Self-absorption reduction in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using laser-stimulated absorption.

The self-absorption effect is one of the main bottlenecks for the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. In this Letter, LIBS assisted by laser-stimulated absorption (LSA-LIBS) is proposed to solve this problem. The process of LSA in self-absorption reduction is discussed and confirmed. The serious self-absorption phenomena of spectral lines (K, Mn, and Al) were not observed in LSA-LIBS. The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of K, Mn, and Al was reduced by about 58%, 25%, and 52%, respectively. The results demonstrate the capability of this approach to self-absorption reduction in the LIBS technique.