Ultrasensitive Trace Determination of Pb by Two-Color Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) system with angular reflectron type time-of-flight mass spectrometer (AREF-TOFMS) has been developed and characterized. The system is applied for the ultratrace determination of Pb element. The 2-color 3-photon laser ionization scheme is adopted for the study and the mass resolution of the system is determined as T/ΔT=1680. The calibration curve for Pb is obtained in the range of 100 ppb to 0.01 ppb by using standard solutions. The minimal amount of detection for the present RIMS system is determined as less than 100 femtograms (10-13 gram).