High‐resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR‐CS AAS) is probably the most innovative technique in the field of atomic spectrometry since the introduction of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) in the 1980s. Although it uses the basic principle of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), i.e. the absorption of radiation by atoms in the gas phase, HR‐CS AAS should not just be considered an improved AAS but a new technique with an impressive number of new features. HR‐CS AAS is a new player in the field of atomic spectrometry and must be compared with all the other techniques that are available. We give a short historical introduction about the development of HR‐CS AAS since the 1960s, although it was only in the 1990s, when components that are essential for the proper performance of this technique became available. Theoretical considerations are treated to the extent that is necessary to understand the basic difference between line source atomic absorption spectrometry (LS AAS) and HR‐CS AAS. This is followed by a comprehensive treatment of the instrumental details from the continuum radiation source over the high‐resolution monochromator to the array detector, also giving an insight into the essential control functions to guarantee trouble‐free operation. The special features of HR‐CS AAS are discussed in detail to make possible a comparison with the other techniques of atomic spectrometry. One of these features is the possibility of determining nonmetals, such as phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen, and the halogens using molecular absorption “lines”. The potential of the instrumentation to attain isotopic information, also based on the monitoring of molecular absorption, is discussed. Section 5 presents a panoply of applications that show that HR‐CS AAS, in combination with a graphite tube atomizer, is one of the most rugged analytical techniques for trace‐element determination in solids and complex samples currently available.
