The French accelerator mass spectrometry facility ASTER: Improved performance and developments

Following the installation and acceptance test of the French 5 MV AMS facility ASTER, the focus has been on improving the capability for routine measurements of Be-10 and Al-26. Quality assurance has been established by the introduction of traceable AMS standards for each nuclide, by self-monitoring through participation in round-robin exercises and proficiency testing, and by surveillance of long- and short-time variability of blank and reference materials. A background level of 3 x 10(-14) makes ASTER well-suited for measuring Ca-41/Ca-40 in the 10(-12) region, which is sufficient for a wide range of applications. Routine AMS measurements of volatile elements like Cl-36 and I-129 will most likely become feasible in the very near future as the result of significant improvements in the ion source design. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.