AMS beyond 2000

Extrapolation of developments in accelerator mass spectrometry since the 1990 conference in Paris tempts one to predict the future of the technology. The rapid expansion of biomedical applications of AMS has required not just development of high throughput spectrometers but demonstration of very short experimental cycles, typically a week or less. Such short cycles then make possible the virtual decoupling of sophisticated sample preparation methodologies from the spectrometer itself, imposing greater need for spectrometer availability and reliability. Established research uses of AMS in archaeology and the geosciences will benefit greatly from these developments and be modified by them. The future appears to hold a mix of proliferation of independent, discipline-dependent sample preparation labs, of large numbers of relatively inexpensive optimized spectrometers, and of steady pressure for capability, reliability, and throughput upgrades of the large multi-isotope laboratories.