Accumulation of air in polymeric materials investigated by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

We report on spectroscopic analyses of plasmas produced by laser irradiation of nitrogen-free and nitrogen-containing polymer materials. Ultraviolet laser pulses of 5 ns duration and 4 mJ energy were focused onto the samples with a fluence of about 20 Jcm(-2). The plasma emission was analyzed with an Echelle spectrometer equipped with a gated detector. Comparing the spectra recorded during ablation in air and argon, it is shown that the spectral line emission of atomic nitrogen originates from the excitation of the ambient air, whereas the CN molecular bands are essentially emitted from the ablation plume. Furthermore, the measurements demonstrate an additional contribution of nitrogen emission from the air molecules accumulated in the polymer. Storage under vacuum over a duration of the order of one day leads to the release of the absorbed air. As a consequence of the air absorption, the measurement of elemental composition of polymers via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is particularly difficult. Here, we quantify the atmospheric contribution to the plume emission during polymer analysis. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3692982]