The Deuterium Arc Background Corrector - PerkinElmer aanalyst 200 User Manual

AAnalyst 200 User's Guide

The Deuterium Arc Background Corrector

An Explanation: The Deuterium Arc Background Corrector
The Deuterium Arc Background Corrector is an internally mounted assembly that provides
correction for molecular absorption and light-scattering. The spectrometer uses a deuterium arc
lamp to correct for background absorbance caused by non-atomic species in the atom cloud.
When the deuterium arc background corrector is used, two alternating sets of measurements are
made: one with the primary source and a second with the background corrector source. The
primary source measures a combination of background and atomic absorption. The continuum
source measures only the background. The difference between the two measurements yields the
atomic absorption.
A deuterium arc source is used for maximum wavelength coverage and intensity. The AAnalyst
can accurately handle combined atomic plus background absorption signals as large as 3
absorbance units.
The background corrector is internally installed, with its power supplied from the instrument.
Power to the source is automatically and continuously adjusted to be in the optimum range for
operation. The deuterium arc lamp is easily accessible, allowing convenient replacement of the
lamp by the users. Instructions to replace the lamp are included in the Maintenance chapter.
Deuterium Alignment
Refer to Chapter 6, Operation of the Instrument, in this manual for the procedures to align the
background corrector in an AAnalyst instrument.
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