Tracing the atomic mass unit to the kilogram by ion accumulation

An experimental approach for linking the atomic mass unit to the kilogram with an uncertainty sufficiently small for a future re-definition of the kilogram is described. The concept consists of accumulation of ions from an ion beam up to a weighable mass and measurable total charge. The main problems and influencing factors connected with ion beam technology, weighing and current measurement together with the corresponding experimental solutions are discussed in detail. The first experiments with consistent results, but still large uncertainty, are described.