title: Standoff Detection of Geological Samples of Metal, Rock, and Soil at Low Pressures Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy.
abstract: Categorized certified reference materials simulating metal, rock, soils, or dusts are used to demonstrate the standoff detection capability of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) at severely low pressure conditions. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm with 17.2-50 mJ energy per pulse was used to obtain sample signals from a distance of 5.5 m; the detection sensitivity at pressures down to 0.01 torr was also analyzed. The signal intensity response to pressure changes is explained by the ionization energy and electronegativity of elements, and from the estimated full width half-maximum (FWHM) and electron density, the decrease in both background noise and line broadening makes it suitable for low pressure detection using the current standoff LIBS configuration. The univariate analyses further showed high correlation coefficients for geological samples. Therefore, the present work has extended the current state-of-the-art of standoff LIBS aimed at harsh environment detection.
authors: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, South Korea.
authors: Jae-Jun
authors: JJ
authors: Choi
authors: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, South Korea.
authors: Soo-Jin
authors: SJ
authors: Choi
authors: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, South Korea jjyoh@snu.ac.kr.
authors: Jack J
authors: JJ
authors: Yoh
keywords: CRM; LIBS; Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; certified reference material; low pressure; standoff