Isotope Separation in Plasmas by Use of Ion Cyclotron Resonance

Abstract

Selective ion-cyclotron-resonance acceleration of individual K, Ne, Cl, A, and Xe isotopes has been observed in plasmas of density ${10}^{9}$ to ${10}^{11}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. Energy discriminating probes show good resolution of accelerated species in all cases. Mass spectrometer analyses of potassium samples, collected on cooled tungsten ribbons, showed $^{41}\mathrm{K}$ to $^{39}\mathrm{K}$ abundance ratios of 4 rather than the normal value of 0.07.