GRAPHITE PROBE AND ELECTROTHERMAL ATOMISER

摘要

A graphite probe for an electrothermal atomizer comprises a thick stem portion (3) carrying a thin head portion (2) which meets the stem portion (3) at a step (4) which, in operation, is located outside a cuvette (6) adjacent to a slot (7) through which the probe head (2) is inserted into the cuvette (6). A sample deposition aperture (8) is provided in the cuvette (6) through which a sample can be deposited via a dosing tube (9) on a part (10) of the head portion (2) of the probe. The part (10) of the head portion (2) is separated from the rest of the probe by a ridge (5) which extends across the width of the head (2). The ridge (5) prevents liquid samples having a low surface tension from spreading towards the step (4) and has a mass such that its temperature increase matches that of the rest of the head portion (2) thus reducing the production of double peaks in the measured absorption.