The comparison of manganese spectral lines for self-absorption reduction in LIBS using laser-induced fluorescence

The detection of manganese (Mn) in steel by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) provides essential information for steelmaking. However, self-absorption greatly disrupts the LIBS spectral lines of Mn with high content. In this study, to minimize self-absorption for Mn spectral lines in LIBS, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was applied. Compared with conventional LIBS, the self-absorption factors (α) of Mn I 403.08, 403.31, and 403.45 nm lines were reduced by 90%, 88%, and 88%, respectively; the root mean square errors of cross-validation were decreased by 88%, 85%, and 87%, respectively; the average relative errors were reduced by 93%, 90%, and 91%, respectively; and average relative standard deviations were decreased by 29%, 32%, and 33%, respectively. The LIBS-LIF was shown to successfully minimize the self-absorption effect and spectral intensity fluctuation and improve detection accuracy.