C14-SCAR vs Alternatives

C14-SCAR has outstanding features compared to other instruments for radiocarbon measurement.

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) detects isotope ratio of ¹²C, ¹³C, ¹⁴C ions, has an excellent sensitivity, requires a small carbon mass and provide short measurement times. However, AMS requires huge, expensive and high-maintenance experimental facilities. Its economic and energy costs make only ~20 instruments available in Europe.

Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) uses β-decay counting, is cheap but but with insufficient precision for monitoring applications, thus requiring large sample amounts, high isotope dose and scintillation cocktails must be disposed off in a special way.