GemTOF ^{Research Labs}

Since early 2000, Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometey (LA-ICP-MS) has proven to be a sensitive and versatile method for trace element analysis of gemstones. LA-ICP-MS allows access to a distinctly wider range of elements than traditional XRF methods, but also to a much better detection limit (especially for light elements such as Lithium, Beryllium, Boron and Sodium), and to different isotopes of the same element. Most of the gemmological studies have been conducted using LA-ICP-Quadrupole-MS setup, which measures isotopes of interest one after another.