Plasmaquad 1 The PQ1 was developed in 1984 by VG Elemental and was the first commercially available ICPMS. Standing approximately 6ft high and 9ft wide it has quite a room filling presence. The plasma RF is generated from a 2KW Henry generator and the vacuum system is made up of Blazer diffusion pumps and Edward's rotary pumps. The torchbox moves on a pneumatic piston driven carriage and it has the 12-12 quadrupole system. Sensitivity is in the range of 1x106 to 4x106 cps/ppm and is controlled by DOS software. There are very few PQ1s still in working order. Almost all of the components that make up this instrument are now obsolete especially the original quadrupole electronics. If you have an upgraded quadrupole system then we can still support you and provide a service contract. If not, then we may still be able to help with quadrupole electronic problems however it will typically require in-depth tech support to isolate the failed component. The rest of the components that make up the PQ1 are still readily available at IONFLIGHT. Plasmaquad 2 This instrument was introduced in 1987 by VG Elemental and was discontinued in 1996 by Fisons Instruments. The first generation was configured and performed very similarly to the PQ1 with subsequent versions designed with some new enhancements. A new electron multiplier preamplifier extended the dynamic range by an additional three orders of magnitude. The vacuum tube based 12-12 quadrupole system was replaced with the SXP300 solid-state quadrupole electronics, and turbomolecular pumps replaced the diffusion pump system for the vacuum chamber. The year 1990 saw the introduction of the new STE instrument electronics controller and the 2KW solid state ICP RF generator. A new high performance interface design offered improved cooling and pumping of the expansion region between the cones that improved sensitivity and backgrounds. Although PQ vision software written for IBM's OS/2 operating system shipped with the instrument, PlasmaLab, a Windows NT software package, is now available as an upgrade. Instrument sensitivity was at least 20x106 cps/ppm in the standard configuration to over 200x106 cps/ppm when used with some additional performance upgrades. This instrument was named the PQS in the USA because it was becoming quite different in it's look and capability, from the first generation PQ2. The PQ2/S is still being used by a large number of our clients so we have gone to great lengths to be able to maintain an inventory and create a bench repair facility. If you need a part replaced or tested then we can accommodate you using our PQ2. All SXP300 quadrupoles and quadrupole electronics will come with test data clearly showing peak shapes and precision statistics. We also offer some performance upgrades such as the high performance interface, the S-option which is a large capacity rotary pump for the expansion interface region, an organics option for analyzing organic matrices, a solid-state RF generator to replace the Henry generator, Edwards active vacuum gauges for improved reliability, and a turbomolecular pumping system to replace diffusion pumps. Plasmaquad 3 This instrument was not so different from the late PQ2/S in design concept. The primary improvements were that the STE instrument electronics controller was replaced by commercially available programmable logic controller components, a fully automated torch alignment platform in the X, Y, and Z directions, and an insertable torch screen was fitted for use in cool plasma experiments. The vacuum system was all Edward's turbomolecular and rotary pumps and the lens stack was modified for improved sensitivity and background. The quadrupole and quadrupole electronics were new and designed for improved stability and ion transmission, and a dual-mode electron multiplier system in which analog and pulse counting was conducted simultaneously, became available. The physical size of the instrument was reduced to the size of a large table and the noise level reduced dramatically. Instrument sensitivity for a standard PQ3 using standard pneumatic nebulization was between 30 to 60 million counts per second per ppm depending on the element. Using the optional S-option pumping mode, sensitivity could be increased to 150 to 300 Mcps/ppm depending on the element. Instrument background was 10 cps at 220 amu. PQ ExCell The PQ ExCell was packaged in the same cabinet as the PQ3 but the introduction of the infinity lens and the Peltier cooled sample introduction system made a considerable improvement to the instrument's sensitivity and background. The infinity lens consists of a hexapole ion guide biased by mass dependent RF voltages that optimize ion transmission across the mass range. A chicane deflector replaces the photon stop in the lens optics that maintains maximum ion current from sampling interface to electron multiplier. Instrument sensitivity is at least 30 Mcps/ppm for Lithium and Uranium and 60 Mcps/ppm at Indium. Since the ExCell's background is typically less than 0.5 cps, the signal to noise ratio has been improved by over a factor of 20 compared to the PQ3. Additionally, the infinity lens could be pressurized with a gas such as helium allowing for collision cell experiments. The introduction of a collision gas reduces typical argon-based interferences that make the analysis of some analytes difficult. The ExCell came standard with all the PQ3 improvements in addition to the new Peltier cooled spray chamber and the infinity lens without the collision cell components, which were available as an option.