Optical emission spectrometer easy to adjust

Abstract

The invention relates to an easy-to-tune optical emission spectrometer (1) and a method (100) for establishing and operating such a spectrometer (1), the spectrometer (1) comprising a plasma holder (2) for establishing a luminescent plasma from a sample material, and an optical system (3) for measuring a spectrum of light (L) emitted by the plasma, the spectrum being a characteristic of the sample material, wherein the optical system (3) comprises at least one light entry aperture (31), at least one diffraction grating (32) for separating light (L) from the plasma (A) and one or more detectors (33) for measuring the spectrum of the light (L), wherein the plasma holder (2) and the optical system (3) are mounted directly and fixedly on a plasma holder flange (2B) and an optical system flange (3B), respectively, which are directly and fixedly connected to each other, and wherein the optical emission spectrometer (1) further comprises an analysis unit (34) adapted to analyze the measured spectrum, and compensating for a drift of the spectrum relative to the detector (33), which may be caused by heat transferred from the plasma holder (2) to the optical system (3), taking into account the thermal expansion of the optical system (3).

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to easily adjustable optical emission spectrometers, and to methods of setting up and operating such spectrometers. Background technique [0002] An arc / spark or LIBS optical emission spectrometer (OES) is a device used for chemical analysis and is used to display and measure the emission spectrum of chemical substances. With LIBS, the sample material is evaporated and excited by a laser. With arc / spark, the energy for evaporation and excitation is provided by an arc or series of sparks between an electrode and a sample of material working as a counter electrode. In either case, the plasma is generated from (a portion of) the sample material. The light emitted by the plasma is transmitted to the optical system of the OES, where it is broken down into its individual spectral components. Each chemical element contained in the sample emits at several characteristic wavelengths (spectral lines) and can therefore be identifi...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Using vacuum or gas-filled optical cavities to observe vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelengths also makes access to the optics and plasma more difficult, complicating tuning

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