Progress in AMS Measurement of 182Hf at CIAE

Accelerator mass spectrometry （AMS） is one of the most promising methods to detect minute amounts of 182Hf. However, the sensitivity of 5×10^-11 for ^182Hf/180Hf obtained previously by the AMS method at China Institute of Atomic Energy （CIAE） cannot meet the requirement of some applications. We present some new improvements of measurement method for AMS measurement of 182Hf at the CIAE HI？13 tandem accelerator system. As a result, a sensitivity of 1.0×10^-11 for 182Hf/180Hf is achieved.     

Determination of the number of atoms of the long-lived nuclide 126Sn by γ-ray spectrometry

By using HPGe γ-ray spectrometry, the activity of the long-lived fission product 126Sn in a SnOB2 sample was measured. The number of 126Sn atoms and the ratio of 126Sn to Sn were calculated based on the half-life value of 2.35×105a and the chemical stoichiometry. The result of the ratio of 126Sn to Sn, （1.033±0.037）×10-8, is consistent with the results measured by the accelerator mass spectrometry （AMS） within uncertainty limits, which confirms our procedures in the measurement of 126Sn by AMS and lays a foundation for the AMS measurement of 126Sn at much lower levels.