrument, currently known as an Isobar Separator for Anions (ISA), has been integrated into an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) system to facilitate anion–gas reactions before the tandem accelerator. An AMS Cs+ sputter source provided > 15 keV ions that were decelerated in the prototype ISA to < 20 eV for reaction in a single collision cell and re-accelerated for AMS analysis. Reaction based isobar suppression capabilities were assessed for smaller AMS systems and a new technique for gas–phase reaction studies was developed.
Isobar suppression of 36S– and 12C3– for 36Cl analysis, and YF3– and ZrF3– for 90Sr analysis were studied in NO2 with deceleration to < 12 eV. Observed attenuation cross sections, σ [x 10^–15 cm^2], were σ(S– + NO2) = 6.6, σ(C3– + NO2) = 4.2, σ(YF3– + NO2) = 7.6, σ(ZrF3– + NO2) = 19. With 8 mTorr NO2, relative attenuations of S–/Cl– ~ 10^–6, C3–/Cl– ~ 10^–7, YF3–/SrF3– ~ 5 x 10^–5 and ZrF3–/SrF3– ~ 4 x 10^–6 were observed with Cl– ~ 30% and SrF3– > 90% transmission. Current isobar attenuation limits with < 1.75 MV accelerator terminal voltage and ppm impurity levels were calculated to be 36S–/Cl– ~ 4 x 10^–16, 12C3–/Cl– ~ 1.2 x 10^–16, 90YF3–/SrF3– ~ 10^–15 and 90ZrF3–/SrF3– ~ 10^–16.
Using 1.75 MV, four 36Cl reference standards in the range 4 x 10^–13 < 36Cl/Cl < 4 x 10^–11 were analyzed with 8 mTorr NO2. The measured 36Cl/Cl ratios plotted very well against the accepted values. A sample impurity content S/Cl < 6 x 10^–5 was measured and a background level of 36S–/Cl < 9 x 10^–15 was determined.
Useful currents of a wide variety of anions are produced in AMS sputter sources and molecules can be identified relatively unambiguously by stripping fragments from tandem accelerators. Reactions involving YF3–, ZrF3–, S– and SO– + NO2 in the ISA analyzed by AMS are described, and some interesting reactants are identified.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/32706 |
| Date | 21 August 2012 |
| Creators | Eliades, John Alexander |
| Contributors | Davis, Donald W., Litherland, A. E. (Ted) |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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