Articles | Volume 8, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-529-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-529-2026
Research article
 | 
14 Sep 2026
Research article |  | 14 Sep 2026

Causes and mitigation of U–Pb fractionation during LA-ICP-MS analyses of zircon using nanosecond excimer laser systems

Donald W. Davis and Heriberto Rochin-Banaga

Cited articles

Adamson, M. N., Cottle, J. M., and Kylander-Clark, A. R. C.: A Mechanistic study of matrix effects in zircon U–Th/Pb geochronology using single-particle laser ablation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Chem. Geol., 707, 123325, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2026.123325, 2026. 
Butterman, W. C. and Foster, W. R.: Zircon stability and the ZrO2SiO2 phase diagram, Am. Mineral., 52, 880–885, 1967. 
Caulfield, J. T., Allen, C. M., Ubide, T., Nguyen, A., and Cathey, H. E.: Compositional heterogeneity in 91 500, GJ-1/89 and TEMORA-2 zircon reference materials, Chem. Geol., 674, 122580, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122580, 2025. 
Cottle, J. M., Horstwood, M. S. A., and Parrish, R. R.: A new approach to single shot laser ablation analysis and its application to in situ Pb/U geochronology, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 24, 1355–1363, https://doi.org/10.1039/b821899d, 2009. 
Das, A. and Davis, D. W.: Response of Precambrian zircon to the chemical abrasion (CA-TIMS) method and implications for improvement of age determinations, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 74, 5333–5348, 2010. 
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Short summary
The development of ultraviolet lasers combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers has allowed dating to be carried out on zircon with useful precision in minutes. This has led to a large increase in the amount of available geochronology but it involves corrections for multiple sources of measurement bias, which remain poorly understood. This work investigates the processes responsible for biases and proposes practical and theoretical approaches to improve accuracy.
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