Abstract

UV laser ablation is known as a useful processing technique for micro-electronics devices. It can be used for the sensitive laser mass spectroscopy, too. In this paper, we proposed a novel technique to detect trace elements in materials very sensitively, using the UV laser ablation coupled with the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy. We call it the LAAF (Laser ablation atomic fluorescence) spectroscopy. With this technique, sub-ppt (pg/mℓ) level detection was demonstrated for Na atoms in water.

© 1995 IEEE