A viscous film sample chamber for Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry

Damiano Monticelli; Davide Civati; Barbara Giussani; Carlo Dossi; Davide Spanu; Sandro Recchia

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2017.10.060

A viscous film sample chamber for Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry

Talanta. 2018 Mar 1:179:100-106. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.10.060. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

Authors

Damiano Monticelli¹, Davide Civati², Barbara Giussani², Carlo Dossi², Davide Spanu², Sandro Recchia²

Affiliations

¹ Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy. Electronic address: damiano.monticelli@uninsubria.it.
² Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy.

PMID: 29310208
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.10.060

Abstract

Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is a powerful method to determine the elemental composition of solid-state samples as it combines the high sensitivity and isotope selectivity of ICP-MS detection and the simplicity of laser ablation sampling. This technique enables rapid multiple sampling of the analysed material, such as needed for mapping or in-depth profiling applications. However, the duration of these measurements is practically restricted by the time taken for the particle to be transported from the sampling point to the ICP torch. The ablation cell, i.e. the sample holder, should combine high removal rate, high efficiency (i.e. complete transport of the ablated material) and reduced memory effects. These goals may be achieved by carefully designing the geometry of the cell and its gas flow patterns. A new cell design which enables a homogeneous wahout time of around 210 ms from a cylindrical chamber with 70 mm diameter is introduced in this paper. Washout time was determined as the time for the transient signal of 238U from a NIST610 glass standard to fall to 10% of its peak value. This result is achieved by combining a diffused, cylindrical flow pattern with an extraction tube coaxial with the laser beam and fixed to the laser assembly which enables the sampling point to be constantly positioned on the ablation spot. The lower part of the cell is mounted on the x,y stage for sample movement: the cell sealing is warranted by a viscous film junction between the lower and upper cell parts. Optimisation and performances of the apparatus are discussed in detail and performances are compared to existing designs.

Keywords: Ablation cell; Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry; Laser ablation; Washout time.