Fine-tuning of LA-ICP-QMS conditions for elemental mapping

Abstract

For high-speed and high-resolution elemental LA-ICP-QMS mapping it is important to select the optimal operational conditions to avoid aliasing, minimize blur and maximize the signal-to-noise ratio. An earlier paper already highlighted the fundamentals involved in the selection of these conditions (J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2019, 34, 1919); this work will fine-tune these conditions using the principle of divisors. This implies finding instrumentally selectable conditions to satisfy the anti-aliasing criterion, i.e., repetition rate × acquisition time = ⁺. The mathematics involved has been unified in a simple to use app (https://laicpms-apps.ki.si/webapps/home/). The app generates a list of optimized conditions from which the user can select the optimal set, based on the requirements for single or multiple pulse LA-ICP-QMS mapping of elements in “thick” samples.