Resonantly enhanced fluorescence emission induced by a tunable dye laser can be used for the identification of ablated atherosclerotic tissue. This method has been tested with anorganic samples exposed to air and to saline solution. A XeCl excimer laser pulse ($lambda = 308 nm), delivered by a fused silica optical fiber, causes an efficient ablation of the irradiated samples. The wavelength of the narrow-band dye laser radiation is set to a strong transition of a specific species to be detected in the ablation plume. Taking into account the formation of the plume, the dye laser pulse is applied with a certain delay in order to excite resonantly the selected species in the plume. The resulting resonance fluorescence then is guided by optical fibers to an optical multi-channel analyzer system. Compared to the broad-band fluorescence during excimer laser ablation the resonance fluorescence signal shows a distinct and easily detectable sharp peak. The signal-to-background ratio is improved by one order of magnitude.
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