Peak measurement protocol

FIGU RE 12.8 Multielement scanning and peak measurement protocol used in a quadrupole. 

It is also important to ranember that peak measurement protocol will also have an impact on detection capability. As mentioned in Chapter 12, there are basically two approaches to measuring an isotopic signal in ICP-MS. There is the multichannel scanning approach, which uses a continuous smooth ramp of 1-20 channels per mass across the peak profile, and peak-hopping approach, where the mass analyzer power supply is driven to a discrete position on the peak, allowed to settle, and a measurement taken for a fixed period of time. This is usually at the peak maximum but can be as many points as the operator selects. This process is simplistically shown in Figure 21.2. 

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