Benchtop isolation of radioactive and stable isotopes by ICP-MS

Abstract Our previous research has demonstrated the production of ultra-pure isotopes on the ng- μ g scale with high purity >99.999% enabled by modifications to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). This technique can also be used to improve radiometric measurements for alpha and beta counting using the isotopic selectivity, low-energy ion deposition technique. The results confirm the utility of this method for developing isotope tracers that can improve the precision and accuracy in trace mass spectrometry measurements. In order to increase throughput, a modified implant mechanism has been developed that can rotate thereby allowing several sequential implants without venting the back-end of the instrument. The details of this modification are discussed and results of isolating and implanting several Nd isotopes are presented.