A review of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy signal enhancement

A review of the methods of signal enhancement in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is presented. Conventional LIBS suffers from disadvantages of low sensitivity and high limits of detection compared with other analytical techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. During the last two decades, various methods have been applied to LIBS in order to realize highly quantitative and qualitative analysis. Current approaches include double-pulse excitation, spatial or magnetic confinement, spark discharge, etc. Different configurations of experimental setups and conditions are suggested for the realization of these improved techniques, while various parameters influence significantly on the enhancement effect. With the aim to study the laser ablation process and characterize the effectiveness of each method, several parameters such as plasma volume and emission intensity are reviewed. Several suggestions are proposed to explain the mechanism of each enhancement method. These modified techniques have been applied on various materials and fields.     

Effect of parameters on Si plasma emission in collinear double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Collinear dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was carried out on Si crystal by using a pair of nanosecond Nd:YAG laser sources emitting at 1064 nm. The spectral intensities and signalto-noise ratios of selected Si atomic and ionic lines were used to evaluate the optical emission. The optical emission intensity was recorded while varying the interpulse delay time and energy ratio of the two pulsed lasers. The effects of the data acquisition delay time on the line intensity and signal-to-noise ratio have been investigated as well. Based on the results, the optimal interpulse delay time, energy ratio of the two pulsed lasers, and data acquisition delay time for achieving the maximum atomic and ionic line intensities were found for generation of Si plasma with the collinear dual-pulse laser approach. The dominant mechanism for the observed line intensity variation was also discussed. In addition, the plasma temperature and electron number density at different gate delay times and different interpulse delay times were derived. A significant influence of plasma shielding on the electron temperature and electron number density at shorter interpulse delay times was observed.     

Ni原子双飞秒脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱的信号增强研究

在大气环境下采用波长为800nm,脉宽为30fs的飞秒激光研究了Ni的双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱,与单飞秒脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱相比,双飞秒脉冲在最优的双脉冲相对延时下,其信号强度增强接近10倍,实验研究了双脉冲相对延时在0-1300ps范围内不同延时对激光诱导击穿光谱信号强度增强因子的影响。整个相对延时区域可以分为三个阶段：在0-50ps区域内信号增强因子是一个持续增大的过程,在50ps左右,达到一个最大值;在50-300ps区域内,信号增强因子呈现出一个先下降后上升的过程;在300-1300ps,信号增强因子基本保持不变。     

Ni原子双飞秒脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱的信号增强研究

在大气环境下采用波长为800nm,脉宽为30fs的飞秒激光研究了Ni的双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱,与单飞秒脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱相比,双飞秒脉冲在最优的双脉冲相对延时下,其信号强度增强接近10倍,实验研究了双脉冲相对延时在0-1300ps范围内不同延时对激光诱导击穿光谱信号强度增强因子的影响。整个相对延时区域可以分为三个阶段：在0-50ps区域内信号增强因子是一个持续增大的过程,在50ps左右,达到一个最大值;在50-300ps区域内,信号增强因子呈现出一个先下降后上升的过程;在300-1300ps,信号增强因子基本保持不变。     

铝合金中铬元素的时间分辨激光诱导击穿光谱高灵敏检测

为了消除在激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)信号检测时等离子体中强的轫致电子辐射对光电倍增管和前置信号放大器造成的不良影响,提高信号检测灵敏度,设计了一种基于CR110的门控端窗光电倍增管并用于LIBS中的微弱信号检测。该门控光电倍增管与前置信号放大器组合运用既可以成功抑制激光等离子体中强的轫致电子辐射的背景干扰,又可以进一步放大微弱的原子辐射信号,提高光谱分析的灵敏度。用LIBS分析铝合金标样中的微量铬元素,采用该门控光电倍增管时其检出限可以达到5.55 ppm,与采用普通光电倍增管的相比改善了近6倍,显示出该门控光电倍增管在时间分辨信号检测领域良好的应用效果。     

The role of microwaves in the enhancement of laser-induced plasma emission

We studied experimentally the effect of microwaves (MWs) on the enhancement of plasma emission achieved by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A laser plasma was generated on a calcium oxide pellet by a Nd:YAG laser (5 mJ, 532 nm, 8 ns) in reduced-pressure argon surrounding gas. A MW radiation (400 W) was injected into the laser plasma via a loop antenna placed immediately above the laser plasma to enhance the plasma emission. The results confirmed that when the electromagnetic field was introduced into the laser plasma region by the MWs, the lifetime of the plasma was extended from 50 to 500 µs, similar to the MW duration. Furthermore, the plasma temperature and electron density increased to approximately 10900 K and 1.5×10¹⁸ cm^-3, respectively and the size of the plasma emission was extended to 15 mm in diameter. As a result, the emission intensity of Ca lines obtained using LIBS with MWs was enhanced by approximately 200 times compared to the case of LIBS without MWs.     

火焰原子吸收对K元素激光诱导击穿光谱测量的影响

当使用激光诱导击穿光谱技术（LIBS）测量火焰场内碱金属元素时,等离子体内碱金属原子所发出的LIBS信号,会受到等离子体外火焰中基态碱金属原子的吸收,影响测量精度。基于Beer Lambert定律和CH4 空气火焰场内气态含K物质的热力学平衡原理,建立了火焰场内K元素LIBS信号的原子吸收模型,并分析了实际生物质颗粒燃烧K元素释放浓度范围内,火焰气氛、K元素浓度分布以及总K浓度对火焰原子吸收效率的影响。研究发现,随着O2/CH4的摩尔比值的增加,火焰中热力学平衡状态下K原子占总K的比例从约25%逐步降低,火焰原子吸收效率也从86.8%逐步降低。当O2/CH4的摩尔比值大于2时,火焰尾气中会存在剩余O2,此时火焰内K原子的吸收效率均低于13%。同时,火焰中K元素浓度分布以及总K浓度的合理调整亦对火焰原子吸收效率具有降低作用。在此基础上,提出了创造氧化性气氛、调整K浓度分布来降低火焰原子吸收效率和提高LIBS测量精度的解决途径。     

Effects of pulse energy ratios on plasma characteristics of dual-pulse fiber-optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced plasmas of dual-pulse fiber-optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with different pulse energy ratios are studied by using the optical emission spectroscopy(OES)and fast imaging.The energy of the two laser pulses is independently adjusted within 0–30 m J with the total energy fixed at 30 m J.The inter-pulse delay remains 450 ns constantly.As the energy share of the first pulse increases,a similar bimodal variation trend of line intensities is observed.The two peaks are obtained at the point where the first pulse is half or twice of the second one,and the maximum spectral enhancement is at the first peak.The bimodal variation trend is induced by the change in the dominated mechanism of dual-pulse excitation with the trough between the two peaks caused by the weak coupling between the two mechanisms.By increasing the first pulse energy,there is a transition from the ablation enhancement dominance near the first peak to the plasma reheating dominance near the second peak.The calculations of plasma temperature and electron number density are consistent with the bimodal trend,which have the values of 17024.47 K,2.75×10¹⁷cm;and 12215.93 K,1.17×10¹⁷cm;at a time delay of 550 ns.In addition,the difference between the two peaks decreases with time delay.With the increase in the first pulse energy share,the plasma morphology undergoes a transformation from hemispherical to shiny-dot and to oblate-cylinder structure during the second laser irradiation from the recorded images by using an intensified charge-coupled device(ICCD)camera.Correspondingly,the peak expansion distance of the plasma front first decreases significantly from 1.99 mm in the single-pulse case to 1.34 mm at 12/18(dominated by ablation enhancement)and then increases slightly with increasing the plasma reheating effect.The variations in plasma dynamics verify that the change of pulse energy ratios leads to a transformation in the dual-pulse excitation mechanism.     

用激光感生击穿光谱对大气进行定量分析

研究将激光感生击穿光谱技术用于元素定量分析的可行性。利用Nd∶YAG激光器发出的激光与一个大气压下的空气相互作用产生激光等离子体，等离子体的光经单色仪分光后转化为电信号进入计算机，存储了600～800nm的等离子体光谱数据。利用自由定标模型对等离子体进行了分析。在延迟时间8μs、采样门宽0.4μs时，利用二维波尔兹曼平面得到了大气等离子体处于局部热平衡时的温度（1.62×10K）。在假设空气全部由N和O组成的条件下由自由定标模型得到了空气中氧的含量（20.75%）和氮的含量（79.25%）。试验结果与实际吻合得很好。实验证实了用激光感生击穿光谱对大气进行定量分析是可行的，为大气污染监测研究和试验工作奠定了基础。     

基于激光诱导击穿光谱的洋葱在线原位检测

激光诱导击穿光谱(Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS)是一种分析多元素的光学技术,可用于新鲜蔬菜的快速检测.以洋葱为例,采用LIBS对其含有的元素进行了在线原位检测.用乙酸铅溶液污染洋葱以模拟大气湿沉降的重金属污染现象,并进行重金属Pb元素检测.使用主成分分析(principal components analysis, PCA)和反向传播人工神经网络(back-propagating artificial neutral network, BP-ANN),以洋葱、大蒜、小葱为样品进行区分检测.洋葱光谱中的特征谱线包括Si、Fe、C、Mg、Al、Ca、Ti、Sr、Ba、Na、Li和K等元素,以及N、H、O的谱线和CN分子谱带.不同浓度梯度乙酸铅溶液污染的洋葱样品中都能检测出Pb元素,其相对强度与溶液浓度成比例.此外,PCA的结果表明洋葱、小葱、大蒜的区分效果明显,BP-ANN交叉验证的识别率为89.47%.结果证明LIBS在对元素进行快速分析时具有较好的识别能力,是检测新鲜蔬菜的有效手段.     

土壤中重金属元素的双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱研究

基于正交预烧蚀双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱(DP-LIBS) 技术对长春市四个地点地表土壤样品中的重金属元素进行了研究, 根据光谱线强度定性分析了重金属元素Mn, Cr, Cu, Pb含量.实验结果发现, 在532和1064 nm激光脉冲能量分别为70和100 mJ的条件下光谱增强随延时的变化出现双峰结构. 脉冲间延时20 μs时, Mn I 406.4 nm光谱增强幅度达到2.75倍, 延时为30 μs时出现第二个尖峰, 增强幅度为2.4倍.最后对正交预烧蚀DP-LIBS光谱增强机理进行了讨论. 关键词： 预烧蚀 双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱 光谱增强 土壤污染     

自由定标激光诱导击穿光谱技术在炉渣成分定量分析中的应用

采用自由定标激光诱导光谱技术(CF-LIBS)对炉渣中几种主要成分(CaO,SiO2,Al2O3,MgO)进行了定量分析.利用Nd:YAG激光脉冲在空气中烧蚀炉渣样品产生等离子体,等离子体光谱由中阶梯光栅光谱仪记录.通过几种主要元素的原子谱线和离子谱线的玻尔兹曼图,计算了等离子体的温度.利用Ca的一条谱线Stark展宽...     

样品温度和空间约束两种方法相结合对激光诱导击穿光谱的影响

升高样品温度和采用空间约束能提高激光诱导击穿光谱的信号强度,两种技术的结合可以进一步提高激光诱导击穿光谱的光谱强度.本文在空气环境中研究了升高样品温度和空间约束效应两种方法相结合对激光诱导击穿光谱的影响,测量了激光诱导铝等离子体的时间分辨光谱.实验结果表明:升高样品温度能增加激光诱导击穿光谱的信号强度,高温样品能耦合更...     

空气环境下基于LIBS煤中氧含量分析研究

给出了在空气环境下基于LIBS(激光诱导击穿光谱)技术的煤中有机氧含量的定量分析技术和方法。通过激光激发煤样品获得等离子体荧光谱,结合内标法、温度校正法、多线法等措施实现了对煤样品中氧含量的精确测量,其测量精度不低于1.37%,满足了燃煤电厂对煤质的分析要求。这种方法可在地矿、环保、医药、材料、考古、食品安全、生化及冶金等领域推广应用。     

Characteristics of solid aerosols produced by optical catapulting studied by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Optical catapulting (OC) constitutes an effective method to transport small amounts of different materials in the form of a solid aerosol. In this report, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used for the analysis of those aerosols produced by OC. For this purpose, materials were catapulted using a Q-switch Nd:YAG laser. A second Q-switch Nd:YAG laser was used for LIBS analysis of the ejected particles. Data processing of aerosols was conducted using conditional data analysis. Also, the standard deviation method was used for the qualitative identification of the ejected particles. Two modes of interaction in OC (OC with focused or defocused pulses) have been evaluated and discussed. LIBS demonstrates that the distribution (spreading) of the ejected particles along the propagation axis increased as a function of the interpulse delay time. The mass density and the thickness of the target also play an important role in OC-LIBS.     

Mechanism of signal uncertainty generation for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Relatively large measurement uncertainty severely hindered wide application for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), therefore it is of great importance to understand the mechanism of signal uncertainty generation, including initiation and propagation. It has been found that the fluctuation of plasma morphology was the main reason for signal uncertainty. However, it still remains unclear what mechanism leads to laser-induced plasma morphology fluctuation. In the present work, we employed three fast-imaging cameras to capture three successive plasma images from a same laser-induced Titanium alloy plasma, which enables us to understand more clearly of the plasma evolution process especially for the early plasma evolution stage when plasma and surrounding gases interact drastically. Seen from the images, the plasma experienced an increasing morphological fluctuation as delay time increased, transforming from a “stable plasma” before the delay time of 100 ns to a “fluctuating plasma” after the delay time of 300 ns. Notably, the frontier part of plasma showed a significant downward motion from the delay time of 150 ns to 200 ns and crashed with the lower part of the plasma, making the plasma flatter and later even splitting the plasma into two parts, which was considered as a critical process for the transformation of “stable plasma” to “unstable plasma”. By calculating the correlation coefficient of plasma image pairs at successive delay times, it was found that the higher the similarity between two plasma at early stage, the more similar at later stage; this implied that the tiny plasma fluctuation earlier than the critical delay time (150–200 ns) was amplified, causing a large plasma fluctuation at the later stage as well as LIBS measurement uncertainty. The initiation of slight fluctuation was linked with Rayleigh–Taylor Instability (RTI) due to the drastic material interpenetration at the plasma-ambient gas interface at earlier stage (before 50 ns). That is, the uncertainty generation of LIBS was proposed as: plasma morphology fluctuation was inevitably trigged by RTI at the early stage and the tiny fluctuation was amplified by the back pressed downward process of plasma frontier material, leading to severe morphology fluctuation as well as LIBS signal uncertainty.     

Detection of explosives with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Our recent work on the detection of explosives by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is reviewed in this paper. We have studied the physical mechanism of laser-induced plasma of an organic explosive, TNT. The LIBS spectra of TNT under single-photon excitation are simulated using MATLAB. The variations of the atomic emission lines intensities of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen versus the plasma temperature are simulated too. We also investigate the time-resolved LIBS spectra of a common inorganic explosive, black powder, in two kinds of surrounding atmospheres, air and argon, and find that the maximum value of the O atomic emission line SBR of black powder occurs at a gate delay of 596 ns. Another focus of our work is on using chemometic methods such as principle component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to distinguish the organic explosives from organic materials such as plastics. A PLS-DA model for classification is built. TNT and seven types of plastics are chosen as samples to test the model. The experimental results demonstrate that LIBS coupled with the chemometric techniques has the capacity to discriminate organic explosive from plastics.     

Classification of recyclables using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for waste management

With the ever-increasing amount of generated waste governments around the world are looking for, and implementing, ways to minimize waste output and maximize waste recovery. The main difficulties are sorting waste items, identifying the different types of plastics, and the time taken to sort them manually. Bioplastics such as polylactic acid and Novatein thermoplastic protein can be incorporated into the recycling stream to minimize waste. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy spectra analyzed by k-nearest neighbor and soft independent modeling by class analogy were investigated as methods that can rapidly identify recyclables. Raw, peak normalized, and total intensity normalized spectra were used to identify which would improve classification. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy spectra were generated by single laser shots to different locations on nine samples, glass (brown, green, and clear), tin, aluminum, polylactic acid, Novatein, polyethylene terephthalate, and high-density polyethylene. To prove that the system has the potential to be used on a waste sorting stream an autofocus unit was developed to move the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy beam into focus on the different sample geometries. Two classification methods were investigated, soft independent modeling by class analogy and the k-nearest neighbors algorithm. k-Nearest neighbors on raw spectra produced the best results. Discrimination between bioplastics and plastics were 100%. Glass samples could not be reliably distinguished from each other. Surface contamination produced three misclassifications from 450 spectra. Similar results were obtained when the spectral range was reduced from 182.26–908.07?nm to 313.20–495.12?nm.     

Laser ablation of powdered samples and analysis by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

The presented work proves the capacities of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a fast, universal, and versatile technique for analysis of complex materials as ceramics. This paper reports on the analysis of ceramic raw materials (brick clays and kaolin) submitted to laser ablation in the form of pressed pellets. Spectrographic study was provided by standard single-pulse LIBS technique and orthogonal reheating double-pulse LIBS. It was found that both methods are comparable in terms of analytical performance, if adequate experimental parameters and signal detection systems are used.     

Study on parameters influencing analytical performance of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Lens-to-sample distances, delay time, atmospheric condition, laser pulse energy, etc. had obvious effects on the analytical performance of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. In this paper, these parameters are investigated in greater detail and we will explain how they have influences on the analytical performance. The results show that the focal plane under the sample surface can improve precision and detection limit, and the delay time should be decided according to sensitivity and accuracy. Spectral line intensity is stronger in argon than helium, nitrogen and air gas environment. Pulse energy should exceed energy threshold (about 50 mJ) which can generate plasma, and the energy should not exceed about 300 mJ to avoid plasma shielding. Under optimum parameters, concentration relative standard deviation of C, Si, Mn, P, S, Ni, and Cr for low-alloyed steel (sample number 11278) which were measured 11 times is 2.37%, 2.18%, 2.23%, 7.8%, 9.34%, 1.92%, and 2.13%, respectively. And the detection limit of C, Si, Mn, P, S, Ni, and Cr for pure steel is 0.0045%, 0.0072%, 0.0069%, 0.0027%, 0.0024%, 0.0047%, and 0.0024%, respectively.