Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry that uses an inductively coupled plasma to ionize the sample. It atomizes the sample and creates atomic and small polyatomic ions, which are then detected. It is known and used for its ability to detect metals and. Transform your workflow and productivity capabilities for a wide range of elemental sample types in your analytical testing laboratory with the Thermo Scientific™ iCAP™ MSX ICP-MS. Characterized not only by its superior detection limits, this analytic method is also hard to resist thanks to its rapid. In optical ICP we measure the emission of photons from the atoms and ions that are in excited states.