Field-based laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has many advantages for field-based elemental analysis of materials compared to conventional analysis methods. These include (1) simplicity, (2) absence of sample preparation, (3) multi-elemental analysis capability, (4) in-situ analysis because only optical access to the sample is required, (5) good detection sensitivity for many elements, and (6) compact instrumentation. Because of these advantages, LIBS is being considered for real-world analysis problems not feasible using conventional elemental analysis techniques. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, prototype instruments have been developed to analyze airborne toxic materials, contaminants on surface (e.g., lead in paint), metals in soils, and surfaces at standoff distances. These instruments are all based on laser plasmas formed by Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm.