New High-end Spectrometer with Hybrid Optic for High-precision Metal Analysis

Spectro Analytical presented the next generation of SPECTROLAB stationary metal analysers at the GIFA Foundry Show in Düsseldorf, Germany. This state-of-the-art high-end spectrometer has been equipped with a new hybrid optic, a new readout system and an advanced plasma generator developed by SPECTRO in 2006. The instrument now achieves extremely low detection limits and is especially suited for all metal analysis applications.

The most important technological advance achieved in this version of the SPECTROLAB is its hybrid optic that directly processes the light from the spark stand with up to 108 PMT detectors and 22 CCD sensors. Parallel utilization of the two detector technologies achieves detection limits with a previously impossible flexibility. The SPECTROLAB, for example, achieves detection limits below 1 mg/kg for typical applications like the determination of trace elements (e.g., Al, B, Ca, Cu and Mg) in iron alloys.

In the CCD segment, the instrument operates with a focal length of 750 mm, enabling much higher resolution measurements. The repeatability of results is extraordinarily high in the argon atmosphere thanks to the instrument's pressure control and temperature stabilization. This advanced arrangement ensures a maximum in measurement reproducibility.

In order to fully take advantage of the potential in the hybrid optic, the SPECTROLAB was outfitted with a new readout system. In the PMT segment, instead of integrating the total light over a fixed measurement time, the light output for each individual spark is measured with integration times in the microsecond range. "This leads to more reliable results with greater statistical certainty," clarifies Kay Toedter.

This sophisticated and versatile instrument offers an attractive and practical solution for companies, which work with many different metals that previously had multiple analysers on-site. Because SPECTROLAB can be configured for all ten standard matrices, it covers virtually all of the requirements of daily laboratory operation, making secondary instruments unnecessary.

For its market introduction, Spectro is offering several additional SPECTROLAB configurations, for which the matrix is tested in view of later precious metal plating. With these configurations, metal manufacturers can test whether or not a carrier alloy is suitable for gilding, for example.