Accelerator mass spectrometry of 63Ni using a gas-filled magnet at the Munich Tandem Laboratory

The detection of 63Ni (T1/2=100.1 yr) by means of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) using a gas-filled magnet (GFM) is described. The experimental setup includes a dedicated ion source, a 14 MV MP tandem, a GFM and a multi-anode ionization chamber. First results indicate a background level of 63Ni/Ni ratios as low as 2x10-14. This sensitivity will allow - for the first time ever - to detect 63Ni induced by fast neutrons in copper samples from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even for distances beyond 1500 m from the hypocenters. Thus, it will be possible to reconstruct experimentally the neutron doses of the A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki