PNNL

Abstract

In mass spectrometry, several advantages can be derived when multiple mass-to-charge values are detected simultaneously. One such advantage is an improved duty cycle, which leads to superior limits of detection, better precision, shorter analysis times, and reduced sample sizes. A second advantage is the ability to reduce correlated noise by taking the ratio of two or more simultaneously collected signals, enabling greatly enhanced isotope ratio data. A final advantage is the elimination of spectral skew, leading to more accurate transient signal analysis. Here, these advantages are demonstrated by means of a novel Faraday-strip array detector coupled to a Mattauch-Herzog mass spectrograph. The same system is used to monitor elemental fractionation phenomena in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.