Atomic and molecular emission of beryllium by LIBS

Strong ionic Be II emission doublet at 313.01 and 313.04 nm in Laser-Induced Plasma (LIP) is well known for trace beryllium quantities analysis. Still, being a resonance line, it suffers from strong self-absorption (SA) starting from very low concentration levels, approximately at 0.005% (50 ppm). It makes this doublet unsuitable for Be evaluation at higher concentrations, typical for minor (0.1–1.0%) or major (≥1.0%) levels, such as in Be bearing minerals and alloys. Quantitative analysis of Be at elevated concentrations may be accomplished using BeO molecular emission previously not used for analytical purposes in LIP. These molecules are characterized by very intensive blue-green emission series located mainly in the 470–480 nm spectral range. In our experimental setup, molecular BeO emission demonstrates a Limit of Detection (LoD) near 0.05% of BeO at Single Pulse (SP) and 0.01% at Double Pulse (DP) modes. The absence of SA for BeO molecular emission is presently proved in the 0.05–5.0% range, which is quite suitable for minerals and alloys analysis.