Design, construction and assessment of a field-deployable laser-induced breakdown spectrometer for remote elemental sensing

A field-deployable laser-induced breakdown spectrometer for measurements in the hundreds of meters range has been presented. The system is capable of elemental analysis with no previous preparation and in near real time, with the only requirement of a free line-of-sight between the instrument and the sample. Main factors influencing LIBS performance at stand-off distances are outlined. LIBS signal is shown to depend on range of analysis, peak power, beam quality, laser wavelength and optics dimensions. A careful control of focusing conditions has been shown to be of importance to avoid interferences from air breakdown by the stand-off focused beam.

[1]  J. Laserna,et al.  Depth Profiling of Phosphorus in Photonic-Grade Silicon Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometry , 1998 .

[2]  J. J. Laserna,et al.  Remote laser-induced plasma spectrometry for elemental analysis of samples of environmental interest , 2004 .

[3]  J. A. Aguilera,et al.  Determination of Carbon Content in Steel Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy , 1992 .

[4]  M. Sigrist.  Air monitoring by spectroscopic techniques , 1994 .

[5]  L. Marinangeli,et al.  Investigation of LIBS feasibility for in situ planetary exploration: An analysis on Martian rock analogues , 2004 .

[6]  R. Allen,et al.  Lidar for multiple backscattering and depolarization observations. , 1977, Applied optics.

[7]  R. Wiens,et al.  Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Mars surface analysis: capabilities at stand-off distances and detection of chlorine and sulfur elements , 2004 .

[8]  David A. Cremers,et al.  Characterization of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for Application to Space Exploration , 2000 .

[9]  Leon J. Radziemski,et al.  Detection of chlorine and fluorine in air by laser-induced breakdown spectrometry , 1983 .

[10]  David A. Cremers,et al.  Remote Elemental Analysis by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Using a Fiber-Optic Cable , 1995 .

[11]  D. Romero,et al.  Remote, real-time, on-line monitoring of high-temperature samples by noninvasive open-path laser plasma spectrometry , 2003, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[12]  N. Arnold,et al.  In situ Analysis of Metal Melts in Metallurgic Vacuum Devices by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy , 2004, Applied spectroscopy.

[13]  Leon J. Radziemski,et al.  Time-resolved laser-induced breakdown spectrometry of aerosols , 1983 .

[14]  J. Laserna,et al.  Open-path laser-induced plasma spectrometry for remote analytical measurements on solid surfaces , 2002 .

[15]  C. Sacchi.  Laser-induced electric breakdown in water , 1991 .

[16]  Wanyun Ma,et al.  Sensitive elemental analysis of aqueous colloids by laser-induced plasma spectroscopy , 2003 .

[17]  U. Platt,et al.  Simultaneous measurement of atmospheric CH2O, O3, and NO2 by differential optical absorption , 1979 .

[18]  J. J. Laserna,et al.  Analytical control of liquid steel in an induction melting furnace using a remote laser induced plasma spectrometer , 2004 .

[19]  Jin Yu,et al.  Long-distance remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using filamentation in air , 2004 .

[20]  J. Laserna,et al.  Remote sensing instrument for solid samples based on open-path atomic emission spectrometry , 2004 .

[21]  J. Laserna,et al.  Laser-induced breakdown spectrometry of titanium dioxide antireflection coatings in photovoltaic cells. , 1996, Analytical chemistry.

[22]  David A. Cremers,et al.  The Analysis of Metals at a Distance Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy , 1987 .

[23]  D. Romero,et al.  Time-resolved laser-induced plasma spectrometry for determination of minor elements in steelmaking process samples , 2002, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[24]  Reinhard Noll,et al.  Liquid steel analysis with laser-induced breakdown spectrometry in the vacuum ultraviolet. , 2003 .