The effects of He on ablation and inductively coupled plasma environment in ultra-violet, nanosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The effects of helium gas on ablation and ICP processes were investigated. Differences in the size, shape, and abundance of aerosol particles generated in argon and helium atmosphere were studied off-line using SEM imaging of aerosol particles impacted on polycarbonate filter disks. In general, ablation in helium generated fewer large particles, and larger, more densely-packed soft agglomerates. However, corresponding changes in the ion densities in the ICP, observed in high-resolution images obtained using LIF, were not always predictable. In all cases, higher He/Ar ratios led to lower ion densities in the ICP. This effect was attributed to increased rates of off-axis diffusion at higher He/Ar ratios. Differences in the ion densities produced during ablation in argon vs helium were highly dependent on sample type, the axial position of vaporization, and the He/Ar ratio. There was evidence that vaporization efficiencies of soft agglomerates were less affected than micron-sized particles by particle acceleration at higher He/Ar ratios.