Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Testing A Novel Technique To Improve Aluminum-26 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Measurements For Earth Science Applications, Meghan Sarah Janzen

Masters Theses

The measurement of cosmogenic ²⁶Al [aluminum-26] in geological samples by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is typically conducted on Al₂O₃ [aluminum oxide] targets. However, Al₂O₃ is not an ideal source material because it does not form a prolific beam of Al^- [negative atomic aluminum ions] required for measuring low-levels of ²⁶Al. This thesis presents the performance of AlN [aluminum nitride], AlF₃ [aluminum fluoride] and mixed AlN + Al₂O₃ as novel alternative source materials for the analysis of ²⁶Al. A negative ion cesium sputtering source at the Holifield …