CologneAMS, a dedicated center for accelerator mass spectrometry in Germany

Abstract

CologneAMS is a new centre for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the University of Cologne. It has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) to improve the experimental conditions especially for those German scientists that apply the AMS technique for their geologic, environmental, nuclear chemical, and nuclear astrophysical research. The new AMS-device has been built by High Voltage Engineering Europe (HVEE) and has been installed in the existing accelerator area of the Institute of Nuclear Physics. The AMS-facility is designed for the spectrometry of 10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, 129I in and heavy ions up to 236U and 244Pu. The central part of the AMS-facility is a 6 MV Tandetron™ accelerator. Downstream of the high energy mass spectrometer an additional switching magnet is used as a further filter element which supplies also additional ports for future extensions of the detector systems. The current status of CologneAMS and the results of the first test measurements will be presented. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.