Abstract

The laser spark has been used extensively in the laboratory to provide an elemental analysis of metals.¹ This method, called Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)², uses a laser spark to vaporize and excite a material. The spark light is then spectrally and temporally resolved, as in other methods of atomic emission spectroscopy, to determine the elemental composition. The method has many potential advantages over more common laboratory-based methods like atomic absorption spectroscopy and the inductively coupled plasma. These advantages include simplicity, minimal sample preparation, possibility of non-invasive and in-situ analysis, and rapid response. On the other hand, the accuracy and precision of LIBS measurements are generally inferior to the laboratory methods thereby cancelling somewhat the advantages of LIBS for routine analyses. In some field-based applications, however, a high degree of analytical performance may not be required. These include prospecting, industrial process control monitoring, and metal identification. The latter area, which includes alloy sorting and identification of stockpiled metals, offers the best chance for immediate application and so has been examined in detail.

© 1987 Optical Society of America