An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) system is described in which the quadrupole mass filter can be operated conventionally or in the "second' stability region (with Mathieu parameters q=7.547, a=0.0295). With operation in the second region a resolution at half-height (R1/2) of up to 9000 can be achieved at m/z=55. At R1/2=5000, a resolution sufficient to separate atomic ions from common molecular ion interferences (such 56Fe+ and 40Ar16O+), the sensitivity is ca. 106 ions s−1 per μg mL−1 of element in solution. This sensitivity is comparable to that of current sector ICP-MS systems operated at the same resolution. When the quadrupole is operated in the first stability region, the sensitivity is ca. 108 ions s−1 per μg mL−1 of element in solution. The continuum background is high, ca 1000 s−1, but no attempts have yet been made to reduce this. The results suggest that with continued development, a high resolution quadrupole ICP-MS system will be possible.
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Ying et al. (1996) studied this question.