PARAMETER EVALUATION FOR THE ANALYSIS OF OXIDE-BASED SAMPLES WITH RADIO-FREQUENCY GLOW-DISCHARGE MASS-SPECTROMETRY

The performance of radio frequency-powered glow discharge mass spectro metry (rf-GDMS) has been evaluated for the direct analysis of noncondu cting samples, The parameters under study are the discharge power, the discharge pressure, the sample versus exit orifice distance, and the effect of cryogenic cooling. Optimum conditions are used to evaluate s ome analytical figures bf merit for the analysis of compacted oxide-ba sed materials. A precision of better than 5% is obtained on all measur ed species in the discharge, and a semiquantitative analysis delivers results within a factor of 2 from the certified concentrations. Relati ve sensitivity factors are reported and compared for various matrices. The analytical data demonstrate the potential capabilities of rf-GDMS for direct analysis of various kinds of nonconducting materials.