Light emitted

Because light emitted from inductively coupled plasma torches is characteristic of the elements present, the torches were originally introduced for instruments that optically measured the frequencies and intensities of the emitted light and used them, rather than ions, to estimate the amounts and types of elements present (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. 

After the skimmer, the ions must be prepared for mass analysis, and electronic lenses in front of the analyzer are used to adjust ion velocities and flight paths. The skimmer can be considered to be the end of the interface region stretching from the end of the plasma flame. Some sort of light stop must be used to prevent emitted light from the plasma reaching the ion collector in the mass analyzer (Figure 14.2). 

By varying the types of gases inside the cavity, the wavelength of the laser emission can be varied (Table 18.3). These gas lasers are useful because the emitted light lies mostly in the ultraviolet... 

The reaction path shows how Xe and Clj react with electrons initially to form Xe cations. These react with Clj or Cl- to give electronically excited-state molecules XeCl, which emit light to return to ground-state XeCI. The latter are not stable and immediately dissociate to give xenon and chlorine. In such gas lasers, translational motion of the excited-state XeCl gives rise to some Doppler shifting in the laser light, so the emission line is not as sharp as it is in solid-state lasers. 

A scintillator, sometimes known as the Daly detector, is an ion collector that is especially useful for studies on metastable ions. The principle of operation is illustrated in Figure 28.4. As with the first dynode of an electron multiplier, the arrival of a fast ion causes electrons to be emitted, and they are accelerated toward a second dynode. In this case, the dynode consists of a substance (a scintillator) that emits photons (light). The emitted light is detected by a commercial photon... 

As excited atoms, molecules, or ions come to equilibrium with their surroundings at normal temperatures and pressures, the extra energy is dissipated to the surroundings. This dissipation causes the particles to slow as translational energy is lost, to rotate and vibrate more slowly as rovibrational energy is lost, and to emit light or x-rays as electronic energy is lost. 

For electronically excited species, the emitted light can be used for spectroscopic purposes, as in fluorescence analysis. 

These collisions can be sufficiently energetic such that the gas molecules become electronically excited, and, as the excited atoms return to their ground state, they emit light. Thus, passage of electrons (an electric current) through a gas under the right conditions leads to the emission of light from the gas. 

The color of the emitted light depends on what type of gas is present. For example, sodium atoms glow with a yellow light (as in the familiar yellow street lights), and neon glow with a dark red light (as in the familiar neon lights). 

The exact conditions of gas pressure, current flow, and applied voltage under which the discharge occurs determine if it is of the corona, plasma, or arc type. The color of the emitted light may also change, depending not only on the type of gas used but also on whether it is a corona, plasma, or arc discharge. 

Thus, either the emitted light or the ions formed can be used to examine samples. For example, the mass spectrometric ionization technique of atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI) utilizes a corona discharge to enhance the number of ions formed. Carbon arc discharges have been used to generate ions of otherwise analytically intractable inorganic substances, with the ions being examined by mass spectrometry. 

This is the basic process in an inductively coupled plasma discharge (ICP). The excited ions can be examined by observing the emitted light or by mass spectrometry. Since the molecules have been broken down into their constituent atoms (as ions) including isotopes, these can be identified and quantified by mass spectrometry, as happens with isotope ratio measurements. 

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