Low-level measurement of 63Ni by means of accelerator mass spectrometry
Abstract
The radionuclide 63Ni (T1/2=100.1 a) has been proposed as a fluence monitor for fast neutrons in copper samples from Hiroshima. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) represents a powerful tool for the detection of this radionuclide, provided the isobaric interference of 63Cu can be sufficiently suppressed. In this paper, we report the first results from a study on the 63Cu background observed in different sets of control samples, and in a 127-year-old environmental copper sample which was directly exposed to cosmic radiation for about 80 years. The 63Ni/Ni ratios measured in the blank samples range up to about 2 × 10-13 corresponding to concentrations of a few times 10463Ni atoms/g Cu. These results provide information on the overall background of the applied methodology and, thus, on the possible sensitivity of 63Ni measurements in copper samples by means of AMS. In the environmental sample, a 63Ni concentration of (1.0 ± 0.3) × 10563Ni atoms/g Cu was observed which is not significantly different from the results obtained on commercially available copper material. A similar concentration would be expected in a copper sample located 1300 m from the hypocenter of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
- Publication:
-
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B
- Pub Date:
- August 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.nimb.2004.04.144
- Bibcode:
- 2004NIMPB.223..776R