Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Elemental Analysis

Abstract Laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a laser‐based technique that can provide nonintrusive, qualitative and quantitative measurement of metals in various test environments. LIBS is an emission‐type technology that has been successfully applied to gas, liquid, and solid samples. The major advantages of LIBS compared to other analytical techniques is that no time‐consuming sample preparation is necessary. LIBS uses the plasma generated by a high‐energy laser beam to prepare and excite the sample in one step. It has the ability to perform multielement real‐time analysis. Its major disadvantage is that the excitation condition is sensitive to the fluctuation of environmental conditions as well as the laser energy, which can result in poor measurement precision. The small amount of sample material used in LIBS analysis also gives poorer sensitivity for some metals compared to inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICPAES) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The potential of LIBS to detect toxic metals in harsh environments was recognized in the early 1970s. Recent developments towards improving its analytical capability has led to more applications. This article reviews the analytical applications of LIBS with an emphasis on environmental monitoring. A brief review of some fundamental LIBS studies is also given. The analytical abilities of LIBS are compared with some spectroscopic techniques commonly used in the laboratory, such as AAS, ICPAES, and X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFS).