Further discussion on analytical methology and calibration strategies for Pb-Pb isotope analyses of zircon by LP-ICPMS

Abstract

Laser probe-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LP-ICPMS) provides a rapid,precise and accurate technique for Pb-Pb zircon chronology. Different conditions affect massfractionation during laser ablation. Fixed-focus-mode and active-focus-mode, focus-mode anddefocus-mode, time-average mode (single point method) and time-resolved mode (depth pro-filing method), are compared. Both time-average mode and time-resolved mode can give rel-atively high precise, accurate results, and depth profile can only be obtained by time-resolvedmode. Comparing the results of time-resolved mode using different dwell time, it is found that20 ms is the best dwell time with highest precision and accuracy. It is shown that both NIST610and Zircon Standard give satisfactory calibration results for zircon 207Pb/206Pb isotopic age.Therefore, time resolved mode with dwell time of 20 ms is preferred for zircon analysis.

激光探针等离子体质谱可对错石进行快速准确的Pb一Pb 同位素定年。本文进一步探讨了该方法应用中的几个问题。对不同样品采用不同的聚焦方式可以对U/Pb 分异有一定的控制作用。在一定的条件下, 不连续和连续采样模式都可以得到较高精度和准确度的结果。连续采样模式还可以得到同位素计数的深度剖面。不同的侧量滞留时间会影响测量结果的精度。20Ins 为适合错石ZO7Pb/206Pb 分析的最佳侧量滞留时间。在对侧定结果进行校正时, 可以采用玻璃标样NIST61O 和错石标样两种不同的校正方法。