In laser-induced plasma spectroscopy, the radiation of a high-power laser pulse is focused into the medium under study. Due to the high irradiance in the focus, a plasma is formed within nanoseconds, i.e. the medium is converted to ions, electrons and atoms. The intense plasma radiation consists of broadband light emissions and species-specific spectral lines. Applying a spectral analysis of the light, the composition of the medium can be deduced.
We apply this technique predominantly for the analysis of gasification processes to determine, for example, the elementary composition or minority species like alkali atoms. For the application in combustors or reactors without optical access, a probe was developed that can be flange-mounted even to high-pressure vessels.