Acquisition of Co2 Laser for Stable Isotope Micro-Analysis

岩石和矿物样品中氧同位素的准确测量是解释成矿过程中岩体与水溶液之间的化学作用程度和破译岩石变质过程中矿物组合形成温度的有力工具。为了进行氧同位素分析，能够测量越来越小的样品体积，从而可以进行更准确和更复杂的解释。氧是通过矿物的氟化作用(直接释放氧气)或矿物的碳还原(产生CO和CO2)定量地从天然氧化物和硅酸盐矿物中提取出来的。该项目将使激光加热方法适用于这两种氧气提取技术，从而使聚焦在矿物颗粒上的激光可以用于从非常小的体积中提取氧气，从而实现具有良好空间分辨率的同位素微量分析。

The accurate measurement of the isotopes of oxygen in rock and mineral samples is a well established and powerful tool for interpreting the extent of chemical interaction between rock masses and aqueous solutions during the formation of ore mineral deposits and for deciphering the temperature of formation of mineral assemblages during rock metamorphism. The capability to measure smaller and smaller volumes of samples for oxygen isotope analysis allows for more accurate and sophisticated interpretation. Oxygen is quantitatively extracted from natural oxide and silicate minerals by either fluorination of the minerals (liberating oxygen directly) or by carbon reduction of the mineral (which creates CO and CO2). This project will adapt a laser heating method to these two oxygen extraction techniques so that a laser beam focused on a mineral grain can be used to extract oxygen from a very small volume, thereby allowing isotope microanalysis with excellent spatial resolution.