Glow discharge spectrometry (GDOS and GDMS)

Glow discharge spectroscopy involves sputtering of the sample to be analyzed.

This is placed in a source operating on the principle of a cathode ray tube.

The energy used to excite atoms is the kinetic energy of electrically charged or non-charged particles (ions, electrons, neutral atoms...).

Because it does not involve sample volatilization, unlike other excitation sources, sample sputtering is compatible with the depth resolution required for surface analysis.

The species atomized in the discharge lamp can be identified by their light emission spectrum, which is analyzed by GDOS (Glow Discharge Optical Spectrometry), also known as GDOES (Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry). But these species can also be identified by their mass spectra, which we'll also briefly cover. This is known as Glow Discharge Mass Spectroscopy (GDMS).