Effect of IR Laser Energy on Several Polymers Using LIBS Analysis

ABSTRACT The focus of this research is to use the thermal ablation properties of a Nd:YAG infrared laser to highlight the thermal damage caused by the extinction of the plasma, which leads to the disappearance of the spectra of certain polymers as the laser energy increases. The study involved testing five commonly used polymers: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) also known as Teflon, polyoxymethylene (POM), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Bakelite, and polyamide. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis was used to qualitatively analyze the plasma generated from the polymer samples, identifying the excited species present in each of the five polymers. Wavelength dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (WDXRF) analysis of the polymer samples further confirmed the identification of these excited species. The results obtained from the spectra recorded at different laser energies in an air environment showed that the saturation observed in the plasma, induced by increasing laser energy, is not consistently observed for all polymers. This plasma extinction phenomenon in certain polymers is attributed to thermal effects when using an infrared (IR) laser as a heating source.