Thermal management for instruments including a plasma source

1. An analysis system comprising:

a plasma source configured to receive and ionize a sample to create an ionized sample;

an instrument configured to receive the ionized sample to be analyzed, and including a sampling cone; and

a heat shield positioned between and separate from the plasma source and the sampling cone of the instrument, wherein the heat shield is constructed from a heat insulating material and arranged to direct heated gas and/or plasma from the plasma source away from the instrument.

2. The analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the plasma source is an inductively coupled plasma source.

3. The analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the instrument comprises a mass spectrometer or an optical emission spectrometer.

4. The analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the heat shield comprises an aperture sized and shaped to permit the ionized sample to pass through the heat shield to the instrument.

5. The analysis system of claim 4 , wherein the instrument comprises a sampling aperture constructed and arranged to receive the ionized sample.

6. The analysis system of claim 5 , wherein the aperture of the heat shield is larger than the sampling aperture.

7. The analysis system of claim 5 , wherein the sampling aperture is formed on the sampling cone of the instrument.

8. The analysis system of claim 5 , wherein the heat shield comprises a first heat shield portion and a second heat shield portion, wherein the first heat shield portion is positioned closer to the sampling aperture than the second heat shield portion.

9. The analysis system of claim 8 , wherein the first and second heat shield portions are formed from different materials.

10. The analysis system of claim 4 , wherein the heat shield has a non-uniform thickness.

11. The analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the heat shield comprises a first heat shield layer and a second heat shield layer spaced from the first heat shield layer.

12. The analysis system of claim 11 , wherein a gap between the first and second heat shield layers defines a conduit through which the heated gas and/or plasma is extracted.

13. The analysis system of claim 12 , wherein the conduit is coupled to a pump configured to extract the heated gas and/or plasma.

14. The analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the heat shield comprises a ceramic material, a metallic material, a silicon-based material, and/or a carbon-based material.

15. The analysis system of claim 14 , wherein the heat shield comprises a ceramic material, and wherein the ceramic material is at least one selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a carbide, and a nitride.

16. The analysis system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more insulating members positioned around at least a portion of a perimeter of a chamber in which the plasma source is positioned.

17. The analysis system of claim 16 , wherein a material of the one or more insulating members is different than a material of the heat shield.

18. The analysis system of claim 1 wherein the heat shield directs heated gas and/or plasma away from the instrument without liquid or gas cooling of the sampling cone.

19. A method of cooling an analysis system, the method comprising:

directing heated gas and/or plasma away from an instrument with a heat shield constructed from a heat insulating material separate from and positioned in a chamber between a plasma source and a sampling cone of the instrument; and

extracting at least a portion of the heated gas and/or plasma from the chamber.

20. The method of cooling of claim 19 wherein the heated gas and/or plasma directing is performed without liquid or gas cooling of the sampling cone.