ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the region of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) where the ions are generated—the plasma discharge. It provides a brief historical perspective of some of the common analytical plasmas used over the years and discusses the components used to create the inductively coupled plasma. ICPs are by far the most common type of plasma sources used in commercial ICP optical emission spectroscopy and ICP-MS instrumentation. In the early days, when researchers were attempting to find the ideal plasma source to use for spectrometric studies, it was not clear which approach would prove to be the most successful. In addition to ICPs, some of the other novel plasma sources developed were direct current plasmas and microwave-induced plasmas. The chapter also looks at the basic components used to generate the source—a plasma torch, radio-frequency coil, and power supply.
