AN ION-SOURCE FOR THE HVEE C-14 ISOTOPE RATIO MASS-SPECTROMETER FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

During the past two decades, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has a llowed major developments in many areas of geosciences and archaeology . In the near future, AMS should realize a similar potential in the fi eld of biomedical research, leading ultimately to clinical application s. For such applications, the required instrument differs significantl y from that presently used in the field of C-14 dating. Whereas the ne eded accuracy and sensitivity is more than an order of magnitude less demanding than that for present state-of-the-art C-14 instrumentation, the widespread acceptance of C-14 AMS in biomedical research will req uire AMS spectrometers that are small, simple to operate and capable o f handling CO2 samples. In order to satisfy these demands, HVEE has de veloped a compact C-14 AMS spectrometer dedicated to biomedical resear ch. The instrument consists of a compact accelerator with a footprint of 2.25 x 1.25 m and an ion source that features direct CO2 acceptance and optimal user friendliness. Having previously described the layout and design of the accelerator, we here discuss progress on the accele rator and present the design and first results of the CO2 ion source.