Concentration dependent studies on the laser-induced mid-infrared emission from KCL-NaCl tablets

Abstract

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technique for determining the elemental composition of a chemical substance [1]. Pumping with a 1064nm Nd:YAG pulse laser, mid-infrared emissions from LIBS plasma produced from KCl were examined between 2.0μm and 4.5μm, with atomic emission lines observed at 2.72μm, 3.15μm, 3.77μm and 4.05μm for potassium, consistent with NIST atomic spectra database. With further focus on the 2.72μm emission, detection limit studies were carried on different concentration samples of KCl_NaCl mix, to determine the detection limit of potassium (K). A limit of detection of ~0.19wt%/wt was obtained for potassium in the mid-IR region. © 2011 Photonics Society of Poland.