A new furnace design for constant temperature electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy

A new concept is described for the production of atomic vapour with a constant temperature graphite furnace. Samples are manually or automatically dosed into a graphite cup which is fastened tightly to an aperture of a graphite tube. For atomization, the tube is heated to a preselected temperature followed by heating of the cup by means of a separate power supply. Experimental results are given to characterize the performance of the furnace with regard to sensitivity, non-specific absorption and interference effects. Possible applications of the system are discussed.