Elemental analysis of meteorites using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Research in the field of laser plasma spectroscopy is gaining more importance due to its wide applications in various fields like astronomy, industry, environmental related studies, archeology and many more. The spectroscopic characterization of plasma generated in the meteorite samples during the Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) shows the emission spectrum of elements present in it and also allows one to rapidly identify the elemental composition without any sample preparation and with good accuracy compared to some of the other methods adapted for the said purpose. Also, LIBS has other advantages like multi-elemental response, micro-nano gram level of destructiveness and portability of the instrument. The elemental analysis results for a few of the selected samples such as Iron meteorites, Lunar meteorites, Eucrites and impact glass are presented and discussed in this work. The results reveal that LIBS can be a potential alternative method for the meteorite fragment analysis.