Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry

Developments in the field of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) between 1996 and 1999 are surveyed. Significant new developments include the ultra-sensitive detection of Tc-99, U-236 and the long-lived plutonium isotopes by AMS, and the demonstration that high-precision, low-background C-14 dating can be performed with accelerating voltages as low as 0.5 MV. In addition, the steady evolution of technique and hardware for C-14 AMS has resulted in substantial improvements in precision, throughput and background. Increases in throughput are also having an impact in other areas of application, most notably in ice-core research and exposure-age dating. The issue of the calibration of production rates of Be-10, Al-26 and Cl-36 by cosmic rays at the earth's surface, which is crucial to the effective application of exposure-age dating, has received some attention, and progress has been made towards a consensus. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.