Online monitoring of nanoparticles formed during nanosecond laser ablation

The particle size distribution of dry aerosol originating from laser ablation of glass material was monitored simultaneously with Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis and two aerosol spectrometers - Fast Mobility Particle Sizer (FMPS) and Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS). The unique combination of LA-ICP-MS and FMPS offers the possibility of measuring the particle size distribution every 1 s of the ablation process in the size range of 5.6-560 nm. APS extends the information about particle concentration in the size range 0.54-17 μm. Online monitoring of the dry aerosol was performed for two ablation modes (spot and line with a duration of 80 s) with a 193 nm excimer laser system, using the glass reference material NIST 610 as a sample. Different sizes of laser spot for spot ablation and different scan speeds for line ablation were tested. It was found that the FMPS device is capable of detecting changes in particle size distribution at the first pulses of spot laser ablation and is suitable for laser ablation control simultaneously with LA-ICP-MS analysis. The studied parameters of laser ablation have an influence on the resulting particle size distribution. The line mode of laser ablation produces larger particles during the whole ablation process, while spot ablation produces larger particles only at the beginning, during the ablation of the intact layer of the ablated material. Moreover, spot ablation produces more primary nano-particles (in ultrafine mode size range < 100 nm) than line ablation. This effect is most probably caused by a reduced amount of large particles released from the spot ablation crater. The larger particles scavenge the ultrafine particles during the line ablation mode.