Development of a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer for non-destructive analysis of isotope ratios in irradiated B4C pellets—Test measurements on an unirradiated control rod pellet

A laser mass spectrometric facility is developed using a home-built reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RTOFMS) to analyze the boron isotopic ratio 10B/11B in the irradiated B4C pellets of the FBTR control rod. Compared to other mass spectrometry-based methods, the present method is practically non-destructive and makes it relatively easier to handle irradiated (radioactive) B4C pellets through remote operation. The results with inactive samples indicate that the method yields 10B percentage values, accurate to within ±1%.