Elemental Analysis of Glass Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

In this work, LIBS is used to analyze 11 different glasses using the entire spectrum between 300-800 nm. Emission lines are identified and used as variables in a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) which produces plots in which glasses of similar composition form clusters in PC space. Dendrograms are also used to illustrate the similarities of different glass samples. Although the absolute concentrations of the elements are not determined, the coefficients of the principle components indicate which elements are most important in distinguishing between the samples. The technique may be useful in predicting mechanical, thermal, and optical properties of glass based on a relatively rapid and semi-quantitative elemental analysi