A single-beam-splitting technique combined with a calibration-free method for field-deployable applications using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

In this work, a single-beam-splitting laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique using one single laser system is demonstrated. An individual pulse delivered by a laser (1064 nm wavelength) was split into two sub-pulses by a beam splitter. Various copper alloy standard disks were used in this investigation. Intensity enhancement of emission lines under different laser energies was investigated and the maximum enhancement of 2.1 was reached with 30 mJ laser energy. Under this optimal condition, quantitative analysis based on single-beam-splitting ablation with a calibration-free (CF) method was performed and a better analytical result than that obtained based on single-pulse CF-LIBS was acquired. With combined internal reference for the self-absorption correction (IRSAC) method and calibration-free inverse method, the analytical results agreed well with the certified values of the elements in the sample, with an accuracy error between −17% and +12%.