Analytical plasma ion sources for elemental mass spectrometry: where are we coming from–where are we going to?

The invention of mass spectrometry at the beginning of the 20th century has had a very important impact on science and technology. In the early days of mass spectrometry a combination of electric and magnetic sector fields was used to separate ions according to their mass to charge ratio and as an ion source a reduced pressure plasma has been applied. Nowadays, plasma source mass spectrometers have become the most powerful instrumentation for inorganic analytical chemistry. The history of plasma source mass spectrometry will be discussed in this article highlighting our own contribution and presenting a personal vision of future application where instrumentation with high mass resolving properties will still play the most important role as to get the highest possible elemental coverage.