APPLICATION OF AN OMEGATRON TYPE HIGH-RESOLUTION MASS-SPECTROMETER FOR THE ANALYSIS OF MIXTURES OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM-ISOTOPES

Gaseous mixtures containing the hydrogen isotopes H2, HD, HT, D2, DT and T2, together with the stable helium isotopes He-3 and He-4, can be analyzed with an omegatron, also known as a cyclotron resonance type mass spectrometer. This instrument has sufficient resolution to separate all hydrogen/helium isotope ions, except He-3+ and T+. Main advantages of the combination of an omegatron with an appropriate vacuum gauge as an instrument for quantitative analysis are seen in its extremely low sample requirement, very low memory effects, simple operation, comparatively small overall volume (fits in a conventional glove box), and relatively low price.