MIT EAPS INAA Facilities page

Under the supervision of Professor Fred Frey this facility has gradually developed since the mid-1970.
Since 1980, the immediate laboratory supervisor has been Dr. P. Ila (M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology; PhD, Andhra University, India). Her formal education was in the fields of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Health Physics. She has worked in and supervised an instrumental neutron activation facility since 1976. [Reference Ila]

A major use of the facility is to support the research of Fred Frey and collaborators in their studies of volcanic rocks formed in intraplate, divergent plate and convergent plate tectonic settings. Recent research has been on Andean lavas in Chile and Argentina, and on the largest terrestrial volcanoes, (known as hotspot volcanoes) which form long, linear chains of volcanoes, such as the Hawaii-Emperor Ridges in the Pacific Ocean and the Ninetyeast Ridge in the Indian Ocean. Our laboratory is active in the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project and in studies of lavas recovered from the Kerguelen Plateau, a large igneous province, sampled during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 183. There are also a variety of other applications, e.g., in archaeology and environmental science. The facility has recently been used by researchers from the University of Massachusetts, University of Virginia, Southern Methodist University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.[Reference Frey]

SAMPLE PREPARATION ROOM
The sample preparation room is provided with a state of the art digital Mettler balance that can weigh samples accurately to the fifth decimal place in the range 30 to 60 grams. A second balance has a weighing capability upto 300 grams.
  BACK TO FACILITIES

SAMPLE RECEIVING AND STORAGE ROOM The radoactive sample receiving room is conveniently located in the vicinity of the MIT Reactor builiding. This room called the hot lab is a licenced room equipped with a workbench providing the lead glass and bricks shielding protection while operating on the radioactive samples. This room is also used for the storage of the radioactive samples.
  BACK TO FACILITIES

GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY LABORATORY
The gamma spectroscopy laboratory consists of state of the art computer system CanberRA Genie 2000 Work station, with AIM modules connected to a local area networking sytem. There are 6 Germanium detectors of which 2 or low energy hyper pure germanim detectors with a resolution of about 650 eV at 122 keV energy. There are 3 high energy detectors with efficiencies in the range 20 to 30%. They have a resolution of 1.8 keV or better at 1332 keV energy. The system configuration is shown in the diagram separately.
INAA System Diagram
  BACK TO FACILITIES

Genie 2000 - Compaq Alpha Work Station
BACK TO FACILITIES

Electronics: NIM bin comtaining Canberra HV Power Supply units, 556A AIM Interface Modules with 8701 ADCs, and 2025 Amplifiers.
BACK TO FACILITIES

User is placing a sample on a counting detector placed on a cryogenic dewar (at the bottom). The detector is surrounded by lead cave. The detector and cave have vertical configuration.
BACK TO FACILITIES

User is placing a sample on a counting detector placed on a cryogenic dewar (at the left). The detector and surrounding cave have horizontal configuration.
BACK TO FACILITIES

User is placing a sample on a counting detector placed on a cryogenic dewar (at the bottom). Inside the cave, the detector surface (with red cap) can be seen .
BACK TO FACILITIES

Location: NW13-263
MIT
Cambridge
MA 02139

TOP

HOME