Laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for direct elemental analysis

The evolution of high-irradiance laser-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LI-TOF-MS) mainly progressed following significant improvements in the laser source, the TOF mass analyzer and construction geometries. We summarize the main developments in LI-TOF-MS, including the instrumentation and the applications. We also present particular instruments that our group developed recently.