Rank correlation of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopic data for the identification of alloys used in jewelry manufacture

The aim of the present study was the rapid identification of alloys used in the manufacture of jewelry pieces with the help of a spectral library. The laser-induced breakdown spectra of 32 alloys were stored, with 25 of them chosen as library standards; the remaining seven spectra were used as samples. The composition of the alloys was obtained by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. A rank correlation method was applied for comparison between spectra, providing good correlation coefficients for the alloys studied. The composition of the samples was also predicted by partial least-squares regression to demonstrate the capability of this technique for the rapid analysis of this type of material. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.