Application of light guides on the PLASMAQUANT-110 ICP spectrometer — Analytical capabilities and analytical performance

Summary On a high-aperture, high-resolution Echelle spectrometer individual fibre light guides are used to transmit the spectral light from the focal plane to the detectors. For this purpose, 132 light guides are arranged behind an exit slit mask. These light guides transmit the light of the spectral lines of 70 elements. The application of light guides provides numerous advantages for analytical program changes and extensions and enables fast survey analyses. Thoroughly chosen fibre types and precise arrangement of light guides are the prerequisites for a good analytical performance which — beside reproducibilities of lines and background as well as detection limits — is exemplified by the spectral resolution of boron and iron lines as well as of the iron triplet at 310 nm.