Quantitative elemental analysis of bismuth brass by microchip laser-ablation spark-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

Herein, microchip laser-based laser-ablation spark-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LA-SIBS) was developed to realize the quantitative elemental analysis of minor elements in bismuth brass with minimal destruction. A simple spark discharge unit and compact multichannel fiber spectrometer in non-gated operation mode were employed. The characteristics of spark discharge were analyzed, and the effects of discharge voltage and capacitance of the energy storage capacitor on the signal intensities were studied. With the assistance of spark discharge, the plasma temperature increased significantly. The detection limits of bismuth and tin were determined to be 21.6 ± 1.1 and 100 ± 5 ppm, respectively, demonstrating a 10–22-fold enhancement in the detection limit obtained by microchip laser-based LIBS. It was shown that spark discharge could improve the analytical sensitivity of the portable LA-SIBS system. This work can help construct a portable and miniaturized system to realize more rapid, sensitive, and high spatial resolution online elemental analysis than LIBS systems consisting of the same microchip laser and fiber spectrometer.