Investigations of several interference effects in high frequency plasmas of analytical importance

Investigations of the extent to which certain inter-element or interference effects occur in a radiofrequency-excited inductively coupled plasma (ICP) are reported. Under conditions normally employed for analytical purposes, it is shown that: (a) two solute vaporization interferences often observed in flames are eliminated or reduced to negligible proportions in the plasma; (b) increasing concentrations of an easily ionizable element (Na) up to concentrations of 6900 ..mu..g/ml exerted an unusually low influence on the observed emission intensities of three selected elements (Ca, Cr, and Cd) of widely differing degrees of ionization. The high degree of freedom from interelement effects of this analytical technique is further documented by the observation that a variety of matrices did not affect the emission intensity of Mo to a significant extent. A comparison of the degree to which several interference effects are observed in a microwave-excited single electrode plasma (SEP) and in an ICP shows that the severe changes observed in the SEP are small or negligible in the ICP. The spectral interferences arising from stray light and from the wings of broadened emission lines in atomic emission spectrometry are discussed. Experimental evidence is presented showing various forms of stray light originating from defects in the optical components, design and engineering of optical spectrometers. Experimental evidence is also presented demonstrating that the wings of certain spectral lines emitted by high temperature sources may contribute a significant continuum at wavelengths as far removed as 10 nm or more from the line center