Calibration-free laser-induced plasma spectrometry for direct analysis of solid and liquid materials

Optical diagnostics of laser ablation plasma has provided the opportunity to realize calibration-free analyses of solid and liquid materials. In general, this variant of optical emission spectroscopy of pulsed plasma allows the matrix effects to be overcome, yielding satisfactorily precise and accurate quantitative results on elemental composition of materials without using calibration curves, certified reference materials, and internal standards. Such analysis for solids is very close to be nondestructive due to the minimum possible ablated mass, a feature which is very important in many applications, especially for unique museum exhibits and jeweler samples. In this paper, the use of the method for the analysis of elements mainly in metallic alloys, glass samples, and archaeological findings is demonstrated. The results presented confirm the suitability of the approach for routine applications of our instrumentation, while at the same time simplifying the overall analytical procedure.