Hardware manual

1-14 Agilent 7500 Series ICP-MS Hardware Manual

1Overview

Sample Introduction

The Agilent 7500 features an on- board peristaltic pump that controls the flow

of sample solution into and waste (drain) out of the instrument. The

peristaltic pump continuously pumps the sample solution into the sample

introduction system. The solution passes into a nebulizer that disperses the

sample using a stream of argon gas (Figure 9).

Figure 9 Nebulizer and Spray Chamber (Top: Babington type, Bottom: concentric type)

A sample solution mist forms and passes through a double- pass spray

chamber where the larger sample droplets are removed by collision with the

spray chamber wall. To prevent the spray chamber from filling up with liquid,

the peristaltic pump drain channel constantly removes excess sample solution.

The Peltier cooler, a thermoelectric device, cools the spray chamber. This

cooler enables the temperature inside the chamber to be precisely controlled,

which gives the Agilent 7500 a very stable ion signal. In addition, cooling the

sample aerosol also removes some of the water from the sample, reducing the

level of polyatomic oxide species formed, which in turn reduces the

interference on certain analytes.

To Torch

Drain

Spray Chamber

Nebulizer