Welcome to the Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry machine lab
Pictured above is our Finnigan MAT 262V TI-mass spectrometer which
arrived in February 1993.
It is state-of-the-art, with 8 Faraday collectors and SEM-ion counting
system.
For those who wish to know, the person pictured in the next two
photos is Pat Horan (ie; me).
I am pictured above running the 262 - probably heating up a Nd or
Sr fraction before beginning an analysis.
Shown behind me is a class 100 loading box where we load our sample
isotopic fractions onto rhenium filaments.
Luckily we have no pictures of me half inside the beast repairing
it.
This shot shows me focusing the ion beam.
In the upper right corner you can see our 18 year old VG MM-30 TI-MS.
(Yes it still works.)
Rubidium and common lead are analysed on this machine. Rubidium
has a nasty habit of
"coating" (still debating over this) the faraday detectors.
So we naturally don't want to risk our 262.
This is part of the class 100 clean lab complex, these two hoods
are "home" to
the atlantic universities radiogenic isotope chemistry facility.
The entire complex
cannot be captured on film (it's too bloody big) so I show my spot.
Rocks (once dissolved of course) are separated into their elemental
components through a complicated ion exchange process.
Once the rubidium, strontium, neodymium, samarium, lead and uranium
are "isolated",
they are ready for analysis on one of the 2 TI mass spectometers
(shown in the top three pictures).
Coming soon (hopefully) a picture of the U-Pb part of the clean lab
with some of the people
that hang around in there. I seem to have trouble convincing those
guys to pose for pictures! But that will change.
tel: 1.709.737.8346
fax:1.709.737.2589
For more information on analyses, cost, and for sample submissions please email Pat Horan