Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:15:12.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Development of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for microanalysis applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

Y. Godwal*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
M.T. Taschuk
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
S.L. Lui
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Y.Y. Tsui
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
R. Fedosejevs
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Y. Godwal, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is a fast non-contact technique for the analysis of the elemental composition of any sample. Our focus is to advance this technique into a regime where we use pulse energies below 100 µJ. This regime is referred to as micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy or µLIBS. At present we have concentrated on two application areas : (1) The imaging of latent fingerprints and (2) the extension to laser ablation followed by laser-induced fluorescence (LA-LIF) for very high sensitivity analysis of contaminants in water. Preliminary pulse emission scaling of Na in latent fingerprints has been investigated for ~130 fs, 266 nm pulses with energies below 15 µJ. The lowest energy for reliable single shot detection of Na is approximately 3.5 µJ. A 2D map of a fingerprint on a Si wafer has been successfully demonstrated using 5 µJ pulses. In LA-LIF the detection sensitivity of micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (µLIBS) is improved by coupling it with a second resonant probe pulse. This technique was investigated for the detection of Pb at low concentrations when ablated by 266 nm, 170 µJ pulses. After a short delay the resulting plume was re-excited with a nanosecond laser pulse tuned to a specific transition of Pb. In the case of the resonant dual-pulse LIBS the limit of detection was found to be approximately 60 ppb for Pb in water for 1000 shots. It is expected that this result could be implemented with fiber or microchip lasers with multi-kHz repetition rates and fiber Bragg grating tuning elements. The results are promising for the development of portable µLIBS water monitoring systems and portable fingerprint scanners.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Babushok, V. Jr., , F.D., Gottfried, J., Munson, C. & Miziolek, A. (2006). Double pulse laser ablation and plasma: Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy signal enhancement. Spectrochim. Acta B 61, 9991014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bondybey, V.E., & English, J.H. (1981). Laser induced fluorescence of metal clusters produced by laser vaporization: Gas phase spectrum of Pb 2. J. Chem. Phys. 74, 6978.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bramble, S., Creer, K., Qiang, W.G. & Sheard, B. (1993). Ultraviolet luminescence from latent fingerprints. Forens. Sci. Int. 59, 314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ciucci, A., Palleschi, V., Rastelli, S., Salvetti, A., Singh, D. & Tognoni, E. (1999). CF-LIPS: A new approach to LIPS spectra analysis. Laser Part Beams 17, 793797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cravetchi, I., Taschuk, M., Rieger, G., Tsui, Y. & Fedosejevs, R. (2003). Spectrochemical Microanalysis of Aluminum Alloys by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: Identification of Precipitates. Appl. Opt. 42, 61386147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cravetchi, I., Taschuk, M., Tsui, Y. & Fedosejevs, R. (2004). Scanning microanalysis of Al alloys by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta B 59, 14391450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cremers, D. & Radziemski, L. (2006). Handbook of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalrymple, B., Duff, J. & Menzel, E. (1976). Inherent Fingerprint Luminescence - Detection by Laser. J. Foren. Sci. 22, 106115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, C., Telle, H. & Williams, A. (1996). Remote in situ analytical spectroscopy and its applications in the nuclear industry. Fres. J. Anal. Chem. 355, 895899.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dinish, U., Chao, Z., Seah, L., Singh, A. & Murukeshan, V. (2005). Formulation and implementation of a phase-resolved fluorescence technique for latent-fingerprint imaging: theoretical and experimental analysis. Appl. Opt. 44, 297304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dinish, U., Seah, L., Murukeshan, V. & Ong, L. (2003). Theoretical analysis of phase-resolved fluorescence emission from fingerprint samples. Opt. Commun. 223, 5560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fichet, P., Mauchien, P. & Moulin, C. (1999). Determination of impurities in uranium and plutonium dioxides by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Appl. Spectrosc. 53, 11111117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freedman, A. Jr., Iannarilli, F. & Wormhoudt, J. (2005). Aluminum alloy analysis using microchip-laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta B 60, 10761082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gornushkin, I.B., Kim, J.E., Smith, B.W., Baker, S.A. & Winefordner, J.D. (1997). Determination of cobalt in soil, steel and graphite using excited-state laser fluorescence induced in a laser spark. Appl. Spectrosc. 51, 10551059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakkanen, H., Houni, J., Kaski, S. & Korppi-Tommola, J. (2001). Analysis of paper by laser-induced plasma spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta B 56, 737742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakkanen, H. & Korppi-Tommola, J. (1995). UV-laser plasma study of elemental distributions of paper coatings. Appl. Spectros. 49, 17211728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, S., Garen, W., Neu, W. & Reuter, R. (2006). Resonance fluorescence spectroscopy in laser-induced cavitation bubbles. Anal. Bio. Chem. 385, 312315.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kwong, H. & Measures, R. (1979). Trace element laser microanalyzer with freedom from chemical matrix effect. Anal. Chem. 51, 428432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lopez-Moreno, C., Palanco, S., Laserna, J., DeLucia, F., Miziolek, A., Rose, J., Waters, R., & Whitehouse, A. (2006). Test of a stand-off laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy sensor for the detection of explosive residues on solid surfaces. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 21, 5560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menut, D., Fichet, P., Lacour, J.-L., Rivoallan, A. & Mauchien, P. (2003). Micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique: A powerful method for performing quantitative surface mappingon conductive and nonconductive samples. Appl. Opt. 42, 60636071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miziolek, A., Palleschi, V. & Schechter, I., editors (2006). Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS): Fundamentals and Applications New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neuhauser, R., Panne, U., Niessner, R., Petrucci, G., Cavalli, P. & Omenetto, N. (1997). Online and in-situ detection of lead aerosols by plasma-spectroscopy and laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. Anal. Chim. Acta 346, 3748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Razdobarin, G., Federici, G., Kozhevin, V., Mukhin, E., Semi, V. & Tolstyakov, S. (2002). Detecting Dust on Plasma-Facing Components in a Next-Step Tokamak Using A Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Technique. Fusion Sci. Technol. 41, 3243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rieger, G., Taschuk, M., Tsui, Y. & Fedosejevs, R. (2002). Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy for microanalysis using sub-millijoule UV laser pulses. Appl. Spectrosc. 56, 689698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rieger, G., Taschuk, M., Tsui, Y. & Fedosjevs, R. (2003). Comparative study of laser-induced plasma emission from microjoule picosecond and nanosecond KrF-laser pulses. Spectrochim. Acta B 58, 497510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schade, W., Bohling, C., Hohmann, K. & Scheel, D. (2006). Laser-induced plasma spectroscopy for mine detection and verification. Laser Part Beams 24, 241247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sdorra, W., Quentmier, A. & Niemax, K. (1989). Basic investigations for laser microanalysis: II. Laser-induced fluorescence in laser-produced sample plumes. Mikrochim.. Acta 98, 201218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoffels, E., van de Weijer, P. & van der Mullen, J. (1991). Time-resolved emission from laser-ablated uranium. Spectrochim. Acta B 46, 14591470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taschuk, M., Tsui, Y. & Fedosejevs, R. (2006). Detection and imaging of latent fingerprints by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Appl. Spectrosc. 60, 13221327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wachter, J. & Cremers, D. (1987). Determination of uranium in solution using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Appl. Spectrosc. 41, 10421054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenchong, L., Chunhua, M., Hong, J., Chengbai, W., Zhiming, L., Bangrui, W. & Bingqun, L. (1992). Laser fingerprint detection under background light interference. J. Foren. Sci. 37, 10761083.Google Scholar
Whitehouse, A., Young, J., Botheroyd, I., Lawson, S., Evans, C., & Wright, J. (2001). Remote material analysis of nuclear power station steam generator tubes by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta, Part B 56, 821830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wormhoudt, J. Jr., , F.I., Jones, S., Annen, K. & Freedman, A. (2005). Determination of carbon in steel by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using a microchip laser and miniature spectrometer. Appl. Spectrosc. 59, 10981102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed