Intracavity Atomic Absorption with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomizer

Abstract

An inductively coupled plasma is placed inside the cavity of a flashlamp-pumped dye laser and atomic absorption is measured with the use of an optogalvanic detector. An enhancement factor of 170 is shown for intracavity absorption relative to single-pass, extracavity absorption. Both atom and ion lines can be monitored by this technique. Detection limits of 1 µg/mL for sodium and 0.1 µg/mL for barium were observed. The major noise source is pulse-to-pulse fluctuation in the laser output.