Optimization of liquid jet system for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis

A complex optimization of geometrical and temporal parameters of a jet system (developed in Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) laboratory of Brno University of Technology) for direct elemental analysis of samples in a liquid state of matter using LIBS was carried out. First, the peristaltic pump was synchronized with the flashlamp of the ablation laser, which reduced variation of the ablated sample amount. Also, the fluctuation of the laser ray angle incident on the jet surface was diminished. Such synchronization reduced signal standard deviations and thus increased repeatability of the measurements. Then, laser energy and distance of the focusing lens from the sample were optimized. The gate delay time and the gate width were optimized for single pulse (SP) experiments; the gate delay time and the inter-pulse delay were optimized for the use of double pulse (DP) variant. Results were assessed according to the highest signal to noise ratios and the lowest relative standard deviations of the signal. The sensitivity of the single pulse and the double pulse LIBS for the detection of heavy metals traces, copper (Cu i at 324.754 nm) and lead (Pb i at 405.781 nm), in aqueous solution of copper (ii) sulfate and lead (ii) acetate, was estimated in terms of limits of detection (LODs). As a result, sensitivity improvement of DP LIBS system was observed, the LOD of Cu obtained with DP was calculated 40% lower than LOD gained from SP technique.