The LA-ICPMS laboratory is used for direct in-situ elemental and isotope-ratio analysis of solid samples. We utilise a custom-designed/built deep-UV 193 nm excimer laser-ablation system coupled to an Agilent 7500ce/cs quadrupole ICPMS (or a GV Instruments IsoProbe MC-ICPMS).
The laser-ablation system was designed in close collaboration with Mike Shelley (Laurin Technic P/L, Canberra, Australia) and Resonetics LLC (Nashua, NH, USA) and is the prototype of the system now marketed as RESOlution M-50 (http://www.resonetics.com/la/). At its core, it features a Laurin two-volume laser-ablation cell characterized by both fast signal washout and uniform signal characteristics anywhere in the cell.
The system is extremely versatile, fully computer-controlled and easy to use even for beginners, since all is controlled by an intuitive image-directed software (Geostar). The large primary excimer laser beam in conjunction with aperture-imaging optics and a long working distance lens allows the use of a large range of round spot sizes from ~7 – 300 µm. Moreover, this includes a rotating adjustable rectangular slit that is especially useful for layered samples where the highest-spatial resolution along a growth axis has to be maintained without loss of element detection capability. X Y stage travel is 50 x 50 mm.
