Comparison of the performances of nanosecond and femtosecond Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for depth profiling of an artificially corroded bronze

Single Pulse Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (SP-LIBS), performed by nanosecond and femtosecond laser sources has been applied to the study of the depth profiling of the artificially obtained patina of a bronze sample. The results show improved performances of femtosecond LIBS compared to nanosecond one. The differences found in the analyses are related to the different laser-matter interaction processes induced by the different time duration of the laser pulses. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.