Elemental analysis of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy aided by an empirical spectral database.

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is commonly used to identify elemental compositions of various samples. To facilitate this task, we propose the use of an elemental spectral library for single-pulsed, nanosecond LIBS in the spectral range 198-968 nm. This spectroscopic library is generated by measuring optical emissions from plasmas of 40 pure elements. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed database, we measure and analyze the LIBS spectra of pure iron and of ethanol and show that we identify these samples with a high degree of certainty.