Abstract
To determine experimental conditions suitable for isotope analysis, we studied the plume dynamics of uranium. A uranium oxide sample was ablated by 2nd harmonic radiation from a Nd:YAG laser at a fluence of 0.5 J/cm2. The temporal evolution of the ablation plume was investigated in vacuum and helium environments. In vacuum, the flow velocity perpendicular to the sample surface was determined to be 2.7 km/s for neutral atoms and 4.0 km/s for singly charged atoms. These velocities are about 20 % lower than those of cerium measured under similar conditions. From the evolution of the plume in helium, we found that an observation time of 3–5 μs and an observation height of about 2.5 mm are most suited for obtaining higher sensitivity. Observation times less than 3 μs were unsuitable for precise isotope analysis since the spectral modifications arising from the Doppler splitting effect are different between the two uranium isotopes. Using the established conditions, we evaluated the calibration curve linearity, limit of detection, and precision for three samples having different abundances of 235U.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Harnafi, B. Dubreuil, J. Appl. Phys. 69, 7565–7571 (1991)
N.H. Cheung, Q.Y. Ying, J.P. Zheng, H.S. Kwok, J. Appl. Phys. 69, 6349–6353 (1991)
D.B. Geohegan, A.A. Puretzky, Appl. Surf. Sci. 96–98, 131–138 (1996)
R.A. Al-Wazzan, J.M. Hendron, T. Morrow, Appl. Surf. Sci. 99, 345–351 (1996)
G.W. Martin, L.A. Doyle, A. Al-Khateeb, I. Weaver, D. Riley, M.J. Lamb, T. Morrow, C.L.S. Lewis, Appl. Surf. Sci. 127–129, 710–715 (1998)
B.A. Bushaw, M.L. Alexander, Appl. Surf. Sci. 127–129, 935–940 (1998)
K. Sasaki, S. Matsui, H. Ito, K. Kadota, J. Appl. Phys. 92, 6471–6476 (2002)
M. Miyabe, M. Oba, H. Iimura, K. Akaoka, Y. Maruyama, I. Wakaida, Appl. Phys. A 101, 65–70 (2010)
M. Miyabe, M. Oba, H. Iimura, K. Akaoka, Y. Maruyama, I. Wakaida, K. Watanabe, AIP Conf. Proc. 1104, 30–35 (2009)
E. Stoffels, P. van de Weijer, J. van der Mullen, Spectrochim. Acta B 46, 1459–1470 (1991)
J.P. Singh, F.-Y. Yueh, H. Zhang, K.P. Carney, Recent Res. Dev. Appl. Spectrosc. 2, 59–67 (1999)
X.K. Shen, Y.F. Lu, Appl. Opt. 47, 1810–1815 (2008)
A. Sarkar, D. Alamelu, S. Aggarwal, Talanta 78, 800–804 (2009)
M. Joseph, N. Sivakumar, P. Manoravi, High Temp., High Press. 34, 411–424 (2002)
W. Pietsch, A. Petit, A. Briand, Spectrochim. Acta B 53, 751–761 (1998)
C.A. Smith, M.A. Martinez, D.K. Veirs, D.A. Cremers, Spectrochim. Acta B 57, 929–937 (2002)
F.R. Doucet, G. Lithgow, R. Kosierb, P. Bouchard, M. Sabsabi, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 26, 536–541 (2011)
X. Mao, A.A. Bol’shakov, I. Choi, C.P. McKay, D.L. Perry, O. Sorkhabi, R.E. Russo, Spectrochim. Acta B 66, 767–775 (2011)
D.A. Cremers, A. Beddingfield, R. Smithwick, R.C. Chinni, C.R. Jones, B. Beardsley, L. Karch, Appl. Spectrosc. 66, 250–261 (2012)
A. Quentmeier, M. Bolshov, K. Niemax, Spectrochim. Acta B 56, 45–55 (2001)
H. Liu, A. Quentmeier, K. Niemax, Spectrochim. Acta B 57, 1611–1623 (2002)
M. Miyabe, M. Oba, M. Kato, I. Wakaida, K. Watanabe, J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 43, 305–310 (2006)
L.V. Berzins, T.M. Anklam, F. Chambers, S. Galanti, C.A. Haynam, E.F. Worden, Surf. Cat. Technol. 76–77, 675–680 (1995)
M. Kurata-Nishimura, Y. Matsuo, T. Kobayashi, T. Kato, Y. Hayashizaki, J. Kawai, Appl. Phys. A 92, 1047–1050 (2008)
G.P. Gupta, B.M. Suri, Appl. Surf. Sci. 230, 398–403 (2004)
J. Maul, S. Karpuk, G. Huber, Phys. Rev. B 71, 045428 (2005)
T.E. Itina, J. Hermann, P. Delaporte, M. Sentis, Phys. Rev. E 66, 066406 (2002)
J. Blaise, L.J. Radziemski Jr., J. Opt. Soc. Am. 66, 644–659 (1976)
T. Hirata, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 12, 1337–1342 (1997)
Acknowledgements
Present study is the result of “Development of laser remote analysis for next generation nuclear fuel and applied study by MOX sample” entrusted to Japan Atomic Energy Agency by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miyabe, M., Oba, M., Iimura, H. et al. Absorption spectroscopy of uranium plasma for remote isotope analysis of next-generation nuclear fuel. Appl. Phys. A 112, 87–92 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-012-7181-2
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-012-7181-2