Background correction by wavelength modulation using a microcomputer in atomic emission spectrometry

An Apple IIe microcomputer was employed to correct the background radiation in electrothermal atomization atomic emission spectrometry (ETA-AES). In ETA-AES, black-body radiation from the atomizer as well as any broadband molecular emission should be corrected to obtain an atomic signal alone. A quartz plate run by a G325D galvanometric motor was placed before the exit slit of a 256 mm Littrow monochromator. Improvements by a novel pulsed 3-step square waveform are demonstrated compared with the ordinatry 3-step square waveform. A soft delay was also applied in order to avoid taking data at transition stages of the quartz plate. A line and a continuum source are used to simulate offsetting of the DC component of the signal prior to the ADC. This provides a better utilization of the full dynamic range of the converter.