Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Titanium Alloys

Glow discharge mass spectrometric (GDMS) analysis of titanium alloys has been studied by using a VG 9000 instrument and pin samples. Alloying elements (Al, V, Cr, Fe, Zr, Mo and Sn) and trace impurities (Si, Ni, Cu and W) in the alloys were determined with accuracy comparable to that of ordinary XRF analysis. Examine were preliminary sputtering, optimum glow discharge conditions and spectral interference between vanadium argide (51V40Ar) and 91Zr. Relative sensitivity factor (RSF) of each analyte was evaluated by analyzing the standard reference materials: NIST SRMs, BS CRMs, IMI CRMs and the Ti alloys made in our Institute. The average RSF-values obtained were 3.33 for Al, 1.40 for V, 7.09 for Cr, 2.94 for Fe, 1.59 for Zr, 3.92 for Mo and 8.89 for Sn. Using these values, the GDMS analytical values were corrected on a personal computer to the values with an accuracy (σd) ranging from 0.065(V) to 0.16(Al).