A miniature mass analyser for in-situ elemental analysis of planetary material–performance studies

The performance of a laser ablation mass analyser designed for in-situ exploration of the chemical composition of planetary surfaces has been investigated. The instrument measures the elemental and isotopic composition of raw solid materials with high spatial resolution. The initial studies were performed on NIST standard materials using IR laser irradiance (< 1 GW cm−2) at which a high temporal stability of ion formation and sufficiently low sample consumption was achieved. Measurements of highly averaged spectra could be performed with typical mass resolution of m/Δm ≈ 600 in an effective dynamic range spanning seven decades. Sensitive detection of several trace elements can be achieved at the ~ ppm level and lower. The isotopic composition is usually reproduced with 1% accuracy, implying good performance of the instrument for quantitative analysis of the isotopic fractionation effects caused by natural processes. Using the IR laser, significant elemental fractionation effects were observed for light elements and elements with a high ionization potential. Several diatomic clusters of major and minor elements could also be measured, and sometimes these interfere with the detection of trace elements at the same nominal mass. The potential of the mass analyser for application to sensitive detection of elements and their isotopes in realistic samples is exemplified by measurements of minerals. The high resolution and large dynamic range of the spectra makes detection limits of ~100 ppb possible.