Improved sample preparation techniques at the Erlangen AMS-facility

The main application of the Erlangen AMS-facility is C-14 dating of differe nt organic fractions especially of sediment and peat cores. For the prepara tion of these materials an improved and fast separation of organic and inor ganic material is performed by ultra centrifugation in a zinc chloride solu tion. This technique is also used in the extraction of pollen grains for th e removal of carbonates and silicates and modified in the preparation of bo ne samples. For the combustion of the chemically pretreated samples a NC el ement analyzer in combination with a stable mass spectrometer is used. Firs t, results of the preparation of graphite samples for the estimation of the preparation background are shown and discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.