Ablation device

An ablation chamber gas flow vacuum pump arrangement for laser ablation for analysis of solids, comprising:

• an ablation chamber for use with a laser;
• a gas flow vacuum pump;
• a gas feed for cell gas;
• and
• a gas feed for mixed gas,
• wherein:
• the gas flow vacuum pump has a first tube for sample gas, a second tube for mixed gas, a nozzle, and an expansion chamber;
• in the direction of gas flow, the gas flow vacuum pump is arranged downstream of the ablation chamber;
• the first tube is arranged starting from the ablation chamber;
• the first tube is arranged so as to terminate at the nozzle at the transition to the expansion chamber;
• the second tube is arranged so as to terminate at the expansion chamber;
• the gas feed for cell gas, the gas feed for mixed gas, and the gas flow vacuum pump are configured so that the ablation chamber is operated at a negative pressure with respect to atmospheric pressure;
• wherein the ablation chamber gas flow vacuum pump arrangement is set up so that in operation:
• in the ablation chamber, a primary ablation plasma is formed from a sample and condensed to form an aerosol and, together with the cell gas, forms the sample gas;
• due to the flow of the mixed gas in the second tube, the gas flow vacuum pump also carries along, from the ablation chamber and via the nozzle, sample gas which is in the first tube, and
• the sample gas and the mixed gas are combined in the expansion chamber before being guided to an analysis.