Application of element and isotopic fingerprint features in nuclear forensics: A review

Abstract

Nuclear forensics can provide historical evidence for nuclear materials. This can be used to verify nuclear activities or trace the origin and intended use of materials. As a comprehensive discipline, most sample analysis techniques in nuclear forensics are adaptations of existing methodologies. The elemental signatures contain fundamental information about nuclear materials, while isotope signatures also significantly impact nuclear forensic research. This paper aims to give an overview about the recent developments and the state-of-art analytical methods for elemental signatures and isotope signatures in nuclear forensics. Thorough discussions are given in this paper covering a wide range of aspects, including sample pre-treatment methods, chemical separation techniques, source preparation, mass spectrometry measurement techniques, and multidimensional statistical methods. The element and isotopic signatures discussed in this article include uranium, plutonium, rare earth elements, impurity elements, and radiochronometers. The focus is on mass spectrometry-based detection methods that have been developed to enhance the efficiency, sample throughput and high-precision measurements of nuclear forensic. A detailed discussion is provided on the performance of these techniques, particularly regarding uncertainty, relative deviation and detection limits.