Laser Ablation/Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Aerosol Density Normalization

Abstract

In order to correct the variation of aerosol density in laser ablation/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, a laboratory-made laser light-scattering cell was inserted into the aerosol transport tube between the laser ablation system and the torch. The temporal variation of signals from the laser light-scattering cell correlated well with that of the ion signals from the mass spectrometer. The precision of ion intensity measurement corrected with the laser light-scattering method was improved to the same level as that attained with the conventional internal standard method even in the single pulse mode.