Portable nanosecond laser for handheld laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instruments

Abstract

The portable laser is indispensable for handheld laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments. We developed a passive, Q-switched pulsed, Nd:YAG laser system with small size and low cost. The maximum pulse energy of the laser was 10 mJ and the pulse duration was <2 ns. The peak power was >5 MW. The laser exhibited very high stability without any cooling system and its relative standard deviation of the pulse energy was <0.2%. The laser was also used as a light source of LIBS to measure the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Mn, and Ni in alloys. The experimental results show that the determination coefficient of the calibration curves for these four elements is all better than 0.99. For its shorter pulse duration, the laser can decrease the plasma shield effect to improve the coupling of laser pulse and the target and stability of spectra intensity. The portable laser developed is a good laser source for handheld LIBS instruments.

Microstructure classification of steel samples with different heat-treatment processes based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

“…1(a) presents a schematic diagram. A Nd: YAG pulse laser (self-study at Xidian University, 30 China), operating at a wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse energy of 7.8 mJ, repetition rate of 5 Hz, and pulse width of 2 ns, was employed to ablate heat-treated No. 45 steel samples.…”

Molybdenum gallium carbide coated D-shape fiber for nanosecond dark pulse generation in erbium-doped fiber laser

“…The SNR can be further improved by optimizing the laser cavity and reducing the splice loss between the optical components. Additionally, a study demonstrated the generation of a portable nanosecond laser with exceptional stability, showcasing a relative standard deviation of the pulse energy of less than 0.2% [41]. Furthermore, insights into the diverse approaches for achieving stable dark pulse generation are provided through investigations conducted on various materials, including topological insulators [42], carbon nanotubes [12], and plasmonic metamaterials [43].…”