Glow discharge diode laser-based spectroscopy for measurement of uranium isotope ratios

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:466526

Barshick, C M; Young, J P; Shaw, R W; Ramsey, J M ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

Although isotopic analysis has traditionally been the forte of mass spectrometry, several other techniques have been developed for this purpose, including decay-counting and methods that rely on the accessibility of optical transitions for isotopic selectivity (e.g., laser-induced fluorescence and optogalvanic spectroscopy). We have been investigating optogalvanic spectroscopy, and have focussed on the use of a dc glow discharge for atomization and ionization, a demountable discharge cell for rapid sample exchange, and diode lasers for isotopically selective excitation. Our goal is a fieldable instrument that provides useful uranium isotope ratio information. Precision and accuracy have been evaluated for several optical transitions. Samples that were enriched, natural, or depleted in {sup 235}U were easily distinguishable from one another. Using a 150 mW diode laser at 832 nm, the measured {sup 235}U/({sup 235}U + {sup 238}U) ratio for a depleted uranium oxide sample was 0.0026. This value is within 3.7% of the thermal ionization mass analysis value. The run-to-run reproducibility was {+-} 7.8%. These results are sufficient for many applications where information about the isotopic composition of a sample provides the basis for further investigations. A prototype instrument suitable for field analyses of uranium is being constructed. The studies and results obtained for this project will be discussed.

• OSTI ID: 466526
• Report Number(s): CONF-951017--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
40 CHEMISTRY
ACCURACY
DEPLETED URANIUM
ENRICHED URANIUM
FLUORESCENCE
GLOW DISCHARGES
IONIZATION
ISOTOPE RATIO
LASERS
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
SAFEGUARDS
URANIUM
URANIUM 235
URANIUM 238