Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Laser-induced breakdown (or plasma) spectroscopy (LIBS or LIPS) is a versatile analytical technique allowing the identification and quantification of atomic species composing a material through spectral analysis of the plasma generated by its irradiation with a high peak intensity (above ~108 W/cm2) laser pulse. For solid materials, it is a microdestructive technique involving the atomization and partial ionization of a typical amount of material between ~10 ng and ~1 µg/pulse. The technique can provide elemental profiles along depths of several hundred microns by using up to some thousand laser pulses (typical depth resolution between ~0.1 and ~1 µm/pulse). Several laboratory and portable LIBS devices are available on the market and many archaeometrical experimentations and concrete applications have been reported in the literature, which show the powerful performance of the technique. In this entry, LIBS basic principles and the state of the art of its application in the field of cultural heritage are presented.