Development and Implementation of ⁴¹Ca for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Measurements

Ever since its discovery in the late 1930s, ⁴¹Ca has been recognized for its diverse range of applications and has recently become an interest in several fields of research including biomedical physics, nuclear forensics, and nuclear astrophysics. With its long half-life (t_1/2 = 9.94 x 10⁴ yrs), it is often impractical to detect ⁴¹Ca through typical decay counting techniques. However, utilizing the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) available at the Nuclear Science Laboratory (NSL) at the University of Notre Dame, we are able to detect individual ions to attain an isotopic concentration of the material of interest. While developed and standardized at other labs around the world, developing and detecting ⁴¹Ca has never been performed at the NSL, therefore detection limits first need to be obtained. Four CaF standard samples of varying concentrations will be used to determine the sensitivity limits and get first results with our current AMS system. Detection and discrimination between ⁴¹Ca and its isobaric contaminant ⁴¹K will be performed and compared using both the time-of-flight and gas-filled magnet techniques. First results of measurements and sensitivity limits will be discussed along with planned future experiments.