Glow-discharge-assisted laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy: increased sensitivity in solid analysis.

A glow discharge operating in steady-state and pulsed temporal conditions is used to excite the material previously excited by a pulsed laser ablation system. The system provides a simple means by which to potentially excite the material ablated by the incident laser pulse by taking advantage of enhanced collisional excitation. In this way, one can effectively reduce laser pulse energies below the excitation and ionization thresholds to potentially those required solely for laser ablation of the material, reducing sample damage and improving the lateral resolution. Several critical parameters such as the gas pressure, gas type, and discharge voltage were evaluated, demonstrating the potential of the technique for spatially resolved analysis. The new dual glow-discharge laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (GD-LIBS) synchronous scheme provides significant signal enhancements when compared to LIBS or GD under identical conditions.