Optimization of Discharge Parameters for a Flat-Type Radio-Frequency Glow Discharge Source Coupled to a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer System

Abstract

A radio-frequency (rf)-powered glow discharge (GD) atomization/ionization source for nominally flat sample types (>6 mm o.d.) has been designed and coupled to a commercial GD mass spectrometer system, the VG GloQuad. This source was evaluated and optimized for conducting as well as nonconducting samples. A parametric study has been conducted on this rf-GDMS system with respect to discharge power, Ar flow (cell pressure), limiting orifice plate (anode) diameter, and ion sampling distance. Analytical characteristics under the optimized source parameters—including stabilization times (5 min for conducting samples, 60 min for nonconducting samples); repeatability (overall internal <2% RSD, overall external <8% RSD employing ion beam ratios); quantification; and detection limits—were evaluated for both conducting and nonconducting samples.

Keywords

Radio-frequency glow discharge Mass spectrometry Quadrupole mass filter Ion source

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Harrison

W. W.

Hess

K. R.

Marcus

R. K.

and King

F. L

, Anal. Chem. 58, 341A (1986).

Coburn

J. W.

and Kay

, Appl. Phys. Lett. 19, 350 (1971).

Coburn

J. W.

and Kay

, J. Appl. Phys. 43, 4965 (1972).

Coburn

J. W.

Taglauer

and Kay

, J. Appl. Phys. 45, 1779 (1975).

Coburn

J. W.

and Kay

, Appl. Phys. Lett. 18, 435 (1971).

Harrison

W. W.

and Magee

C. W

, Anal. Chem. 46, 461 (1974).

Bruhn

C. G.

Bentz

B. C.

and Harrison

W. W

, Anal. Chem. 50, 373 (1978).

Coburn

J. W.

and Harrison

W. W

, Appl. Spectrosc. Rev. 17, 95 (1981).

Cantle

J. E.

Hall

E. F.

Shaw

C. J.

and Turner

P. J

, Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 46, 11 (1983).

10.

Sanderson

N. E.

Hall

E. F.

Clark

Charalambous

and Hall

, Mikrochim. Acta 1, 275 (1987).

11.

Blades

M. W.

, Appl. Spectrosc. 48, 12A (1994).

12.

Colodner

Salters

and Duckworth

D. C

, Anal. Chem. 66, 1079A (1994).

13.

Mei

and Marcus

R. K

, Tr. Anal. Chem. 12, 86 (1993).

14.

Van Straaten

Swenters

Gijbels

Verlinden

and Adriaenssens

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 9, 1389 (1994).

15.

Hutton

R. C.

and Raith

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 7, 623 (1992).

16.

Vieth

and Huneke

, Anal. Chem. 64, 2958 (1992).

17.

Milton

D. M. P.

Hutton

R. C.

and Ronan

G. A

, Fresenius' J. Anal. Chem. 343, 773 (1992).

18.

Glow Discharge Spectroscopies, Marcus

R. K.

, Ed. (Plenum, New York, 1993).

19.

Chapman

B. N.

, Glow Discharge Processes (John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1980).

20.

Harrison

W. W.

Barshick

C. M.

Kingler

J. A.

Ratliff

P. H.

and Mei

, Anal. Chem. 62, 843A (1990).

21.

Van Straaten

and Gijbels

, in Applications of Plasma Source Mass Spectrometry II, Holland

and Eaton

A. N

, Eds. (The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1993).

22.

Duckworth

D. C.

Barshick

C. M.

and Smith

D. H

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 8, 875 (1993).

23.

Duckworth

D. C.

Barshick

C. M.

Bostick

D. A.

and Smith

D. H

, Appl. Spectrosc. 47, 243 (1993).

24.

Milton

D. M. P.

and Hutton

R. C

, Spectrochim. Acta 48B, 39 (1993).

25.

Wehner

G. K.

, Adv. Electron. Electron. Phys. 7, 237 (1955).

26.

Anderson

G. S.

Mayer

W. N.

and Wehner

G. K

, J. Appl. Phys. 33, 2991 (1962).

27.

Jackson

G. N.

, Thin Solid Films 5, 209 (1970).

28.

Oechsner

and Gerhard

, Phys. Lett. A 40, 211 (1972).

29.

Oechsner

and Gerhard

, Surf. Sci. 44, 480 (1974).

30.

Geiger

J. F.

Kipharski

Oechsner

and Paulus

, Mikrochim. Acta 1, 497 (1987).

31.

Marcus

R. K.

Harville

T. R.

Mei

Shick

C. R.

Jr. , Anal. Chem. 66, 902A (1994).

32.

Shick

C. R.

Jr. Raith

and Marcus

R. K

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 9, 1045 (1994).

33.

Shick

C. R.

Jr. Raith

and Marcus

R. K

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 8, 1043 (1993).

34.

Duckworth

D. C.

and Marcus

R. K

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 7, 711 (1992).

35.

Duckworth

D. C.

and Marcus

R. K

, Appl. Spectrosc. 44, 649 (1990).

36.

Duckworth

D. C.

and Marcus

R. K

, Anal. Chem. 61, 1879 (1989).

37.

DeGendt

Van Grieken

R. E.

Ohorodnik

S. K.

and Harrison

W. W

, Anal. Chem. 67, 1026 (1995).

38.

Ohorodnik

S. K.

DeGendt

Tong

S. L.

and Harrison

W. W

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 8, 859 (1993).

39.

Duckworth

D. C.

Donohue

D. L.

Smith

D. H.

Lewis

T. A.

and Marcus

R. K

, Anal. Chem. 65, 2478 (1993).

40.

McLuckey

S. A.

Glish

G. L.

Duckworth

D. C.

and Marcus

R. K

, Anal. Chem. 64, 1606 (1992).

41.

Myers

D. P.

Heintz

M. J.

Mahoney

P. P.

and Hieftje

G. M

, Appl. Spectrosc. 48, 1337 (1994).

42.

Marcus

R. K.

Cable

P. R.

Duckworth

D. C.

Buchanan

M. V.

Pochkowski

J. M.

and Weller

R. R

, Appl. Spectrosc. 46, 1327 (1992).

43.

Shick

C. R.

Jr. Marcus

R. K.

Duckworth

D. C.

Smith

D. H.

and Wheeler

, Anal. Chem., paper submitted for publication.

44.

Saito

, Anal. Chim. Acta 274, 327 (1993).

45.

Jakubowski

Stuewer

and Toelg

, Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 71, 183 (1986).

46.

King

F. L.

McCormack

A. L.

and Harrison

W. W

, J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 3, 883 (1988).

47.

Ohorodnik

S. K.

and Harrison

W. W

, Anal. Chem. 65, 2542 (1993).

48.

Technical Staff, Fisons Instruments, Elemental, personal communications.

49.

Lazik

and Marcus

R. K

, Spectrochim. Acta 47B, 1309 (1992).

50.

Grimm

, Spectrochim. Acta 39B, 443 (1984).

51.

Hotop

and Niehaus

, Z. Phys. 228, 68 (1969).

52.

Clampitt

and Jefferies

D. K

, Nature 226, 141 (1970).

53.

Shick

C. R.

Jr. , and Marcus

R. K.

, “Analysis of Nominally Flat Samples By Radio Frequency Powered GDMS”, Talk MOF 11:30, Presented at the 43rd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, Atlanta, Georgia (1995).

54.

King

F. L.

and Harrison

W. W

, Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Proc. 89, 171 (1989).

55.

Parker

and Marcus

R. K

, Spectrochim. Acta 50B, 617 (1995).

56.

Shick

C. R.

Jr. Marcus

R. K.

and Sharpe

J. C

, “Versatile Ion Source Designs for Radio Frequency GDMS on the VG GloQuad”, Poster ThP55, Presented at the 1994 Winter Plasma Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, San Diego, California (1994).

57.

Vieth

and Huneke

J. C

, Spectrochim. Acta 46B, 137 (1991).