Comparative Long-Wave Infrared Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Employing 1-D and 2-D Focal Plane Array Detectors.

Long-wave infrared (LWIR) emissions of laser-induced plasma on solid potassium chloride and acetaminophen tablet surfaces were studied using both a one-dimensional (1-D) linear array detection system and, for the first time, a two-dimensional (2-D) focal plane array (FPA) detection system. Both atomic and molecular infrared emitters in the vicinity of the plasma were identified by analyzing the detected spectral signatures in the infrared region. Time- and space-resolved long-wave infrared emissions were also studied to assess the temporal and spatial behaviors of atomic and molecular emitters in the plasma. These pioneer temporal and spatial investigations of infrared emissions from laser-induced plasma would be valuable to the modeling of plasma evolutions and the advances of the novel LWIR laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). When integrated both temporally (≥200 µs) and spatially using a 2-D FPA detector, the observed intensities and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of single-shot LWIR LIBS signature emissions from intact molecules were considerably enhanced (e.g., with enhancement factors up to 16 and 3.76, respectively, for a 6.62 µm band of acetaminophen molecules) and, in general, comparable to those from the atomic emitters. Pairing LWIR LIBS with conventional ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) LIBS, a simultaneous UV/Vis/NIR + LWIR LIBS detection system promises unprecedented capability of in situ, real-time, and stand-off investigation of both atomic and molecular target compositions to detect and characterize a range of chemistries.

Raman and UVN+LWIR LIBS detection system for in-situ surface chemical identification.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in the Ultra Violet/Visible/Near-IR (UVN) spectral range is a powerful analytical tool that facilitates the interpretation of Raman spectroscopic data by providing additional details in elemental chemistry. To acquire the complete information of molecular vibrations for more accurate and precise chemical bonding and structural analysis, an ideal in situ optical sensing facility should be able to rapidly probe the broad vibrational dipole and polarizability responses of molecules by acquiring both Raman scattering and mid-IR emission spectroscopic signatures. Recently, the research team at Brimrose has developed a novel optical technology, Long-Wave IR (LWIR) LIBS. Critical experimental approaches were made to capture the infrared molecular emission signatures from vibrationally excited intact samples excited by laser-induced plasma in a LIBS event. LWIR LIBS is the only fieldable mid-IR emission spectroscopic technique to-date that that offers the same instrumental and analytical advantages of both UVN LIBS and Raman spectroscopy in in-situ stand-off field applications and can perform rapid and comprehensive molecular structure analysis without any sample-preparation.•A single excitation laser pulse is used to trigger both UVN and LWIR spectrometers simultaneously.•Time-resolved UVN-LWIR LIBS measurements showed the evolution of both atomic and molecular signature emissions of target compounds in the laser-induced plasma.•The technique was applied to the characterization of mineral and organic compounds in planetary analog samples.

Spectroscopic characterization of samples from different environments in a Volcano-Glacial region in Iceland: Implications for in situ planetary exploration.

Raman spectroscopy and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are complementary techniques that together can provide a comprehensive characterization of geologic environments. For landed missions with constrained access to target materials on other planetary bodies, discerning signatures of life and habitability can be daunting, particularly where the preservation of organic compounds that contain the building blocks of life is limited. The main challenge facing any spectroscopy measurements of natural samples is the complicated spectra that often contain signatures for multiple components, particularly in rocks that are composed of several minerals with surfaces colonized by microbes. The goal of this study was to use the combination of Raman spectroscopy and LIBS to discern different environmental regimes based on the identification of minerals and biomolecules in rocks and sediments. Iceland is a terrestrial volcano-glacial location that offers a range of planetary analog environments, including volcanically active regions, extensive lava fields, geothermal springs, and large swaths of ice-covered terrain that are relevant to both rocky and icy planetary bodies. We combined portable VIS (532 nm) and NIR (785 nm) Raman spectroscopy, VIS micro-Raman spectroscopic mapping, and UV/VIS/NIR (200 - 1000 nm) and Mid-IR (5.6 - 10 µm, 1785 - 1000 cm-1) laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to characterize the mineral assemblages, hydrated components, and biomolecules in rock and sediment samples collected from three main sites in the volcanically active Kverkfjöll-Vatnajökull region of Iceland: basalt and basalt-hosted carbonate rind from Hveragil geothermal stream, volcanic sediments from the base of Vatnajökull glacier at Kverkfjöll, and lava from the nearby Holuhraun lava field. With our combination of techniques, we were able to identify major mineral polytypes typical for each sample set, as well as a large diversity of biomolecules typical for lichen communities across all samples. The anatase we observed using micro-Raman spectroscopic mapping of the lava compared with the volcanic sediment suggested different formation pathways: lava anatase formed authigenically, sediment anatase could have formed in association with microbial weathering. Mn-oxide, only detected in the carbonate samples, seems to have two possible formation pathways, either by fluvial or microbial weathering or both. Even with our ability to detect a wide diversity of biomolecules and minerals in all of the samples, there was not enough variation between each set to distinguish different environments based on the limited measurements done for this study.

In situ chemical analysis of geology samples by a rapid simultaneous ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UVN) + longwave-infrared laser induced breakdown spectroscopy detection system at standoff distance.

The standoff detection range of the simultaneous ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UVN) + longwave-Infrared (LWIR) Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) detection system has been successfully extended from merely 10 cm to ≥ 1 meter by adopting a reflecting telescope collection scheme and UVN + LWIR LIBS emission signatures were acquired in various atmospheres from soil and mineral samples. This system simultaneously captured emission signatures from atomic, and simple and complex molecular target species existing in or near the same laser-induce plasma plume within micro-seconds. These pioneer standoff measurements of UVN + LWIR LIBS signatures have revealed an abundance of plasma-generated sample molecular emitting species in their vapor state along with atomic ones which gave intense and distinct signature emissions in both UVN (conventional LIBS) and LWIR (LWIR LIBS) spectral regions. A HITRAN simulation estimates the temperatures of those vapor molecular species to be around 2500 K. Laser-induced plasma emissions in the LWIR region provided direct information on the molecular components of the sample substances. The demonstrable capability of the LWIR LIBS on in situ characterization of carbon- and oxygen-rich materials is expected to find important applications in water discovery and organic materials signatures detection and identification. As a result laser ablation spectroscopy will be greatly augmented in both fundamental knowledge of and capability for chemical analysis.

Comprehensive study of solid pharmaceutical tablets in visible, near infrared (NIR), and longwave infrared (LWIR) spectral regions using a rapid simultaneous ultraviolet/visible/NIR (UVN) + LWIR laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy linear arrays detection system and a fast acousto-optic tunable filter NIR spectrometer.

This is the first report of a simultaneous ultraviolet/visible/NIR and longwave infrared laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (UVN + LWIR LIBS) measurement. In our attempt to study the feasibility of combining the newly developed rapid LWIR LIBS linear array detection system to existing rapid analytical techniques for a wide range of chemical analysis applications, two different solid pharmaceutical tablets, Tylenol arthritis pain and Bufferin, were studied using both a recently designed simultaneous UVN + LWIR LIBS detection system and a fast AOTF NIR (1200 to 2200 nm) spectrometer. Every simultaneous UVN + LWIR LIBS emission spectrum in this work was initiated by one single laser pulse-induced micro-plasma in the ambient air atmosphere. Distinct atomic and molecular LIBS emission signatures of the target compounds measured simultaneously in UVN (200 to 1100 nm) and LWIR (5.6 to 10 µm) spectral regions are readily detected and identified without the need to employ complex data processing. In depth profiling studies of these two pharmaceutical tablets without any sample preparation, one can easily monitor the transition of the dominant LWIR emission signatures from coating ingredients gradually to the pharmaceutical ingredients underneath the coating. The observed LWIR LIBS emission signatures provide complementary molecular information to the UVN LIBS signatures, thus adding robustness to identification procedures. LIBS techniques are more surface specific while NIR spectroscopy has the capability to probe more bulk materials with its greater penetration depth. Both UVN + LWIR LIBS and NIR absorption spectroscopy have shown the capabilities of acquiring useful target analyte spectral signatures in comparable short time scales. The addition of a rapid LWIR spectroscopic probe to these widely used optical analytical methods, such as NIR spectroscopy and UVN LIBS, may greatly enhance the capability and accuracy of the combined system for a comprehensive analysis.

Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) Molecular Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Emissions of Thin Solid Explosive Powder Films Deposited on Aluminum Substrates.

Thin solid films made of high nitro (NO2)/nitrate (NO3) content explosives were deposited on sand-blasted aluminum substrates and then studied using a mercury-cadmium-telluride (MCT) linear array detection system that is capable of rapidly capturing a broad spectrum of atomic and molecular laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) emissions in the long-wave infrared region (LWIR; ∼5.6-10 µm). Despite the similarities of their chemical compositions and structures, thin films of three commonly used explosives (RDX, HMX, and PETN) studied in this work can be rapidly identified in the ambient air by their molecular LIBS emission signatures in the LWIR region. A preliminary assessment of the detection limit for a thin film of RDX on aluminum appears to be much lower than 60 µg/cm2. This LWIR LIBS setup is capable of rapidly probing and charactering samples without the need for elaborate sample preparation and also offers the possibility of a simultaneous ultraviolet visible and LWIR LIBS measurement.

Comparative studies of long-wave laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy emissions excited at 1.064 µm and eye-safe 1.574 µm.

In this work, comparative long-wave infrared (LWIR) laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) emission studies of two excitation sources: conventional 1.064 µm and eye-safe laser wavelength at 1.574 µm were performed to analyze several widely-used inorganic energetic materials such as ammonium and potassium compounds as well as the organic liquid chemical warfare agent simulant, dimethyl methylphosphate (DMMP). LWIR LIBS emissions generated by both excitation sources were examined using three different detection systems: a single element liquid nitrogen cooled Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) detector, an MCT linear array detection system with multi-channel preamplifiers + integrators, and an MCT linear array detection system with readout integrated circuit. It was observed that LWIR LIBS studies using an eye-safe pump laser generally reproduced atomic and molecular IR LIBS spectra as previously observed under 1.064 µm laser excitation.

Time resolved long-wave infrared laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of inorganic energetic materials by a rapid mercury-cadmium-telluride linear array detection system.

A mercury-cadmium-telluride linear array detection system that is capable of rapidly capturing (∼1-5 s) a broad spectrum of atomic and molecular laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) emissions in the long-wave infrared region (LWIR, ∼5.6-10 µm) was recently developed. Similar to the conventional ultraviolet-visible LIBS, a broadband emission spectrum of condensed phase samples covering a 5.6-10 µm spectral region could be acquired from just a single laser-induced micro-plasma. Intense and distinct atomic and molecular LWIR emission signatures of various solid inorganic energetic materials were readily observed and identified. Time resolved emissions of inorganic energetic materials were studied to assess the lifetimes of LWIR atomic and molecular emissions. The LWIR atomic emissions generally decayed fast on the scale of tens of microseconds, while the molecular signature emissions from target molecules excited by the laser-induced plasma appeared to be very long lived (∼millisecond). The time dependence of emission intensities and peak wavelengths of these signature emissions gave an insight into the origin and the environment of the emitting target species. Moreover, observed lifetimes of these LWIR emissions can be utilized for further optimization of the signal quality and detection limits of this technique.

Rapid long-wave infrared laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy measurements using a mercury-cadmium-telluride linear array detection system.

In this work, we develop a mercury-cadmium-telluride linear array detection system that is capable of rapidly capturing (∼1-5 s) a broad spectrum of atomic and molecular laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) emissions in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) region (∼5.6-10 µm). Similar to the conventional UV-Vis LIBS, a broadband emission spectrum of condensed phase samples covering the whole 5.6-10 µm region can be acquired from just a single laser-induced microplasma or averaging a few single laser-induced microplasmas. Atomic and molecular signature emission spectra of solid inorganic and organic tablets and thin liquid films deposited on a rough asphalt surface are observed. This setup is capable of rapidly probing samples "as is" without the need of elaborate sample preparation and also offers the possibility of a simultaneous UV-Vis and LWIR LIBS measurement.

Mid-infrared, long wave infrared (4-12 µm) molecular emission signatures from pharmaceuticals using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).

In an effort to augment the atomic emission spectra of conventional laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and to provide an increase in selectivity, mid-wave to long-wave infrared (IR), LIBS studies were performed on several organic pharmaceuticals. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy signature molecular emissions of target organic compounds are observed for the first time in the IR fingerprint spectral region between 4-12 µm. The IR emission spectra of select organic pharmaceuticals closely correlate with their respective standard Fourier transform infrared spectra. Intact and/or fragment sample molecular species evidently survive the LIBS event. The combination of atomic emission signatures derived from conventional ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared LIBS with fingerprints of intact molecular entities determined from IR LIBS promises to be a powerful tool for chemical detection.

Long-wave, infrared laser-induced breakdown (LIBS) spectroscopy emissions from energetic materials.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has shown great promise for applications in chemical, biological, and explosives sensing and has significant potential for real-time standoff detection and analysis. In this study, LIBS emissions were obtained in the mid-infrared (MIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectral regions for potential applications in explosive material sensing. The IR spectroscopy region revealed vibrational and rotational signatures of functional groups in molecules and fragments thereof. The silicon-based detector for conventional ultraviolet-visible LIBS operations was replaced with a mercury-cadmium-telluride detector for MIR-LWIR spectral detection. The IR spectral signature region between 4 and 12 µm was mined for the appearance of MIR and LWIR-LIBS emissions directly indicative of oxygenated breakdown products as well as dissociated, and/or recombined sample molecular fragments. Distinct LWIR-LIBS emission signatures from dissociated-recombination sample molecular fragments between 4 and 12 µm are observed for the first time.

Mid-infrared emission from laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a powerful analytical technique for detecting and identifying trace elemental contaminants by monitoring the visible atomic emission from small plasmas. However, mid-infrared (MIR), generally referring to the wavelength range between 2.5 to 25 microm, molecular vibrational and rotational emissions generated by a sample during a LIBS event has not been reported. The LIBS investigations reported in the literature largely involve spectral analysis in the ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-VIS-NIR) region (less than 1 microm) to probe elemental composition and profiles. Measurements were made to probe the MIR emission from a LIBS event between 3 and 5.75 microm. Oxidation of the sputtered carbon atoms and/or carbon-containing fragments from the sample and atmospheric oxygen produced CO(2) and CO vibrational emission features from 4.2 to 4.8 microm. The LIBS MIR emission has the potential to augment the conventional UV-VIS electronic emission information with that in the MIR region.