An Electrostatic Tandem Accelerator for an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer

Abstract

An electrostatic tandem accelerator with a 180° turn of 3+ ions inside the 1-MV terminal is the basis of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) complex developed by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP). The accelerator is needed for acceleration and selection of ions in the range from single ions to 1 μA at a long-term high-voltage stability of better than 10^–3 and the absence of high-voltage breakdowns. A description of the accelerator and experimental results are presented. As a part of the BINP AMS complex, the tandem accelerator is currently used in regular radiocarbon analyses of user samples at the Geochronology of the Cenozoic Era center of collective use.