DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A MINIATURE INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA SOURCE FOR ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROMETRY

A miniature inductively coupled plasma source for atomic emission spectrometry is described and a preliminary evaluation of its analytical capabilities is presented. The mini-ICP is very economical to sustain and works well with less than 1 kW of rf power and 8 L min-1 of argon coolant gas. In addition, the new source possesses some unique operating characteristics which simplify sample introduction. In this paper, detection limits, multielement capabilities, other analytical features of the mini-ICP are compared with those demonstrated by a conventional ICP source and shown to be comparable. In addition, the two plasmas are shown to exhibit similar excitation temperatures in their respective analyte observation regions (i.e., plasma tail flames). These results suggest that the mini-ICP possesses the same desirable atomization and excitation characteristics as conventional ICP sources. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.