Study of the ion-optical properties of the mass spectrometer LIDIA

The ion-optical characteristics of the ultrasensitive mass spectrometer LIDIA designed to search for superheavy elements (A>250) with a sensitivity of up to 10-14 at./at. using a laser plasma ion source and a multistage separation system have been calculated. The main ones (acceptance, momentum dispersion, resolution and line shape) have been measured by means of 249Cf and 226Ra α-particle beams. A good agreement of the obtained results with the calculated ones is shown. The mass spectrometer is made operational with a laser plasma ion source. This will enable one to carry out the mass-spectrometric analyses of natural samples with fairly high utilization of the specimen material (10-6-10-3) and with a resolution sufficient to resolve the mass lines of the superheavy elements searched. (orig.)