MICADAS

AMS system optimized for radiocarbon dating and isotope analysis. Features helium stripping for high transmission, a hybrid cesium sputter ion source, and outstanding measurement stability. Widely regarded as the standard for precision in ¹⁴C-AMS applications.

• Status: Active
• Country: Switzerland
• Isotopic: Yes
• Analyte Type / Target Of Analysis: Radiocarbon and cosmogenic nuclides
• Measurable Isotopes/Elements: Radiocarbon (¹⁴C)
• Analyzer Type
  : Accelerator MS
• Ion Source Type: Hybrid cesium negative sputter ion source for solid and gas samples
• Inlet Types: Solid and gas sample handling, with a 40-position random-access sample changer
• High Resolution
  : Yes
• Sensitivity
  : High sensitivity with up to 47% helium stripping transmission
• Abundance Sensitivity
  : High, capable of resolving small variations in isotopic ratios
• Detection Limits
  : Blanks older than 50,000 radiocarbon years, with a machine blank up to 68,000 radiocarbon years
• Precision
  : 0.2% or better for ¹⁴C/¹²C and ¹³C/¹²C ratios
• Detector Type
  : Low-noise gas ionization detector with virtually no degradation.
• Primary Beam [AMS]
  : Negative cesium sputter beam
• Geometry Type
  : Tandem geometry with vacuum-insulated accelerator terminal
• Focusing Type
  : Electrostatic focusing
• Magnetic Sector Radius/ Angle
  : 90° high and low energy magnetic sector with ion beam angle
• Electric Sector Radius/ Angle
  : 90° electrostatic analyzer with ±40 kV voltage
• Cooling System
  : Fully air-cooled; no cooling water or SF₆ required
• Vacuum System
  : Powerful high vacuum system (4 × 700 l, 3 × 300 l, 1 × 80 l Pfeiffer) and fore vacuum system
• Gas Supply: Helium stripping gas
• Power Specifications: 2.5 kW average power consumption
• Physical Specifications: 3.2 m × 2.6 m × 2.2 m; 4,500 kg