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

Journal Article · · International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
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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 Fe-58 and Ni-58 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, similar to 10 nm lateral resolution and 30-40% useful yield.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Materials Sciences and Engineering Division
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1352606
Journal Information:
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, Journal Name: International Journal of Mass Spectrometry Vol. 407; ISSN 1387-3806
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (14)

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

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