Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry
AAS
When to choose this option: You need to determine the concentration of metals/elements in a sample (water, soil, food, fuel, plating baths, pharmaceuticals, batteries) — from standard down to very low (ppb) levels.
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) measures the concentration of metals and metalloids in a sample based on the absorption of light of a specific wavelength by the atomized sample. The Hitachi ZA4000 series uses polarized Zeeman background correction (a permanent magnet) combined with a dual-detector system — this combination delivers a stable baseline and high sensitivity, and corrects for elements that standard D2-lamp correction cannot (e.g. sodium, potassium), without needing to select a correction method separately for each element. The new rapid sequential mode (available on the ZA4800 model) further speeds up measurement for samples with multiple elements.
Which model should you choose?
- You need both the flame and graphite furnace methods on the same instrument → ZA4000 (tandem model)
- Standard flame analysis, one or a few elements per sample → ZA4300
- Very low (trace/ppb) concentrations, graphite furnace only → ZA4700
- Flame analysis with multiple elements per sample, higher sample throughput needed → ZA4800 (rapid sequential, up to 12 elements sequentially)
