Progress in AMS target production of sub-milligram samples at the NERC radiocarbon laboratory

Abstract

Recent progress in graphite target production for sub-milligram environmental samples in our facility is presented. We describe an optimized hydrolysis procedure now routinely used for the preparation of CO2 from inorganic samples, a new high-vacuum line dedicated to small sample processing (combining sample distillation and graphitization units), as well as a modified graphitization procedure. Although measurements of graphite targets as small as 35 μg C have been achieved, system background and measurement uncertainties increase significantly below 150 μg C. As target lifetime can become critically short for targets <150 μg C, the facility currently only processes inorganic samples down to 150 μg C. All radiocarbon measurements are made at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility. Sample processing and analysis are labor-intensive, taking approximately 3 times longer than samples ≥2500 μg C. The technical details of the new system, graphitization yield, fractionation introduced during the process, and the system blank are discussed in detail. © 2005 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.