Determination of the isotope ratio for metal samples using a laser ablation/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The laser ablation/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry is applied to the isotopic analysis of solid samples using a home-made instrument. The technique is convenient for solid sample analysis due to the one-step process of vaporization and ionization of the samples. The analyzed samples were lead, cadmium, molybdenum, and ytterbium. To optimize the analytical conditions of the technique, several parameters, such as laser energy, laser wavelength, size of the laser beam on the samples surface, and high voltages applied on the ion source electrodes were varied. Low energy of laser light was necessary to obtain the optimal mass resolution of spectra. The 532 nm light generated mass spectra with the higher signal-to-noise ratio compared with the 355 nm light. The best mass resolution obtained in the present study is similar to1,500 for the ytterbium.