Geological Applications of Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Abstract

Laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) records light emitted from the decay of electrons to lower‐energy orbitals during cooling of laser‐induced ablation plasmas; the resultant spectra can be used in a variety of geoanalytical applications. Four aspects of LIBS analysis distinguish LIBS from traditional laboratory‐based analytical techniques: (i) the lack of necessary sample preparation, allowing rapid analysis of many samples, (ii) the ability to analyse both 20 to 100 μm‐diameter spots and whole rocks, (iii) the detailed chemical signature contained in a LIBS spectrum and (iv) the ability to take LIBS into the field in backpack portable instrumentation. Three case studies illustrate potential applications of LIBS in the geosciences. First, analysis of the Carrizozo basalt flow in New Mexico, USA, illustrated that LIBS spectra could discriminate between samples of similar composition within uncertainties typical of whole‐rock analysis by X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry. Second, spectra from four sets of rubies from Madagascar and Tanzania illustrate the use of LIBS and multivariate analysis to determine provenance with success rates of > 95%. This technique can also be applied to correlation of units. Finally, a chemical map of a copper ore from Butte, MT, USA, illustrates the use of spatially defined LIBS spectra to understand chemical variations within textural context.

A critical review of recent progress in analytical laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

“…For example, geochemical fingerprinting by LIBS analysis has been recently successfully applied to conflict minerals including coltan [154] and to gemstones [155] to identify their geographic source (origin). Speleothems (e.g.…”

Classification of Geological Samples Based on Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

“…e scores and loadings of PCA for the 25 types of samples are shown in Figure 4, where the principal components PC1, PC2, and PC3 contribute 28.84%, 22.17%, and 14.34% of the overall variance, respectively. In addition, high loading indicates that elements corresponding to that wavelength have a high e ect on the principal components [37] and also a high concentration of the corresponding element in the samples.…”

Application of Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Hyperspectral Images for Direct Evaluation of Chemical Elemental Profiles of Coprolites

“…In a recent geoanalytical study (McMillan et al . ), the authors used a spectral image built with LIBS data to map copper in an ore sample. The main improvement in this study is the use hyperspectral images to map more than one element at once, thereby showing elemental correlation.…”