Ion and Atom Sources
Sources can be adapted in many ways, but the lists below give the general uses of a number of sources. Of these, flames are the most common due to their low cost and their simplicity. Although significantly less common, inductively-coupled plasmas, especially when used with mass spectrometers, are recognized for their outstanding analytical performance and their versatility.
For all atomic spectroscopy, a sample must be vaporized and atomized. For atomic mass spectrometry, a sample must also be ionized. Vaporization, atomization, and ionization are often, but not always, accomplished with a single source. Alternatively, one source may be used to vaporize a sample while another is used to atomize (and possibly ionize). An example of this would be laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, where a laser is used to vaporize a solid sample and an inductively-coupled plasma is used to atomize the vapor.
With the exception of flames and graphite furnaces, which are most commonly used for atomic absorption spectroscopy, most sources are used primarily for atomic emission spectroscopy.
Liquid-sampling sources include:
- Flames and sparks (atom source)
- Inductively-coupled plasma (atom and ion source)
- Graphite furnace (atom source)
- Microwave plasma (atom and ion source)
- Direct-current plasma (atom and ion source)
Solid-sampling sources include
- Lasers (atom and vapor source)
- Glow discharge (atom and ion source)
- Arc (atom and ion source)
- Spark (atom and ion source)
- Graphite furnace (atom and vapor source)
Gas-sampling sources include
- Flame (atom source)
- Inductively-coupled plasma (atom and ion source)
- Microwave plasma (atom and ion source)
- Direct-current plasma (atom and ion source)
- Glow discharge (atom and ion source)
Read more about this topic: Atomic Spectroscopy
Famous quotes containing the words atom and/or sources:
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
—Walt Whitman (18191892)
“My profession brought me in contact with various minds. Earnest, serious discussion on the condition of woman enlivened my business room; failures of banks, no dividends from railroads, defalcations of all kinds, public and private, widows and orphans and unmarried women beggared by the dishonesty, or the mismanagement of men, were fruitful sources of conversation; confidence in man as a protector was evidently losing ground, and women were beginning to see that they must protect themselves.”
—Harriot K. Hunt (18051875)