Counting individual 41Ca atoms with a magneto-optical trap

الأصل · EN

Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA), a novel method based upon laser trapping and cooling, is used to count individual atoms of 41Ca present in biomedical samples with isotopic abundance levels between 10-8 and 10-10. ATTA is calibrated against Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry, demonstrating a good agreement between the two methods. The present ATTA system has a counting efficiency of 2x10-7. Within one hour of observation time, its 3-sigma detection limit on the isotopic abundance of 41Ca reaches 4.5x10-10.