Characteristic Limits. Detection limits.

The Detection Limit allows a decision to be made as to wether the measuring method satisfies certain requirements and is consequently suitable for the given purpose of measurement. It must always be compared with the guideline value given by the client.

The Detection Limit is the characteristic limit that responds to the following question: what would be the real concentration (of an element in the analyzed sample) that would give a measurement result below the Decision Threshold with an established probability β (usually of 5 %).

The calculation of the Detection Limit requires the knowledge of the probability function of the measurement result (standard uncertainty of the measurement result).