title: Detection of lead in water using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence.
abstract: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a well-known technique for fast, stand-off, and nondestructive analysis of the elemental composition of a sample. We have been investigating micro-LIBS for the past few years and demonstrating its application to microanalysis of surfaces. Recently, we have integrated micro-LIBS with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), and this combination, laser ablation laser-induced fluorescence (LA-LIF), allows one to achieve much higher sensitivity than traditional LIBS. In this study, we use a 170 microJ laser pulse to ablate a liquid sample in order to measure the lead content. The plasma created was re-excited by a 10 microJ laser pulse tuned to one of the lead resonant lines. Upon optimization, the 3sigma limit of detection was found to be 35 +/- 7 ppb, which is close to the EPA standard for the level of lead allowed in drinking water.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2V4. slui@ece.ualberta@ca
authors.forename: Siu L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: Yogesh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Godwal
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Taschuk
authors.forename: Ying Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fedosejevs