1. The benefits of ICP-MS coupling

The first commercial devices to use a rare-gas plasma induced by high-frequency coupling as a source of atomization, ionization and excitation, combined with detection by atomic emission spectrometry, also known as ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry), date back to 1974 [P 2 719] . Thanks to its performance, ease of use and relatively limited number of interferences, this type of coupling is now extremely widespread in laboratories. However, whatever their advantages, the performance of these devices is inadequate when extremely low detection...