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Ar/ar laboratory

  • MAP 215-50 noble gas mass spectrometer with dual collector (10e11 Ohm amplifier and Balzers SEV-217 secondary electron multiplier). An all metal UHV extraction line is equipped with cryogenic controller, three GP50 SAES getters and 3x ZnSe laser cells for rapid sample throughout. A Teledyne CO2 laser is used for isotope extraction. The system is fully automated and can be run remotely.

  • GVI ARGUS V noble gas mass spectrometer with 5 Faraday collector for multicollection of all require Ar-isotopes (10e12 Ohm amplifiers). An all metal UHV extraction line is equipped with 3 x GP50 SAES getters and 2 x ZnSe laser cells for rapid sample throughput. A Teledyne CO2 laser is used for isotope extraction. The system is fully automated and and can be run remotely.

  • Nu Instruments Noblesse noble gas mass spectrometer equipped with 2 x ETP multipliers and a Farday equipped with 10e12 Ohm amplifier. This system has a small volume extraction line with 2 x GP50 SAES getters, sapphire and quartz window laser cells and can be coupled to either a Teledyne Excite+ 193 nm excimer laser for in situ geochronology or a teledyne temperature-controlled diode laser for diffusion experiments. The system is fully automated and and can be run remotely.

  • Thermo Scientific custom-designed HELIX-SFT noble gas mass spectrometer with dual collector (Balzers SEV-217 secondary electron multiplier and Faraday with switchable 10e11 and 10e12 Ohm amplifier). An all metal UHV extraction line is equipped with 3 x GP50 SAES getters a ZnSe laser cells for rapid sample throughput. A Teledyne CO2 laser is used for isotope extraction. The system is fully automated and and can be run remotely.

  • Thermo Scientific ARGUS VI noble gas mass spectrometer with 5 x Farday (combination of 5 x 10e12 Ohm amplifiers and 2 x 10e13 Ohm amplifiers) and a CDD electron multiplier.  An all metal UHV extraction line is equipped with 2 x GP50 SAES getters a ZnSe laser cells for rapid sample throughput. A Teledyne CO2 laser is used for isotope extraction. The system is fully automated and and can be run remotely. 

  • Peripatetic bottles of calibration gases (atmosphere, 40Ar and 36Ar) for inter-calibration of instruments.

  • All instruments are dedicated to the measurement of Ar-isotopes, either for geochronology or analysis of palaeoatmosphere or the composition of modern day gases (e.g., during experiments with NPL to redetermine the Boltzmann Constant). 

  • Mass spectrometers are automated using the Berkeley Geochronology Center software MassSpec, which was designed by Al Deino. The software allows for full data collection and full processing and age calculation.

  • Dedicated radiation handling space for irradiated materials.

  • Full oversight of handling of radiological materials is provided by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

  • Dedicated computer terminals for processing of age data.

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