Extreme ultraviolet time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the characterization of actinides
Date
2017
Authors
Green, Tyler, author
Menoni, Carmen, advisor
Crick, Dean, committee member
Marconi, Mario, committee member
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Abstract
Many scientific disciplines, as well as several technologies, have a great demand for analytical tools capable of assessing chemical composition and imaging chemical content that are highly sensitive and have sub-micron spatial resolution. Laser ablation mass spectrometry meets both of these requirements and as such is broadly used for chemical analyses and chemical mapping of atomic and molecular species on solid samples. This thesis describes results on the characterization of Extreme Ultraviolet Time-of-Flight Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometry (EUV TOF) for analysis of trace actinides and for high lateral resolution imaging of inorganic samples. We demonstrate that this technique, with a nominal sensitivity around 50 ppm and a lateral resolution of 80 nm, is already competitive with other well-established mass spectrometry techniques that focus on analytical isotopic imaging. The thesis also details the diagnosis and determination of causes of noise that compromise sensitivity in the mass spectra. These results enable EUV TOF to properly orient itself in the field of mass spectrometry and allow multiple disciplines to conduct high resolution compositional mapping quickly and with minimal isobaric interferences.