ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS BY DIODE-LASER SPECTROSCOPY

After about 25 years of development of laser analytical spectroscopy, laser spectrochemical instruments at present work efficiently only in research laboratories. There are practically no commercial laser spect roscopic instruments for routine elemental analysis, The only laser-ba sed instruments are Raman spectrometers with stable cw laser sources f or molecular analysis and pulsed lasers with fixed wavelengths which a re used for laser ablation (LA) - laser sampling of solid materials, T he main difficulties of laser spectroscopic techniques are: relatively high cost, insufficient reliability, and the necessity of qualified p ersonal, Semiconductor laser-diodes are mass produced for compact disc players, laser printers, optical data storage systems and telecommuni cation equipment. A number of these laser diodes have excellent spectr oscopic properties, which make them attractive sources for spectrochem ical analysis. Presently, laser analytical instruments based on laser diodes have the highest potential for transfer from research laborator ies to routine practice. Recently, the excellent analytical capabiliti es of diode laser spectrometry in the detection of low concentrations of analytes have been well documented. Recent advances in diode lasers and analytical trends are discussed below. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.