Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP MS) combines the laser ablation sample preparation technique with the elemental parsing power of mass spectrometry.  The process starts with a nanosecond-pulsed laser beam focused on the surface of the sample, removing material, and generating fine particles through evaporation and ionization of the sample surface. These particles and ions are then carried in flow of argon or helium gas to an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer.

The ICP instrument then ionizes the sample material, and the atoms are transported as ions to be sorted and analyzed based on their mass-to-charge ratio over time. The resulting spectra show the intensity with respect to this mass-to-charge ratio, allowing researchers to identify which elements are present as well as to identify the amount of individual ion species.

Laser ablation facilitates flexible element analysis by enabling efficient, direct measurements on solid samples. Combined with ICPMS, this yields major and trace element composition to detection limits of 10’s of parts-per-billion. Additionally, laser ablation also utilizes smaller quantities of analyte per measurement, on an order as low as picograms to femtograms to preserve a sensitive sample (this is much less than the milligrams of sample often required for traditional liquid measurement).

Solid samples also allow for versatility in the materials measured, with a wide range of solid materials able to be investigated without any preparation before measurement.