SATURABLE INDUCTOR BASED CONTROLLED WAVEFORM EXCITATION SOURCE FOR EXPLODING THIN-FILM ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY

An adjustable waveform excitation source for exploding thin film atomic spectroscopy is described. Waveform control is achieved through a saturable inductor having control windings and placed in series with the underdamped discharge tank circuit. This results in a high-current pulse for efficient sample atomization followed by a low-current measurement interval. When this is combined with gated integration, approximately 15-fold increases in analysis line/background intensity ratios are observed for V and Mn. With additional inductance added to the circuit, the current and duration of both the atomization pulse and measurement interval can be adjusted independently.