Atomic detection techniques with LIBS

All major modem atomic absorption and emission techniques and instrumentation are covered, including new MP-AES and triple quadrupole ICP-MS instruments. The relatively new technique of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been added to Chapter 7 and is now currently being used on Mars in the Curiosity rover, which landed on the Red Planet in August 2012. Appendices with EAAS and GEAAS conditions have been added, and the appendix with limits of detection for all the atomic spectroscopic techniques has been updated from the sixth edition. The chapter on X-ray has been significantly revised by Dr. Alexander Seyfarth, the new coauthor of the chapter, to reflect the state of the art in XRP, XRD, and related techniques. Many new graphics have been added. 

A relative newcomer to the atomic emission instruments commercially available, LIBS has some significant advantages over the other emission techniques and over ICP-MS and XRF. It is virtually nondestructive and often can be used with no sample preparation. It has the ability to detect all of the elements in virtually any sample type. Versions are available that are field-portable, and versions are available for remote/standoff analysis. Instrumentation is relatively inexpensive. The major disadvantage is the lack of LIBS spectral libraries for easy fingerprint matching, but that is being remedied as the instrumentation becomes more common. 

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