Terms and notations for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

A breakdown of the number of publications in the field of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) since the early 1980s is shown in Fig. 1. These numbers are based on a database query in Chemical Abstracts conducted in February 2006 (terms used for the query: LIBS and laser, excluding abbreviations beginning with the letters LIB. The number of hits depends of course on the selected database and combination of terms used for the query. A more extended query in various databases yields more than 350 publications in the year 2005.). The dynamic growth to more than 150 publications per year reflects an increasing community of contributors, many of them appearing for the first time. Awide variety of terms and notations are used to describe the experimental set-ups, measuring parameters and data evaluation methods which thereby complicates the comparability of the analytical approaches and results. LIBS is an interdisciplinary analytical technique employed by researchers from many academic disciplines ranging from chemistry, physics, material science, geology, archeology and others who have different levels of awareness and understanding of LIBS theory, experimental procedures and data evaluation processes. Without claiming to give a complete terminology or comprehensive list of notations for LIBS, this contribution offers a first step forward towards the improved communication of LIBS data using a base set of defined and unified terms and notations that are recommended for use in scientific publications on LIBS and, therefore, should stimulate a dynamic discussion in the LIBS community. The section “Standardized and established terminology”, summarizes selected terms relevant for LIBS that are already defined in international standards or review articles. It is followed by the section on “Specific terms, notations and symbols for LIBS” which presents a new list of defined terms that are necessary for a definitive description of LIBS experiments and data evaluation procedures.