ABSTRACT
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), or laser microanalysis, is an ablation technique, in which a laser pulse creates a luminous plasma, whose light emission is spectrochemically analyzed to extract the elemental composition of materials. The chapter begins with a concise summary of the basic concepts and equations related to plasma generation and its characterization, under the conditions of the so-called local thermodynamic equilibrium. The coverage continues with descriptions of the main experimental implementations, ranging from single- and double-pulse excitation modalities, to the use of portable or stand-off nanosecond and femtosecond LIBS. Thereafter, a full section is dedicated to qualitative and quantitative LIBS analysis, covering the key aspect of how to quantify the spectral data; this is illustrated by using typical, representative LIBS spectra, in conjunction with calibration or calibration-free methods. In the second half of the chapter, selected LIBS applications are described, which are meant to give a snapshot overview on the state of the art of the technique in the analysis of solid, gaseous, and liquid samples; these include explosives detection, space exploration, and industrial analysis. The chapter ends with a short discussion that LIBS can even be used for “imaging,” exemplified for elemental mapping of biological samples.
