Thermo Fisher Scientific Achieves Milestone with Delivery of 1000th iCAP 6000 Series ICP Emission Spectrometer

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, announces that the Plansee Group has made the 1000th purchase of the Thermo Scientific iCAP 6000 Series of ICP emission spectrometers. The Plansee Group, the world's leading manufacturer of refractory metal and composite materials products, has selected the iCAP 6500 Duo to perform R&D and quality control analyses of their specialized metal alloys at the company's production facility in Austria. Utilizing the latest design techniques and innovative new technologies, the compact iCAP 6500 Duo is a powerful system, achieving maximum levels of flexibility, performance and automation equal to the exacting demands of the busiest laboratories.

The Plansee Group required a system that was capable of distinguishing silica from tungsten background at low levels and achieving specific detection limits on silicon and potassium. The system had to have the inherent capability of performing accurate trace analyses in challenging alloy matrixes, including tungsten, molybdenum, titanium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, alumina and zirconium compounds as well as in environmental samples. Since its deployment at the Austrian plant, the iCAP 6500 Duo has been able to detect the exact amount of impurities in even the most difficult alloy matrixes at low ppm levels. Analysis time has been considerably decreased for all elements.

Dr. Gernot Seeber at the Plansee Group, explains, "We have been using Thermo Fisher's instruments for several years. After assessing a number of options, we selected the iCAP 6500 Duo because it is the only instrument able to reach our required detection limits. Additionally, it is an extremely compact instrument; our two new units occupy the space where we could previously fit only one instrument."

With the traditional ICP instrument design, spectrometer functions are performed in a sequential fashion adding to the overall analysis time and reducing sample throughput. Featuring an intelligent "Speed" operation mode, the iCAP 6500 groups together functions to minimize overhead time and maximize sample throughput, resulting in a typical saving of 15% for an analysis where both axial and radial measurements are performed.

Productivity is greatly enhanced and cost of ownership is significantly reduced. In addition, the iCAP 6500 Duo is a precision regulated spectrometer that features active wavelength control to achieve excellent long-term signal stability. The iCAP 6500 Duo is a high-performance instrument that is flexible enough to grow with changing sample needs. The system is pre-configured to accept a wide range of additional accessories such as large capacity autosampler, separate sample excitation accessory, laser ablation accessory or additional gas accessory.