The Lalonde Laboratory is located in uOttawa’s new Advanced Research Complex (ARC), a state-of-the-art, open-concept, research-only building designed to integrate students and researchers from across Canada and the world and to foster innovation and interdisciplinarity in the Geosciences and Photonics.

The cornerstone of the laboratory is a custom-built 3 MV tandem accelerator mass spectrometer manufactured by High Voltage Engineering. It has been designed to analyze an array of isotopes, including ³H, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl, ¹²⁹I, ²³⁶U and, of course, ¹⁴C. In addition, a second injector line, the uOttawa Innovation line, will integrate new AMS technologies, such as the use of low energy ion-gas reaction cells to eliminate interferences from atomic isobars and the use of photonic selection techniques. The spectrometer, located adjacent to the ARC’s glazed entrance foyer, is a central feature that highlights the technology of Canada’s only AMS to our students – our next generation of researchers.

The laboratory also features a ¹⁴C-dedicated AMS system, the Mini Carbon Dating System (MICADAS) by Ionplus, which has been measuring graphite samples since 2022.

• An accelerator mass spectrometer uses an ion source, accelerator, electric and magnetic analyzers, and a particle detector to count single radioactive atoms in the presence of a quadrillion stable atoms. 1x10¹⁵ stable atoms is equivalent to 1 grain of sand in 100km² of desert.
• ¹²C atoms leave the accelerator at a speed of approximately 11,992,000 meters per second, that's 1⁄25 the speed of light.