Laser-enhanced ionization (LEI) is a type of optical spectrometrythat employs photoexcitation to ionize atoms selectively. Over thepast two decades, this method--originally known as the optogalvaniceffect--has been the object of extensive worldwide research and thesubject of numerous papers and published articles. Until now, however, no single volume has presented this wealth of theory anddata in a cohesive and accessible form.

Laser-Enhanced Ionization Spectrometry fills this gap in theliterature. It synthesizes vast amounts of information previouslyavailable only through scattered research papers and covers everyaspect of the technology, from underlying principles and theory tomethodology and applications. This book examines the state of theart of LEI, compares it with other methods, and demonstrates howlaser-enhanced collisional ionization is especially well suited toanalytical atomic spectrometry.

The contributors to this collaborative effort--from Russia, Australia, Europe, and the United States--clarify terminology, explain the inner workings of LEI, and offer derivations for bothidealized forms and realistic approximations. They also analyze thecapabilities and limitations of this technique as an analyticalmethod, including instrumentation, sources of noise, limits ofdetection, interferences, and applications.

After concentrating largely on flame LEI as the most commonly usedmethod to derive LEI measurements, the discussion moves to thedevelopment of nonflame technologies for LEI. There is alsoextended coverage of the relationship between LEI and laser-inducedfluorescence, including an examination of the interplay oflaser-induced ionization and fluorescence techniques in differentatomic and molecular reservoirs.

Laser-Enhanced Ionization Spectrometry places understanding, usefulness, and practical applications ahead of detailedderivations. For practicing analytical chemists andspectroscopists, it offers a clear and uncluttered approach to acomplex subject, as well as a fresh perspective on a still-emergingtechnology.

This book sums up the present understanding and state of the art oflaser-enhanced ionization (LEI)-a unique but underutilized tool foranalytical atomic spectrometry. LEI possesses the special abilityto ionize atoms selectively. The text focuses on the role of thistechnology in analytical chemistry, and covers both theory andapplications in one complete, self-contained volume.

Carefully crafted by leading experts from around the globe, withcontributions under six key headings, Laser-Enhanced IonizationSpectrometry
* Draws on hundreds of research papers to create a comprehensivereference for LEI
* Describes in depth how ions are produced, and how a signal isgenerated and detected
* Provides an extensive and up-to-date compilation of published LEIdetection limits
* Emphasizes basic understanding and practical applications ratherthan detailed derivations
* Discusses terms and definitions and clears up sources ofconfusion in the field
* Offers up-to-date coverage of instrumentation and applications
* Evaluates the usefulness of LEI as an analytical tool
* Deals with questions of limits of detection, interference, andnoise
* Devotes an entire segment to nonflame technologies for LEI
* Extends the discussion to fluorescence techniques and how theycan be interrelated with LEI in various atomic and molecularreservoirs
About the Author: About the editors

JOHN C. TRAVIS is a chemical physicist who has been with theAnalytical Chemistry Division of the National Institute ofStandards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau ofStandards) since earning his PhD in physics from the University ofTexas in 1967. His research interests have resulted in more than 75papers spanning Mossbauer spectroscopy, applications of tunablelasers to chemical analysis, Fourier Transform spectroscopy, atomicemission, molecular absorption, and spectroscopic methods inprocess analytical chemistry.

GREGORY C. TURK received his bachelor's degree in 1973 from RutgersCollege, and his PhD in 1978 from the University of Maryland, wherehis dissertation research included the first analyticalapplications of laser-enhanced ionization. He has been employed asa research chemist at the National Bureau of Standards and theNational Institute of Standards and Technology since 1976, studyinganalytical applications of laser spectroscopy and massspectrometry.