The spatial resolution of LA-ICP-MS line scans across heterogeneous materials such as fish otoliths and zoned minerals

LA-ICP-MS line scans can provide equivalent or better information about the distribution of elements in heterogeneous solids than discrete spot analysis; and at much reduced time and cost. However, to do so, the spatial resolution for given instrumentation and operating conditions must be known. Here, we present a quantitative and reproducible method to do this that requires line scans across a sandwich of three glasses of varying certified concentrations of trace elements. To produce sufficient counting statistics, only Ca, Sr, Rb, and Pb were analysed. Raw data (counts per second) are reduced to instantaneous concentration'' and then filtered to produce concentration profiles that contain the same dimensions as the original data. The spatial resolution is empirically determined from these profiles by using a statistical confidence'' window. Spatial resolution is controlled by the magnitude of concentration gradients, the direction of concentration shifts, and the instrumental configuration and settings such as cell size and shape, and the speed of the scan. Spatial resolution is better for increasing concentration profiles than decreasing ones by a factor of 2. The relationship between the magnitude of the concentration gradient and the spatial resolution is linear. Therefore, once the range of concentration variation is known in any target, a minimum resolution can be determined from this linear relationship. The spatial resolutions of the three elements examined are observed to be the same suggesting that element specific ablation behaviours are not a significant control on spatial resolution. A Sr concentration profile from a natural sample (fish otolith) is generated, and the resolutions from the glass sandwich are applied. For the concentrations observed and the settings and hardware used, a minimum spatial resolution of 50 mum was calculated. Concentration variations at smaller scales can be detected but not quantified.