Design and performances of a cyclonic flux cell for laser ablation

Abstract

A new simple design of a high-efficiency low-transport-time cell for laser ablation is presented. The main feature of the design is that the particles are transported by a laminar spiral gas flow into the outlet without any contact with the cell walls. The efficiency of the particle transport and the dependence of the ICP-MS peak shape on experimental conditions were measured. The peak duration on the 10% level was found to be as short as 30 ms and the transport efficiency reached 100% when analysing a standard brass sample. As an example of application to real samples with fine inhomogeneities, the profiles of ¹³C, ⁴⁴Ca and ²⁰⁸Pb were measured by LA-ICP-MS across a tree core. As a result, the very quick particle transport time of the cell enabled the fine, seasonal variation in wood composition to be resolved.