From direct to absolute mass measurements: A study of the accuracy of ISOLTRAP

For a detailed study of the accuracy of the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP all expected sources of uncertainty were investigated with respect to their contributions to the uncertainty of the final result. In the course of these investigations, cross-reference measurements with singly charged carbon clusters C-12(n)+ were carried out. The carbon cluster ions were produced by use of laser-induced desorption, fragmentation, and ionization of C-60 fullerenes and, injected into and stored in the Penning trap system. The comparison of the cyclotron frequencies of different carbon clusters has provided detailed insight into the residual systematic uncertainty of ISOLTRAP and yielded a value of 8 x 10(-9). This also represents the current limit of mass accuracy of the apparatus. Since the unified atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12 of the mass of the C-12 atom, it will be possible to carry out absolute mass measurements with ISOLTRAP in the future.