Comparison of Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry Systems for the Determination of 135Cs/137Cs Ratios

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

Leticia Pibida, C A. McMahon, W Nortershauser, B A. Bushaw

Abstract

The performance of the Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RIMS) system at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been compared to a similar system at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Efficiency and selectivity measurements were performed with both systems and compared to conventional thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Determination of the ¹³⁵Cs/ ¹³⁷Cs ratio was performed using single-resonance excitation 6s ²S_1/2(F=4)-> 6p ²P_3/2(F' = 5) with an extended cavity diode laser followed by photoionization with the 488 nm line of an argon ion laser. Optical selectivity of more than 2 orders of magnitude against stable ¹³³Cs was attained for ¹³⁵Cs and ¹³⁷Cs for both systems with an overall selectivity of 10⁹ for the PNNL system and 10⁸ for the NIST system. Over all efficiencies of 2x10^-7 were measured for the PNNL and NIST systems respectively. Measurements to determine the chronological age of a nuclear burn-up sample have been performed using both RIMS systems as well as TIMS.

Citation

SPIE Meeting

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

¹³⁵Cs/¹³⁷Cs isotope ratios, cesium, mass spectrometry, resonance ionization, trace analysis

Citation

Pibida, L. , McMahon, C. , Nortershauser, W. and Bushaw, B. (2008), Comparison of Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry Systems for the Determination of ¹³⁵Cs/¹³⁷Cs Ratios, SPIE Meeting (Accessed December 9, 2024)