Resonant laser ablation: Applications and mechanistic aspects
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Ever since the first report of laser action, it has been recognized that laser ablation (evaporation/volatilization) may provide a useful sampling mechanism for chemical analysis. In particular, laser ablation is rapidly gaining popularity as a method of sample introduction for mass spectrometry. Since its original description, numerous research papers and review articles have appeared on various aspects of laser mass spectrometry. While most laser ablation/mass spectrometry has been performed with fixed frequency lasers operating at relatively high intensities/fluences ({ge} 10{sup 8} W/cm{sup 2}, {ge} 1 J/cm{sup 2}), there has been some recent interest in the use of low-power tunable lasers to ablate and resonantly ionize selected components in the ablation plume. This process has been termed resonant laser ablation (RLA). The authors report here on aspects of RLA behavior for a number of metals, alloys and thin films. The versatility of RLA is demonstrated, with results on a variety of samples and in several mass spectrometers. In addition, the application to depth profiling of thin films and multilayers is described; absolute removal rates and detection limits are also displayed. A discussion of possible mechanisms for low-power ablation is discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 188557
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--95-3954; CONF-960391--1; ON: DE96005353
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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