Isotope geochronology

Time is the “core” issue in Earth and planetary science research, permeating every field of geoscience and planetary science. Every advancement nurtures a revolution in Earth and planetary sciences.

In 1902, Rutherford’s discovery of radioactive decay led to the formulation of the exponential decay law of radioactive half-lives. In 1913, Holmes published The Age of the Earth, and in the same year, Soddy introduced the concept of “isotopes,” marking the birth of isotope geochronology. Isotope geochronology precisely measures geological time based on the principles of radioactive isotope decay, and has become a key research direction in isotope geochemistry.

Modern advanced instruments and technologies have rapidly advanced, greatly driving the development of isotope geochronology. Techniques like SIMS and LA-(MC)-ICP-MS are currently the leading methods in micro-area isotope dating, allowing us to understand the historical evolution of the Earth and the universe at the micron-nanometer scale, thus expanding and enhancing human capabilities in understanding nature.

Micro-area dating reference materials are the cornerstone for conducting these studies. In the face of complex mineral matrices in nature and the matrix effects on sensitive instrumentation, the development of matrix-matched reference materials has become a prerequisite for all related work.

Developing high-quality reference materials is a long-term, complex, and often luck-dependent task, which has led to a prominent supply-demand imbalance in the availability of standard materials. We hope that our products can address this issue and provide support for the development of micro-area analysis laboratories worldwide.