ACTINIS

High Performance Shielded SIMS Instrument for the Analysis of Radioactive Samples

Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometers (SIMS) are known to be extremely useful for a wide range of nuclear science applications, but the investigation of highly radioactive materials, such as irradiated nuclear fuel, requires specifically designed equipment. Derived from the field-proven CAMECA IMS 7f system, ACTINIS is designed to perform high precision elemental and isotopic analyses of radioactive samples in a safe environment: it is integrated in a set of biological protections in order to protect operators from contamination and irradiation effects during sample transfer and analysis, and includes specific adaptations to minimize manual operations such as a full-security sample introduction system.


Benchmark SIMS performance
Retaining the best features of the IMS 7f / 7f-GEO models, ACTINIS delivers high sensitivity depth profiling and isotope ratio measurements as well as element and isotope mapping at sub-micron lateral resolution.

  • Combination of Duoplasmatron and Cesium primary ion sources ensuring optimum sensitivity to electropositive and electronegative species
  • Secondary ion-optical collection system with high electrical field for optimized transmission, beam centering for excellent reproducibility , optical gating for high dynamic range depth profiling
  • Double focusing mass spectrometer (Electrostatic analyzer for energy focusing, laminated magnet with fast peak switching
  • High precision detection system with one Electron Multiplier (EM) and two Faraday Cups (FCs) with state-of-the-art electrometry (low noise and stable baseline)
  • Direct ion imaging for instrument tuning
  • Scanning ion imaging for mapping of small to large areas with high lateral resolution.

State-of-the-art shielding
Included in the package, the mechanical drawings and detailed specifications for the biological protections (instrument shielding) will ensure radiation safety as well as easy interfacing with the SIMS instrument. Equipped with the adequate glove box (Alpha protection) and lead-wall cell (Gamma protection), ACTINIS can analyze samples with an activity (dose rate) of up to 2 Gy/h measured at 5 cm from the sample.

Full automation & ease of use
ACTINIS offers a high automation level and includes specific adaptations to minimize manual operations such as a full-security sample introduction system. Specific tools were developed and ion optical devices were modified to enable maintenance inside the shielding.

Inspired from the Greek ἀκτίς (ray), ACTINIS™ also refers to actinides, chemical elements of particular importance in nuclear applications.

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