Mass measurements of short-lived nuclides with ion traps

Penning-trap mass spectrometry has reached a state that allows its applicat ion to very short-lived isotopes available from various sources of radioact ive beams. Mass values with outstanding accuracy are achieved even far from stability. This paper illustrate the state of the art by discussing the st atus of the ISOLTRAP experiment at ISOLDE/CERN. In addition an overview of new ion-trap projects for nuclear mass determination will be given. (C) 200 1 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.