Evaluation of the detection capability of a high power nitrogen microwave-induced plasma for both atomic emission and mass spectrometry

In order to evaluate the detection capability of a high power N2-MIP (surface wave mode cavity) for AES and MS, a comparison of the detection limits between high power N2-MIP-AES and Ar-ICP-AES was conducted under almost the same plasma operating conditions and with the same measurement systems. Moreover, a comparison of the detection limits between high power N2-MIP-MS and Ar-ICP-MS was also carried out under optimum operating conditions for each instrument. The detection limits (3σ) were established as the detection capability for both plasma systems using a total of 55 wavelengths (atom and ion lines) for 21 elements for AES and a total of 38 m/z values for 22 elements for MS. The detection limits obtained for N2-MIP-AES (0.4–3000 ng ml–1) were from one to two orders of magnitude worse than those for Ar-ICP-AES. On the other hand, the detection limits for N2-MIP-MS (1–3600 pg ml–1) were almost the same or one order of magnitude worse than those for Ar-ICP-MS. The detection capability of a high power N2-MIP was evaluated both from results in this work and from those given previously.