A Spectrum in AAS? What Do I Need That For?

This question is justified: for half a century, AAS users had to put up with abstract numerical values, e.g, AA = 0.123 Ext., BG = 0.234 Ext. – How these absorbance values come about and whether they are actually correct remains a secret, and it takes a good measure of trust not to doubt the measuring results!

The High-Resolution Continuum Source (HR-CS) AAS technology used in the contrAA^® series from Analytik Jena provides the AAS user with significantly more information. Thanks to the combination of a xenon lamp covering the entire relevant wavelength range, a high-resolution spectrometer and a CCD detector it has become possible for the first time in the history of AAS to visually represent the absorption spectra of samples.

The spectrum can contain valuable information – in the simplest case it provides proof that the measuring process is interference-free and that the displayed values are actually accurate. Yet even in the rare case of spectral interference, there are entirely new opportunities for background correction, even including the correction of direct spectral interference. Thanks to the extremely high optical resolution, these powerful corrections will in most cases not be necessary. But it is good to know that they are available when needed!

In any event, the representation of spectra will increase trust in the measured values, since AAS users, too, can now detect any interference at a glance and, if required, correct it using simple methods.

contrAA^® – The AAS of the 21^st century – From Analytik Jena, the technology leader in Germany.