Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a multi-elemental analysistechnique very well suited for analysis in hostile environments particularly in thenuclear industry. Quantitative measurements are frequently performed on liquid orsolid samples but in some cases, atypical signal behaviors were observed in theLIBS experiment. To avoid or minimize any impact on measurement accuracy, it isnecessary to improve the understanding of these phenomena. In the framework of athree-year PhD thesis, the objective was to study the chemical reactions occurringwithin laser-generated plasma in a LIBS analysis. Experiments on a model material (pure aluminum sample) highlighted thedynamics of molecular recombination according to different ambient gas. Thetemporal evolution of Al I atomic emission lines and molecular bands of AlO and AlNwere studied. A collisional excitation effect was identified for a peculiar electronicenergy level of aluminum in the case of a nitrogen atmosphere. This effectdisappeared in air. The aluminum plasma was also imaged during its expansionunder the different atmospheres in order to localize the areas in which the molecularrecombination process takes place. Spectacular particle projections have beenhighlighted.
展开▼
