Acquisition of New Excimer Laser Ablation System for a High Resolution ICPMS Facility

该合同将支持购买一套新的激光消融系统，该系统将与加州州立大学北岭分校地质科学部现有的高分辨率质谱仪配合使用。加州州立大学北岭分校的质谱学设施是一个新开发的实验室，主要用于分析地球材料中的同位素比率和低丰度元素的浓度。激光烧蚀系统与质谱仪耦合，提供了一种直接采样微米级矿物和/或岩石部分的方法，这对于确定目标材料的具体时间和生长条件非常重要。加州大学北岭分校的激光烧蚀-质谱学设施主要用于确定各种矿物的年龄，这在许多地球科学学科中有着广泛的应用。这些应用的一些例子包括：火成岩的测年和对大陆地壳的时间和生长速度的限制；变质作用的测年和对地壳变形的限制；沉积岩中矿物的测年和对地貌演化的限制。由该奖项支持的新激光器的加入将使私人投资机构能够建立一个独特的、高要求的实验室，洛杉矶地区的学术机构很容易进入，其中许多机构是为少数族裔服务的。这项提议还包括资助一项暑期研究计划，旨在支持传统上服务不足的学生，使他们有机会在小组环境中使用我们最先进的设施接受培训和指导。这一支持将允许PIS用新的193 nm ArF准分子激光消融系统取代老化的(已有13年历史的)激光消融系统。它将与现有的单收集器扇区场感耦合等离子体质谱仪(SF-ICPMS)相结合，主要用于辅助矿物年代学和现场微量元素分析。这一新的仪器，加上大学提供的长期、全职技术支持，将使私人投资机构能够开发一个区域设施，以产生精确、高质量的数据，并具有新的效率，从而实现高样本吞吐量和对例如高n个碎屑锆石数据集的分析。以前由于激光信号不稳定而无法进行的痕量元素分析，将单独使用(在各种块状岩石熔融的玻璃上进行扫描)，并与铅/铀年龄数据相结合，将化学条件与副矿物生长的时间联系起来。

This award will support the acquisition of a new laser ablation system to be used in tandem with an existing high resolution mass spectrometer in the CSU-Northridge Department of Geological Sciences. The mass spectrometry facility at CSU-Northridge is a newly developed laboratory used primarily for analyzing isotopic ratios and the concentrations of low abundance elements in earth materials. A laser ablation system couples with the mass spectrometer and provides a way of directly sampling micrometer-scale parts of minerals and / or rocks, which is important for determining the specific timing and growth conditions of the targeted material. The laser ablation - mass spectrometry facility at CSU-Northridge is used primarily for determining ages of a variety of minerals, which has a broad range of applications across many geoscience disciplines. Some examples of those applications include: dating of igneous rocks and constraints on the timing and growth rate of continental crust; dating of metamorphism and constraints on the deformation of crust; dating of minerals in sedimentary rocks and constraints on the evolution of landscapes. Addition of the new laser supported by this award will allow the PIs to build a unique and high demand laboratory easily accessible to Los Angeles area academic institutions, many of which are minority-serving. This proposal also includes funding for a summer research initiative aimed at supporting traditionally underserved students, giving them an opportunity to receive training and mentorship using our state-of-the-art facility in a small-group setting. This support will allow the PIs to replace an aging ( 13-year old) laser ablation system with a new 193 nm ArF excimer laser ablation system. It will be coupled with an existing single collector sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SF-ICPMS), and used primarily for accessory mineral geochronology and in-situ trace element analysis. This new instrumentation, together with permanent, full-time technical support provided by the University, will allow the PIs to develop a regional facility that will generate precise, high-quality data with new efficiencies that allow for high sample throughput and the analysis of, for example, high n-number detrital zircon datasets. Trace element analysis, which was previously not possible because of laser signal instability, will be used on its own (rastering over glasses fused from a variety of bulk rocks), and in concert with Pb/U age data to link chemical conditions to timing of accessory mineral growth.