Mass
Spectrometer
PlasmaQuant MS Series
138
Use a detector attenuation calibration (normal sensitivity mode) worksheet. Two
standard tune solutions are required, a 1 ppb Multi-element and a 50 ppb Multi-
element.
Open the “Detector Attenuation Calibration.msws” worksheet and transfer the
optimization conditions from an optimized “System Setup.msws” To do this, open the
“System Setup.msws” worksheet, and open the method editor. Select ‘File’, ‘Report
print’—this will print a summary of the optimization conditions from which you can
manually type the settings into the Detector Attenuation Calibration worksheet. Open
the ‘Detector Cal’ page in the instrument module, and ensure that the “Detector
Attenuation Calibration.msws” worksheet is selected for the test. The values can also
be directly copied from one worksheet to another, by selecting “copy” in the method
editor window (highlight the optimization parameters and perform a right click), and
the selecting “paste” in the worksheet to receive the new parameters.
Press the ‘Start’ button. You will be prompted for solution A (which will be the lower
concentration Multielement solution), then for solution B (the higher Multielement
solution). When the test is complete, view the detector attenuation factor table. All of
the factors for Norm-Med and Med-High attenuation should be approximately in the
range of 30-150 and 30-150 respectively for the elements 9Be, 24Mg, 59Co, 115In,
140Ce, 208Pb, 232Th. The product of the 2 factors should be greater than 1100 for
each element.
Customer
Factory
Element
A. Norm-Med
factors
N/A
30-150
Be/In/Th
B. Med-High factors
N/A
30-150
Be/In/Th
Total factor (A * B)
>1000
>1100
Be/In/Th
Table 13 - Attenuation factor specifications
8.4
Cone Specifications
The standard skimmer and sampler cones are made from Nickel. Platinum tipped
nickel cones are also available, for use with corrosive samples. Do not use the Platinum
cones for reducing Ni background counts in analysis.
The sampler cone orifice size is ~1.0mm while the skimmer orifice is 0.5mm. The cone
dimensions are vital for maximizing ion transfer efficiency from the plasma into
vacuum system.
A Viton O-ring creates the vacuum seal around the sampler cone and two different size
O-ring create the skimmer cone vacuum seal.
A special tool is required to remove each cone.
The function of the cones is to extract a sample of the plasma and direct it into the ion
optics system at supersonic speed. Creating a high velocity sample beam reduces the
likelihood of new ion production by intermolecular collisions.
Performing a detector
attenuation calibration
Cone information