Syracuse University Noble Gas Laboratory (SUNGIRL)
Micromass 5400 Noble Gas Mass Spectrometer & Extraction system
VG5400 noble gas mass spectrometer
The laboratory employs a custom built furnace, CO2 and UV lasers, and ultrahigh vacuum extraction line connected to a Micromass 5400 noble gas mass spectrometer. The 5400 has both faraday cup and ion-counting electron multiplier capabilities. With the axial multiplier, the spectrometer has a mass resolution of >600. We typically run at 100µA trap current for argon analyses with a corresponding sensitivity of 1.63 E-4 amps/torr. The ion-counting system has a dead-time of approximately 20 ns and dark count rates are less than 1 cps.
Furnace and UHV extraction line
The extraction line for the 5400 consists of an all-metal system. Samples are outgassed using a double vacuum resistance-heated tantalum furnace, or CO2 laser or UV laser. The furnace is controlled via a Eurotherm controller and thermocouple in contact with the bottom of the crucible and mounted on the outer (low) vacuum side of the furnace. Two SAES ST-707 getters, one hot and one cold, are used for purification of the gas prior to inlet. A Janis high-temperature, closed cycle cryogenic cold trap system will be used for applications involving separation of noble gases. The cryogenic cold trap system is interchangeable between the He extraction line and the 5400 extraction line when required. The extraction line is computer controlled using a LabVIEW program and gas handling routines are automated