Metastable transfer emission spectroscopy—method and instrument for detection and measurement of trace materials in gas flows

A simple and relatively inexpensive new technique for qualitatively and quantitatively measuring various gas‐phase species in a flow and the apparatus for implementation are described. Detection of atomic species has been demonstrated from concentrations greater than 1010 atoms/cm3 to approximately 104 atoms/cm3. Several classes of molecules can also be detected quatitatively with the method, although with somewhat reduced sensitivity. The method, metastable transfer emission spectroscopy (MTES), is particularly useful in materials analysis. Possible applications including the analysis of gas, liquid, and solid samples and the determination of vapor‐pressure curves are discussed.