Accelerator mass spectrometry of heavy long-lived radionuclides

This paper describes the upgrade of the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) to a universal facility for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). As a result, it is now possible to measure many long-lived radionuclides at natural abundances across the nuclear chart, from the lightest (Be-10) to the heaviest (Pu-244). Particular emphasis is placed on measurements to understand the ion optics and the origin of background ions, which ultimately limit the sensitivity. VERA is now ready to venture into the realm of actinides (e.g., U-236, Pu-244), and other heavy radionuclides (e.g., Hf-182), which promise interesting applications in astrophysics and other fields. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.