Teledyne Leeman Labs Introduces a New Tool for Trace Metals Analysis in Solid
Samples - The Prodigy DC Arc
The DC Arc technique has been relied upon for decades as a tool for the direct
analysis of a wide range of solid materials. The earliest systems, many of which
are still in use today, were photographic plate spectrographs. These systems
offered the advantage of providing a permanent photographic record a sample's
spectrum, but also carried with it the cumbersome need to view and interpret
photographic plates. These early generation instruments were replaced, first
by PMT-based simultaneous spectrometers and then CID based DC Arc spectrometers,
each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Fast, quantitative, elemental analyses of difficult samples are hallmarks of
the DC Arc approach. Few other techniques can challenge the ease-of-use or productivity
of DC Arc when it comes to samples that are difficult or impossible to digest.
Prodigy DC Arc performs elemental analysis of samples in their native form without
sample digestion. Samples such as:
- Ceramics and Glass
- Metal Oxides, Carbides, Borides, Nitrides
- Refractory powders such as SiC
- Graphite Powder
- Precious Metals & Traces in the Metals
- Geological Materials
- Nuclear Materials - Uranium Oxide, Plutonium Oxide
- Soils, Sludge, Ashes
- Paints
For some applications, such as the measurement of trace elements in high purity
copper, DC Arc is one of the only techniques available that can provide the
sensitivity and ease-of-use needed.