Spectrometer system using a modular echelle spectrograph and a laser-driven continuum source for simultaneous multi-element determination by graphite furnace absorption spectrometry

Abstract A multi-element absorption spectrometer system has been developed based on a laser-driven xenon continuum source and a modular simultaneous echelle spectrograph (MOSES), which is characterized by a minimized number of optical components resulting in high optical throughput, high transmittance and high image quality. The main feature of the new optical design is the multifunction usage of a Littrow prism, which is attached on a rotation stage. It operates as an order-sorter for the echelle grating in a double-pass mode, as a fine positioning device moving the echelle spectrum on the detector, and as a forwarder to address different optical components, e.g., echelle gratings, in the setup. Using different prisms, which are mounted back to back on the rotation stage, a multitude of different spectroscopic modes like broad-range panorama observations, specific UV–VIS and NIR studies or high resolution zoom investigations of variable spectral channels can be realized. In the UV panorama mode applied in this work, MOSES has simultaneously detectable wavelength coverage from 193 nm to 390 nm with a spectral resolution λ/Δλ of 55,000 (3-pixel criterion). In the zoom mode the latter can be further increased by a factor of about two for a selectable section of the full wavelength range. The applicability and the analytical performance of the system were tested by simultaneous element determination in a graphite furnace, using eight different elements. Compared to an instrument operating in the optimized single line mode, the achieved analytical sensitivity using the panorama mode was typically a factor of two lower. Using the zoom mode for selected elements, comparable sensitivities were obtained. The results confirm the influence of the different spectral resolutions.