Subject: Feedback Wanted on ICP-MS Experiences
From: Ian Sills
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 16:38:27 -0800
We are in the process of setting up a University based centre for ICP-MS analysis. The purpose of this centre
is to provide research infrastructure support to a variety of research groups across four Universities. The
research groups are in soil science, geology, mineral processing, water, etc, and involve staff, postdoctoral
fellows, postgraduates and Honours level students. We intend if possible to buy one instrument to be dedicated
to solution analysis, and another to be dedicated to the analysis of solid samples via laser ablation.
It is intended to use the equipment to obtain results which extend from numerous low grade "routine" analysis
to high accuracy research data acquired on a small number of samples.
There are about four major players in the instrument manufacture arena. We would appreciate any comments you
might have about the ability of existing equipment to meet the demands we have in mind. For example:
* are the systems robust enough to be able to stand multiple usage from a range of users?
* how long does it take to train a PhD student to operate the equipment adequately?
* how friendly is the software?
* how often is instrument tune-up required?
* what can be expected in terms of instrument downtime?
* how much technician time is required to keep the instruments operational and in good condition. Full
time? Half time?
Please contact Ian Sills on i.sills@cc.curtin.edu.au
Thanks in advance.
We would be particularly pleased to receive advice from any persons who have had experience of operating this
kind of facility in a University environment.
Subject: Low fluorescence optical fiber when transmitting 532 nm ?
From: sparus@umich.edu (Steve Parus)
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 17:52:41 GMT
I'm looking for optical fiber with the lowest fluorescence when
transmitting 532 nm laser light Several of the ones I've tried can be
observed to glow orange when looked at through a 532 nm rejection
filter when transmitting on the order of tens of mW of 532 nm light.
The spectra appears broad. Is this from impurities in the silica
material, from dopants, from fluorescence of some small amount of
light (evanescent?) in the cladding, from intrinsic fluorescence of
silica itself, from broad Raman silica-OH bands, or ? Would UV grade
fiber help, or silica based (rather than polymer) cladding help ?
sparus@umich.edu