Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

CHILI – the Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization – a new tool for isotope measurements in cosmochemistry

Journal Article · · International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5]
  1. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States)
  2. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  3. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Univ. of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand)
  4. Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  5. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, D.C. (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Here, we describe CHILI, the Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization, a new resonance ionization mass spectrometer developed for isotopic analysis at high spatial resolution and high sensitivity of small samples like contemporary interstellar dust grains returned by the Stardust spacecraft. We explain how CHILI addresses the technical challenges associated with such analyses by pushing most technical specifications towards their physical limits. As an initial demonstration, after many years of designing and developing CHILI, we have analyzed presolar silicon carbide grains for their isotopic compositions of strontium, zirconium, and barium. Subsequently, after further technical improvements, we have used CHILI to analyze, for the first time without interference, all stable isotopes of iron and nickel simultaneously in presolar silicon carbide grains. With a special timing scheme for the ionization lasers, we separated iron and nickel isotopes in the time-of-flight spectrum such that the isobaric interference between 58Fe and 58Ni was resolved. In-depth discussion of the astrophysical implications of the presolar grain results is deferred to dedicated later publications. Here we focus on the technical aspects of CHILI, its status quo, and further developments necessary to achieve CHILI’s ultimate goals, 10 nm lateral resolution and 30–40% useful yield.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1329356
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1352606
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--688285
Journal Information:
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, Journal Name: International Journal of Mass Spectrometry Journal Issue: C Vol. 407; ISSN 1387-3806
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (43)

Mitigating dead-time effects during multivariate analysis of ToF-SIMS spectral images journal January 2008
Linearity of the instrumental intensity scale in TOF-SIMS-a VAMAS interlaboratory study: Linearity of the instrumental intensity scale in TOF-SIMS journal March 2011
Interstellar grains in meteorites: I. Isolation of SiC, graphite and diamond; size distributions of SiC and graphite journal January 1994
Trace surface analysis with pico-coulomb ion fluences: Direct detection of multiphoton ionized iron atoms from iron-doped silicon targets journal September 1984
Computer simulations of sputtering journal June 1987
Presolar Grains book January 2014
Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry, and Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry book January 2014
Analyzing individual presolar grains with CHARISMA journal September 2003
TOF-SIMS in cosmochemistry journal August 2001
simion for the personal computer in reflection journal December 2000
Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (concepts, achievements, and prospects) journal March 2001
Useful ion yields for Cameca IMS 3f and 6f SIMS: Limits on quantitative analysis journal March 2006
Resonance ionization mass spectrometry for precise measurements of isotope ratios journal November 2009
Correction of dead time effects in laser-induced desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry: Applications in atom probe tomography journal March 2015
Ion optics of a new time-of-flight mass spectrometer for quantitative surface analysis
  • Veryovkin, Igor V.; Calaway, Wallis F.; Pellin, Michael J.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 519, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.173
journal February 2004
A new time-of-flight instrument for quantitative surface analysis
  • Veryovkin, Igor V.; Calaway, Wallis F.; Moore, Jerry F.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 219-220 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2004.01.105
journal June 2004
Improving Precision in Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Influence of Laser Bandwidth in Uranium Isotope Ratio Measurements journal April 2011
Isotopic Analysis of Ca from Extraterrestrial Micrometer-Sized SiC by Laser Desorption and Resonant Ionization Mass Spectroscopy journal March 1997
Stardust silicates from primitive meteorites journal April 2004
A novel ToF-SIMS operation mode for improved accuracy and lateral resolution of oxygen isotope measurements on oxides journal January 2013
New instrument for microbeam analysis incorporating submicron imaging and resonance ionization mass spectrometry journal May 1995
A Spectroscope of Fixed Deviation journal June 1899
Isotopic Compositions of Strontium, Zirconium, Molybdenum, and Barium in Single Presolar SiC Grains and Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars journal August 2003
Iron and Nickel Isotopic Ratios in Presolar SiC Grains journal December 2008
ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS OF SUPERNOVA SiC AND Si 3 N 4 GRAINS FROM THE QINGZHEN (EH3) CHONDRITE journal January 2010
EXTINCT 93 Zr IN SINGLE PRESOLAR SiC GRAINS FROM LOW MASS ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH STARS AND CONDENSATION FROM Zr-DEPLETED GAS journal March 2010
BARIUM ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF MAINSTREAM SILICON CARBIDES FROM MURCHISON: CONSTRAINTS FOR s -PROCESS NUCLEOSYNTHESIS IN ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH STARS journal April 2014
THE 13 C-POCKET STRUCTURE IN AGB MODELS: CONSTRAINTS FROM ZIRCONIUM ISOTOPE ABUNDANCES IN SINGLE MAINSTREAM SiC GRAINS journal June 2014
Correlated Strontium and Barium Isotopic Compositions of Acid-Cleaned Single Mainstream Silicon Carbides from Murchison journal April 2015
Angular dependence of sputtering yield of amorphous and polycrystalline materials journal August 2008
Theory of Sputtering. I. Sputtering Yield of Amorphous and Polycrystalline Targets journal August 1969
Anomalous odd- to even-mass isotope ratios in resonance ionization with broad-band lasers journal August 1989
NanoSIMS: Technical Aspects and Applications in Cosmochemistry and Biological Geochemistry journal May 2013
Trace-element concentrations in single circumstellar silicon carbide grains from the Murchison meteorite journal November 1995
Constraining the 13 C neutron source in AGB stars through isotopic analysis of trace elements in presolar SiC journal August 2007
3-D elemental and isotopic composition of presolar silicon carbides journal August 2007
Stardust in Stardust-The C, N, and O isotopic compositions of Wild 2 cometary matter in Al foil impacts journal February 2008
Correction of dead time effects in time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
  • Stephan, T.; Zehnpfenning, J.; Benninghoven, A.
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.579255
journal March 1994
Samples of Stars Beyond the Solar System: Silicate Grains in Interplanetary Dust journal February 2003
Discovery of Ancient Silicate Stardust in a Meteorite journal March 2004
Evidence for interstellar origin of seven dust particles collected by the Stardust spacecraft journal August 2014
s-Process Zirconium in Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains journal August 1997
Isotopic compositions of the elements 2009 (IUPAC Technical Report) journal January 2011

Cited By (14)

Electronic data acquisition and operational control system for time-of-flight sputtered neutral mass spectrometer journal September 2018
Botanical ingredient identification and quality assessment: strengths and limitations of analytical techniques journal July 2019
Resonance ionization of titanium: high useful yield and new autoionizing states journal January 2018
The LMS-GT instrument – a new perspective for quantification with the LIMS-TOF measurement technique journal January 2019
Heavy-element yields and abundances of asymptotic giant branch models with a Small Magellanic Cloud metallicity journal March 2018
Defining the Potential of Nanoscale Re-Os Isotope Systematics Using Atom Probe Microscopy journal June 2018
Common Occurrence of Explosive Hydrogen Burning in Type II Supernovae journal March 2018
New Constraints on the Major Neutron Source in Low-mass AGB Stars journal September 2018
Molybdenum Isotopes in Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains: Details of s -process Nucleosynthesis in Parent Stars and Implications for r - and p -processes journal May 2019
Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains of Types Y and Z: Their Molybdenum Isotopic Compositions and Stellar Origins journal August 2019
New Constraints on the Abundance of 60 Fe in the Early Solar System journal April 2018
Heavy-element yields and abundances of Asymptotic Giant Branch models with a Small Magellanic Cloud metallicity text January 2018
Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains of Types Y and Z: Their Molybdenum Isotopic Compositions and Stellar Origins text January 2019
The LMS-GT instrument – a new perspective for quantification with the LIMS-TOF measurement technique text January 2019

Similar Records

CHILI – the Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization – a new tool for isotope measurements in cosmochemistry
Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · International Journal of Mass Spectrometry · OSTI ID:1352606
Strontium and barium isotopes in presolar silicon carbide grains measured with CHILI—two types of X grains
Journal Article · Tue May 09 20:00:00 EDT 2017 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · OSTI ID:1414348
Strontium and Barium Isotopes in Presolar Silicon Carbide Graines Measured with CHILI-Two Types of X Grains.
Journal Article · Sun Jan 14 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · OSTI ID:1571249

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
42 ENGINEERING
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
cosmochemistry
isobaric interference
isotopes
resonance ionization mass spectrometry