Method and apparatus for materials analysis by enhanced laser induced plasma spectroscopy
US6008897A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 28, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N21/718
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for enhanced laser-induced plasma spectroscopic analysis of unknown heterogeneous materials. The apparatus has high power pulsed lasers with their beams focused on the material, typically two colinear lasers providing two pulses in the ultraviolet and in the near infrared spectral area. The first laser pulse vaporizes a small volume at the surface of the material and produces a plasma which is subsequently enhanced by the second laser pulse. The optical emission of the plasma is analyzed with a colinear optical spectrometer. The pulsed spectrum is detected by a gated photodiode array detector or by an array of photomultipliers each individually positioned to detect a line emission representative of a given element present in the material. The combination of the two laser pulses, appropriately synchronized, provides a plasma emission that is significantly stronger than a single laser pulse of the combined energy of the two pulses.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.