The influence of laser focusing on the intensity of spectral lines in femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of liquids

摘要

The influence of the diameter of the beam of a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser (800 nm, 40 fs, 0.8 mJ) on the intensity of spectral lines upon optical breakdown on the surface of CaCl_2 aqueous solution has been determined experimentally. It is shown that an increase in the laser-beam diameter from 7 to 14 mm on a focusing lens for identical pulse energy increases the intensities of the CaII (393.3 nm) and H_α (656 nm) lines by factors of 3 and 20, respectively. This effect can be used to increase the intensities of emission lines of chemical elements in femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of liquids and, accordingly, improve the sensitivity of this method.