Spectroscopic characterization of laser induced breakdown in aluminium-lithium alloy samples for quantitative determination of traces

We present here the results of the application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to a sample of a solid aluminum-lithium alloy, in which the latter component is at a very low concentration and whose proportion should be determined. The samples were placed in a vacuum chamber filled with a controlled xenon atmosphere, and the emission lines of this element were used to determine the electronic density and temperature of the laser generated plasma. Then, by means of a specially designed algorithm, it is possible to quantify the lithium content in the sample. The laser produced aluminum-lithium alloy plasma was generated by a pulsed Nd+3:YAG laser (50 mJ) the pulse repetition frequency used was varied according to requirement from 1 to 20 Hz. Satisfactory results were obtained for the analytical determination of lithium contents in aluminum-lithium alloys. The lithium concentration was determined in values as low as 300-400 ppm. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.