PRISE  SHRIMP

The Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) was invented at The Research School of Earth Sciences. There are three machines in operation at RSES reflecting the School's progressive and continuing development of SHRIMP technology.

SHRIMP is used for U-Pb geochronology of zircon, monazite, sphene, perovskite, rutile and baddeleyite. It is also used for sulfur and common Pb isotope analyses, and major and trace element analyses, including the REE.

SHRIMP is an in situ microanalytical facility. Samples are analysed in rocks or thin sections, or as separated grains, mounted, sectioned and polished to expose their internal structure. Cathodoluminescence (CL) and back scattered SEM images are used to target specific areas within grains. The ion beam leaves only minute evidence of the analysis area. The probe pits are 0.5 to 1µm in depth, with a range between 10 to 30 µm diameter available, depending on the spatial resolution required. The sampled volume is orders of magnitude smaller than that required for other isotope and trace element microanalytical methods.