PRIMARY STUDIES OF THE MICROSECOND PULSED GLOW-DISCHARGE AS AN EMISSION SOURCE USING A CONVENTIONAL HOLLOW-CATHODE LAMP

Primary investigations on the operation of a glow discharge in the mic rosecond regime as an emission source have been carried out by using c onventional hollow cathode lamps. By passing large currents of short d uration repetitively through a conventional hollow cathode lamp, and m aking use of a gated detection system, light intensity enhancement of up to 3-4 orders of magnitude can be achieved with respect to de opera tion. Intensity comparisons have been conducted on 4 hollow cathode la mps, As, Ca, Cu and Ti, for both the analyte and the filler gas specie s. The effects of variation of pulse conditions were examined in great detail on a Ti lamp. Temporally resolved voltage, current and emissio n profiles, with the analytical characteristics, demonstrate that micr osecond pulsed operation does offer unique analytical advantages.