Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of optical emission spectroscopy that can be used for the rapid analysis of geological materials in the field under ambient environmental conditions. We describe here the innovative use of handheld LIBS for the in situ analysis of rock varnish. This thinly laminated and compositionally complex veneer forms slowly over time on rock surfaces in dryland regions and is particularly abundant across the Mojave Desert climatic region of east-central California (USA). Following the depth profiling examination of a varnished clast from colluvial gravel in Death Valley in the laboratory, our in situ analysis of rock varnish and visually similar coatings on rock surfaces was undertaken in the Owens and Deep Spring valleys in two contexts, element detection/identification and microchemical mapping. Emission peaks were recognized in the LIBS spectra for the nine elements most abundant in rock varnish—Mn, Fe, Si, Al, Na, Mg, K, Ca and Ba, as well as for H, Li, C, O, Ti, V, Sr and Rb. Focused follow-up laboratory and field studies will help understand rock varnish formation and its utility for weathering and chronological studies.     

飞秒-纳秒双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)技术对合金的定量分析

激光诱导击穿光谱(Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS)技术几乎不受聚变环境中的强磁场影响,是一种最有希望实现托卡马克装置中面向等离子体材料(Plasma facing materials, PFMs)原位在线诊断的技术,已被用于多个托卡马克PFMs壁诊断。然而,LIBS技术对PFMs表面元素的探测限、定量分析以及PFMs的服役状态判定依旧面临很大挑战。采用同轴飞秒-纳秒激光协同技术,建立了飞秒-纳秒双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱(fs-ns-DP-LIBS)技术,通过高峰值功率、低激光能量的飞秒激光诱导等离子体,再用纳秒激光增强常规单脉冲LIBS技术信号发射强度,进而提升常规单脉冲LIBS的探测灵敏度,同时结合6种合金标准样品,采用fs-ns-DP-LIBS技术对样品中的主要元素进行了定量分析,并进一步结合机器学习方法对6种合金进行种类判别。结果显示：在纳秒单脉冲和飞秒单脉冲LIBS检测中,Ni、Fe和Mo在400～800 nm波段没有观察到明显特征峰,仅观察到Cr的特征峰;在飞秒-纳秒脉冲间2μs延时,NiⅠ498.02 nm、FeⅠ517....     

Feasibility of Separation and Quantification of Inorganic Arsenic Species Using Ion-Exchange Membranes and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Analytical methods for the determination of inorganic arsenic species have attracted much attention due to the high toxicity of these compounds and related legislative regulations for food. A new method for the separation and quantitation of As(III) and As(V) was developed using ion-exchange membranes and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Using the anion-exchange polymer membrane, As(V) was selectively collected on the membrane, and As(III) was filtered through the membrane. The separated As(V) on the membrane was directly determined by LIBS. The As(III) in the filtrate was subsequently oxidized to As(V) and collected by the membrane for LIBS analysis. The detection limit for As(V) was estimated to be 10?mg/kg. The recovery efficiencies for the arsenic species as standards were in the range of 97–99%. This method was applied for the analysis As-spiked water certified reference materials, and the results showed that the recovery for As(V) was 98.9%. This new speciation method is cost-effective, simple, and low labor-intensive for the quantitation of inorganic arsenic.     

Classification of Chinese Herbal Medicine by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with Principal Component Analysis and Artificial Neural Network

Chinese herbal medicine has attracted increasing attention because of the unique and significant efficacy in various diseases. In this paper, three types of Chinese herbal medicine, the roots of Angelica pubescens, Codonopsis pilosula, and Ligusticum wallichii with different places of origin or parts, are analyzed and identified using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural network (ANN). The study of the roots of A. pubescens was performed. The score matrix is obtained by principal component analysis, and the backpropagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) model is established to identify the origin of the medicine based on LIBS spectroscopy of the roots of A. pubescens with three places of origin. The results show that the average classification accuracy is 99.89%, which exhibits better prediction of classification than linear discriminant analysis or support vector machine learning methods. To verify the effectiveness of PCA combined with the BP-ANN model, this method is used to identify the origin of C. pilosula. Meanwhile, the root and stem of L. wallichii are analyzed by the same method to distinguish the medicinal materials accurately. The recognition rate of C. pilosula is 95.83%, and that of L. wallichii is 99.85%. The results present that LIBS combined with PCA and BP-ANN is a useful tool for identification of Chinese herbal medicine and is expected to achieve automatic real-time, fast, and powerful measurements.     

激光诱导击穿光谱法分析焊丝样品

采用激光诱导击穿光谱法(LIBS)对焊丝样品中的硅、锰、磷、硫、铬及镍元素进行测定。采用扫描电子显微镜和激光共聚焦显微镜观察了样品经激光脉冲烧蚀后的形貌,并考察了各元素的谱线强度与激光脉冲个数之间的关系,从而确定了预剥蚀激光脉冲个数。通过分析标准样品建立了单个元素的谱线强度与其质量分数之间的标准曲线,相关系数在0.989~0.999之间。本方法对焊丝样品的分析结果与经典的电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法和高频红外硫碳分析方法的测定结果相吻合,其精密度稍差于经典的分析方法。     

Examination of Polish Identity Documents by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied to the preliminary examination of Polish documents – passports and identity cards – for forensic purposes. Several security features of potentially high discrimination capability were selected at both the passports (Alphagram, serial number, the contour map of Europe, and emblem) and identity cards (kinegram, the date of birth, and emblem). Different elemental compositions were identified after comparing the spectra recorded from various measurement locations. It was possible to identify characteristic atomic emission from several elements (such as Ti, Ca, K, Fe, Cr, Mg, Na, La, Cd, Li, V, Al, Mn, Ni, and Cu) based on the type of document, issue date, and evaluated area. In the case of passports, the potentially good discriminators with unique elemental composition were identified, e.g., the serial number and the contour map of Europe printed with the use of intaglio printing technique. Identity cards with the cover of polycarbonate foil constitute a very difficult sample to analyze because of the foil’s influence on the laser ablation phenomenon. This study presents the potential of LIBS as an effective and useful technique to analyze Polish passports for forensic purposes. Its many advantages provide a good alternative to the analytical methods routinely used for the examination of these objects.     

Electrolyte Analysis in Blood Serum by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Using a Portable Laser

The fast and reliable analysis of electrolytes such as K, Na, Ca in human blood serum has become an indispensable tool for diagnosing and preventing diseases. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been demonstrated as a powerful analytical technique on elements. To apply LIBS to the quantitative analysis of electrolyte elements in real time, a self-developed portable laser was used to measure blood serum samples supported by glass slides and filter paper in this work. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) method was employed for predicting the concentrations of K, Na, Ca from serum LIBS spectra. Great prediction accuracies with excellent linearity were obtained for the serum samples, both on glass slides and filter paper. For blood serum on glass slides, the prediction accuracies for K, Na, Ca were 1.45%, 0.61% and 3.80%. Moreover, for blood serum on filter paper, the corresponding prediction accuracies were 7.47%, 1.56% and 0.52%. The results show that LIBS using a portable laser with the assistance of PLSR can be used for accurate quantitative analysis of elements in blood serum in real time. This work reveals that the handheld LIBS instruments will be an excellent tool for real-time clinical practice.     

Classification of Greek Olive Oils from Different Regions by Machine Learning-Aided Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Absorption Spectroscopy

In the present work, the emission and the absorption spectra of numerous Greek olive oil samples and mixtures of them, obtained by two spectroscopic techniques, namely Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Absorption Spectroscopy, and aided by machine learning algorithms, were employed for the discrimination/classification of olive oils regarding their geographical origin. Both emission and absorption spectra were initially preprocessed by means of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and were subsequently used for the construction of predictive models, employing Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). All data analysis methodologies were validated by both “k-fold” cross-validation and external validation methods. In all cases, very high classification accuracies were found, up to 100%. The present results demonstrate the advantages of machine learning implementation for improving the capabilities of these spectroscopic techniques as tools for efficient olive oil quality monitoring and control.     

Analysis of Roman-Hispanic Archaeological Ceramics using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a useful tool for characterization of archaeological samples because it involves little or no sample preparation, and it allows on-site rapid and nondestructive analysis. In this study, ceramics from the archaeological site of Labitolosa (Huesca) were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Furthermore, a protocol is described for the determination of iron in archaeological materials by interpolating calibration graphs and standard addition. Moreover, the potential of LIBS for direct quantitative analysis of iron in real archaeological materials was evaluated, and optimum analytical conditions were determined. The reproducibility of LIBS spectra from different archaeological samples was investigated as a function of the number of laser shots. The results were compared with those of a reference material.     

Determination of Lead and Copper in Ligusticum wallichii by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was used for the analysis of the Chinese traditional medicine, Ligusticum wallichii. The laser energy and delay time were optimized to obtain best spectral quality. The limits of detection for lead and copper were 15.7 and 6.3?µg?g^?1, respectively. Multiple linear regression models between the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy intensity and the mass fraction of lead and copper were constructed. Good agreement was observed between the actual concentrations and predicted values obtained by the models. These results demonstrate that the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy coupled with multiple linear regression is suitable for the determination of heavy metals in Chinese traditional medicine.     

Quantitative Analysis of Metallic Elements in Tobacco and Tobacco Ash by Calibration Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Cigarette smoking may be a substantial source of intake of some hazardous elements to the human health. In this work calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique was employed to investigate the trace metallic elements (Fe, Ca, Al, Cu, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Sr, Ti, and Zn) concentration in tobacco and tobacco ash. Moreover, variation of metallic elements mass concentration between tobacco and tobacco ash has been observed.     

Archaeometric Analysis of Ancient Copper Artefacts by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Technique

Twelve archaeological copper objects from the burial site of “Fontino” cave, near Grosseto, (around 2500–2000 B.C.) were analysed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Qualitative results and a preliminary study of the samples’ composition are reported and used to make a quantitative estimate; based on these results, the samples were classified using principal components statistical analysis. The perspectives of using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for archaeometric analysis are also discussed.     

激光诱导击穿光谱法对钢中夹杂物类型的表征

激光诱导击穿光谱( LIBS)不仅可以对材料整体成分进行分析,还可进行微区及成分分布分析。本实验采用激光诱导击穿光谱对两牌号钢铁样品进行扫描分析,尝试对34CrNiMo6钢中的MnS夹杂物和重轨钢中的Si-Al-Ca-Mg复合夹杂物进行表征。结果表明,34CrNiMo6钢中元素信号的二维强度分布及元素通道合成后,个别位置Mn及S两元素的信号强度同时异常高,可确定试样中存在较多MnS夹杂物;重轨钢中元素的二维强度分布及元素通道合成后,个别位置Si、Ca、Mg及Al元素的信号同时异常高,可确定试样中存在Si-Al-Ca-Mg复合夹杂物。采用扫描电子显微镜/能谱法( SEM/EDS)对上述样品中夹杂物的对比分析结果表明,两种方法对夹杂物类型的判定结果一致。     

激光诱导击穿光谱技术/多元二次非线性回归分析土壤中的铬元素

利用激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)技术对土壤中铬元素的含量进行了定量分析研究.由于土壤成分复杂,光谱谱线存在较严重的重叠干扰,若采用一元回归方法分析常得不到理想结果.为了更充分有效地利用光谱中信息,以土壤中Cr Ⅰ 425.43 nm和Fe Ⅰ 425.07 nm谱线的积分强度为自变量,Cr元素浓度为因变量,建立交叉降维近似多元非线性回归、多元二次非线性回归和平方降维近似多元非线性回归模型.对比分析表明,当添加Cr和Fe元素特征谱线强度交叉项影响时,所建立的多元二次非线性回归模型效果最佳,预测浓度与实际参考浓度之间线性关系达到0.9943,预测4个验证样品的相对误差分别为3.57％,0.76％,7.66％和2.24％.     

激光诱导击穿光谱:从实验平台到现场仪器

激光诱导击穿光谱(Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS)技术利用激光实现对分析样品的快速原位剥蚀和光谱激发,是一种具有广阔应用前景的分析手段,尤其是在现场、原位分析中优势明显,快速原位的分析特点符合未来分析仪器的发展方向.近年来基于该技术开展各类仪器研发的相关工作,引起广大研究者的极大关注.本文综述了激光诱导击穿光谱仪器中关键部件的组成及发展,从便携式、手持式及远程系统三个方面综述了各类现场应用仪器的研发进展,并对未来发展方向进行了展望.     

Online analysis of potassium fertilizers by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Presently, online analysis in potassium fertilizers industry is performed by Natural Radioactivity Analyzers. Laser Distance Spectrometry (LDS) has tested, by laboratory scale, the possibility of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique implementation for online fertilizers production control. The main advantage of the system comparing to the existing technique is the principal possibility to analyze all relevant elements, such as K, Na, Mg, and not only K40 isotope as done in natural radiation analytical systems. Good correlations between online LIBS results with chemical analysis data of K, Na and Mg impurities of samples from Russia, Belarus and Israel demonstrate that LIBS system is a perspective tool for online control of those elements in field conditions.     

Analysis of Pre-Hispanic Archaeological Samples Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Abstract

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy gave excellent results with respect to reproducibility, sensitivity, nondestructiveness, rapid elemental analisys, and depth-profile analisys. In this work, elements contained in pigments from pre-Hispanic ceramics of Cajamarquilla were identified. Also, some textile samples from the Uquira site, located in Asia Valley between Mala and Cañete (Perú), were analyzed. For this purpose, a Quantel Ultra CFR pulsed Nd/YAG laser was used.     

In situ Analysis of Na and K in a Laminar Premixed Flame by Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy（LIBS） was used to in situ monitor the concentration of alkali elements in combustion environments. Particular efforts were made to optimize the temporally resolved spectra of Na and K elements. Calibration curves were constructed by relating the intensities of the specific lines to the corres- ponding elemental concentrations. The detection limits of Na and K elements were found to be temperature- dependent. The results indicate that LIBS can be a powerful tool for in situ monitoring Na and K concentrations in combustion environments.     

共轴双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱和最小二乘支持向量机法定量分析植物油中铬

利用共轴双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱( DP-LIBS)技术对植物油(大豆油、花生油和玉米油)中的重金属铬( Cr)含量进行定量分析。采用Ava-Spec双通道高精度光谱仪采集样品的LIBS光谱,然后通过其LIBS谱线图确定了CN分子谱线(421.49 nm)、Ca原子谱线(422.64 nm)及Cr的3条原子谱线(425.39、427.43和428.87 nm),根据上述谱线建立了Cr元素的单变量定标模型和最小二乘支持向量机(LS-SVM)校正模型,并用验证样品对它们进行检验。研究结果表明,对于单变量定标法,大豆油、花生油及玉米油验证样品的平均预测相对误差(PRE)分别为12.57%,12.11%和13.72%;对于三变量LS-SVM法,其定标样品真实值与预测值之间的拟合度 R2分别为0.9785,0.9792和0.9654,验证样品的平均 PRE 分别为8.92%,8.33%和10.98%;对于五变量LS-SVM法(增加两基体元素谱线变量),其定标样品真实值与预测值之间的拟合度R2分别为0.9895,0.9901和0.9855,验证样品的平均PRE分别为7.46%,8.96%和8.95%。由此可知,LS-SVM校正模型性能优于单变量定标法,且五变量LS-SVM校正模型性能优于三变量LS-SVM校正模型;采用LS-SVM法及引入合适的基体元素谱线( CN、Ca)能有效减小定量分析误差,提高LIBS技术对植物油中Cr含量预测的精度。     

Fast analysis of complex metallic alloys by double-pulse time-integrated Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Results are reported on the application of double-pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for fast analysis of complex metallic alloys. The approach followed for the determination of the composition of the alloys is based on the time-integrated acquisition of LIBS spectra emitted by plasmas induced by collinear double-pulse laser excitation. The spectra are analysed using the Partial Least Squares method, which allows the determination of sample composition even in the presence of strong spectral interferences. The results shown indicate the possibility of measuring the composition of complex metallic alloys in very short times and using relatively cheap LIBS instrumentation.