TIMS Triton XT (Thermo-Ionisation Mass Spectrometer), from ThermoFisher Scientific, has been installed in the Laboratory Magmas and Volcans since September 2016. This instrument was purchased as part of Maud Boyet’s ERC ISOREE project ISOREE “New insight into the origin of the Earth, its bulk composition and its early evolution”.
This instrument is spectrometer for isotope analysis.

It is equipped with 9 Faraday cages allowing the simultaneous acquisition of 9 isotopes; as well as a RPQ filter coupled to an electron multiplier SEM for the acquisition of weak signals.

It is also equipped with 1 1010 Ohms amplification board, 9 1011 Ohms amplification boards, 2 1012 Ohms amplification boards, 7 1013 Ohms amplification boards and 2 gain calibration boards (3.33V and 0.33V). These cards are easily interchangeable thanks to the new amplification block developed by ThermoFisher Scientific.

It is dedicated to the following activities:

  • in cosmochemistry :
    • measurements of Samarium / Neodyme system 146,147Sm-142,143Nd and 138La-138Ce on meteorites and lunar samples
    • Stable isotope measurements of Neodymium (Nd) and Samarium (Sm) to detect nucleosynthetic anomalies and isotopic variations induced by cosmic rays.
  • The study of the evolution of the composition of the Silicate Earth with the coupling of the La-Ce and Sm-Nd isotopic systems.
  • Development in progress: measurement of stable isotopes of Neodymium (Nd), Samarium (Sm) and Strontium (Sr) in very small quantities.

This instrument is part of the French Geochemical and Experimental Network (REGEF).
The Laboratory also has another TIMS: a Triton – ThermoFisher Scientific

tims triton plus 2

Contact : Delphine Auclair

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