The analysis of nonmetals by mass spectrometry has proven to be challenging due to the difficulty of ionizing them to the plus one ion state.
Helium microwave induced plasmas can readily ionize nonmetals to plus one ions.
Additionally, with He as the plasma gas the discharge is not subject to the isobaric interference effects that are common to argon plasma mass spectrometry systems. These capabilities make the MIP a potentially useful ionization source for mass spectrometry. Time of flight mass spectrometry has become an effective tool for elemental analysis. Multiple masses can be sampled simultaneously. What remains to gather our first mass spectrum is to optimize lens conditions for mass resolution at the detector.