Graphite Furnaces as Atomizers and Emission Sources in Analytical Atomic Spectrometry

I. THE ROLE OF ATOMIZERS IN ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY

During the last 2 decades, a large variety of procedures for analytical atomic spectroscopy have been developed. This was a result of the need for more and more sensitive and precise methods of trace analysis in various fields of application. Most of the thinkable versions of combinations of the essential parts of the spectrometric arrangements have now been tried out, at least from the theoretical point of view, and often also experimentally. But there are still some possibilities left to form new setups for analytical purposes. This was especially promoted by the advent of tunable lasers as very intense, coherent, and spectrally narrow band radiation sources¹. Spectroscopic methods originally devoted to fundamental physical or chemical studies have often been exploited as efficient tools for analytical purposes. This fruitful interaction between fundamental and applied research in atomic spectroscopy was recently analyzed by Alkemade²