Double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy: Experimental study of lead emission intensity dependence on the wavelengths and sample matrix

Lead (Pb) emission intensity (atomic line 405.78 nm) dependence on the sample matrix (metal alloy) was studied by means of collinear double pulse (DP)-laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The measurement of the emission intensity produced by three different wavelength combinations (i.e. I:532 nm–II:1064 nm, I:532 nm–II:532 nm, and I:532 nm–II:355 nm) from three series of standard reference materials showed that the lead atomic line 405.78 nm emission intensity was dependent on the sample matrix for all the combination of wavelengths, however reduced dependency was found for the wavelength combination I:532 nm–II:355 nm.Two series of standard reference materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and one series from the British Chemical Standards (BCS) were used for these experiments. Calibration curves for lead ablated from NIST 626–630 (“Zn95Al4Cu1”) provided higher sensitivity (slope) than those calibration curves produced from NIST 1737–1741 (“Zn99.5Al0.5”) and with the series BCS 551–556 (“Cu87Sn11”). Similar trends between lead emission intensity (calibration curve sensitivities) and reported variations in plasma temperatures caused by the differing ionization potentials of the major and minor elements in these samples were established.