Isotopic and elemental analysis by electrostatic energy analyzer laser ablated time-of-flight mass spectrometer

Abstract

In this work, we present a modified setup of the time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. It consists of a laser ablation source, and a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, 100 mJ, 7 ns) integrated with a linear TOF mass spectrometer coupled with an electrostatic energy analyzer (EEA). Ions are detected by a channeltron electron multiplier assembled with EEA. The main objective of this work is to resolve the ion’s initial energy problem and improve the reproducibility of the results. Employing this newly developed setup the elemental analysis of a known sample was performed for different laser energies and found no shift in the position of the ions signals on the time scale. In addition to elemental analysis, isotopic compositions of lithium, titanium, copper, and silver samples have been also derived. Our results are in good agreement with their natural abundance. The design parameters of the instrument were optimized. The mass calibration was achieved by measuring the flight time of various ions; Li+, Ti+, Cu+, and Ag+.