The capabilities of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for elemental survey analysis have been characterized. The analysis is a three-step process which involves collecting a spectrum from mass 5 to 240, deconvolving the spectrum into elemental constituents, and converting the elemental count rates to concentrations. The entire process takes less than 10 min per sample. Detection limits are generally less than 1 ng/mL, and the precision of 16 replicate analyses of a sample is between 5 and 20% for the majority of the elements detected. It was determined that the figures of merit for this analysis did not vary significantly as the matrix changed.
A hardware system is described which provides for software-independent timing of events necessary for the smooth operation of an adjustable waveform spark source. Illustrative cases are given showing the extension of this system into a single-channel spectrometer and a complex schlieren photography experiment. Software outlines are also provided. The use of an optical coupler and a fiber optic are shown to improve system performance greatly in high radio frequency interference environments.
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