Page "Atomic absorption spectroscopy" Paragraph 46

In LS AAS the high resolution that is required for the measurement of atomic absorption is provided by the narrow line emission of the radiation source, and the monochromator simply has to resolve the analytical line from other radiation emitted by the lamp.

This can usually be accomplished with a band pass between 0. 2 and 2 nm, i. e., a medium-resolution monochromator.

Another feature to make LS AAS element-specific is modulation of the primary radiation and the use of a selective amplifier that is tuned to the same modulation frequency, as already postulated by Alan Walsh.

This way any ( unmodulated ) radiation emitted for example by the atomizer can be excluded, which is imperative for LS AAS.

Simple monochromators of the Littrow or ( better ) the Czerny-Turner design are typically used for LS AAS.

Photomultiplier tubes are the most frequently used detectors in LS AAS, although solid state detectors might be preferred because of their better signal-to-noise ratio.