Ultratrace measurement using micro-droplet with gas-flow assistance in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

A new setup for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is introduced. This setup was designed for high sensitive quantitative analysis using the ink-jet technology and gas-flow assistance. The setup presented here allowed precise detection of a micro-droplet for guiding it into a laser beam spot area. The micro-droplet ejection system created constant volume of sample liquid and taking advantage of liquid physical state; density of the solution can be controlled accurately. That means the constant amount of media was maintained in a micro-droplet. This sampling system allowed generating small droplet (diameter 30 μm) confining the whole fixed volume of the sample material in the laser beam spot area (minimum beam spot diameter 53.2 μm), under the effects of any ambient gas. In this paper, the stability with practical use and improvement of detection limit for LIBS measurement is reported.