Compact, Lightweight, Femtosecond Laser for LIBS

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology has recently started to play an important role in various sensor needs – from the detection of trace amounts of explosives to the detection of sub-pg amounts of Ca and Mg within sub-µm-diameter aerosols, with application to both military and civilian needs. With this technique, a brief, high-powered laser pulse is focused onto a sample to create a plasma, which results from vaporization and atomization of a small amount of target material. In recent years it has been demonstrated that the use of femtosecond laser source with a pulse duration around 100 fs can improve the overall performance of a LIBS system. However, present femtosecond lasers are too complex and bulky to be used in field applications. It is the aim of the work proposed here to develop a compact, efficient, solid state femtosecond source, ultimately suited for a portable LIBS sensor.