Measurement of Stark broadening of MnI and MnII spectral lines in plasmas used for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

We present measurements of the Stark broadening of several Mn lines in the conditions of typical laser-induced plasmas. Single-and double-pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) configurations are studied on a series of Fe-Mn alloy samples with Mn concentration ranging from 6% to 30%. The effects of self-absorption on the measured line broadenings are discussed in detail. In particular, the experimental results evidence that self-absorption is much higher in laser-induced plasmas generated with double pulses, compared to the case of single pulse. After measurement of the electron density, the Stark coefficients of several neutral and ionic Mn lines are derived through the measure of the broadening in conditions of optically thin plasma. The results obtained for singly ionized Mn lines are compared with the theoretical and experimental data present in the literature. For the first time, experimental measurements of the Stark coefficient for several neutral Mn lines are also presented. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.