Microstrip microwave induced plasma on a chip for atomic emission spectral analysis

A stable microstrip microwave plasma (MSP) operated at atmospheric pressure with a power of some 10-20 W and at a gas flow of 0.2-0.8 L/min of argon in a resonant structure produced with the aid of microstructuring technology on a 5 x 5 cm(2) quartz wafer provided with a 0.6-mm diameter plasma channel is described. The device is shown to be useful for the excitation of atomic and molecular species and for the atomic emission spectrometric determination of metals and of nonmetals in gases at the trace level, down to the ng/L-level, as shown for the case of sulfur.