Abstract:
A Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrocopy (LIBS) system for the analysis of a sample pellet of a consolidated granular material retained in a tubular container may include a laser source configured to emit a pulsed laser beam towards an exposed surface of the sample pellet; and a sample station configured to hold the cylindrical tubular container in one or more orientations to present an exposed surface of the sample pellet towards the pulsed laser beam. The sample station may induce linear movement of the sample pellet along an axis and to expose a portion of the outer side surface of the sample pellet previously constrained through contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical tubular container. The sample station may induce rotational motion of the outer side surface of the sample pellet around the movement axis to present the portion of the outer side surface as the exposed surface.
Abstract:
An optical spectrometer (102) comprises an adjustable sampling space (104) having two generally opposing, relatively movable, side-walls (106,108) which are here substantially formed of optically translucent material and between which in use a sample for analysis is charged and an actuator (116) mechanically coupled, here via a worm drive (118), to one or both of the opposing side-walls (108) and operable in response to a command signal applied thereto to effect their relative movement. The spectrometer (102) further comprises an optical position sensor (110,112,114) adapted to detect interference fringes generated by optical energy traversing the distance between the side-walls (106,108) a plurality of times and to generate the command signal in dependence thereof and preferably also adapted to generate an output indexing intensity against an indication of wavelength usable in the spectrometric analysis of a sample material within the sampling space (104).
Abstract:
A Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrocopy (LIBS) system (2) for the analysis of a sample pellet (12) of a consolidated granular material retained in a tubular container (20), the system (2) comprising a laser source (4) configured to emit a pulsed laser beam (6) towards an exposed surface of the sample pellet (12); and a sample station (18) configured to hold the tubular container (20) with the sample pellet (12) orientated to present the exposed surface towards the pulsed laser beam and comprising an actuator configured to slide the sample pellet (12) along a movement axis out of the tubular container (20) and thereby present a portion of an outer surface (10) of the sample pellet (12) previously constrained by an inner surface of the tubular container (20) as the exposed surface.
Abstract:
A system (102) for determining properties of a sample (114) comprises a LIBS detector (104,106) and an infra-red absorption detector (108,110) for interrogating a sample (114) to generate LIBS spectral data and infra-red absorption spectral data respectively; and a data processor (112) adapted to apply at least one chemometric prediction model, each constructed to link, preferably quantitatively link, features of both LIBS and absorption spectral data to a different specific property of the sample, to a combined dataset derived from at least portions of both the LIBS and the absorption data to generate therefrom a determination, preferably a quantitative determination, of the specific property linked by that model.
Abstract:
A method (2) for preparing a sample of organic material for laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) comprising the steps of obtaining granular organic material (4); forming at least a portion of the granular organic material into a sample pellet (6); and of searing the organic material (8, 8'), preferably only at a surface on which LIBS analysis is to be performed (8). Optionally the method (2) includes a step (10) of pressing the seared sample pellet to consolidate the material comprising the seared upper surface.
Abstract:
A system (102) for determining properties of a sample (114) comprises a LIBS detector (104,106) and an infra-red absorption detector (108,110) for interrogating a sample (114) to generate LIBS spectral data and infra-red absorption spectral data respectively; and a data processor (112) adapted to apply at least one chemometric prediction model, each constructed to link, preferably quantitatively link, features of both LIBS and absorption spectral data to a different specific property of the sample, to a combined dataset derived from at least portions of both the LIBS and the absorption data to generate therefrom a determination, preferably a quantitative determination, of the specific property linked by that model.
Abstract:
An optical spectrometer may include: an adjustable sampling space having two opposing side-walls between which in use a sample for analysis is charged and in at least one of which is formed an optical interface translucent to optical energy emitted by an optical energy source; an actuator mechanically coupled to one or both of the opposing side-walls and configured to operate in response to a command signal applied thereto to effect relative movement of the opposing side-walls; and/or an optical position sensor configured to detect interference fringes generated by the optical energy traversing a distance between the side-walls a plurality of times, having passed through the at least one optical interface, and configured to generate the command signal in dependence thereof. The adjustable sampling space may be brought into an analysis position at which the side-walls are relatively inclined to form a wedge shape.