RECENT ADVANCES IN MICROWAVE PLASMA TORCH ATOMIC-EMISSION SPECTROMETRY - INVITED LECTURE

The development of an alternative excitation source, the microwave pla sma torch (MPT) is historically reviewed. The unique features and shor tcomings of the MPT as an excitation source for AES are outlined. To o vercome the relatively severe matrix effects, desolvation, flow inject ion, on-line preseparation and preconcentration as well as on-line sta ndard additions techniques have been adopted. An oxygen-sheathed Ar-MP T has been developed to alleviate the interferences caused by the stro ng nitrogen-related emission bands and this has also been shown to be valuable in reducing noise levels as well as improving the excitation capability, Some possible future developments are envisioned.