Multiscale elemental analysis of materials using laser-assisted spectrochemistry

Abstract

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are well established techniques for spatially resolved sample investigations. Attributes that make these two techniques attractive for imaging and depth profiling applications are their applicability to all kinds of solid samples, no or minimal sample preparation and fast sample throughput. While LIBS allows to determine almost every element of the periodic table, including elements such as H, C, N, O, and F, LA-ICP-MS offers better sensitivity down to the ng g−1 level, a prerequisite for measurements with increased resolution. Since the signal generation of these analytical methods relies on firing a focused laser beam on the sample surface, they can be merged into a combined measurement method, where element specific information from one sample location can be acquired simultaneously by both techniques. Thereby, a more comprehensive sample characterization is enabled. However, to tackle the permanently rising demands in spatially resolved sample characterization, continuous development of this approach is inevitable. In this contribution the development of a combined LA-ICP-MS & LIBS procedure is presented, which is based on measurement of single laser pulse responses with simultaneous LIBS and ICP- MS detection. Applicability of this approach with extended multi-element capabilities for fast mapping experiments with enhanced resolution is demonstrated by the analysis of selected samples from the field of material science.