ABSTRACT

Although ICP-MS was commercialized in 1983, the first 10 years of its development was based on traditional quadrupole mass filter technology to separate the ions of interest. These worked exceptionally well for most applications but proved to have limitations when determining difficult elements or dealing with more complex sample matrices. This led to the development of alternative mass separation devices, which allowed ICP-MS to be used for applications which required higher resolution, faster data capture, and/or a reduction in polyatomic spectral interferences. Before we discuss these different mass spectrometers in greater detail, let us take a look at the proximity of mass analyzer in relation to the ion optics and the detector. Figure 7.1 shows this in greater detail.