Glass characterization by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy.

F. C. ALVIRA; E. L. SAMBRANO; M. SILVA; G. M. BILMES

Playa del Carmen

Conferencia; XI International Conference on Laser Ablation; 2011

comite organizador

The knowledge of the composition of glass is an important task in many technological and commercial situations. It is also a requirement in the fabrication process of many glass artefacts to assure the quality of the final product. There are not much analytical techniques that allow obtaining glass composition in industrial environment during the production process. In this sense, Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy has shown that can be implemented in industry to get analytical information in-situ, on-line and in a fast and simple way. We have developed a method based on LIBS to characterize qualitatively and quantitatively, different kind of glass. The samples studied were soda-lime silica, laminated, BK7, grind and soften glass. The LIBS experimental set-up uses a Q-switch laser operating at 1064 nm and an all fiber compact spectrometer as detection system. Results show the feasibility of using the developed method for fast identification and classification of each kind of glass in laboratory and industrial environments. Spectra of pure samples can be used as references to characterize mixtures of glasses and new samples. Quantitative information can be also obtained by comparing the emission intensity of characteristic line elements of unknown samples with those of glass, whose composition is known.