Fish & chips: Analytical applications of resonance ionization mass spectrometry

Resonance ionization mass spectrometry is becoming recognized as an analytical technique for a wide range of applications. The extremely high element specificity and sensitivity of the resonance ionization (RI) process is especially valuable for ultratrace element analysis in samples where the complexity of the matrix is frequently a serious source of interferences. In this paper, we will describe the implementation of sputter-initiated resonance ionization microprobe (SIRIMP) and laser atomization RIMP (LARIMP) to solve a number of analytical problems and illustrate the technique's salient characteristics with applications ranging from environmental monitoring using fish scales to semiconductor device and DNA diagnostics chips.