Heavy ion AMS with a small accelerator

Compared to heavy ion ANIS at large tandem accelerators (TV greater than or equal to 8 MV) and for cases where stable isobar interference is absent, a small facility like VERA (TV = 3 MV) is shown to be able to offset the disadvantage of lower ion energy. After testing the system with Pb-210/Pb-208 isotope ratio measurements, we prove this by a measurement of U-236 at natural levels in a material separated before 1918 and therefore free from anthropogenic contamination. An isotopic ratio of U-236/U-238 = (6.1 +/- 0.4) x 10(-11) was found for this material. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.