Major Advance in Qualitative Analysis

The elemental composition of soil, biological tissue, ceramics, glass, gemstones, metals and even explosives can be analysed instantly using new spectro-meter systems from Ocean Optics. The Laser-induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) systems are real-time, high resolution, portable instruments capable of analysing practically every known element in gas, liquid or solid samples with a sensitivity of parts per billion. Applications for LIBS are as diverse as environmental sampling, forensic testing, semi-conductor analysis, archaeological research, cancer detection, paper production, blast-furnace monitoring, civil engineering and the detection of landmines, biological weapons and chemical contamination in solids, liquids or gas. A complete LIBS scan can be executed in less than a second, saving time and making it possible to analyse transient samples. Only trace amounts of a sample are required for analysis, minimising sample preparation.