Atomic Spectrometry Update—Industrial Analysis: Metals, Chemicals and Advanced Materials

Abstract

This Atomic Spectrometry Update is the latest in an annual series appearing under the title of ‘Industrial Analysis’. The structure of the review is the same as that used in previous years.

Significant advances have been made during the year under review in the design of GD cells for the analysis of conducting and non-conducting materials. It is evident that the development of r.f. boosted discharges and more practical cell geometries has extended the range of the technique. Applications continue to increase in the multi-layer metals field, and there are signs that the semiconductor and materials fields are seeing some of the benefits of this technology, such as depth profiling. Techniques involving laser ablation (LA) sampling are also increasing in popularity for the characterization of solids, reflecting the requirement for the differentiation of material functionality in situ. Sensitivity is still an issue in many fields, as demand for increasingly high purity chemicals and materials grows. Thus, preconcentration procedures continue to be reported. The opportunity such methods provide for chemical speciation is evident and chromatography is becoming an essential preparatory tool in the armoury of laboratories involved in inorganic analysis.