Portable Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer for Nuclear Forensics

Analysis of nuclear material samples in the field has many advantages over laboratory analysis. Laboratory analyses can be slow, involve increased expense, lead to additional waste generation and disposal problems, and may introduce errors due to sample degradation or mishandling. In situ analysis mitigates all of these problems. The specific aim of this project is the development of a truly portable mass spectrometer for nuclear forensics. Our device will feature greatly reduced size and improved portability over commercially available units by combining proven, miniaturized mass spectrometer, vacuum system, and laser ablation ionization technologies. These technologies will be combined with an easy-to-use package and interface that will enable soldiers-in-the-field to perform analyses in less than a day that today require days to complete due to the need to ship samples from the field to DoE laboratories. The Creare team is extremely well qualified to develop and transition/commercialize this technology. The team is currently collaborating on the development and fielding of a mass spectrometer and vacuum system that will be used to perform in situ mass spectrometry on Mars as part of the 2009 NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission.