We are excited to share the news that the Nu Plasma II multicollector - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) has arrived safely in our new lab facilities. The MC-ICPMS will be used to measure isotopic ratios in geological, cosmological and archaeological samples.

How will it work?

MC-ICP mass spectrometers ionize a liquid or solid sample using a plasma source, producing an ion beam that is accelerated toward a collector array. The ion beam is focused and filtered by an analyzer before being passed through a magnetic field that separates the ions into distinct beams sorted by their mass-to-charge ratio.  These sorted beams are ultimately directed to the array of collectors that measures the abundance of each mass simultaneously.  Assuming no isobaric interferences, these masses correspond to isotopes of a single element.  By measuring the mass abundances simultaneously, isotopic ratios can be measured very precisely to the sixth decimal place (in some instances).

What's next?

The engineers from Nu will be here for two weeks installing the new instrument. Then we will begin developing analytical routines and running both analytical and natural standards!

Stay tuned...