Stellar and thermal neutron capture cross section of ⁹Be

The neutron capture cross section of ⁹Be for stellar energies was measured via the activation technique using the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator in combination with accelerator mass spectrometry at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator. To characterize the energy region of interest for astrophysical applications, activations were performed in a quasistellar neutron spectrum of kT = 25 keV and for a spectrum at En = 473 ± 53 keV. Despite the very small cross section, the method used provided the required sensitivity for obtaining fairly accurate results of 10.4 ± 0.6 and 8.4 ± 1.0 μb, respectively. With these data it was possible to constrain the cross section shape up to the first resonances at 622 and 812 keV, thus allowing for the determination of Maxwellian-averaged cross sections at thermal energies between kT = 5 and 100 keV. In addition, we report a new experimental cross section value at thermal energy of σth = 8.31 ± 0.52 mb.This work was partly funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Projects No. P20434 and No. I428, and by the Australian Research Council, Projects No. DP140100136 and No. DP180100496

93Zr developments at the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility at ANU

The long-lived radionuclide 93Zr t1/2 = (1.61 +- 0.05) Ma plays an important role in nuclear astrophysics and nuclear technology. In stellar environments, it is mainly produced by neutron capture on the stable nuclide 92Zr. On Earth high amounts of radioactive 93Zr are produced in nuclear power plants directly from 235U fission, but also by neutron capture on 92Zr, as Zr-alloys are commonly used as cladding for nuclear fuel rods.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council DP140100136

Recent advances in AMS of 36Cl with a 3-MV-tandem

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of36Cl (t1/2 = 0.30 Ma) at natural isotopic concentrations requires high particle energies for the separation from the stable isobar36S and was so far the exclusive domain of tandem accelerators with at least 5 MV terminal voltage. Using terminal foil stripping and a detection setup consisting of a split-anode ionization chamber and an additional energy signal from a silicon strip detector, a36S suppression of >104 at 3 MV terminal voltage was achieved. To further increase the36S suppression energy loss straggling in various counter gases (C4H10, Ar-CH4 and C4H10-Ar) and the effect of "energy focusing" below the maximum of the Bragg curve was investigated. The comparison of experimental data with simulations and published data yielded interesting insights into the physics underlying the detectors. Energy loss, energy straggling and angular scattering determine the36S suppression. In addition, we improved ion source conditions, target backing materials and the cathode design with respect to sulfur output and cross contamination. These changes allow higher currents during measurement (35Cl- current ≈ 5 μA) and also increased the reproducibility. An injector to detector efficiency for36Cl ions of 8% (16% stripping yield for the 7+ charge state in the accelerator, 50%36Cl detection efficiency) was achieved, which can favorably be compared to other facilities. The memory effect in our ion source was also thoroughly investigated. Currently our measured blank value is36Cl/Cl ≈ 3 × 10-15 when samples with a ratio of 10-11 are used in the same sample wheel and36Cl/Cl ≈ 5 × 10-16 if measured together with samples with a ratio of 10-12 or below. This is in good agreement with the lowest so far published isotope ratios around 5 × 10-16 and demonstrates that 3 MV tandems can achieve the same sensitivity for36Cl as larger machines

36Cl exposure dating with a 3-MV tandem

36Cl AMS measurements at natural isotopic concentrations have yet been performed only at tandem accelerators with 5 MV terminal voltage or beyond. We have developed a method to detect 36Cl at natural terrestrial isotopic concentrations with a 3-MV system, operated above specifications at 3.5 MV. An effective separation was obtained with an optimized split-anode ionization chamber design (adopted from the ETH/PSI Zurich AMS group), providing a suppression factor of up to 30,000 for the interfering isobar 36S. Despite the good separation, a relatively high sulfur output from the ion source (36S-/35Cl- ≈ 4 × 10-10 for samples prepared from chemically pure reagents), and a possibly cross contamination resulted in a background corresponding to 36Cl/Cl ≈ 3 × 10-14. The method was applied to samples containing between 105 and 106 atoms 36Cl/g rock from sites in Italy and Iran, which were already investigated by other laboratories for surface exposure dating. The 36Cl/Cl ratios in the range from 2 × 10-13 to 5 × 10-12 show a generally good agreement with the previous results. These first measurements demonstrate that also 3-MV tandems, constituting the majority of dedicated AMS facilities, are capable of 36Cl exposure dating, which is presently the domain of larger facilities

Comparison of detector systems for the separation of 36Cl and 36S with a 3-MV tandem

The possibility of detecting 36Cl for geological exposure dating has been explored for several years at VERA (the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator). First results on real samples were obtained with an ionization chamber (developed at the ETH/PSI, Zürich, Switzerland) with two anodes. To improve the suppression of 36S, we equipped the ionization chamber with an exit window and added a Time-of-Flight (TOF) system with a double-sided silicon strip detector (50 × 50 mm2) as stop detector. We optimized the TOF setup by using silicon nitride foils to reduce scattering tails in the energy spectra. At 3 MV terminal voltage, corresponding to a particle energy of 24 MeV of 36Cl7+, we achieved a 36S7+-suppression of 21,500 (50% 36Cl-detector-efficiency)

Reassessment of 182Hf AMS measurements at VERA

The radioisotope182Hf (t1/2 = 8.9 Ma) is of great interest for astrophysical applications as a chronometer for the early solar system or as possible live supernova remnant on earth. However, AMS measurements of182Hf are seriously influenced by the presence of the stable isobar182W, which cannot be separated at typical AMS energies. Previous studies revealed a possible suppression of182W against182Hf by extracting the negatively charged pentafluoride HfF5- from the ion source, leading to a detection limit for182Hf/180Hf in the order of 10-11. However, this suppression behavior is in contrast to theoretical calculations of the electron affinity and recent measurements using SIMS instruments, where the achieved suppression cannot be reproduced. The aim of our study is to determine the effects of ion source background as well as further investigate the suppression of tungsten against hafnium by extracting negatively charged fluoride ions from different sample materials. The previously reported suppression factor of about 6000 could be increased to 36000 by careful tuning of the ion source using HfF4 as sample material. The trend of the theoretical electron affinities could be reproduced using atomic tungsten and hafnium instead of HfF4 as sample material. This supports the assumption that the major contribution of the tungsten background is not sputtered from the target matrix but comes from somewhere else in the ion source. Measurements from the second ion source show a higher background of tungsten and a lower suppression factor, i.e. careful design of the ion source is crucial. Moving the sputter beam over the target surface extending over the wheel holding the targets revealed the highest tungsten background was detected outside the sputter target position. Further investigations are necessary to locate the origin of the tungsten background in the ion source. Possible sources are the material used for the ion source construction or contaminations in the cesium used for sputtering

An advanced radio-frequency quadrupole ion cooler for accelerator mass spectrometry

An advanced radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) ion cooler was developed for accelerator mass spectrometry to use element-selective laser photodetachment and ion-molecule reactions for isobar suppression. The system will be installed as a central part of the new Anion Laser Isobar Separator (ALIS) at the 6 MV AMS system of CologneAMS.The new RFQ design intends to solve the technical challenge of the deceleration and trapping of heavy molecular ion beams with high emittance. Therefore, an elliptical injection electrode was developed to slow down the ions far away from the central entrance aperture. A new and easy-to-manufacture guide-field assembly was developed. For this purpose, diagonally-split cylindrical surface electrodes are capacitively coupled to a core rod that is carrying the RF signal. Consequently, only low DC voltages are needed to create a gradually changing potential in the longitudinal direction. The RFQ and the acceleration electrodes are installed in a self-aligned structure

AMS of 36Cl with the VERA 3 MV tandem accelerator

Recent progress with compact ionization chambers has opened new possibilities for isobar suppression in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Separation of 36Cl (t1/2 = 0.30 Ma) at natural isotopic levels from its stable isobar 36S became feasible at particle energies of 24 MeV, which are also accessible for medium-sized tandem accelerators with 3 MV terminal voltage like VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator). Investigations with an ionization chamber revealed how physics favors isobar separation even at energies below the maximum of the Bragg curve. The strong energy focusing effect at high energy losses reduces energy straggling significantly and isobar separation steadily increases up to almost full energy loss. With an optimized detection setup, sulfur suppression factors of 2 × 104 have been achieved. Refraining from the additional use of degrader foils has the benefit of high transmission to the detector (∼16%), but requires a low sulfur output from the ion source. Therefore several backing materials have been screened for sulfur content. The dependence of the sulfur output on the AgCl sample size has been investigated as well. Precision and accuracy have been thoroughly assessed over the last two years. Since drifts in the spectra are efficiently corrected by monitoring the position of the 36S peak, the reproducibility for high ratio samples ( 36Cl/Cl > 10-12) is better than 2%. Our blank value of 36Cl/Cl ≈ (5 ± 5) × 10-16 is competitive to other labs. 36Cl has become a routine AMS-isotope at VERA. Recently we also explored novel techniques for additional sulfur suppression already in the ion source. While results with a small gas reaction cell in front of the sputter target were discouraging, a decrease in the sulfur/chlorine ratio by one order of magnitude was achieved by directing 300 mW continuous wave laser beam at 445 nm towards the cathode in the ion source