3D chemical maps of non-flat surfaces by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

In this work, the possibility of performing 3D multielemental chemical maps of non-flat samples by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is demonstrated for the first time. In a first step, information of surface morphology of the area to be analyzed is obtained and digitized by a simple experimental arrangement. Using this information, a point-to-point map is generated by the LIBS technique preserving, for every position in the analyzed area, a constant distance between sample surface and both focusing and collection systems. Finally, morphological and spectral information are associated by a homemade computer application which allows plotting the compositional maps in different formats. 3D (X, Y and Z-depth) multielemental chemical images of samples presenting different nature and contour will be shown and the feasibility of this approach will be demonstrated.