2015 Volume 64 Issue 1 Pages 35-41
Laser-induced breakdown plasma-optical emission spectrometry in a single-shot scanning mode was fundamentally investigated to obtain spatially-resolved information on the distribution of inclusion particles. A main target of this measurement was various oxide particles, such as alumina, in the metallugical structure of steel materials. Irradiation of a laser beam having high power density can cause target atoms to be ablated into the laser-induced plasma, where they are excited and eventually emit their characteristic radiation. By scanning the laser beam as well as repeating the laser shots, one can observe variations in the emission intensities of analyte particles, thus enabling the three-dimensional distribution to be in-situ obtained without any complicated pre-treatment. When small amounts of alumina fine particles dispersed and embedded in copper matrix were employed as a test specimen, several experimental conditions, such as a focus of the laser beam and replicates of the scan, were optimized to better the spatial resolution in this measurement.
