Page 41 - Inorganic Mass Spectrometry : Fundamentals and Applications

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Oak Ridge ~ational ~abo~a~o~
Oak Ridge, Tinnessee

Although the strengths of the glow discharge (GD) were recognized by inorganic
mass spectrometrists over '70 years ago, it was only during the last 20 years that the
technique gained acceptance by the mainstream analytical community. Success
can be attributed to several factors, including the tireless efTorts of investigators in
this field and the willingness of several instrument vendors to produce commercial
products. No matter what the reason for its recent popularity, its appeal today is
the same as it was more than '70 years ago: the GD is a rugged device that is simple
to construct, operates at relatively low power and moderate pressure, and can be
used to analyze nearly all elements [l]. The classical application for glow dis-
charge mass spectrometry is trace elemental analysis of solid, conducting mate-
rials, such as refractory metals and alloys. Indeed, this remains its strength.
However, this has not prevented researchers from pushing the technique in many
different directions, including the analysis of nonconducting materials (e.g., ce-
ramics, glasses, and polymers), the analysis of powders (e.g., soils and cements),
and even the analysis of liquids as dried solution residues and finely aspirated

*The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government under
contract No. DE-AC05-960R22464. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a paid-up,
nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of
this contribution, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform
publicly and display publicly, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
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