Gaseous uranium hexafluride isotope measurement by diode laser spectroscopy

摘要

A device and method for measuring the relative amounts of <235>U and <238>U in the gaseous phase of UF6 using tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS). The invention is a faster, more accurate method for making such measurement. The improved method involves using methane (CH4) or acetylene (C2H2) as a calibration gas, and using a Fabry-Perot interferometer to calibrate the laser frequency, to determine the relative amounts of <235>U and <238>U in UF6 gas within ±0.27% accuracy, for example 7.00%±0.27%. The sample time required for such measurement is about one second.