High pressure discharges for chemical analysis

Microwave induced plasma discharges have been extensively studied and used as atomization, excitation or ionization sources for chemical analysis. The analysis can be performed by atomic emission, absorption, fluorescence or mass spectrometries. All these methods often rely on plasma sources as atom ization, excitation or ionization cells. The microwave discharges are prese ntly mainly used at atmospheric pressure. We will first review the various high-pressure discharges used for chemical analysis, with particular emphas is on microwave plasmas. We will then review different analytical applicati ons of high-pressure discharges and give some indications about the future evolution of spectrochemical analysis with these discharges.