Recent developments on instrumentation for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technology able to perform multi-elemental analysis of most of the periodic table elements including those with low atomic weight. LIBS is based on generating a laser-induced plasma (LIP) by high energy laser pulses and subsequent time-resolved spectral analysis of the LIP plasma emission. In a matter of seconds LIBS can analyse samples of all states without the need for any special preparation be it solid, liquids or gas. Fast and easy, high-resolution high-sensitivity 2D or 3D mapping of chemical content, surface mapping, detection of thin layers and depth profiling can be realized. Here we report on the recent progress on instrumentation development of LIBS for both, high-resolution mapping and stand-off sensing.