Particle generation by laser ablation in support of chemical analysis of high level mixed waste from plutonium production operations. 1998 annual progress report

摘要

The authors goal is to provide fundamental mechanistic studies of laser produced particulate formation in support of the use of Laser Assisted- Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) to be used for analysis of radioactive/toxic materials. The work reported here represents the first nine months of this 3-year project. The major focus of these studies is determining the detailed mechanisms and character of the particulates generated by laser ablation of solid targets relevant to sampling materials for chemical analysis using inductively coupled mass spectroscopy, ICP-MS. In this application, particles generated by laser ablation must be transported to the plasma torch of the ICP-MS, often through a hollow tube with an interior diameter of a few mm. Proper digestion and ionization of particles in the plasma limits particle sizes to under a micron. Thus the production of submicron particles which truly represent the stoichiometry of the specimen is of critical importance.