Abstract

Using resonance ionization mass spectrometric techniques (RIMS) for ultratrace analysis has a number of advantages over conventional techniques: 1. Extremely high sensitivity in the fg to ag range per sample is possible with the high cross sections for optical excitation. 2. Ultrahigh elemental and isotopic selectivity is achieved by the uniqueness of the optical resonance lines of individual elements and isotopes. 3. Background is strongly suppressed by subsequent mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, the application of the technique is complicated by the complexity of the experimental set-up, particularly the laser system, and hence is limited to a small number of research institutes so far.

© 1996 Optical Society of America