Reproducible and sensitive elemental analysis of solid samples is a crucial task in areas of geology (e.g. microanalysis of fluid inclusions), material sciences, industrial quality control as well as in environmental, forensic and biological studies. To date the most versatile detection method is mass-spectroscopic multi-element analysis. In order to obtain reproducible results, this requires transferring the solid sample into the gas-phase while preserving the sample's stoichiometric composition. Laser ablation in combination with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is a proven powerful technique to meet the requirements for reliable solid sample analysis. The sample is laser ablated in an air-tight cell and the aerosol is carried by an inert gas to a micro-wave induced plasma where its constituents are atomized and ionized prior to mass analysis. The 193 nm excimer laser ablation, in particular, provides athermal sample ablation with very precise lateral ablation and controlled depth profiling. The high photon energy and beam homogeneity of the 193 nm excimer laser system avoids elemental fractionation and permits clean ablation of even transmissive solid materials such as carbonates, fluorites and pure quartz.

Date Published: 8 February 2007
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 6454, High Energy/Average Power Lasers and Intense Beam Applications, 645402 (8 February 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.696823

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6454:
High Energy/Average Power Lasers and Intense Beam Applications
Steven J. Davis; Michael C. Heaven; J. Thomas Schriempf, Editor(s)