Analytical spectroscopy with inductively coupled plasmas: present status and future prospects

Inductively coupled Ar plasmas are simple and efficient devices for transforming liquid and solid aerosols, vapors, and gases at atmospheric pressure into free atoms, excited atoms, ions, and molecular fragments. Once these species are produced, they can provide the analyst with a wealth of information through their emission, fluorescence, absorption, and mass spectra. In this lecture, the physical and spectroscopic properties will be reviewed followed by an update of their applications in emission, fluorescence, and mass spectroscopy. Specific topics to be highlighted in this update are: ICP mass spectroscopy; isotopic abundance measurements via ICP atomic-emission spectroscopy; and a new ICP wavelength atlas. The closing portion of the lecture will be concerned with future projections on various forms of ICP spectroscopy