Equipment type:

Inductively-coupled-plasma triple-quadrupole mass-spectrometer

Equipment brand:

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Equipment model:

QQQ-ICP-MS Series 8900

Equipment description:

ICP-QQQ enables superior interference checking with MS/MS mode. An additional mass filter (Q1), positioned before the collision/reaction cell, prevents non-target masses from entering the cell. With MS/MS, the reaction chemistry it is controlled and constant, and analyte ions or product ions are measured without interference, even in complex and variable samples.

Equipment measurements:

The analytical skills include: 1) Quantitative chemical micro-analysis (scale: 8-100 μm) of solid matrices to determine the concentration (from wt.% to ppb level) of Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, Au, Bi, Th and U: detection limits typically at ppb-ppm; 2) Micro-analytical determination (at 10-60 μm scale) of the U-Pb isotopic composition of zircons, monazites, titanites, rutiles for geochronological purposes.

Equipment type:

193 nm ArF Excimer Laser Source

Equipment brand:

MicroLas, Germany

Equipment model:

GeoLas 200 193 nm ArF excimer-based laser ablation (LA) system for sample introduction.

Equipment description:

Complete laser ablation system for LA-ICP-MS elemental and isotopic analysis. The original UV laser beam coming from the Compex 110 (Lambda Physik, Goettingen, Germany), operates with a mixture of 5% F2 in Ar, emitting a radiation of 193 nm wavelength. 193 nm pulses deliver smaller particles, high signal strength, and low intrinsic fractionation. Applications include Isotope Ratios, Fluid Inclusion Research, Age Dating of Zircons, Marine Sediment Analysis and Gemstone Fingerprinting.