As a fast-developing technique for in situ multi-element analysis method, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy - LIBS is, however, developing slowly on liquid analysis due to some technical difficulties. We propose a new method, namely capillary mode, to quantify the concentrations of the elements in solution using LIBS. A Nd:YAG laser with repetition of 10 Hz were used to analyze the solution of Na₂CrO₄ and no any sample preparation in measurements. The experimental results show that the splashing of liquid induced by laser pulses is decreased significantly and the pollution of mirrors is avoided effectively using liquid capillary mode. The results of quantitative analysis for liquid are also improved than other method. The calibration curves of Cr and Na are well characterized by straight lines and the regression coefficient values of the linear fit are better than 0.998. The limits of detection (LODs) of Cr and Na are determined to be 28.9 mg/L and 1.0 mg/L in this work, respectively. The experimental results show that the liquid capillary mode provides a more practical and very simple approach to improve accuracy of quantitative element analysis in liquids by LIBS technique.

We reported a high-power pure Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:CALYO laser based on the dual-confocal cavity delivering sub-100-fs pulses. The output pulses at 81 MHz have an average power of 10.4 W and the pulse duration of 98 fs, corresponding to the peak power of 1.14 MW. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest average power ever reported for a Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb-bulk oscillator. Analysis of the dual-confocal cavity was also conducted, which indicates a way to achieve higher average power. We believe the result described in this Letter may pave a way to develop Kerr-lens mode-locked bulk lasers with much higher average power.

It is well-known that aviation alloys of different grades show large differences in mechanical properties. At present, alloys must be strictly distinguished in the manufacturing plant because their close appearance and density are easily confused In this work, the wavelet transform (WT) method combined with the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is applied to the classification and identification of aviation alloys by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). This experiment employed six different grades of aviation alloy as the classification samples and obtained 100 sets of spectral data for each sample. This research included the steps of preprocessing the obtained spectral data, model training, and parameter optimization. Finally, the accuracy of the training set was 99.98%, and the accuracy of the test set was 99.56%. Therefore, it is concluded that the model has superior generalization capacity and portability. The result of this work illustrates that LIBS technology can be adopted for the rapid identification of aviation alloys, which is of great significance for on-site quality control and efficiency improvement of aerospace parts manufacturing.

The fast and reliable analysis of electrolytes such as K, Na, Ca in human blood serum has become an indispensable tool for diagnosing and preventing diseases. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been demonstrated as a powerful analytical technique on elements. To apply LIBS to the quantitative analysis of electrolyte elements in real time, a self-developed portable laser was used to measure blood serum samples supported by glass slides and filter paper in this work. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) method was employed for predicting the concentrations of K, Na, Ca from serum LIBS spectra. Great prediction accuracies with excellent linearity were obtained for the serum samples, both on glass slides and filter paper. For blood serum on glass slides, the prediction accuracies for K, Na, Ca were 1.45%, 0.61% and 3.80%. Moreover, for blood serum on filter paper, the corresponding prediction accuracies were 7.47%, 1.56% and 0.52%. The results show that LIBS using a portable laser with the assistance of PLSR can be used for accurate quantitative analysis of elements in blood serum in real time. This work reveals that the handheld LIBS instruments will be an excellent tool for real-time clinical practice.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a promising elemental analysis technique that has rapidly evolved in numerous fields, including biomedical research and medical sciences, over the last two decades. In combination with other methods, it has the potential to examine complex biological structures and their species distributions. The present work first develops the basic understanding of LIBS and then reviews its evolution in oncological diagnosis and calcified tissue analysis from medical perspectives over the last 11 years. LIBS can potentially improve early cancer detection and monitor treatment outcomes, ultimately enhancing patient care and diagnosis. It has effectively differentiated between malignant and normal tissues and also classifies cancer stages and types based on disease severity. Its applications for categorising and identifying calcified tissues are attractive for inspecting minerals, while soft tissue is more challenging, given the potential for significant matrix effects. This review article deals with the following aspects of LIBS and its application: (i) the fundamentals of this analytical measurement method, (ii) the matrix effect and its influence on the LIBS analyses of various biological tissues, (iii) the role of signal enhancement methodologies and artificial intelligence models to advance the method for analyses of biological sample materials, and (iv) applications of LIBS in cancer and calcified tissues investigations. This article also addresses challenges and opportunities encountered in these applications and discusses prospects, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and potential advancement in LIBS technology.