Abstract

The influence of the power and the carrier gas flow rate on the net signal and SBR values was studied using simultaneous measurements with multichannel detection and axially-viewed ICP-AES. A 2-D response surface was plotted for a large selection of atomic and ionic lines and elements, covering a wide range of energy. Although the behavior of the net signal could be grouped into five different typical behaviors and that of the SBR into four different behaviors, no simple relationship could be suggested between the experimental behavior and the line characteristics such as the wavelength, ionization state, excitation energy for atomic lines, energy sum for ionic lines or energy defect. Nevertheless, it was possible to find two sets of compromise conditions for most lines where 80% of the net signal could be obtained. Four sets of compromise conditions were necessary for the SBR to attain 80% of the maximum value. In contrast to previous published work, evidence was given that the energy of the lines was not the only parameter to be taken into account. For multi-element analysis, line selection should take into account not only the line sensitivity or SBR but also the optimization behavior.