Analysis of oxide inclusions in steel by fast laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy scanning: an approach to quantification.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) measurements were performed on a steel sample to investigate the feasibility of obtaining fast information on cleanness. A calibration approach was considered to enable the quantification of the elemental composition of non-metallic inclusions; the same data was also used to estimate the size of the inclusions. For the first time, the quantified chemical composition data obtained by LIBS for non-metallic inclusions was compared to the corresponding results obtained from scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis, the conventional method used for steel cleanness assessment, and proved successful. Due to the speed of analysis and the systematic recording of the signal from the scanned area, LIBS enables the analysis of larger areas of sample and in significantly shorter time than with automated SEM-EDX. This paper summarizes the hitherto obtained results for the fast analysis of inclusions in steel by LIBS.