Spectrochemical analysis of liquids using laser-induced plasma emissions: Effects of laser wavelength

The plasma plume emissions produced by pulsed (similar to 10 ns) laser ablation of liquid jets were monitored for spectrochemical analysis. Laser wavelengths at 532 and 193 nm were used, and sodium was the test analyte. As expected, the 532-nm laser pulse produced very intense plasma continuum emissions that masked the sodium signal for the first hundred nanoseconds, especially near the bright core of the vapor plume. Neither time-gating nor spatial masking could significantly improve the single-shot signal-to-noise ratio, since the transient nature of the emissions placed stringent demands on timing precision while the small size of the plume required accurate mask positioning-both antithetical to the inherent instability of jet ablation. In sharp contrast, the 193-nm laser pulse produced relatively dim plasma flash but intense sodium emissions, rendering it ideal for analytical applications.