LIBS

For an emergent analytical technique to be adopted, its proponents must find applications where it offers significant benefits over established techniques, such as sensitivity, speed, cost, or ease of use, or some combination of those. For laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), identifying its ideal niche has been one of the challenges in gaining followers. To assess where LIBS is being used today, what new areas are emerging, and how well LIBS competes with other methods in those new areas, we asked a panel of experts for their views.

In honor of Spectroscopy’s celebration of 30 years covering the latest developments in materials analysis, we asked experts to assess the current state of the art of six key spectroscopic techniques. Here, the experts weigh in on the key challenges in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and how these problems might be solved.

In honor of Spectroscopy's celebration of 30 years covering the latest developments in materials analysis, we asked a panel of experts to assess the current state of the art of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and to try to predict how technology will develop in the future.

Nanostructured materials are expected to lead to the emergence of new products with enhanced functionalities. Their manufacture often requires the use of particles referred to as nano-objects, their aggregates, and their agglomerates. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was deemed as a potential candidate for the detection of these materials in various contexts. This article discusses examples of the application of LIBS for workplace surveillance and process control of nano-objects.

This article explores the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for measurements of elemental concentrations and bulk properties of heterogeneous, earthen-based samples. Rapid field and industrial measurements of these matrices are difficult using traditional methods.

Dr. Richard R. Hark, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, discusses his work using LIBS for emergency response to hazardous materials. Adam L. Miller, the director at the Huntingdon County Emergency Management Agency in Pennsylvania, also talks about his work as a first responder and how he has been involved in Hark's research.

Users must be careful when developing material classification and calibration methods for LIBS. By following some guidelines, one can achieve relative standard deviation values of 2–3% for many types of analysis, and below 1% for homogenous samples.

NASA's Curiosity rover landed inside the 3.7-billion-year-old Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, and it has been obtaining data about the planet?s rocks and soils with its ChemCam instrument ever since. We recently spoke with Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Principal Investigator of the ChemCam instrument, about the instrument's laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) capabilities.

Dr. Richard R. Hark, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, discusses his work with LIBS in applications such as forensic science, conflict minerals, and geochemical fingerprinting.

The choices for LIBS hardware are discussed in detail, particularly lasers and spectrometers, and the trade-offs between cost, size, and performance are illustrated.

Dustin McIntyre, of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, US Department of Energy in Morgantown, West Virginia, has been exploring the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to measure subsurface gases, liquids, and solids at subsurface conditions.

An overview for those considering implementation of LIBS to solve a particular analytical problem, and an introduction for those interested in learning more about LIBS. Part I concentrates on the basics of the measurement and typical implementation.

Part of a new podcast series presented in collaboration with the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), in connection with SciX 2012 — the Great Scientific Exchange, the North American conference (39th Annual) of FACSS.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is already being used to characterize nuclear material at nuclear energy sites in the United Kingdom. So could LIBS help Japan with its current nuclear crisis? To find out, we spoke to Andy Whitehouse of Applied Photonics.

A Q&A with Jose Almirall, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the director of the International Forensic Research Institute at Florida International University.

NASA plans to utilize laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation on the next Mars Rover, PEWPEW.

The United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has been applying standoff laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to hazardous material detection and determination. We describe several standoff systems that have been developed by ARL and provide a brief overview of standoff LIBS progress at ARL. We also present some current standoff LIBS results from explosive residues on organic substrates and biomaterials from different growth media. These new preliminary results demonstrate that standoff LIBS has the potential to discriminate hazardous materials in more complex backgrounds.

After nearly three decades and three spacecaft landings on the surface of Mars, we still do not know what the rocks are made of . . .