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Title: Hydrogen analysis in solid samples using laser-induced helium plasma at atmospheric pressure

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2009820· OSTI ID:20714041
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  1. Research Center of Maju Makmur Mandiri Foundation, 40 Srengseng Raya, Kembangan, Jakarta Barat 11630 (Indonesia)

A special technique for the modification of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been developed to improve the spectral quality of hydrogen emission from a solid sample in helium gas at atmospheric pressure. In this technique, the plasma was generated by focusing a fundamental Nd-YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser into a surrounding helium gas. The helium atoms excited to their metastable states would then serve to excite the atoms of the solid material vaporized by using another Nd-YAG laser. When properly synchronized, the resulting hydrogen emission line of H I 656.2 nm shows a dramatic improvement of the emission intensity and the spectral quality over what was obtained by conventional LIBS technique. This study further reveals that this improvement is mainly due to the role of the metastable excited state in a helium atom, which allows the delayed detection to be performed at a favorable moment when the charged particles responsible for the strong Stark broadening effect in the plasma have mostly disappeared.

OSTI ID:
20714041
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 98, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2009820; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English