Analysis of powdered tungsten carbide hard-metal precursors and cemented compact tungsten carbides using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Several lasers and detection systems were utilized. The Nd:YAG laser working at a basic wavelength of 1064 nm and fourth-harmonic frequency of 266 nm with a gated photomultiplier or ICCD detector HORIBA JY was used for the determination of niobium which was chosen as a model element. Different types of surrounding gases (air, He, Ar) were investigated for analysis. The ICCD detector DICAM PRO with Mechelle 7500 spectrometer with ArF laser (193 nm) and KrF laser (248 nm) were employed for the determination of niobium, titanium, tantalum and cobalt in samples under air atmosphere. Good calibration curves were obtained for Nb, Ti, and Ta (coefficients of determination r2 > 0.96). Acceptable calibration curves were acquired for the determination of cobalt (coefficient of determination r2 = 0.7994) but only for the cemented samples. In the case of powdered carbide precursors, the calibration for cobalt was found to be problematic.