In the next figure the instrumental setup for atomic absorption spectrometry is presented. The main components of an instrument are:
The signal obtained from the photodetector is sent to a computer for further computation.
If I were student I would prefer to learn about atomic emission spectrometry because it is a little bit simpler from the instrumental point of view. One can see in the next figure that the hollow-cathode lamp and the atomizer are replaced by a plasma source whose aim is to atomize and to excite the atoms of the sample.
A flame was first used for this purpose, but its temperature was too low, so other sources of plasma have been developed. The most effective and well known source of plasma is the ICP.
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