Solids sampling using double-pulse laser ablation inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometry

This paper describes the use of double-pulse laser ablation to improve ICP-MS internal precision (temporal relative standard deviation, %TRSD). Double pulse laser ablation offers reduced fractionation, increased sensitivity, and improved signal to noise ratios. The first pulse is used to ablate a large quantity of mass from the sample surface. The second pulse is applied with a variable time delay after the first pulse to break the ablated mass into a finer aerosol, which is more readily transported to and digested in the ICP-MS